Deputy Assistant Secretary of War, Health Services Policy and Oversight
Susan Orsega is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Health Services Policy and Oversight. She is responsible for policy development and oversight of the Military Health System's clinical policies and programs focused on preparing our ready medical warfighter. She leads subject matter experts whose portfolios include: Medical Quality Assurance and Clinical Quality Management, Digital Health Information Technology, Preventive Medicine, Workforce, Wounded Warrior and Disability System, Population Health, Chronic Disease Management, Child & Women's Health, and Mental Health. HSP&O provides medical advice and consultation to senior Defense officials, Congress, and other Department of Defense stakeholders. The MHS serves more than 9.5 million beneficiaries including active duty service members, retirees and their families around the globe.
Prior to this senior executive service appointment, Orsega retired at the rank of Rear Adm. Upper Half, U.S. Public Health Service after 34 years of service in December 2023. While serving in the USPHS, Orsega held various assignments leading teams to build programs and improve complex global healthcare problems. Orsega served as acting surgeon general and is the first nurse practitioner to hold this position, chosen for her leadership and executive presence within the government.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Orsega held various assignments at the National Institutes of Health, leading research operations partnerships in multiple African countries during periods of emerging infectious disease outbreaks. While on active duty, Orsega was deployed as a front-line federal medical responder to New York City after the terrorist sttacks and U.S. Capitol from the anthrax event, New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, Pacific Peleliu DOW humanitarian mission and 15 other missions around the world.
Her distinguished experience and focus have been widely recognized, receiving numerous military and professional awards reflecting her varied accomplishments. Dr. Orsega is recognized internationally with over 50 invitations as keynote speaker and over 10 appearances in news such as the Washington Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and Los Angeles Times. She has also co-authored 32 in peer review articles.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Towson University, Baltimore, Maryland in 1990; a Division I cross-country and track student athlete achieving multiple track records while in school. In 2001, she graduated with a Master of Science from the Nurse Practitioner Program, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. She later received honorary doctorates from USU and Georgetown University. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.