Assistant
to the Director, Defense Health Agency
Brigadier General James C. Balserak is the Air National Guard Assistant to the Director, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia. In this capacity, he advises on plans, policies and standards as they relate to Joint Reserve Component Mobilization and Medical Readiness within the Department of Defense.
General Balserak began his military career as an Army Reserve Officers Training Corps cadet at the University of Virginia, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa as an Echols Scholar, and later received his commission in 1988 as a Medical Services Corp Officer in the Virginia Air National Guard while attending the Medical College of Virginia. He completed his Surgical Residency at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson, Arizona. He obtained his Master's Degree in Public Health with a concentration in Disaster Preparedness from Benedictine University, Illinois. General Balserak is a combat veteran having served as a member of a forward surgical team at the 447th Air Expeditionary Group Expeditionary Medical Squadron at Baghdad International Airport, Iraq in 2004. In 2007 General Balserak was assigned as Commander, 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron at Sather Air Base, Iraq. In 2009 he served as trauma surgeon at the Joint Theater Hospital at Bahram Air Base, Afghanistan and most recently was assigned as a Critical Care Air Transport Team Leader within the 10th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany.
1986 University of Virginia, Bachelor of Science, Biology and Chemistry,
Charlottesville, Virginia
1990 Medical College of Virginia, Doctor of Medicine, Richmond Virginia
2003 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama by correspondence
2015 Syracuse University National Security Studies Management Course, Syracuse,
New York
1. August 1988 - June 1990, Health Services Administrator, 192nd Tactical
Fighter Group, Sandston, Virginia
2. June 1990 - June 1993, Flight Surgeon, 162nd Medical Squadron, Tucson,
Arizona
3. June 1993 - June 1997, Aeromedical Physician, 195th Fighter Squadron, Tucson,
Arizona
4. June 1997 - January 2002, Aeromedical Physician, 148th Fighter Squadron,
Tucson, Arizona
5. January 2002 - January 2005, State Air Surgeon, Joint Force Headquarters,
Arizona Air National Guard, Phoenix, Arizona
6. January 2005 - January 2006, Aeromedical Physician, 162nd Medical Group,
Tucson, Arizona
7. January 2006 - May 2010, Commander, 162nd Medical Group, Tucson, Arizona
8. June 2010 - September 2011, Medical Readiness Assistant to Command Surgeon,
Air Force Space Command, Joint Force Headquarters, Arizona Air National Guard,
Phoenix, Arizona
9. October 2011 - December 2013, Assistant for Mobilization and Reserve Affairs,
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Health Affairs, Falls Church,
Virginia
10. May 2013 - Present, Assistant to the Director Defense Health Agency, Falls
Church, Virginia
Rating: Chief Flight Surgeon
Flight Hours: More than 1100
Combat and Combat Support Flight Hours: More than 100
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal (with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster)
Air Medal
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Award (with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (with 1 Bronze Oak leaf Cluster)
National Defense Service Medal (with 1 Bronze Service Star)
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal (with 1 Bronze Service Star)
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Air Force Overseas Ribbon Short Tour (with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster)
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon (with Gold Border and 4 Bronze Oak Leaf
Clusters)
Longevity Service Award Ribbon (with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)
Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with M Device and Numeral 3)
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (Pistol) (with 1 Bronze Service Star)
Air Force Training Ribbon
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal
Brigadier General Balserak is the senior partner in Southwestern Surgery
Associates in Tucson Arizona with a practice emphasis in Endocrine Surgery,
Trauma Surgery, Critical Care Medicine and Disaster Preparedness.
Senior Partner - Southwestern Surgery Associates Ltd., Tucson, Arizona
Professional Staff - Arizona Diamondbacks, Major League Baseball, 2005-2010
American College of Surgeons - Fellow
American College of Endocrinology - Fellow
Arizona Board of Medical Examiners - Accreditation
Arizona Medical Association - Member
Pima County Medical Society - Member
Alliance of Air National Guard Flight Surgeons - Lifetime Member
National Guard Association of the United States
Phi Beta Kappa Society - Member
Tucson Medical Center - Section Chief of General Surgery, Department Chairman of
Surgery and Staff Surgeon, 1995 - Present
2004 National Guard Bureau, Air National Guard Flight Surgeon of the Year
Award
2008 Theodore J. Marrs Award, 162nd Medical Group
2009 Arizona Medical Association Distinguished Military Service Award
2015 Pima County Medical Society Physician Lifetime Achievement Award
Second Lieutenant 13 August 1988
Captain 19 May 1990
Major 19 May 1994
Lieutenant Colonel 31 August 1998
Colonel 16 July 2003
Brigadier General 1 October 2011
(Current as of August 2015)