Brig. Gen. John Cho, who was suspended from his job as commanding general of Western Regional Medical Command, will not be returning to command, the Army announced Thursday.
"After an Army investigation, it was determined that Brig. Gen. John M. Cho failed to treat select subordinates with dignity and respect," said Lt. Col. Alayne Conway, an Army spokeswoman, in a statement. "While the investigation did not find a toxic command climate, nor did it find he failed to foster a healthy command climate, it did also determine that he failed to conduct a command survey as required by Army policy."
Cho, who was suspended in September by Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, the Army surgeon general and commander of Army Medical Command, will be reassigned to a staff position in the Office of the Surgeon General.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Tempel, who has been serving as the acting commander since Cho's suspension, will assume permanent command of Western Regional Medical Command, Conway said.
When it was launched, the Army investigation, conducted by the service's inspector general, was centered on the organization's command climate.
"Patient safety is at the forefront of everything we do in Army medicine," Conway said. "The staff of Western Regional Medical Command remain committed to healthcare excellence and to maintaining the trust and confidence of their patients and the community."
Patient care and safety were not affected during the investigation, Conway said.
Cho took command of Western Regional Medical Command in October 2013.
The command is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and it is responsible for 11 Army military treatment facilities and 11 Warrior Transition Units across 20 states.
The WRMC also is responsible for health care delivery to nearly 400,000 active, National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, their families, retirees and their families.
Cho, the first active-duty soldier of Korean descent to achieve the rank of brigadier general, most recently served as the deputy commander for support at Army Medical Command.
A West Point graduate, Cho is a cardiothoracic surgeon who completed residencies in general surgery at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Colorado, and cardiothoracic surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His command assignments include Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, six Army military treatment facilities across Europe, and Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, Colorado, according to information from WRMC.
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
