was then a Lieutenant Colonel, attended the Command General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Upon completion of the CGSC, he was sent to Frankfurt, Germany where he became the surgeon of the 3rd Armored Division. He served as such until 1968 when he was sent to an Army base in Vicenza, Italy where he commanded his first U.S. Army Hospital the 45th Field Hospital. Army Deputy Surgeon General In 1970, Méndez was promoted to Colonel and assigned to Washington, D.C. as chief of the Medical Corps Career Activities. In 1972, he was selected to go to the Industrial College of the Armed Forces for a year and then he was reassigned to Ft. Sam Houston, Texas to the Academy of Health Sciences. In 1975, he was assigned as the deputy chief of staff for operations of the Health Services Command and subsequently promoted to Brigadier General. Méndez was named Deputy Surgeon General and remained in that position until 1981 when he was named Commander of Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Méndez retired from the Army in June 1983 with the rank of Major General. Ponce School of Medicine In 1983, Méndez was offered the position of Dean of the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico He accepted and moved to the island with his wife. A year later he was named president of the institution. He served in said position for four years after which he accepted the position of Director of Damas Hospital in Ponce. He was appointed Secretary of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1989. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs In 1990, Méndez received a phone call from the White House personnel office and was asked whether he would consider the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Department of Defense. On December 5, 1989, President George H. Bush officially announced the nomination of Méndez for the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Among his responsibilities was to give health advice to the Secretary of Defense which at the time was Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney. He was responsible for a system of health care that included hospitals, medical clinics, and dental clinics scattered worldwide. Méndez served in said position from March 1990 until January 1993. Méndez joined the firm of Martin, Blanck & Associates, a federal health services consulting firm based in Falls Church, Virginia as a