Lieutenant Colonel (Dr.) Melinda Eaton is a Biomedical Scientist assigned to the Defense Health Agency as the Virtual Health Program Manager and Deputy Program Manager for Pharmaceuticals, Devices, and Medical Support Systems, Falls Church, Virginia. Originally from Spanish Fork, Utah, Lt Col Eaton was commissioned into the Air Force in 2001 after completion of her veterinary degree at Washington State University.
Throughout her Air Force career, she has served as Chief of Public Health for Altus Air Force Base in Altus, Oklahoma; Public Health Consultant for the Air Force Institute for Operational Health at Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, Texas; Public Health Consultant at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) in Dayton, Ohio; Public Health Flight Commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio; and Chief of the Epidemiology Consult Division at USAFSAM.
Additionally, she has had the opportunity to serve four overseas deployments with the Department of Defense in various Public Health and research positions in United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, including providing epidemiological support to Pacific Command following the earthquake in Japan in 2011.