Page 118 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Summer 2014

from the
NATO Surgeon

hey say time flies when you are highest SOF medic training standards
Thaving fun. This is my last post as on the continent. Germany, Belgium,
the NATO Special Operations Head- and the Netherlands are already ex-
quarters Medical Advisor, and I can- ploring ways to create a similar
not believe how fast 4 years have gone Dan Irizarry, MD re gional NSOCM course using cur-
by. The opportunity to serve with the LTC, MC, USA(A) ricula freely shared by the Nordic
elite men and women of International NATO Special Operations Initiative, an excellent example of
Special Operations has truly been a Headquarters pooling and sharing resources to im-
once-in-a-lifetime chance. I am deeply Medical Advisor prove NATO SOF interoperability. I
honored for this gift and proud of what believe regional training centers based
the NATO and Partner SOF Medical Community has on cultural similarities and common curriculum is the
accomplished. So, before turning this awesome job over best way forward for expanding the NATO SOF train-
to COL Mike Henry (USA), I would like to highlight ing and authorizations in the future.
some of the community’s key accomplishments and con-
sider some future directions. NSHQ has seen improvements in every nation actively in-
volved with NSHQ’s NATO SOF Medicine Development
Building on COL Rhett Wallace’s (USA) great work in Initiative (NSMDI). Each national achievement from
2009, the NATO and Partner SOF Medical Community building surgical capability to expanding medic authorities
has come together for eight research workshops (RWS) is a crucial contribution to NATO SOF medicine’s ability
in 4 years. Each workshop strengthened the community’s to support operations. I wholeheartedly thank the nations
bonds, grew the network, and addressed key doctrinal command and medical leadership, and especially the SOF
topics such as SOF medic standards and authorizations, medics on the ground, for their hard work. These efforts
human performance initiatives, SOF medical simulation will be rewarded in lives saved on today’s and tomorrow’s
and training requirements, prolonged field care issues, battlefields and will increase SOF mission success.
and, most recently, Maritime SOF medical require-
ments. Presently, all RWS products are being compiled Watching the NATO Special Operations Headquar-
to create a NATO Allied Medical Publication for SOF ters growth and development through NSHQ JMED’s
Medical Support requested by NATO’s Committee of tireless efforts has been a unique pleasure. There is not
the Chiefs of Military Medical Services (COMEDS). enough praise for the dedication and initiative my team-
COMEDS request is a measure of the community’s suc- mates, LTC Drew Leiendecker (USA), LTC Kjell Boman
cess in bringing SOF medical issues to the forefront of (SWE), MAJ Mark Walther (USA), and SSGT Maxine
strategic leader’s and demonstrates the great work of the Bowley (GBR), have demonstrated.
COMEDS SOF Medicine Expert Panel (SOFMEP).
Bolstered by consistent command group support and
It has been most rewarding to see individual nations, augmented by excellent instructors provided through
bolstered by the NATO SOF community’s unity of ef- the University of Nebraska Medical Center, this team
fort, succeed in their national initiatives. I would love to developed and executed more than 48 NSMDI events
highlight every nation’s hard work, but that is impossible. and graduating more than 400 participants since Octo-
One of the most critical NATO and Partner SOF Medical ber 2010. They created a deployable NATO SOF Role
Community long-term successes, in my view, is the work I capability that will be a standard for future national
done by Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The Special Operations Component Commands, and they
20-week Europe-based Nordic NATO Special Operations built and opened the NATO SOF Allied Center for Med-
Combat Medic (NNSOCM) course they created based on ical Education (ACME), which is already raising the bar
April 2012 research workshop recommendations sets the for medical training and simulation in the Alliance.

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