Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs

Dr. Vincent Lee Ball serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs. In this role, Ball is the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Assistant Secretary of War (Health Affairs) for all medically related Department of War policies, programs, and activities.

Prior to joining Health Affairs, Ball served as the full-time emergency medical director and staff physician at Arbor Health Critical Access Hospital in Morton, Washington, part-time as a staff physician at Madigan Army Medical Center, a Level 2 trauma and teaching hospital at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, as well as a quality medical review director for various Critical Access Hospitals with the Washington State Hospital Association. He worked previously as a lead physician for The Cleveland Clinic International Operations.

Ball retired from the Army at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During his military career he held several leadership roles, including Commander, Special Forces A-Team; Command Surgeon, Joint Special Operations Task Force-P; Chief, Department of Emergency Medicine, Madigan Army Medical Center, and Officer in Charge of the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Al Kut Province, Iraq. He has numerous published manuscripts and has lectured internationally. His military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal. He earned the Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Senior Parachutist Badge, and Air-Assault Badge.

Ball is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Integrative Medicine. With a focus on healthcare management, he earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019, a medical degree from East Tennessee State University (Alpha Omega Alpha), and a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Military Academy.