Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, director of the Defense Health Agency, tours the Federal Health Pavilion at a conference in Chicago, Ill., in April 2023. (Department of Defense)
WASHINGTON — The director of the Defense Health Agency suddenly retired Friday, a week after several top generals were fired at the Pentagon, the agency announced.
Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland vacated her post, which she held for slightly more than two years. She was the fourth director of the agency, and the first Black woman to hold the position.
“I want to thank Crosland for her dedication to the nation, to the Military Health System and to Army medicine for the past 32 years,” Dr. Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said in a statement issued Friday.
Officials did not provide additional details on Crosland’s retirement, which came one week after President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth followed by firing Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations, and Gen. James Slife, the vice chief of the Air Force. That same day, Hegseth also said he would replace each military services’ top judge advocate generals because they were not “well suited” for the jobs.
Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, director of the Defense Health Agency, suddenly retired Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. She was the fourth director of the agency and the first Black woman to hold the position. (Defense Health Agency)
Dr. David Smith, the acting principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, was appointed as the acting director of the health agency on Feb. 28, 2025. (Military Health System )
Dr. David Smith, the acting principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, was appointed as the acting director of the health agency while the Defense Department conducts the nomination process. The director of the Defense Health Agency is a position held by an O-9, the second-highest military pay grade, which requires Senate confirmation to attain the post.
The Defense Health Agency was established in 2013 as a U.S. military combat support agency to manage medical services worldwide. The agency manages all military hospitals and clinics.
“Dr. Smith is a steady hand with decades of experience in the Military Health System in and out of uniform,” Ferrara said. “I ask everyone to support Dr. Smith and the entire DHA team as we stabilize and strengthen our system serving the most lethal fighting force on the planet.”
Crosland entered the Army as a medical corps officer in 1993. She has served in more than a dozen leadership positions including commander of the Army Health Clinic in Grafenwoehr, Germany, commander of the Army Medical Department Activity in Heidelberg, Germany, and deputy chief of staff for operations for the Army Medical Command in Falls Church, Va. Prior to becoming the agency director, Crosland served as the Army deputy surgeon general and deputy commanding general for the Army Medical Command.
