Major Manuel Dominguez Chief, Expeditionary Systems, Office of the Surgeon General, Modernization Directorate, United States Air Force Falls Church, Virginia

Born in Havana, Cuba, Major Manuel Dominguez and his mother escaped communism when he was two weeks old. His father was forced to stay behind for not accepting the communist ideology. Major Dominguez was raised in Miami, FL and in 1986 completed high school and enlisted in the United States Marines. Shortly after, Major Dominguez became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1988. Major Dominguez served for General Schwarzkopf in 1990. He deployed to the war with the General and upon returning from the war, General Schwarzkopf awarded him the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his superb performance. Major Dominguez returned to duty in Tampa, FL, and completed his graduate degree in business administration.

By age 24, Major Dominguez had been accepted to the School of Computer Science at Nova Southeastern University’s doctorate program. During his doctorate, Major Dominguez rose quickly through civilian sector ranks in the systems arena. At 29, he had become a chief information officer. In 2005, Major Dominguez wanted to serve again in the military and transitioned back to active duty as an IT Flight Commander. Currently, Major Dominguez is the Chief of Expeditionary Systems, where he is managing a multi-million dollar project to rollout an electronic health record.