Colonel (COL) James Jones, PhD, PA-C, currently serves as the Director, Medical Capability Development and Integration Directorate (MED CDID) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
COL Jones is a licensed physician assistant, researcher, instructor, and executive manager with an exemplary record of successful medical program development, tactical execution and clinical care across 32 years of military service. He has had the opportunity to provide health care and input on policy at the highest levels of the U.S. government and has specialized in preparing for and responding to emergencies, disasters, and other challenging conditions around the world.
Colonel Jones earned a Masters of Physician Assistant Studies Degree with specialization in Family Medicine from the University of Nebraska and later graduated with a PhD in Health Science with a major in International Research and Education from Trident University, CA. He is a graduate of the US Army War College, completed a tactical medical officer fellowship at the White House and a Protective Medicine Fellowship with a focus in cardiopulmonary critical care resuscitation at the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix AZ.
COL Jones has served in a variety of roles to include Platoon Leader, Company Commander, Clinic Commander, Director of Training, Chief Operations Officer, Director of the Medical Evaluation and Treatment Unit, White House Medical Unit and Branch Chief, Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) and Professor of Cardiology. He served as a Deputy Director and Faculty Member for the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Faculty Associate at the University of Phoenix, and appointed as an Assistant Professor, Baylor University.
COL Jones was appointed by President Obama as the PA to the President and continued in that role until October 2018. He served as the first PA Deputy Director and Chief of Protective Medicine White House Medical Unit to serve the President and Vice President of the United States. In March 2020, he was appointed as the Chief Medical Advisor, Executive Office of the President and served on the COVID Task Force. In addition to caring for the president, vice president, their families, and other senior U.S. Government officials, Colonel Jones traveled to more than 94 countries planning medical contingency operations for both official presidential and vice presidential visits.
Colonel Jones was awarded the 2021 AAPA Military Service Award, has numerous publications, lectured both nationally and internationally, and currently is the Editor-in Chief for Cardiology StatPearls. He has received multiple awards to include the Secret Service Life Saving Award, Presidential Support Badge, Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters and Joint Commendation Medal. He has earned the Expert Field Medical Badge, Flight Surgeon Badge, and the German Armed Forces Efficiency Badge. He is also a member of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara, Order of the Spur, and inducted into the Order of Military Medical Merit. He is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants in Primary Care and Emergency Medicine. He is married to his wife Jennifer and has two sons, CPT (P) James Jones, Jr, Medical Corps, Dermatologist, and Mr. Justin Jones who is an IT Manager in Arlington, VA.
Acknowledgments: This biography was prepared by COL James Jones and submitted on October 2021. The photograph is courtesy of COL Jones.
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