What inspired you to become part of the dental profession?
My grandfather was a dentist, but he wasn't the impetus that made me move in that direction. I had a friend in the military by the name of Fred Sykes who went to dental school and now has a practice in Columbia, South Carolina. He was four years ahead of me, and I followed in his footsteps. While being assigned to the infantry, I was tired of sleeping on the ground. I needed a change in my life after six years in the Army. My perspective on life also had changed, as I was now married and had a child.

How long have you been involved in the profession?
I graduated in 1982 from Meharry Medical College, School of Dentistry. I was a general dentist by profession and then decided to rejoin the Army. My wife, who is an Army nurse stationed at Fort Bragg, and I have always supported each other over our 29 years together. When I graduated, we decided that I would go back into the Army to practice dentistry. This opportunity would provide a stable income for us and at the same time, would allow her the chance to return to school. After 10 years of active duty, I decided the first 10 years weren't so bad, so I stayed. Here I am 27 years later. Every time I think it's time to go, there is something challenging that keeps me here. Some dentists practice their whole lives in one small town and never leave. With the Army, I have the opportunity to travel all over the world and practice.

Every Army installation has a dental clinic. I oversee the entire Army Dental Corps Health System for about 4,000 troops. When you are a member of the U.S. Army Dental Corps team, every three to four years you are moved to a different location. This allows you to develop your leadership skills in various ways, and provides the dentists and their families the opportunity to experience different cultures.

What is your specialty, and how did you get there?
I am a comprehensive general dentist who has elected to follow the "command" track. My first command was in Monterey, California, where we had one clinic with four dentists and a staff of 15 serving triservices Army, Navy and Air Force. Then, I was selected to command in Georgia, with four clinics and 125 people serving 15,000 soldiers.

Our number one mission is to get soldiers ready to be deployed around the world. It's a different kind of dentistry in the Army than in the civilian community. You're not able to build long relationships with patients because soldiers and the providers move on. You can develop a treatment plan for one patient, and you may never see him/her again because someone else is treating that patient. But everyone else in our health care system sees the quality of your work, so you have to be sure you're doing a good job.

How do you address health care disparities among minority populations within your profession?
From my point of view, America is built on economics. There are poor blacks and there are poor whites who don't get proper care in this country.

What do you like best about working in the field?
In the military, no one is restricting my practice. I can do whatever patients need because they are not paying for it. If a soldier needs X, he gets X. It's a needs-based industry in the military. There is nothing to gain by shortchanging soldiers.

What, if any, barriers or challenges have you personally had to overcome?
Challenges yes. I had prostate cancer last year. Because of the quality of Army or military medicine, I was screened, diagnosed, successfully treated and returned to duty within a very short period of time.

What are the greatest challenges within the profession?
There are still some pockets of white patients who don't want black dentists to treat them. That's America. The Army as far as race relations or real opportunity is concerned, is the fairest place I've found for a black male. As long as you produce, you get a fair shake. One of my strategies during these 27 years was to find the highest-producing dentist on staff and then outproduce him or her. I wanted to prove that I was both competent in my profession and productive.

In the Army, as well as the other uniformed services, you have a dual profession in military dentistry. One profession is being a dentist; the other profession is being an Army officer. You have the role of leading soldiers and running an organization that can be successful in both war and peace.

Soldiering is one profession where you have no idea sometimes where you are going to lay your head at night. On any given day, you can be given orders to go somewhere in the world to support a mission that our nation requires us to complete. We oversee dental care for soldiers stationed in 23 countries. In some places we have dental clinics; in other places we create them in schools, churches or in empty buildings. In the Dental Corps, dentists receive additional specialized training to deal with Advanced Trauma Life Support.

What is your proudest accomplishment?
I have stayed married to the same woman for 29 years. [He lives in Texas and she lives in North Carolina; they see each other every five to six weeks.] To be successful you have to make sacrifices. We both have our professions right now. There was a time when I was "Mr. Mom" so she could do what she needed to do. We both grew up poor. I remember when I was a kid and not having electricity because my mom couldn't afford to pay the bills. Now, my wife and I are developing our nest egg so we can leave something to our children.

Who is/are your role model(s) or mentor(s)?
Several people have helped me to develop into a good Army officer and dentist: General Larry Ellis, FORSCOM Commander, whom I met at Morgan State University; my classmate, Lieutenant General William "Kip" Ward, who is the commander of all U.S. Forces in the Balkans; Dr. Rick Warrington; and Dr. Fred Sykes.

What are your plans for the future?
To join a private practice group in Fayeteville, North Carolina.

What words of wisdom do you have for students just graduating?
Try the military. It gives you the opportunity to build both clinical and people skills, and makes you a better practicing dentist. After dental school, you need a place in which to grow and hone your skills. The military offers guaranteed income and a climate that promotes leadership growth potential. It's an opportunity to figure out what you want to do with dentistry and allows you to serve your country as well.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to golf, play racquetball and outdoor sports.