Richard Neel

Richard Neel is from Lake Jackson, TX. He is board-certified in aerospace medicine and received his degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He has a master’s degree in public health administration (MPH) from Harvard University and completed his residency in aerospace medicine and his fellowship in occupational medicine. His subspecialties are emergency medicine, urgent care, family medicine, and occupational medicine.

Dr. Neel served over 20 years as a chief flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force before his retirement as a colonel. He lived in Europe for eight years, serving as a personal physician for ambassadors, general officers, and senior state department personnel. During his adventurous Air Force career, he was deployed for combat operations in the Middle East and Bosnia. He has over a thousand hours of flying time in jet fighters, bombers, and helicopters.

His many decorations include an air medal for assisting in the helicopter rescue of 32 people from a sinking tanker during a North Atlantic hurricane. He led emergency response teams for NASA space shuttle emergency landing sites in Spain, Morocco, and the Gambia. On September 11, 2001, he led an Air Force emergency team at the Pentagon.

In his now quieter post-Air Force career, Dr. Neel has worked in San Antonio as a specialist in hyperbaric medicine and wound care and as an area medical director for a national company of occupational and urgent care clinics. Dr. Neel and Nurse Lynn worked alongside each other in urgent care many years ago and have a long-lasting friendship. He believes in women’s empowerment and is happy to be part of Empower Aesthetics.