Colonel Norvell V. (Van) Coots began his military career in the Medical Service Corps as a 67K, Medical Logistician. Born in Oklahoma and raised in Virginia and Washington, DC, he is a graduate of the Benedictine High School Military Institute in Richmond. He attended the United States Military Academy, and Howard University, and received his commission through ROTC. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK.

He performed a Transitional Internship at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, TX, and after a two-year tour as a general medical officer in Korea, completed a Dermatology residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX.

Most recently, Colonel Coots served as the Com­mander of the Keller Army Community Hospital and as the 52nd Surgeon of the United States Mili­tary Academy. His previous assignments include: Commander, Andrew Rader Army Health Clinic, Ft. Myer, Virginia; Medical Staff Officer, Director­ate of Health Policy and Services at the Office of the Surgeon General; Deputy Commander for Clinical Services, USA MEDDAC, Heidelberg, Germany; Deputy V Corps Surgeon, Heidelberg, Germany; Chief, Dermatology Service, 67th Combat Support Hospital and USA MEDDAC, Wuerzburg, Germany; Commander, 150th Medi­cal Detachment (OB), Camp Carroll, Republic of Korea; Platoon Commander, 245th Medical Com­pany (CLR), 45th Infantry Division, OKARNG; Commander, 249th Medical Detachment (BB), 85th Medical Battalion, Fort Meade, MD; Com­mander, 212th Medical Detachment (OB), JTF-Al­pha, Republic of Honduras; Services Officer, 702nd Medical Company (CLR), 85th Medical Battalion, Fort Meade, MD; Services Officer, Expandable Pla­toon Leader, and Adjutant, 10th Combat Support Hospital (10th MASH), 85th Medical Battalion, Fort Meade, MD. 

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Colonel Coots is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. He holds active membership in the American College of Physician Execu­tives, the National Medical Association, the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, the Association of Military Derma­tologists, and the Washington DC Dermatological Society. He is a graduate of the Army War College with a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies, and is an alumnus of the Interagency Institute for Federal Health Care Executives. His awards and decora­tions include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal (4OLC), the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal (lOLC), the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, and the Order of Military Medical Merit. He has been awarded the Surgeon General's "/( Proficiency Designator in Dermatol­ogy.

Colonel Coots is a Knight of the Order of the White Greyhound; a benevolent order of Chivalry based in France and has been inducted into the Bessarabian Order as recognition for his benevo­lent service projects with the orphans of the Re­public of Moldova. He has also been recognized by the Pearl S. Buck Society for his work in the devel­opment of a healthcare program for the Amerasian orphans of Korea. He is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternities, and is a mem­ber of the American Academy of Dermatology's Leadership Circle on Volunteerism.