Preserving Our Past, Capitalizing on the Present, Embracing the Future

Superintendents and Chiefs of the Army Nurse Corps 1901 - 2019

Today's Army Nurse Corps is the product of the wisdom, foresight, and strength of its past leaders. From its founding in 1901, it greatly benefited from a series of remarkable leaders who led it through peace and war, laying a sound foundation for the great organization it is today. The Corps has also been fortunate to have the skills of talented nurse historians such as Colonel (Retired) Mary Sarnecky, DNSc, who wrote biographical sketches of the first fourteen Superintendents and Chiefs of the Army Nurse Corps, and in 2003 generously donated them to ANCA for publishing on the web.  

In 2013 Dr. Sarnecky did an update of the series, and in 2021, Colonels (Retired) Karen Gausman and Nancy Molter combined forces to update the page with short bios of the three most recent Chiefs.

Full official portraits are shown for all. Our thanks to the Army Medical Department Museum, custodian of the framed oil portraits of the earlier Chiefs and Superintendents.  

Mrs. Dita H. Kinney 15 Mar 1901 - 31 Jul 1909
Miss Jane A. Delano 12 Aug 1909 - 31 Mar 1912
Miss Isabel McIsaac 1 Apr 1912 - 21 Sep 1914
Captain Dora E. Thompson 22 Sep 1914 - 29 Dec 1919
Major Julia C. Stimson 30 Dec 1919 - 31 May 1937
Colonel Julia O. Flikke 1 Jun 1937 - 30 Jun 1943
Colonel Florence A. Blanchfield 1 Jul 1943 - 30 Sep 1947
Colonel Mary G. Phillips 1 Oct 1947 - 30 Sep 1951
Colonel Ruby F. Bryant 1 Oct 1951 - 30 Sep 1955
Colonel Inez Haynes 1 Oct 1955 - 31 Aug 1959
Colonel Margaret Harper 1 Sep 1959 - 31 Aug 1963
Colonel Mildred Irene Clark 1 Sep 1963 - 31 Aug 1967
Brigadier General Anna Mae Hays 1 Sep 1967 - 31 Aug 1971
Brigadier General Lillian Dunlap 1 Sep 1971 - 31 Aug 1975
Brigadier General Madelyn N. Parks 1 Sep 1975 - 31 Aug 1979
Brigadier General Hazel W. Johnson 1 Sep 1979 - 31 Aug 1983
Brigadier General Connie L. Slewitzke 1 Sep 1983 - 31 Aug 1987
Brigadier General Clara M. Adams-Ender 1 Sep 1987 - 31 Aug 1991
Major General Nancy R. Adams 27 Nov 1991 - 1 Dec 1995
Brigadier General Bettye H. Simmons 2 Dec 1995 - 31 Jan 2000
Brigadier General William T. Bester 1 May 2000 - 1 June 2004
Major General Gale S. Pollock 2 June 2004 - 26 July 2008
Lieutenant General Patricia D. Horoho 27 July 2008 - Dec 2011
Major General Jimmie O. Keenan 12 Jan 2012 - 3 Nov 2015
Major General Barbara R. Holcomb 4 Nov 2015 - 1 July 2019