Army Lt. Col. Vietor reflects on his student days at USU, his accomplishments as a USU leader, and his 10-year journey in between.
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| Army (then) Maj. Robert Vietor, right, watches as a Navy student practices bag-mask ventilation on an airway trainer during Transition to Clerkship airway skills training in January 2021. (Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU) |
October 14, 2026 by Melissa Reichley
A large trophy sits on the office bookcase of U.S. Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Robert Vietor, a 2010 School of Medicine (SOM) graduate who now chairs the Department of Anesthesiology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). It’s a souvenir from winning the National Naval Medical Center softball tournament when he was a first-year medical student, and one of many lasting reminders of the camaraderie, team work, and great memories he has from his student days.
Vietor returned to USU in 2020 as Anesthesiology clerkship director, vice chair for education, and associate professor. He became one of USU’s youngest department chairs in 2024, and has been reshaping the curriculum and mentoring future military physicians ever since.
Early Ambitions and Inspiration
Vietor (pronounced “VEE-der”) knew he wanted to become a physician after he got appendicitis at age 15. In high school, he got a letter from West Point inviting him to visit. He didn’t think he’d get in.
As a sophomore at West Point, his academic counselor asked if he had considered applying to USU. Again, he wasn’t sure if he’d get in. “I just assumed I would do my five years in the Army after West Point, get out, and then go to medical school,” he says. Again, he was accepted, setting the trajectory for his career as a military doctor and leader.
The St. Louis, Missouri, native easily rattles off a list of moments, large and small, that defined his years as a USU med student. He played frisbee every week, spent countless hours studying in the library or MDLs (multidisciplinary labs), completed Airborne School, ran the Marine Corps Marathon, and served as an officer in the Family Medicine interest group.
He remembers taking neuroanatomy with longtime professor Dr. Rosemary Borke, whose high standards and unique teaching style left a lasting impression on him. “She had high expectations, but I found the material fascinating based on how she taught it. Whenever I think back on the type of professor I wanted to be, I think of her as an inspiration.”
Vietor also worked with local elementary schools as part of a pediatric obesity clerkship with his West Point chemistry partner-turned-sweetheart, Nicole (Miller) Vietor, who also attended USU. They got engaged on their clerkship rotation at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii and married a couple weeks before graduation.
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| Army Lt. Col. Robert Vietor, left, and his wife, Army Lt. Col. Nicole Vietor, with their four children at the Hometown Celebration in Great Falls, Virginia, on July 4, 2026. (Courtesy photo) |
A Decade of Lessons from the Field
Following his Anesthesiology residency at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, Vietor served as an Army physician in Iraq and Korea. One of the lessons he learned while deployed, which he shares with students, is how much of your career will involve being a military officer and leader.
“You could find yourself in charge of a forward resuscitative surgical team or commanding a combat support hospital. You could be responsible for soldiers and units in roles that have little to do with wearing your doctor hat…and you're going to have to put on your military officer hat and do it well,” says Vietor.
The millennial also tells students the importance of learning emergency medicine skills. “I always assumed I would be an anesthesiologist in an operating room and wouldn't need military emergency medicine skills. In reality, much of my job in Iraq and Korea involved what we learned in military emergency medicine.”
Building His Specialty
Vietor’s return to USU arose from an unexpected turn of events. Prior to going to Korea on a “hardship tour,” he had interviewed for a program director position at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where then-USU Anesthesiology Chair Navy Capt. (Dr.) Arlene Hudson (USU SOM ‘02) was on the selection panel. When asked how he might strengthen the anesthesiology specialty, he spoke candidly. “I had some strong opinions regarding where our community was failing as military officers, in recruiting and engaging with students and residents, and at faculty development,” says Vietor.
He didn’t get that job, but Hudson was so impressed by his interview that she contacted him before he left for Korea and invited him to return to USU when his tour ended. “She told me I hit on a lot of the points that are important for our community to focus on as military anesthesiologists,” he remembers.
Since joining the USU faculty in 2020, Vietor has helped modernize the anesthesia clerkship curriculum to emphasize operational military relevance and competency-based education—integrating Joint Trauma System clinical practice guidelines, deployment simulation scenarios, and hands-on IV and airway management workshops. He added electives in regional and acute pain medicine, and pediatrics to give students a broader view of anesthesiology. He established faculty and student recognition awards, and he remains deeply committed to mentoring students.
“I enjoy their excitement and energy for medicine,” says Vietor. “They're optimistic, joyful, fun to teach, and thirsty for knowledge.”
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| Army (then) Maj. Robert Vietor, right, observes as an Army student practices intubation on an airway trainer during Transition to Clerkship airway skills training in January 2021. (Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU) |
In his role as department chair, Vietor oversees faculty appointments and promotions, connects researchers with service-specific research opportunities, and collaborates on research projects for the School of Medicine.
Two research projects currently underway include investigating whether patients can wake up from anesthesia more quickly when given an intravenous medical formulation of caffeine, and creating a device that can look at brain activity to indicate how deeply someone is anesthetized.
Vietor makes it a priority to stay involved in recruiting too. “That’s something I have a passion for.”
Grateful to be home in the same city as his wife—an endocrinologist who was deployed to Iraq while he served in Korea—Vietor values the stability his faculty position provides. As the father of four children under the age of 10, he’s a Cub Scout leader, baseball coach, and a willing guide for hiking, biking, and fishing with his kids. (He makes great balloon animals too.)
Mentoring the Next Generation
The accomplishments Vietor is most proud of since returning to USU—making the clerkship more military relevant and improving student recruiting and engagement—are tasks he will continue building, to help fill the shortage of military anesthesiologists. “When I graduated from USU in 2010, I was one of four applicants for anesthesiology [residency]” says Vietor. “Last year, we had 19 applicants. As a specialty, we have done a lot to increase our footprint and profile at the School of Medicine.”
The proud alumnus says educating and training the next generation—be they interns, residents, or medical students—is a mission he wants to carry forward. “That gives me purpose in my day.”