Page 116 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Summer 2014

from the
SEMA

“The Ground Truth”
I take this opportunity to bid fare- are meant to be critical informa-
well to a predecessor, mentor, and tion gathering that will defend our
buddy, HMCM Gary Welt. Gary MSG Harold R. Montgomery positions and requirements on ev-
was a mentor, teacher, and guide to USSOCOM erything from our training to equip-
many of us over the years. His time Senior Enlisted Medical Advisor ment to techniques. It is important
in NSW/SEAL units, the JSOMTC, for every SOF Medical Operator to
and final assignment as the USSOCOM SEMA has left submit their AARs from their events. It is another key
his mark on the SOF medical enterprise and us as indi- method in which you can share both your performance
viduals. Gary was a plank-holder on so many initiatives and your opinions.
that we take for granted today, just one of them being
Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC). Not only was The JMEAC also nominated the membership for the
Gary one of the original members of the Committee on SOF Medical Simulations and Modeling Working
TCCC, but he was one of the first to push the concepts Group. This group will consolidate and synchronize the
to the force as a standard to train our medics and corps- SOF common medical simulation and modeling require-
man. Always a fighter, he fought hard right up to the ments across the enterprise. This group and plan are
end. My memory of Gary Welt will always be a tower- NOT meant to promote any particular training method
ing Navy SEAL Corpsman to whom I could always turn and are NOT meant to suppress any particular train-
for sound advice and a good story. ing method. They are about looking at how we can bet-
ter use ALL methods to the best capacity. Be prepared
for upcoming surveys and information gathering as this
JMEAC Meeting – May 2014
group collects data points to establish our requirements.
The USSOCOM Joint Medical Enlisted Advisory Coun- Members of this group will also represent SOF to other
cil (JMEAC) met at the JSOMTC, Fort Bragg, NC, dur- Department of Defense simulation and modeling groups
ing the first week of May. This was one of the largest to ensure our requirements and findings are known.
meetings in recent years, with every SOF major unit and
tribe represented. Several critical and enduring issues The council also explored requirements and options
were discussed, with way-ahead concepts put forth. for the establishment of a Joint SOF Medical Lead-
ers Course at the Joint Special Operations University
Based on JMEAC input, USSOCOM will soon push out (JSOU). If implemented, we would have two distinct
a command-wide casualty after action review (AAR) SOF medical courses at the JSOU, the other being the
policy. The purpose of the casualty AAR policy is sim- Joint SOF Medical Orientation Course (JSOMOC) for
ple: collect and gather as much possible information those new to SOF or external folks. The new medical
about our patients and what we do. Only a handful leaders course would focus on development of skills and
of units have conducted deliberate collection of AARs education for SOF senior medics and unit medical of-
on a patient-by-patient basis over periods of time. It is ficers providing oversight to SOF medics and medical
important that we collect our patient AARs so that we programs. The base concept is to structure a course for
can use them to guide the future and help determine re- SOF medical leaders covering training, operations, lo-
quirements for casualty and medical tactics, techniques, gistics, and the SOF medical network. The intent is to
procedures, and equipment for SOF medics. The main avoid death-by-PowerPoint and establish a course that
concept everyone must understand is that this is not is based on scenarios, discussions, and deliberate prob-
meant to be another mandatory report. At no point will lem solving led by the attendees. There is much more to
these AARs be used as a witch-hunt or retribution. They follow as we develop the way ahead.

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