About the Author: R. Carlton (Rob) Jones joined the military
at age 17, when he raised his right hand to support and defend the Constitution of the United States as an Air
Force ROTC cadet at Det. 365, Harvard/Wellesley/Tufts/M.I.T. While commuting to ROTC classes at M.I.T., the author
was spat upon by communist sympathizers for wearing the uniform of his country. He was commissioned as a second
lieutenant, USAFR, on 5 June 1985, in front of John Harvard's statue. On 6 June 1985, Rob was graduated from Harvard
College Cum Laude (General Studies) with an AB in Evolutionary and Organismic Biology (and a strong, but unofficial,
minor in East Asian Languages and Civilizations). Subsequently, Rob was admitted to the military medical school,
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), in 1986. Because of his outspoken support of military
medical ethics and fairness, Rob was chosen as the first student voting member of USUHS' Promotions Committee.
He fell in love with the medical specialty of anesthesiology at Naval Hospital Bethesda, under the guidance and
mentorship of CAPT (Dr.) Honorato F. Nicodemus, whose successor, CAPT (Dr.) Alvin Manalaysay, was subsequently fired as department chairman for refusing to allow independent
practice of nurse anesthetists at the Navy's flagship hospital. The author was given a Regular Commission as a
Captain (O-3) upon his graduation from medical school in May, 1990. He served his internship at Malcolm Grow USAF
Medical Center, Andrews AFB, MD, from 1990-91, during which time he had the honor of caring for casualties of Operation
Desert Shield/Storm. After serving an extremely successful anesthesiology subinternship at Wilford Hall USAF Medical
Center during his fourth year of medical school, Rob was given the nearly-unprecedented honor of being accepted
into anesthesiology residency straight out of internship, rather than having to serve 2+ years as a flight surgeon
or GP, as was usual Air Force policy at the time. After finishing anesthesiology residency, Rob was transferred
to Travis AFB, CA, where he served as Medical Director of Anesthesia from October, 1997, until he was fired in
January, 1999 for insisting on Medical Direction of Anesthesia. After nearly being transferred to Elmendorf, Alaska,
for three years unaccompanied without his three children (all of whom had special needs at the time), Air Force
Personnel Center reluctantly transferred him back home to Andrews AFB, Maryland. There, Rob continued to speak
out for patient safety and the rational practice of his beloved specialty, anesthesiology, both of which he saw
as being endangered by severe shortages in personnel and infrastructure at Andrews, as well as by a toxic and micromanagerial
workplace environment. As a result, one surgeon Squadron Commander slapped him with a Letter of Reprimand (subsequently
lowered to Letter of Admonishment...the same punishment doled out to General Karpinski of Abu Ghraib infamy), a
second Letter of Reprimand, and a Letter of Counseling for speaking uncomfortable and embarrassing truths to power.
In July, 2002, Rob was deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey, as the only physician anesthesiologist in-country in support
of Operation Enduring Freedom. After objecting to overtly religious signs posted by the hospital commander's wife
around the holidays, 2003, Rob was personally appointed by that General officer as one of the two ranking members
of the 89th Medical Group "Spiritual Life Committee", where he continued to speak out against what he
saw as unconstitutional intrusion of evangelical Christianity into the Federal Military workplace. From 2002-2004,
Rob was honored to instruct first-year medical students at his alma mater, USUHS, on the physiology of oxygen and
carbon dioxide from an evolutionary perspective; his entertaining and controversial lectures garnered wide praise
(and occasional creationist criticism) from faculty and students. From 1997-2005, Rob lectured on the Internet
and Network Security to international conventions of anesthesiologists and other physicians. After serving his
full 11 years of military commitment after residency (4 years for ROTC, 7 for USUHS), Rob resigned his Regular
Commission as a Lieutenant Colonel and walked away from all retirement benefits on 30 June 2005. This website,
and Rob's books, are intended to answer the Frequently Asked Question: "Why the (bleep) would you walk away
with 15 years toward retirement?"
On 1 July 2005, Rob started in civilian private practice a few miles away from his childhood home. There, he has
enjoyed respectful and successful working relationships with nurse anesthetists, Physician Assistants, and RNs,
in the spirit of the anesthesia care team model he so forcefully advocated during his years on active duty. Rob
is supported by his wife,Whay, USUHS class of 1989, who is a family practitioner in private practice near Annapolis,
M.D. They are the proud parents of three handsome boys. In his spare (heh) time, Rob enjoys practicing his 6 foreign
languages, playing online wargames, researching and lecturing on internet security, and cooking gourmet meals.
