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Meet the New Chief Professional Officer for the Engineer Category |
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RADM Richard F. Barror is the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and a Senior Advisor,
Office of the Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration. As Chief Engineer Officer, RADM Barror is
responsible for providing leadership and coordination of PHS engineer and architect professional affairs
for the Office of the Surgeon General.
RADM Barror received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Loyola University in 1974 and a
Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Stanford University in 1975. In 1984 he received a Ph.D.
from the University of California at Davis in Environmental Engineering. He is a licensed Civil Engineer
in California, and was board certified by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers in 1987. Johns
Hopkins University awarded him a Master of Public Health degree in 1994. RADM Barror is also a 1998
graduate of the Federal Executive Institute’s Program, “Leadership for a Democratic Society.”
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Commissioned in 1975 and assigned to the Indian Health Service (IHS) in Alaska, he was responsible for the
design and construction of several water and wastewater projects for Alaska Native villages around the
State. In 1981, he transferred to the IHS Area Office in Sacramento as a design engineer. He became the
Sacramento District Engineer in 1983, responsible for staff in two field offices that provided engineering
services for more than 40 tribes, many with large housing construction projects funded by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
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RADM Barror transferred to IHS headquarters in Rockville in 1985 as the Deputy Chief of IHS’ Sanitation
Facilities Construction (SFC) Program. At the time, this nationwide program managed more than 400 active
construction projects totaling over $100 million annually. In 1993, he became the national Director of the
IHS SFC Program.
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From 1998 through 2000, RADM Barror was the Acting Director of the Office of Environmental Health and
Engineering. In this position, he directed, at the headquarters level, all the IHS engineering and
environmental health programs, which included the SFC Program, and the construction, maintenance, repair
and clinical engineering for IHS and tribally operated hospitals and staff quarters (49 hospitals, 197
health clinics). These environmental health and engineering programs had combined annual appropriations
of over $300 million, and included staff totaling approximately 1,500 people, including 340 engineers and
200 sanitarians, of which approximately 400 were commissioned officers.
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In 2000, RADM Barror was selected by Surgeon General David Satcher to be the Chief of Staff, Office of the
Surgeon General (OSG). In this position, he was responsible for the day-to-day operation and supervision
of the staff of the OSG. He served as a principal advisor to the Surgeon General and Deputy Surgeon General
on health and PHS Commissioned Corps issues. He coordinated OSG activities with the Office of the
Secretary, Federal agencies, Chief Professional Officers, Department of Defense, and non-government
entities such as the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service (COA), the Reserve
Officers Association (ROA), and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS). |
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Since 2003, RADM Barror has been a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Commissioner, Food and Drug
Administration. In the fall of 2005, RADM Barror also served as Executive Officer for the Secretary’s
Emergency Response Team (SERT) in Louisiana for the 4 weeks immediately after Hurricane Katrina and a
month later returned to serve 3 more weeks as the SERT commander. |
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RADM Barror is a member of several professional organizations including the American Academy of
Environmental Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of American Military Engineers,
AMSUS, COA, and ROA. He is a past Chair, Board of Directors, for the COA. Currently he is on the Board of
Managers for AMSUS. |
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His major awards include the PHS Distinguished Service Medal, three PHS Surgeon General Exemplary Service
Medals, a PHS Outstanding Service Medal, two PHS Commendation Medals, two PHS Achievement Medals, and two
PHS Citation Medals. He has also received numerous unit and service awards including the National Emergency
Preparedness Award and the Hazardous Duty ribbon. |
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