Parham is DeCA’s new director of public health, safety
FORT LEE, Va. – Army Lt. Col. Angela M. Parham is the Defense Commissary Agency’s new director of public health and safety, announced Rogers E. Campbell, executive director of DeCA’s Store Operations Group.
She replaces Army Col. Alisa R. Wilma, who moved on to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as the deputy commander for DOD’s Regional Health Command-Central.
Parham reports to DeCA June 21 from United States Army Central Command (USARCENT) headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, where she was the command veterinarian. There she was responsible for overseeing USARCENT’s veterinary services mission that encompasses animal health, zoonotic disease risk mitigation and food protection activities.
As DeCA’s director of public health and safety, Parham leads a staff in Asia, Europe and the United States that plans and implements the agency’s consumer health and safety programs. Her directorate oversees health and safety site visits to commissaries and other DeCA facilities to include disposition of issues identified. Parham’s staff also acts as DeCA’s liaison with other military and federal public health, food safety, and personnel safety elements.
“Lt. Col. Parham has had a world of experience in the realm of health and safety,” Campbell said. “We’re confident that she’ll lead our dedicated team of civilians and military members as we continue to ensure the products in our commissaries and the stores themselves are the safest possible.”
Parham has been a veterinarian for 22 years, graduating veterinary school in 1997 from the University of Georgia. She subsequently entered active duty as a captain in the Army Veterinary Corps. Her previous assignments included stops at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; Camp Walker, South Korea; Fort Gordon, Georgia; and Fort Wainwright, Alaska, where she was commander of the Alaska District Veterinary Command.
During her assignment at USARCENT, Parham, though stationed in Shaw Air Force Base, traveled frequently to the Middle East, working in Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Afghanistan, Oman, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
From 2014 to 2016, she completed an applied epidemiology fellowship with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, working in Atlanta, Georgia, and deploying to Sierra Leone.
From 2013 to 2014, Parham served as the command veterinarian for the Area Support Group-Kuwait at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, where she supervised clinical and preventive veterinary services in Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Oman.
“I’m excited to be part of Team DeCA and connected to its mission of ensuring our patrons get the most efficient, effective and safest benefit possible,” Parham said. “I know our staff at public health and safety will continue to work tirelessly to help protect our patrons and employees.”
Parham earned both her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree in biological services (1991) and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (1997), from the University of Georgia. She also earned a Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine degree (2008) from Texas A&M University.
Parham is a board certified Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Preventive.
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About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.