He will begin his new service on Thursday at the U.S. Army facility in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The Public Health Command is a command that is made up of 3,000 people who are positioned in over 100 countries. Sienko said the organization does numerous things for the U.S. Army, but also for the Department of Defense, or the DOD.

“Under our command we do all the veterinary work for the DOD, epidemiology disease and surveillance for the Army, health promotion and wellness, laboratory sciences, toxicology, and occupational and environmental medicine,” Sienko said. “We have a very large command that covers a wide swath of public health activities.”

Public Affairs Officer Lyn Kukral said in an email that Army commands are not like civilian jobs — one cannot apply for a command position.

“An Army officer at any rank (from second lieutenant to general) must meet time-in-grade, performance and qualification standards to be promoted or to be assigned positions of higher responsibility,” Kukral said in the email. “As an officer ascends in rank or assumes positions of increased responsibility, he or she also must demonstrate leadership, managerial capability, technical skill (in Maj. Gen. Sienko’s case as a physician and public health expert) and a commitment to Army values. These values are courage, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and loyalty.”

MSU Army ROTC Chairman Jeff McDonald said he first met Sienko a couple years ago when he was chosen to be a guest speaker for the Army and Air Force alumni, as it sponsored the graduating seniors that night. McDonald said that night is when he knew Sienko was an incredible leader.

“He first and foremost looks at everything through the lens of leadership and then through your specialty, for whatever that may be,” McDonald said. “Sienko is not only an expert in his field of medicine, he is also an expert in leadership.”

This will be the fourth time Sienko will be doing an extended employment with the U.S. Army. His previous three deployments were in Iraq, Kuwait, Kosovo and Saudi Arabia. During this one-year stint Sienko said he will be looking to do regional commands in Europe and in Japan.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for me,” said Sienko. “I will come back to MSU as a better scientist, a much more rounded public health physician and a more effective administrator for the students.”

Sienko would like to thank MSU and his family for being supportive of this decision, and said that he is grateful to MSU for letting him take advantage of this opportunity.

McDonald believes the board of medical generals made the right decision in choosing Sienko as their commanding general of the U.S. Army Public Health Command.

“I know he will do an absolutely fantastic job just because of the fact he is such a great leader,” McDonald said.