Ellen P. Embrey is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. She oversees Department-wide efforts to develop and implement policies and programs relating to DoD deployment medicine, force health protection, national disaster support, and medical readiness for 2.3 million Service members. She directs her Health Affairs and TRICARE Management Activity staffs to proactively initiate policies and programs that address deployment-related health threats to the welfare of U.S. Service members and their families, as well as integrate medical lessons learned from previous conflicts into current policy, doctrine and practice. This dynamic process involves all components of the military health care system, emphasizing the relationship between military medicine and the fighting forces it supports. The health care policies and programs overseen or developed under Ms. Embrey’s direction have ensured the health care needs were met for the more than 1.4 million Service members who have deployed to Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom since 2001, as well as providing comprehensive deployment health information to their families. Before coming to Health Affairs, Ms. Embrey held a variety of senior and executive level positions in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OASD/RA) from 1987-2002, where she worked to ensure that the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces, which make up more than half of the U.S. military, were adequately trained, equipped and ready to serve when required. Prior to her OASD/RA assignments, Ms. Embrey held staff and management positions at the Defense Contract Audit Agency Headquarters (1981-1987) and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (1978-1981). She began her career as a management intern at the U.S. Civil Service Commission (1976-1978), following her graduation from Virginia Tech in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree.