Strengthening acquisition, research efforts will support warfighter readiness and military healthcare services

As retired Army Col. Matthew Clark assumed the role of assistant director for the Defense Health Agency's research, development, and acquisition enterprise, he stressed “the job is about delivering results and delivering support.”

Sworn in by DHA Director Navy Vice Adm. Darin K. Via Sept. 21 at Defense Health Headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia, Clark serves as the component acquisition executive and senior procurement executive. He brings more than 30 years of work in military operations, medical product development, public health, and national security. Before retiring from the U.S. Army in August 2026, he was commander of the SHAPE Healthcare Facility and U.S. Army Health Clinic Brussels in Belgium.

The “broad and diverse responsibilities” of the role felt right as his first civilian job, he said, because it lets him work with others who “have his shared values.” When looking for an opportunity, he adopted one of his favorite mantras: “To serve is to live.”

“That’s what drives my purpose, and what drives me to stay in military medicine,” Clark said.

As AD-RDA, he said his team is responsible for moving needed medical supplies and services to the force faster. This helps DHA improve patient care and provider support, in efforts to “deliver warfighter medical readiness, warrior currency, joint warfighter capabilities, and a healthcare enterprise that our dependencies deserve,” said Clark. “That is the core mission area of how I think I can help.”

DELIVER Care framework to guide enterprise

Clark’s vision to spearhead research, development, acquisition, and contracting work across the enterprise centers around his DELIVER Care framework, standing for “decisive effects through excellence, lethality, integration, velocity, enterprise partnerships, and readiness and resilience,” said Clark.

“Decisive acquisition success ultimately is about delivering the right product or service at the right time to achieve the mission,” he added.

In support of the DHA director's four strategic priorities, Clark said his framework advances DHA's role as a combat support agency through “acquisition excellence and mission alignment,” which he believes are the two most important functions of his position in delivering warfighter readiness.

“Through this alignment, we will deliver the capabilities at the speed of relevance,” he said. “Our immediate challenge is to ensure our teams are judged on mission outcomes and speed rather than strict adherence to legacy paperwork processes.”

Clark emphasized his team will explore what the “force needs, when it needs it, and how their work supports that need,” in putting the most qualified staff and resources behind the agency’s highest priorities.

Backed by accomplished military career, Clark brings solution-oriented approach

Clark highlighted his experience leading complex programs, including his time as medical chief executive at the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense, where he led more than $2.1 billion in medical countermeasure development, acquisition, and distribution.

He also served as lead program manager for all seven vaccine teams in Operation Warp Speed, and later led COVID-19 international response operations at the White House.

Clark plans to bring this comprehensive experience to a 30-60-90-day transition with his DELIVER Care framework.

During the first 30 days, he will “listen, assess, and frame the main challenges” facing the enterprise. He plans to meet teams across DHA in person, find barriers, review risks, and learn what flows well.

“I want people to tell me what isn’t working, and how we can fix it,” he said.

In the next phase, Clark plans to “turn those findings into a small set of priorities,” with each linking to the strategic priorities and its combat support mission. His team will also set clear goals, review risks, and strengthen the decision process.

At the 90-day point, Clark noted several targeted initiatives will launch with utmost leadership accountability, monitoring results with better data, clear measures, and a steady review process: “We want to show what works, what needs help, and where leaders should act.”

He said the plan calls for “faster acquisition, stronger portfolio oversight, and more effective work with partners inside and outside government.” Clark also plans to reduce low-value projects that slow delivery without helping the mission. If DHA is developing a capability, technology, or service, he said, “and it's not supporting readiness or resilience, then it doesn't belong with us.”

The enterprise team’s focus will be “being brilliant at the basics,” through setting a “clear plan, building a culture of trust and clarity, transparency, and disciplined execution,” he underscored.

Listening, learning from medical force and those they treat

The core focus of his role, Clark said, was his duty to the patients, families, and providers who rely on DHA each day.

He wants the research and acquisition enterprise to give providers the “best tools, products, systems, and services it can,” while being attentive to feedback from those who use them. This effort helps ensure the medical force is as ready as the warfighters they treat, he added.

By spearheading an enterprise that listens, sets clear priorities, and delivers useful capabilities, Clark emphasized he’s dedicated to enhancing DHA as it continues to be a “world-class combat support agency” in delivering timely, high-quality care to all beneficiaries.

“We want our providers, warfighters, and beneficiaries to know we are listening, and we are learning from you,” he urged, while highlighting his bottom line: “Everything we do is about delivering care.”

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