The President today announced his intention to nominate Enrique Mendez, Jr., to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. He would succeed William E. Mayer.
Since 1989 Dr. Mendez has served as the secretary of health for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in San Juan, PR. In 1988 he served as the medical director of the Damas Hospital in Ponce, PR. Prior to this, he served as president and dean of the Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico, 1984 - 1987, and dean of the Ponce School of Medicine, 1983 - 1984. From 1955 to 1983, Dr. Mendez served in the U.S. Army, and he has served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the Army and commanding general of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He retired from the Army as a major general in 1983.
Dr. Mendez graduated from the University of Puerto Rico (B.S., 1951) and Loyola University of Chicago (M.D., 1954). He was born July 15, 1931, in Santurce, PR. Dr. Mendez is married, has four children, and resides in Caparra Heights, PR.
George Bush, Nomination of Enrique Mendez, Jr., To Be an Assistant Secretary of Defense Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/264061