Navy Surgeon General Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson, Jr. was the recipient of the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service from the American Medical Association (AMA), according to a feature on the Navy website.

The award, which is AMA’s top government service award, was given to Vice Adm. Robinson in recognition of his “prominent career and accomplishments in military medicine.”

Ardis Dee Hoven, M.D., AMA Board Chair, said: “Through the Nathan Davis Awards, the AMA salutes government officials who go above and beyond the call of duty to improve public health… Award winners come from every branch of government service and are a testament to the important role public officials play in creating and implementing health policy that benefits Americans.”

The Navy Surgeon General is the most senior medical corps officer in the U.S. Navy. Vice Adm. Robinson assumed the post in 2007, and also serves as Chief for the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The Navy Surgeon General serves as the leader of 63,000 Navy Medicine personnel who are serving at expeditionary medical facilities, medical treatment facilities, hospitals, clinics, hospital ships, research units, and within the TRICARE network, in various locations all over the world.

In accepting the award, Vice Adm Robinson said: “This award is not entirely my own… As leaders of any government organization will tell you, we are only as good as the people with whom we place our trust and confidence to carry out our mission. Similarly, I would not be here today without the trust instilled in me and the nomination from the Secretary and the Navy, the Honorable Ray Mabus; and the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead. I am everyday grateful for that trust and the opportunity to lead Navy Medicine.”

The award was given during a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on February 9.