Jan. 12, 2026 | By Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs/Military Health System
Keith Bass, a retired U.S. Navy commander and career health care leader dedicated to delivering health services to active duty military and veterans, was sworn in Jan. 12, 2026, as the assistant secretary of war for health affairs.
Bass succeeds Dr. Lester Martinez-López, who held the position 2022-2024. Dr. Stephen L. Ferrara has been serving as the acting assistant secretary since January 2025 and will now serve as principal deputy assistant secretary of war for health affairs.
“It is the highest honor and a profound privilege to be entrusted with the health and well-being of our Nation's warfighters and their families,” said Bass, who was confirmed by the Senate on Jan. 5, 2026. “I am deeply committed to delivering the best health care possible and to continue in service to those who serve.”
As the former medical center director for West Texas VA Health Care System, Veterans Integrated Service Network 17, Bass managed health care services for more than 24,000 veterans, an operating budget of $153 million, and thousands of employees. He brings a decades-long career of overseeing comprehensive health care systems across government, the military, and the public.
During his career, Bass became the CIA’s first nonphysician director of the Office of Medical Services, leading teams of hundreds of physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and clinical psychologists who delivered health care to the agency’s workforce.
As a former director of the White House Medical Unit, he managed medical care to the president, the vice president, and their families. Before his position at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bass was the senior vice president at GlobalMed, managing virtual patient care programs and telehealth services for agencies including the VA, Department of War, Defense Health Agency, and the White House.
Bass said he will leverage his comprehensive, interagency leadership experience to champion exceptional health care to warfighters and families he will serve. “I am deeply committed to forging a seamless, world-class healthcare experience that supports our uniformed personnel and their families from their first day of service to their last, and continues to care for them as veterans,” he said. “Our warfighters and families deserve nothing less than the absolute best.”
Bass earned undergraduate degrees in psychology and rehabilitation science from Arkansas Tech University, and a master’s of science in rehabilitation counseling from University of Arkansas. He also holds a master’s in business administration and master’s of health care administration from Texas Women’s University, and a graduate certificate in legislative affairs from Georgetown University.
To read his complete biography, visit www.health.mil/KeithBass.
