Alan M. Steinman

Rear Admiral
Alan M. Steinman
MD, MPH, FACPM
RADM Steinman in 2013
Born (1945-02-07) 7 February 1945
Newark, Ohio
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, US Coast Guard
Years of service 1972–1997
Rank Rear Admiral (O-8)
Commands held US Coast Guard Director of Health and Safety
Awards Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit
Other work Presidential Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf-War Chemical and Biological Incidents, Transgender Military Service Commission

Alan M. Steinman (born February 7, 1945) is an American physician, retired American US Public Health Service (USPHS) rear admiral, former Chief Medical Officer of the United States Coast Guard (surgeon general-equivalent), and an advocate for the open service of LGBT people in the US military.[1][2][3][4]

Early life and education

Born in Newark, Ohio, Steinman moved to Los Angeles with his family as a young boy.[2][3] His father was a chemist and chemical plant owner and his mother was a housewife.[2][3] Steinman earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1966 and his medical degree from Stanford University in 1971.[2][3] Following medical school Steinman completed an internship at the Mayo Clinic.[2][3] Steinman also has a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington.[4]

Career

Attracted by the Coast Guard's (USCG) image as the country's "premier search and rescue agency" he joined the USPHS in order to pursue his interests in emergency medicine.[2][3] Steinman was commissioned by the USPHS as a lieutenant and assigned to the USCG in July 1972.[2][3][4] Following graduation from the U. S. Navy's aerospace medicine school at NAS Pensacola, Steinman qualified and served as a USCG flight surgeon.[1][2][3][4] As part of his duties as a flight surgeon, Steinman occasionally was required to be lowered and recovered from vessels at sea by a helicopter rescue basket.[3] These were the only times he ever felt his life was in danger during his Coast Guard service.[3] With the exception of Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Steinman was the lone physician on staff at all of his field duty stations.[3]

In 1993, Steinman was selected for promotion to flag officer to serve as the Coast Guard Director of Health and Safety.[4] In addition to his administrative duties he also did primary research on hypothermia and survival at sea.[3] Steinman retired from the USPHS in 1997 and later served on the Presidential Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incident investigating Gulf War syndrome.[3][4][5] Steinman is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.[6]

His military awards and citations include the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.[7]

Advocacy

US Rep. Marty Meehan (3rd from left) is joined in a 2005 photo by RADM Alan M. Steinman (4th from left) and other retired flag officers supporting the repeal of DADT.

After his retirement, Steinman came out publicly as a gay man in a 2003 New York Times news article featuring Brigadier General Keith Kerr (CSMR, ret.) and Brigadier General Virgil A. Richard (USA, ret.).[1][3] The three flag officers were made available to the Times by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network in a move timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Clinton administration's "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy concerning U.S. military service by gays and lesbians.[1][3] At the time, Kerr, Richard, and Steinman were the highest-ranking members of the military to publicly acknowledge being gay and they did so in an attempt to foment dialogue with the aim of getting DADT changed.[1][3]

In 2008, Steinman joined 103 other generals and admirals in signing an open letter calling upon President-elect Barack Obama to end DADT and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military.[8]. In 2014, Steinman joined with former US Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders to co-chair the Transgender Military Service Commission, sponsored by the Palm Center.[4][9] Among other things, the Commission found: "There is no compelling medical rationale for banning transgender military service, and medical regulations requiring the discharge of all transgender personnel are inconsistent with how the military regulates medical and psychological conditions."[9] The Commission's final report was published in the journal Armed Forces & Society.[4]

Publications

  • Barchas, JD; Ciaranello, RD; Steinman, AM (1969). "Epinephrine formation and metabolism in mammalian brain". Biol Psychiatry. 1 (1): 31–48. PMID 5367319.
  • Steinman, AM; Smerin, SE; Barchas, JD (1969). "Epinephrine metabolism in mammalian brain after intravenous and intraventricular administration". Science. 165 (3893): 616–617. PMID 5794397.
  • Hayward, JS; Steinman, AM (1975). "Accidental hypothermia: an experimental study of inhalation rewarming". Aviat Space Environ Med. 46 (10): 1236–1240. PMID 1180782.
  • Steinman, AM; Parris, L (1977). "Immersion hypothermia". Emerg Med Serv. 6 (4): 24–25. PMID 10236313.
  • Collis, ML; Steinman, AM; Chaney, RD (1977). "Accidental hypothermia: an experimental study of practical rewarming methods". Aviat Space Environ Med. 48 (7): 625–632. PMID 883932.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Files, John (10 December 2003). "Gay Ex-Officers Say 'Don't Ask' Doesn't Work". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Estes, Steve (29 March 2004). "Interview with Alan M. Steinman". Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center. US Library of Congress. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Estes, Steve (2009). Ask and Tell:Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-5955-1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Elders, M. Joycelyn; Brown, George R.; Coleman, Eli; Kolditz, Thomas A.; Steinman, Alan M. (1 April 2015) [Article first published online 2014]. "Medical Aspects of Transgender Military Service". Armed Forces & Society. 41 (2): 199–220. doi:10.1177/0095327X14545625.
  5. ↑ "Special Oversight Board". Presidential Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incident. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "ACPM Fellowship Directory". American College of Preventive Medicine. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Alan Steinman - Recipient - Military Times Hall Of Valor". Military Times Hall of Valor. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  8. ↑ "104 Generals And Admirals: Gay Ban Must End". Palm Center. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Former Surgeon General Faults Military's Transgender Ban". Palm Center. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
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