Dr.
Robert Brannon
Receives Prestigious
U.S. Air Force
Appointment
Dr. Robert Brannon,
professor in the
Department of Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology,
has received a tremendous
accolade from the U.S. Air
Force Office of the
Surgeon General. Dr.
Brannon, a retired U.S.
Air Force colonel, and an
internationally recognized
expert in oral and
maxillofacial pathology
and forensic dentistry,
has been appointed
Civilian National
Consultant in Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology to
the Air Force Surgeon
General. This three-year
appointment is equivalent
to the rank of a one-star
(brigadier) general. Dr.
Brannon is only the third
person to hold this
position.
|
Robert
B. Brannon, DDS,
MSD
Clinical
Professor, Oral
and Maxillofacial
Pathology |
Civilian National
Consultants to the Surgeon
General of the Air Force
serve as ambassadors to
their specialty field. The
consultant is expected to
advise the Air Force
Medical Service on
managing the residencies
and continuing education
programs of the field, to
serve as a clinical
subject matter expert, and
to be a model of
officership and
professionalism. In
carrying out the
responsibilities of this
high honor, Dr. Brannon
will provide advice on
advancements that might
have an impact on the
delivery of health care.
He will participate in Air
Force sponsored symposia
and seminars, contribute
to the development of
manpower standards, and
assist in the development
and coordination of Air
Force policy and proposed
research protocols.
"This rare honor is a
fitting tribute to someone
recognized by his peers as
a giant in the fields of
oral and maxillofacial
pathology and forensic
dentistry," said Dean
Henry Gremillion.
Dr. Brannon, a native of
Fort Worth, Texas, is a
graduate of Texas
Christian University.
After receiving his DDS
from Baylor College of
Dentistry in 1966, he
joined the U.S. Air Force
and completed a dental
internship at Travis AFB,
California. He continued
his training at Indiana
University where he
received an MSD in oral
and maxillofacial
pathology in 1973. During
his thirty-year career in
the U.S. Air Force, Dr.
Brannon was a faculty
member and chairman of the
Department of Oral
Pathology and director of
forensic dentistry at the
Armed Forces Institute of
Pathology. He joined the
LSU School of Dentistry
faculty in 1996.
Dr. Brannon has
participated in the dental
forensic identification of
numerous high-profile mass
disasters. Among these are
three aircraft accidents,
the 1978 Jim Jones mass
suicide of 913 people in
Jonestown, Guyana, and the
1983 terrorist bombing of
the U.S. Marine
Headquarters in Beirut,
Lebanon. Dr. Brannon was
the oral pathology
consultant during the 1981
repatriation of fifty-two
Americans held hostage in
Iran during the
revolution. He also was a
member of the dental
forensic identification
team in Operation Desert
Shield/Desert Storm and
the Battle of Mogadishu,
Somalia.
Dr. Brannon is a life
member of the American
Dental Association, a
fellow of the
International College of
Dentists, and a member of
the American Academy of
Oral and Maxillofacial
Pathology, where he has
been a fellow since 1974.
He is a diplomate of the
American Board of Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology, a
past director and
president of the American
Board of Oral and
Maxillofacial Pathology,
and a past president of
the Fellowship Committee
of the American Academy of
Oral and Maxillofacial
Pathology. He has authored
or co-authored 130
scientific articles,
abstracts and clinical
presentations in the
fields of oral and
maxillofacial pathology
and forensic dentistry.
"Dr. Brannon's 47-year
career shines a light on
serving the needs of
America during some of our
darkest hours. His work
has added substantially to
the body of knowledge in
the fields of forensics
and oral pathology," said
Dean Gremillion. “This
achievement and his
lifetime of achievement
also enhance the stature
of the LSU School of
Dentistry. He can stand
tall knowing that he has
contributed so much to so
many."
|