Journal of Special Operations Medicine, Volume 3, Edition 3
Abstract
Greetings again from your HQ/USSOCOM. As we move into the summer months we still find ourselves in awe and in full support of our special ops forces in the fields and towns of Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere in the world (150 countries so far this year). I just read the recent data from Landstuhl Medical Center on the patients moving through that terrific facility and was reminded again of the critical job our Civil Affairs folks are doing in Iraq and the risks they take day in and day out in accomplishing their missions. Sometimes we forget to acknowledge just how dangerous their work is--they move into a combat area near the end of formal combat hostilities and get "close" to the families and civilians they are sent there to support. Every so often they are rewarded with a blast from an AK-47 or an RPG. This is dangerous, yet critical work that they do and they are turning on the lights, getting the water to flow, and building an environment where the Iraqis can enjoy their new freedom presented by this campaign. These units are amazing; give them your full support. As we enter this last FY quarter, we are anticipating a conference here at the headquarters where we will bring in our medical guys representing all the component units, and we will go over the lessons learned in this past year of operation activity. This is critical, for we will hear firsthand the issues and it will plot our way ahead in support of the Medics/Corpsmen/PJs/SMEs out there caring for our troops. The data will drive changes in the curriculum of the school, medical supply issues, and how we will invest our Biomedical Initiatives dollars to solve problems encountered by our guys and described by them (as with fibrin/chitosan dressings, HBOC, etc).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA497882
Entities
People
- David L. Hammer
- Michelle D. Duguay
Organizations
- Joint Special Operations University