JAMES C. MEREDITH, P.E.
Assistant Surgeon General
Rear Admiral, USPHS (ret.)
James Curtis Meredith was born in 1938 and commissioned as an Assistant Sanitary Engineer, (Ensign) on June 21, 1962. His first assignment was to the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, where he was the hospital facility engineer. He subsequently served in field/ staff engineer assignments with the Construction Grants Program, Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control, Bureau of State Services, Department of Health Education and Welfare in Atlanta, Georgia beginning in 1963, with the Indian Health Service (IHS) in Phoenix, Arizona in 1966, and with the Oklahoma City Area IHS beginning in 1969. He transferred to Hollywood, Florida in 1971with the IHS to establish the first field engineering station to serve the tribes in the Southern and Eastern United States.
In 1973, Meredith transferred to Nashville, Tennessee, were he was appointed Director of the newly established IHS Nashville Program Office, which in 1975 became one of 12 IHS Area Offices that serve Native Americans with primary and preventative health care services. Throughout his 21-year assignment as Area Director, he was instrumental in the development of comprehensive and quality health care delivery systems, including the construction of new hospitals and ambulatory clinics, serving 24 tribes from Maine to Texas. James Meredith served in several critical leadership positions within the IHS, including Chairman of the Council of Area Directors, Acting Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Agency in 1987.
In October of 1988, in recognition of his leadership responsibilities, professional competence, and accomplishments, CAPT James C. Meredith was appointed as an Assistant Surgeon General with the equivalent rank of Rear Admiral (RADM) Lower Half in the PHS Commissioned Corps. He was promoted to RADM, Upper Half, in October 1991.
RADM Meredith received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1962 from the University of Lexington, Kentucky and a Master of Science Degree in Sanitary Engineering in 1970 from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. He was the recipient of numerous PHS awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Outstanding Service Medal, Commendation Medal, two Citations, and the Hazardous Duty, Special Assignment and Isolated Hardship Service Awards.
RADM Meredith retired from active duty in June 1994 and currently resides in Old Hickory, Tennessee with his wife Sharon. He served as city engineer for the city of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee from 1994 to 2000 and was appointed city manager for one year in 2000. He currently provides engineering and project management consultation services to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, enjoys golfing and fishing, and is active in the local Middle Tennessee Branch of the Commissioned Officers Association, having served as past president for several years.
April 2008
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