OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The mighty medics of the 55th Medical Group welcomed a new commander during a change of command ceremony July 11, 2019.
Col. Julie Ostrand took over command of the 55th MDG from Col. Judy Stoltmann during the time-honored military ceremony inside the 557th Weather Wing auditorium.
Col. Gavin Marks, 55th Wing commander, presided over the ceremony. Marks thanked Stoltmann for the innovations that have happened over the two years she was in command at the Erhling Berquist Clinic.
“In the medical business, patient care is really where the rubber meets the road,” said Marks. “Whether we are talking about how under her leadership they erected a pediatric walk-in clinic, or how she enabled the embedding of mental health technicians into most stressed and operationally stretched units rapidly enabling greater access to mental health services. She also launched direct access clinics, slashing hundreds of thousands of dollars of cost in urgent care visits by our Airmen and their families.”
During the first year of Stoltmann’s command, the 55th MDG received 14 Air Combat Command, four Air Force-level awards and more throughout her time here.
Stoltmann also declared her appreciation for how the medical group accomplished many goals during her time here and praised the support she received during her tenure as commander.
“The men and women of the 55th Medical Group are driven,” Stoltmann said. “They are driven to provide the highest quality health care. They are driven to constantly improve and they are driven to excel.”
Stoltmann’s final message to the mighty medics could be summed up in one word, continue.
“Continue to be proud professionals, continue to strive to improve and continue to take care of yourselves and each other”, Stoltmann said. “Don’t ever forget how important each and every one of you is to the mission, to the wing and to the Air Force.”
Now the 55th MDG is transitioning from one era to another under the command of Col. Julie Ostrand. She is coming in from Minot AFB, North Dakota, where she served as the 5th Medical Group commander.
“She comes to us with significant depth and breadth of experience coupled with significant command savvy and fresh perspective for the 55th Wing,” Marks said. “She has background in family medicine, women’s health, surgical services, has been OB-GYN flight commander and two-time Medical Operations Squadron commander, and now coming from Minot, Air Force Base, where she was the Medical Group commander that is pretty impressive.”