By Chief Master Sgt. Gonda Moncada
Texas Military Forces News
She is equally as comfortable among equestrian clients as she is discussing N1H1 with State Officials or participating in and planning Government Division of Emergency Division exercises. Colonel Connie Couch McNabb, DVM, has been appointed as the Director, Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters.
Col. McNabb, the previous State Surgeon, has once again switched gears and embarked on a new journey. She agreed to sit down with us to do an interview.
Q: Would you mind sharing a little of your background?
A: I am a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. That may sound like a strange qualification to end up in this job but in a way it is not so strange at all. Veterinarians focus on large-scale production and herd health. We serve clients everyday and experience how success gets down to management and leadership. Veterinarians assist clients who make a million decisions to keep a large operation of hundreds of individuals and millions of dollars of investment on track for years at a time. A client on one side of the road may be successful and another on the other side of the road may not be. I learned from a very early stage that it is all about management: (1) how to set the tone; (2) stay focused on where the organization is going; and (3) communicate the overall direction. Only then can all these different decisions add up and lead to an organizational success.
But to get back to your question, I hung up my veterinary shingle in North Carolina in 1981. Working a large animal practice, I served five counties in the mountains of North Carolina. But my goal was to work with quality horses because that is where my love was. I practiced veterinary medicine at Churchill Downs for seven years and juggled a large clientele. After 10 years of successful practice in this very physical and demanding field, I realized that I was ready for something different.
Q: Is that when you decided to join the military?
A: Not in that sense, but one day I came home at my usual time, 10 at night, looked at my mail and noticed a postcard. It said, “Are you ready for a change?” and I said to myself, “Yeah, I think I am.” I checked the box and mailed it. A couple of weeks later Tech. Sgt. Steve Jordan called me and said, “Here I am, Air Force Health Profession recruiter.” I said, “How in the world did you get my name?” and he said, “You checked the box on the postcard.” I am not super religious but God has made His presence known more than once. I felt it was a door I should walk through. The first Gulf War was just starting up, and I wanted to serve.
I became the Public Health Officer at Luke Air Force Base. My job was very much like being in practice. I provided the Wing Commander and Senior Leadership with the preventive medicine information they needed to keep their pilots and ground personnel fit, healthy and ready to deploy at any time, anywhere in the world. During my time at Luke, I met some Guard guys and gals, and I felt that maybe this was what I was looking for. I missed being a civilian but did not want to give up my military career. When a position in the Texas Racing Commission came up and people from around the country started sending me the application, I felt that it was another open door. I asked the Texas Air Guard, “If I go to Texas, is there a place for me?” and the reply was, “Oh yeah, there is a place for you; we need a public health officer at Ellington Field.” A few years later I joined the 149th Fighter Wing Medical Group in San Antonio. Col. Spermo gave me a lot of support, Col. Morrow gave the Group a National Spotlight and Col. John Nichols gave us the confidence and support to become Texas’s lead deployable medical team for disasters.
Q: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita happened while you were with the 149th Medical Group, and you and your people were tasked to provide medical help in New Orleans.
A: Yes, Katrina and Rita came along and got us national attention. Katrina was the big unknown. We were part of a large Texas Joint military organization, but we were nowhere near were we are today. Katrina taught us a lot of lessons. It was not only the pats on the back when we returned, but also the “what went wrong” discussion. We responded with everything we had but we knew that Katrina, organizationally, was not very pretty. We knew that as one part of the larger Texas response we had to do better. So the next several years we were passionate about working out the things that did not go well. I realized that I was a change agent now. We do not consist of blue people, or green people, but Texas Military Forces people. Culturally the Army Guard and the Air Guard are different, but the reality is that we are going to respond, and we are going to take care of business, not only in Texas, but in the region. I do not expect Army Guard to be painted blue, or the Air Guard to be painted green but now we know each other. We have established relationships. We have worked together. We are going to take care of each other, and we are going to take care of other people in need. This will take all of us including the State Guard and especially their medical folks.
Q: What is your vision for the future?
A: Right now, I have one big client, Maj. Gen. Mayorga, and his client is the Governor. We have some other pretty important clients called the legislature. We serve our country and Texas, and there are many things that we are expected to do. We are honest brokers. We cannot be all things to all people, but our commitment to the needs of Texans is not negotiable. We have good links to our strong Defense Support to Civilian Agencies (DSCA) partners who will also provide service. This position is not about me; it is about my clients. That is where I am now in the last few years as the State Surgeon here at Camp Mabry and now in this position.
Q: It seems that every year DSCA gets a bigger role. If there is something wrong in Texas, whatever that maybe, DSCA are there to help. The H1N1 flu virus seemed to explode into something much more devastating than what it fortunately turned out to be, and now the hurricane season is upon us. You have worked closely with Dr. David Lakey, Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, and many other agencies at the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management. Do you think that might have influenced the decision to place you in this position?
A: Maj. Gen. Mayorga’s decision to give me this opportunity certainly was like all the decisions he makes, based upon careful consideration of many factors. I would like to think that my background in recent DSCA operations gave me a record of performance and qualifications to join his team. I am grateful for the confidence he has shown me.
The reason the Governor depends on Texas Military Forces during emergencies is because the Guard brings a sense of stability and order. Citizens of Texas know that when the Governor “calls out the Guard” that you will be taken care of. We bring professionalism and tremendous capability, not just water and food. Our neighbors trust us. We are citizen soldiers. We live in these communities, and we are helping our neighbors. We are accountable to the civilian authorities. We are not taking over. We are here to help, and then when it is time for us to leave, we leave because we are citizen soldiers.
