Newark, NJ – Brig. Gen. Cindy M. Saladin-Muhammad has made history as the first Muslim woman to achieve the rank of general in the United States military. Saladin-Muhammad, a native of Newark, New Jersey, serves as the Deputy Commanding General of the 807th Medical Command (Deployment Support).
Saladin-Muhammad’s career began in January 1984 when she entered the U.S. Army and completed Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Her early training as a Strategic Microwave Systems Repairer took place at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and she was subsequently stationed in Bremerhaven, Germany, with the 581st Signal Company.
After returning to the U.S. in 1988, she joined the U.S. Army Reserve, initially serving as a Cryptographic Repairer with the 242nd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, and later as a platoon sergeant with the 469th Engineer Battalion in Jersey City, New Jersey.
In 1993, Saladin-Muhammad commissioned as a second lieutenant after completing Officer Candidate School. She initially served as a platoon leader and maintenance officer with the 316th Adjutant General Company and later transitioned into the Medical Service Corps as an Environmental Science and Engineering Officer. Her military career saw her mobilized in 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, where she served as the Preventive Medicine Officer-in-Charge at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Saladin-Muhammad’s diverse service record includes assignments such as Training, Advising, and Counseling Officer at Fort Indiantown Gap, Assistant Chief of Staff at the 352nd Civil Affairs Command, and Deputy Branch Chief at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. She held leadership positions as Hospital Commander of the 94th Combat Support Hospital in Texas and Commander of the 228th Combat Support Hospital in Kuwait.
With an extensive educational background, Saladin-Muhammad holds degrees from Rutgers University, Temple University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the U.S. Army War College, including a Doctorate in Business Administration.
Her recent assignments include command of the 804th Medical Brigade, which she relinquished in September 2023, and her current role as a Special Projects Officer with the 3rd Medical Command in Georgia.
