Rear Adm. William Roberts is a native of Washington, District of Columbia. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Navy’s Medical Corps in May 1979, completed his surgical internship at the Naval Regional Medical Center, San Diego, and is a graduate of the University of Chicago Emergency Medicine residency, where he served as chief resident 1987-1988. He holds a Bachelor's degree (cum laude) from Princeton University; the Doctor of Medicine degree from George Washington University; and a Master in Business Administration from Edinburgh Business School, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Assignments have included senior medical officer tours onboard USS New Orleans (LPH-11) and USS Durham (LKA-114) with deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans; clinical and leadership positions at the Naval Station, Marine Corps Recruit Depot and Naval Training Center Clinics in San Diego; and emergency medicine staff tours at Naval Medical Center San Diego and U.S. Naval Hospital Guam, during the latter of which he also served as director, Medical Services and as chief of the Medical Staff.
He later served as chair, Emergency Medicine Ambulatory Care Department, Naval Medical Center San Diego (which comprised the Navy’s first Emergency Medicine residency) and as commanding officer, Medical Treatment Facility, USNS MERCY (T-AH 19). In 1998, he was appointed deputy commander, Naval Medical Center San Diego, and, subsequently served as force surgeon to Commander, Naval Surface Force, Coronado, California. He commanded Naval Hospital, Bremerton, Washington, one of the Navy’s five Family Medicine teaching hospitals serving the Navy’s third largest area of fleet concentration, from 2003 to 2006.
Following a one-year tour as deputy director, Medical Resources, Plans and Policy Division (OPNAV N931) at the Pentagon, Rear Adm. Roberts’ first Flag assignment was as medical officer to the Marine Corps from 2007 to 2008. He was then assigned as director, OPNAV N931 at the Pentagon from 2008 to 2010. His most recent past posting was as Fleet Surgeon, U. S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia.
Roberts also served as specialty leader for Emergency Medicine to the Navy Surgeon General from 1995 to 1998, and as chief of the Navy’s Medical Corps from 2007 to 2010.
He was promoted to rear admiral Dec. 1, 2011 and served his last assignment as commandant, Medical Education and Training Campus, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In this position, he was responsible for overseeing 51 separate basic and advanced Army, Navy and Air Force enlisted medical courses of study and graduates over 20,000 medics, corpsmen and medical technicians per year; and as director, Education and Training, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia.
He is the 1989 recipient of the Stitt Award, presented annually by the Naval Medical Center San Diego intern class to the command staff physician who contributed most to the class’ medical education. In 2008, Roberts was named a "Hero of Emergency Medicine" on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP); and, the same year, was selected for the "Excellence in Emergency Medicine" Award by the military chapter of ACEP.
His awards include the Legion of Merit (five awards), Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.