Director of Medical Education
Lt. Col. (Dr.) David S. Garcia serves as the Director of Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. There, he oversees the training of more than 50 U.S. military officers in two Graduate Medical Education and two Graduate Allied Health Education specialty programs. Eglin Military Treatment Facility prepares its graduates to lead in serving the medical needs of the U.S. military across the globe. As a practicing family physician, Dr. Garcia is board-certified in family medicine. He also serves as an assistant professor of family medicine at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Garcia’s scholarly work is primarily in the realm of improving residency scholarship production and caring for breast cancer survivorship.
Dr. Garcia graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University in 2012. Dr. Garcia completed a military residency in family medicine at Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital (now Alexander T. Augusta Medica Center), Virginia in 2015, and completed a faculty development fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2024. Additionally, he completed professional military education during his uniformed career, including Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery Alabama.
Dr. Garcia is an active duty Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. He has served in the regular Air Force for ten years a family medicine physician. After his medical training, Dr. Garcia’s Medical Corps positions included staff family medicine physician, medical director, and flight commander. He was a founding member of the Air Force Medical Corps Captain Majors Leadership council. In GME, he has served as residency medical director, and associate program director for Eglin’s Family Medicine Residency. In 2020, he deployed to Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Freedom Sentinel.
Dr. Garcia’s awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster. He earned the Air Force’s Special Experience Identifier as an educator and as a researcher.
Dr. Garcia is a member of the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians, currently serving as the chairperson of the Practice Management Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association. Dr. Garcia is also a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.