The Senate on Tuesday easily confirmed a former Green Beret turned surgeon as the next US Surgeon General, filling a position that can help shape public attitudes on health issues ranging from AIDS to smoking. In March, President Bush nominated Richard Carmona, a Hispanic-American who is a professor of surgery at the University of Arizona, for the post.

Carmona, a one-time high school dropout, Vietnam veteran and part-time sheriff's deputy in Tucson, Ariz., has made headlines and inspired a movie for a daring rescue from a helicopter. He also once shot, and then treated, a criminal suspect.

Some of his experiences and credentials provoked criticism about his suitability for the job as "America's doctor," but Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who presided over confirmation hearings at the Senate Health, Education, Pension and Labor Committee, said Carmona had "satisfactorily addressed all the tough questions. Dr. Carmona impressed us with his commitment to preventive health, and made particularly clear his intention to aggressively oppose tobacco use by children and youth and to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic," Kennedy said.

Carmona has also said he would stress preventive health and focus on the bioterror threat. The surgeon general has a small staff and limited budget but can use his bully pulpit to influence public health policy.

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