Alan M. Steinman, MD
 Rear
Admiral Alan M. Steinman was commissioned in the United
States Public Health Service as a lieutenant in July,
1972 to commence a military career of over 25 years
in the United States Coast Guard and the Public Health
Service. He served as senior medical officer at the
USCG Support Center, Elizabeth City, NC from July-September,
1972; as senior medical officer and flight surgeon at
USCG Air Station, Cape Cod, MA from 1973-1974; as senior
medical officer and flight surgeon at USCG Air Station,
Port Angeles, WA from 1974-1976, as senior medical officer
and flight surgeon at USCG Air Station, Astoria, OR
from 1976-1978; and as medical officer and flight surgeon
at USCG Support Center, Kodiak, AK from January to May,
1987. During these operational assignments, Dr. Steinman
flew on countless emergency medical helicopter evacuations
of ill and injured seamen, fisherman, recreational boaters,
loggers and military active duty personnel. His expertise
in emergency medicine and in cold-weather operations,
particularly in the areas of sea-survival, hypothermia
and drowning, let to his initial assignment at Coast
Guard Headquarters as the Chief of Special Medical Operations
from 1978-1982.
Dr. Steinman served as Medical Advisor for search
and rescue operations in the USCG HQ Search and Rescue
Division of the Office of Operations from 1982-1984.
He then attended the University of Washington in Seattle,
WA where he earned a Masters of Public Health. Following
his tour of duty at Kodiak, AK, he returned to USCG
HQ as the Chief of Clinical and Preventive Medicine
from April, 1987 to September, 1990. Dr. Steinman next
served under the U.S. Surgeon General (Dr. C. Everett
Koop) as the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs at USPHS
HQ from September, 1989 to February, 1990, following
which he served as Chief of the Medical Branch at USPHS
HQ until February, 1991. He returned to USCG HQ as Chief
of the Wellness Branch from February, 1991 to August,
1993.
RADM Steinman was selected for promotion to flag officer
in August, 1993 for the position of Director of Health
and Safety at USCG HQ (equivalent to both the Surgeon
General and Chief of Safety Programs for the other branches
of the armed forces). He retired from the Coast Guard
and the Public Health Service in September, 1997. Following
his retirement, Admiral Steinman was appointed to the
Presidential Special Oversight Board for Department
of Defense Investigations of Gulf-War Chemical and Biological
Incidents, where he served under Senator Warren Rudman
(R-NH) as the chief medical advisor for the Board from
July, 1998 to January, 2001.
Admiral Steinman’s educational degrees include
a Bachelor of Science in 1966 from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology; a Doctor of Medicine in 1971
from the Stanford University School of Medicine; and
a Master of Public Health in 1986 from the University
of Washington. His first post-graduate year in medicine
was at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester,
MN in 1971. Dr. Steinman also graduated from the U.S.
Navy School of Aerospace Medicine, where he earned the
designation of U.S. Navy Flight Surgeon in 1973.
Dr. Steinman is Board Certified in Occupational Medicine,
and is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive
Medicine.
During his years as a Coast Guard medical officer
and flag officer, Dr. Steinman designed, supervised
and implemented an emergency medical services system
for Coast Guard search and rescue operations, including
the establishment of an EMT training school and the
establishment of standardized emergency medical equipment
for use on CG helicopters and rescue vessels. Dr. Steinman
also co-developed an underwater escape breathing device
for use by Coast Guard helicopter pilots and crewmen
trapped within a capsized or submerged aircraft. He
co-designed the anti-exposure, fire-retardant protective
clothing used by CG helicopter crewmen in cold-weather
operations. He performed the only realistic, rough-sea
tests, to date, of protective clothing worn by USCG
and USN personnel, resulting in a more accurate estimation
of survival times for crewmen of aircraft and vessel
mishaps in heavy seas. In addition, he developed the
current survival time charts used by the USCG for search
and rescue operations. His research and publications
in hypothermia and cold-water survival won him the prestigious
1989 Arnold D. Tuttle Award from the Aerospace Medical
Association.
RADM Steinman designed and implemented the Coast Guard’s
highly successful Wellness Program, which included a
complete revision of the physical fitness programs for
recruits and officer candidates, implementation of an
aggressive anti-tobacco program, and revision of the
menus for all Coast Guard dining facilities.
During his tenure as Director of Health and Safety,
RADM Steinman managed a comprehensive health care program
for over 160,000 beneficiaries with a budget of over
$250 million. He also served as the Director of the
Coast Guard’s Safety and Environmental Health
programs, overseeing the safety of all USCG personnel.
Dr. Steinman has an international reputation in cold-weather
medicine, hypothermia and sea-survival. He is widely
published in these areas, including numerous articles
in medical journals and chapters in textbooks of emergency
medicine and cold-weather medicine. He has lectured
at various national and international conferences and
universities on hypothermia, sea-survival and drowning.
RADM Steinman’s decorations include the Distinguished
Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious
Service Medal, two USCG Commendation medals, the USCG
Achievement medal, the USPHS Commendation medal, two
USPHS Unit Commendation Medals, the USPHS Surgeon General’s
Medallion, and the USPHS Surgeon General’s Exemplary
Service Medal.
RADM currently serves as a consultant in cold-weather
medicine, and holds the position of Professional Affiliate
with the Health, Leisure and Human Performance Research
Institute at the University of Manitoba. He is a scientific
referee for various journals of environmental and occupational
medicine. He serves on the Honorary Board of Directors
for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, and he
is co-founder of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American
Veterans for Equal Rights. He makes his home in Dupont,
WA.
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