Who We Are

Army Colonel Robert W. Saum

Director,
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)

Saum received his Bachelor of Science Degree, from the University of Massachusetts. He completed his Master in Educational Psychology at the University of San Francisco and Doctoral degree in Cognitive Studies as a dual enrollment at the University of San Francisco and Canterbury University, United Kingdom. He holds an International Diploma in Humanitarian Assistance from the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Fordham University, New York.

Saum’s military education includes, Homeland Security Medical Executive Course; Strategic Medical Readiness and Contingency Course, International and U.S. Senior Military Medical Leadership Program; the Defense Medical Readiness and Training Institute Combat Casualty Management Echelon III Course; DoD Modeling and Simulation Staff Course; Navy Strategic Medical Readiness and Contingency Course; Navy Leader Development Program, Division Officer Advanced Course; Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Executive Skills Course; Medical Officers’ Basic and Advanced Courses; Instructor Training Course (Master); AMEDD Pre-Command Course.

Previous assignments have included: Behavioral Health Science Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, DC; Associate Director (Medical) Joint Advance Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory, Orlando, Florida, Chief Learning Officer 2nd Medical Brigade; Commander, Nurse Battalion (PROV), 5th Brigade (HS), 104th Division (IT), Vancouver, Washington; Deputy Chief of Staff, 104th Division (IT), Vancouver, Washington; Director of Medical Courses, 6227th United States Army Reserve Forces School, Presidio of San Francisco; Company Commander, E Co, 50th General Hospital, Ft. Lewis, Washington; Operations / S-3, 50th General Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He has a combined total of over six years with the Navy as a Tri-Service exchange officer, which included service aboard an aircraft carrier, and within the Naval Hospital in San Diego. He served as Commander, 2nd Medical Brigade (rear) and Director of its WMD program. He was concurrently assigned as Interagency Liaison Officer to The Office of the United States Surgeon General. Saum served as Senior Interagency (Medical) Coordinator WMD Operations and Incident Management, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Science and Technology. 

Saum’s awards include the Legion of Merit Soldier’s Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the National Defense Medal with Bronze Star, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal—Government of Kuwait, the Senior Airborne Badge, Special Forces Tab.  Saum is a member of the Order of Military Medical Merit.

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