1944 - 2007
A Message from the Assistant Secretary for Health – 11 July 2007
Fellow Commissioned Corps officers,
It is with great sadness that I inform you that RADM Robert F. Knouss passed away Tuesday night, July 10, 2007, after a lengthy battle with cancer. For nearly 35 years, RADM Knouss dedicated his life to the advancement of public health and the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. During his career, RADM Knouss served in a variety of positions including as the Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization and as Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness within the Department of Health and Human Services. His exemplary career culminated in his leadership of the Transformation of the Commissioned Corps. We are grateful for his many years of outstanding public service.
Please keep his family in your thoughts.
John O. Agwunobi
ADM, USPHS
Assistant Secretary for Health
A Message from the Acting Surgeon General – 11 July 2007
It is with much sadness that I inform you that we have lost a great friend and colleague in the public health family.
RADM Robert F. Knouss passed away Tuesday evening, July 10, 2007, after a lengthy battle with cancer. For nearly 35 years RADM Knouss dedicated his life to the advancement of public health and the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps).
I have personally lost a good friend in Bob Knouss. RADM Knouss brought me to Washington, D.C., almost three decades ago when he served as the director for the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Medicine in the Bureau of Health Manpower, Health Resources Administration. He was my first supervisor here in Washington, and we continued to work together in many different roles.
The Assistant Secretary for Health has already enumerated RADM Knouss’ previous assignments. Many of you know where his career had taken him, and how he contributed to the health and safety of our Nation. He served in a variety positions including as the Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and as Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness within the Department.
His exemplary career culminated in his leadership of the Transformation of the Commissioned Corps. This was a fitting CAPSTONE assignment for a man who dedicated his life to serving the Corps – an organization he loved so much.
RADM Knouss was a visionary, who was known for his hard work and tenacity. Whether he was examining refugees entering the United States or responding to an anthrax contamination on Capitol Hill, you knew that you could always count on him.
While we are saddened by his death, I know that RADM Knouss would want us to celebrate his life and remember his commitment to the Corps. His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of many of the USPHS Commissioned Corps members who knew him and in the Transformation of the Corps into the 21st century.
RADM Knouss was an outstanding leader and a great American, and I lead our officers in extending deepest condolences to his wife, Martha, and to Becca and Chris.
Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H.
RADM, USPHS
Acting Surgeon General