Dana Curtis Covey

Dana Curtis Covey (born March 27, 1951) is an American military veteran, orthopaedic surgeon, and professor. He is a clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of California, San Diego.

From 1973 to 2014, Covey served in the US Navy and was deployed to multiple wars and contingency operations, including Ernest Will, Desert Storm, Provide Promise, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and others. He has been a full-time academic since 2014 and an orthopaedic surgeon since 1990.

Early life and education
Born in Woodland, California, Covey received an appointment to the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, and received a bachelor of science in oceanography in 1973. He obtained a master of science in immunology/zoology from the University of Idaho, Moscow, in 1980. Covey then earned a medical doctorate in 1984 from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Naval
Covey served aboard USS STEIN (FF-1065) after graduation and commissioning from the U.S. Naval Academy, and deployed to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Arabian Gulf. He acquired designation as Surface Warfare Officer while onboard. He was then assigned to the Navy ROTC Unit, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, as an instructor and Assistant Professor of Naval Science, where he also completed his master of science degree. Following medical school at the University of Washington, Covey completed an orthopaedic internship and residency at Louisiana State University Medical Center from 1984 to 1989. During this time, he was selected commanding officer of Naval Reserve Naval Hospital, Jacksonville 210, and was deployed to the Persian Gulf with Commander, Middle East Force, and USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64) for the Operation Earnest Will contingency during the Iran-Iraq War.

After completing an orthopaedic surgery fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in 1990, and serving with Fleet Hospital 20, Covey served as a staff orthopaedic surgeon at Naval Hospital, Philadelphia, and then deployed for Operation Desert Storm, serving under 1st Marine Expeditionary Force with Fleet Hospital 15, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1, Det. Alpha, in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. He was then assigned to Naval Hospital, Bremerton, as the head of the Orthopaedic Surgery Department in 1991, where he conceived and led the development of a tent-based ambulatory surgery facility (Fleet Hospital Training Set) to help train surgeons, nurses, and corpsmen in using field medical equipment for actual patient care.

During the Yugoslav Civil War in 1994, Covey was deployed to Croatia as the director of surgical services and orthopaedic surgeon for Fleet Hospital 6 with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and Operation Provide Promise. Covey then received orders to Haiti with Fleet Hospital 5 as executive officer and the US Support Group Haiti Surgeon (J7) during Operation Uphold Democracy in 1997. In the same year, he was awarded the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Award for Excellence in Military Medicine. From 1997 to 1999, he was the director of surgical services at Naval Hospital, Bremerton, and executive officer of Fleet Hospital 5 from 1997 to 2001. He was the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Joint Task Force BRAVA in Sri Lanka during the Tamil War in 1998, and then in Vietnam in 2003. In addition, Covey was the director of surgical services at US Naval Hospital, Okinawa, Japan, from  2001 to 2003, where he conceived and led development of the Mobile Shipboard Surgical Suite, which was later renamed the Emergency Resuscitative Surgical System and is still in use today.

Covey served as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Marine Corps Forward Resuscitative Surgery Team 3/Shock Trauma Platoon 7 (FRSS-3/STP-7) in Al Anbar Province and Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 during the Fallujah campaign, and deployed again to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, with the Marines in 2005 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He was the Navy orthopaedic surgery specialty leader and consultant to the surgeon general from 1997 to 2006. In 2008, Covey received the Colonel Brian Allgood Memorial Award for Excellence in Military Orthopaedic Leadership. Covey was appointed as the OIC of the Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team-1/Quick Reaction Team (FRSS-1/QRT) and chief of professional services with the Marines in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from 2010 to 2011 serving at Combat Outpost Payne and Forward Operating Base Delaram II. Between 2004 and 2011, he was the chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Naval Medical Center, San Diego, where he led development of DoD's premier surgical training facility, and his department achieved the highest possible accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).He retired from the US Navy in 2014.

Academic
He began his academic career in 1977 as an assistant professor of naval science at the University of Idaho, Moscow. He was a clinical assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from 1991 go 1995. Since 2014, he has been a clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery at the School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego.

Covey is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and a member of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons.In 2019, he received the William W. Tipton Jr., MD Leadership Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, its highest award for leadership.

Research
Covey has contributed to studying and managing orthopaedic injuries on and off the battlefield. His work has markedly impacted the contemporary treatment of battlefield surgical care. In his research on managing blast and fragment injuries, the most common injuries that happen in modern warfare, he emphasized the unique nature of these injuries and highlighted modern surgical techniques suitable for treating battlefield injuries. He noted that these types of injuries are no longer confined to battlefields, as they are becoming more common among civilians due to the global rise in terrorism.

His articles on the challenges in managing musculoskeletal injuries among war trauma survivors explore new methods of care, including vacuum-assisted wound closure during transport and the significance of integrating civilian orthopedic trauma specialists in treating injured military personnel.

Covey’s studies on the cruciate ligaments of the knee have been included in the medical literature. His analysis of the biomechanics of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) has improved surgical techniques for optimal patient results. Evaluating the potential utility of gadopentetate dimeglumine-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as a tool for monitoring the progress of healing following ACL reconstruction surgery, his research showed that this technique could be a tool in clinical decision-making regarding postoperative care.

Selected articles

 * Covey DC.(1992)  Fleet hospitals could be better.  U S Naval Instit Proc; 118: 60-3.
 * Covey, C. D., & Sapega, A. A. (1993). Injuries of the posterior cruciate ligament. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American), 75(9), 1376-1386.
 * Covey, D. C., Sapega, A. A., & Sherman, G. M. (1996). Testing for isometry during reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament: anatomic and biomechanical considerations. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 24(6), 740-746.
 * Covey, D. C. (2001). Injuries of the posterolateral corner of the knee. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American), 83(1), 106.
 * Covey, D. C. (2002). Blast and fragment injuries of the musculoskeletal system. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American), 84(7), 1221-1234.
 * Covey DC, Hancock JL, Plurad DS (2005). The mobile shipboard surgical suite: a new approach to forward maritime surgery.  U S Nav Instit Proc 2005;131:76-7.
 * Covey, D. C. (2006). Combat orthopedics: a view from the trenches. JAAOS-Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 14(10), S10-S17.
 * Covey, D. C. (2009). From the frontlines to the home front: the crucial role of military orthopaedic surgeons. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American), 91, 998-1006.
 * Covey, D. C., Sandoval, K. E., & Riffenburgh, R. H. (2018). Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of bone-patellar tendon-bone and hamstring anterior cruciate ligament autograft healing in humans: a prospective, randomized study. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 6(10), 2325967118801916.
 * Covey, D. C., & Schwartz, A. K. (2019). Orthopaedic junctional injuries. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 101(19), 1783-1792.
 * Covey, D. C., & Gentchos, C. E. (2022). Field tourniquets in an austere military environment: A prospective case series. Injury, 53(10), 3240-3247.
 * Covey, D. C.  (2023). Decreasing lower extremity junctional and perineal injury from explosive blast with a pelvic protection system. Injury, 54(7):110784.

Military Honors

 * Legion of Merit with gold award star
 * Bronze Star Medal
 * Meritorious Service Medal with two gold award stars
 * Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with gold award star
 * Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with gold award star
 * Joint Meritorious Unit Award with Oak Leaf Cluster
 * Combat Action Ribbon
 * Navy Unit Commendation with two bronze service stars
 * Meritorious Unit Commendation with four bronze service stars
 * National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars, United States Department of Defense
 * Humanitarian Service Medal with bronze service star, United States Department of Defense
 * NATO Medal with bronze service star, North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Insignia

 * Surface Warfare Officer Insignia
 * Fleet Marine Force Warfare Officer Insignia
 * Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer Insignia

Civilian

 * 1979 – Phi Alpha Theta Academic Honorary
 * 1980 – Phi Sigma Academic Honorary
 * 1981 – Wilson Foundation Scholarship
 * 1984 – Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society
 * 1984 – Robert H. Williams Research Prize, University of Washington School of Medicine
 * 1984 – Graduation with Thesis Honors, University of Washington School of Medicine
 * 1988 – Zimmer Manuscript Award, American Orthopaedic Association
 * 1990 – North American Traveling Fellowship, American Orthopaedic Association
 * 1997–- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Award for Excellence in Military Medicine awarded as one of the nation’s top military physicians
 * 2003 – Sir Henry Wellcome Medal Prize for exemplary published medical research
 * 2006 – Presidential Guest Address, Orthopaedic Trauma Association
 * 2008 – Colonel Brian Allgood Memorial Award for Excellence in Military Orthopaedic Leadership
 * 2011 – Western Orthopedic Association Founding Father Distinguished Service Award
 * 2013 – Presidential Commendation, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
 * 2017 – Outstanding Service Award, Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons
 * 2019 – William W. Tipton Jr., MD Leadership Award, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

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