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Robert R. Ireland USAF

Robert R. Ireland USAF, MC, Chief Flight Surgeon, Program Director for Mental Health Policy Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs)
In June 2005, Col Bob Ireland joined the Pentagon's Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Health Affairs, to serve as the Program Director for Mental Health Policy. His duties include coordination of Department of Defense (DoD) mental health policy initiatives, chairing the DoD Suicide Prevention and Risk Reduction Committee, co-chairing the Veterans Administration-DoD Mental Health Work Group, and interfacing with multiple government agencies as well as legislative and public affairs.

He brings 20+ years of active duty Air Force experience as a physician in family, flight and hyperbaric medicine, and since 1993, as a psychiatrist. Prior to entering military service and completing his Air Force-sponsored M.D. at Columbia, SC, he received masters and doctoral degrees in religion at Claremont, CA, and served as a community leader.

Bob's career includes assignments as an operational flight surgeon for the 964th AWACS Squadron (Tinker AFB) and for the 67th Fighter Squadron (F15/Kadena AB), providing medical support for operations around the globe. In addition, he directly supported RC- & EC135, SR71, and helicopter rescue operations, receiving 2 Sikorsky awards for life-saving night rescues at sea. He was selected as Pacific Air Forces' Flight Surgeon of the Year. He has logged 1000+ military flying hours in several types of aircraft, with most sorties in the F15. Bob provided direct medical support to aircrews in 13 countries, including Southwest Asia and North Africa.

After completing psychiatry residency training at Lackland AFB's Wilford Hall, he remained on the teaching staff to lead a 62-bed inpatient psychiatry service. He then served as the Flight Commander of a 42-member mental health flight at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. There he developed a suicide prevention training program involving state agencies, Army and Air Force mental health providers and chaplains, educators, and Native Alaskan village counselors.

From 2000 to 2005, Bob was the Chief, Aerospace Psychiatry Function, at the Aerospace Medicine Consultation Service of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine. He evaluated aviators for return to flying status after psychiatric events, provided aerospace psychiatry instruction for flight surgeons, residents in aerospace medicine, physiologists, and psychologists, in joint service and international venues (UK, So Africa, Spain, Canada). He co-developed guidance regarding antidepressant use by aviators that was adopted by the Aerospace Medical Association as official policy.

In addition to his aerospace medicine duties, Bob served as the Psychiatry Consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General from Feb 2003 until transitioning to his new role at Health Affairs. He coordinated utilization of Air Force psychiatrists, co-developed deployment-oriented web-based MH resources including a web- and CD-based "Leader's Guide for Personnel in Distress", and two Air Force mental health conferences.