Army names Schoomaker as new Walter Reed Commander

This is actually a press release off the Army website:

The U.S. Army announced today, March 2, that Maj. Gen. Eric R. Schoomaker will become the commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Schoomaker currently is the commanding general of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Md.

Schoomaker was selected for this important leadership position because of his considerable command experience at every level of the U.S. Army's medical profession. Prior to his Fort Detrick duties, Schoomaker was commander of Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, Colo., from June 1997 to May 1999; commander of the 30th Medical Brigade and Corps Surgeon for V Corps in Germany - the largest combat-support hospital in Europe - from April 2001 to June 2002; and commanding general of Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center/Southeast Regional Medical Command at Fort Gordon, Ga., from June 2002 to June 2005.

"Gen. Eric Schoomaker has the right blend of leadership, professional expertise and personal experience for this position," said Gen. Richard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.

The Army plans to announce next week a deputy commanding general of Walter Reed Army Medical Center to assist in commanding the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This general officer will be a proven combat-arms field commander who will bring other professional talents and Soldier skills to the hospital's leadership team.

Eric Schoomaker is the younger brother of Gen. Peter Schoomaker, who was the Army's 35th Chief of Staff. General Peter Schoomaker warned Congress that the active-duty Army could break under the strain of troop rotations in the Iraq war. It is interesting that the Army tapped Peter Schoomaker's younger brother Eric to take over the Walter Reed complex, perhaps because Eric Schoomaker is related to Peter Schoomaker, and that the Schoomaker name may still have some credibility and trust in the Pentagon, and possibly with the American public.