COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Col. James Weinstein, 14th Medical Group commander, relinquished command of the 14 MDG to Col. Fransisco Catalá on July 1, 2024, at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.
“Col. Weinstein has demonstrated a compassionate and focused leadership, spurred an organization towards mission success and incentivized innovation.” said Col. James Blech, 14th Flying Training Wing commander.
Weinstein led 156 Airmen, civilians and contractors to deliver medical support to one of the Air Force's busiest pilot training installations, supported 57,000 wing sorties per year and ensured ready and reliable medical care for a beneficiary population of 13,000. Weinstein also sustained a $32 million facility, oversaw $821,000 in home-station medical response support and directed an annual budget of $8 million.
“It has been the honor of my life serving this command team.” said Weinstein. “Col. Catalá, you will lead an amazing group of young men and women, and I look forward to continuing to receive my medical care here at the 14th Medical Group.”
Catalá served as the Pacific Air Forces Bioenvironmental Engineer and Deputy Chief of Aerospace Medicine, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. There, he served as an advisor to the PACAF commander, command’s surgeon, three numbered air forces and nine medical treatment facilities; set force health protection policy and plans for 107,000 personnel; supported the largest geographical combatant command with 40% of the global population and supported units on radiation health.
“Thank you for the opportunity to lead and support this mission.” said Catalá. “To the men and woman of the (14th) Medical Group: I wish the best for all of us and let's continue tackling all those challenges that come today, tomorrow and in the future.”
The 14 MDG enhances the flying mission through their medical response to flying emergencies, delivery of aerospace and operational physiology training and optimization of human performance. The medical and dental readiness of active-duty members and Undergraduate Pilot Training students assigned to the 14 FTW is their top priority. Cognizant of the requirement to always be “ready medics,” the 14 MDG instill the warrior ethos through optimal deployment skills training to meet both present and future contingencies. Furthermore, the 14 MDG promotes a healthy population by providing trusted care to enrolled beneficiaries, including disease management, health promotion and education for chronic illnesses.