Page 143 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Winter 2015

with superb physician-scientists like CAPT Ed Thal- orthopedic injury rehabilitation clinics at NSW com-
mann gave me a solid background in operationally mands, the Navy SEAL Nutrition Guide, the Navy SEAL
oriented biomedical research and experimental de- Physical Fitness Guide, and research on ocular disorders
sign. This background was an excellent preparation for associated with diving.
working on the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Biomedi-
cal Research program a few years later—a job that I What happened to the
enjoyed tremendously for 14 years (1990 to 2004). NSW Biomedical Research Program?
At the direction of RADM Chuck Lemoyne, then the
How did the NSW Biomedical Research Program deputy commander of USSOCOM, the program was
come about? moved to USSOCOM and restructured to address the
After I completed my ophthalmology residency in biomedical research needs of all of the USSOCOM
1989 and was working as a staff ophthalmologist at the components.
Naval Hospital Pensacola, I got a call to come up to
the office of the hospital’s executive officer. The SEAL Your thoughts on personal development
community was seeking medical officers with NSW in SOF medicine?
experience to enhance the medical support being As a baseline, you need to meet the expectations of
provided to the SEAL community. After discussions your unit and the unit commander.
with SEAL Captain Tom Lawson, the commander of
the Naval Special Warfare Center, and Rear Admiral Beyond that, look for opportunities to improve medi-
George Worthington, the commander at WARCOM, cal support and enhance operational capabilities for
the decision was made to establish a biomedical re- your unit and for the Special Operations community
search effort that was sharply focused on the unique in general.
array of medical and physiology issues encountered in
NSW operations. I was given the unique opportunity As Adm. William Halsey was quoted as saying to a new
to continue to work as an eye surgeon while assum- officer on his staff who had asked him for guidance:
ing the management of the NSW Biomedical Research “Look around and see what needs to be done. Then
Program. This arrangement also allowed for long-term do it.”
continuity in the SEAL biomedical research effort. The
program was also strongly supported by subsequent What’s most important to SEAL medics today?
NSW commanders, including Rear Admirals Ray Smith, SEAL medics must continue to have state-of-the-art
Tom Richards, Eric Olson, and Bert Calland. This unique medical training that will permit them to skillfully pro-
arrangement provided an opportunity for me to make vide lifesaving medical care for their wounded team-
a number of significant contributions to the SEAL and mates on the battlefield. It is important for the medics
the Special Operations communities, and I am deeply to know that they have been trained to the highest
grateful to these senior NSW leaders for their trust and possible standard for combat medical providers and
support throughout my 14 years in the SEAL Biomedi- that they have the full support of their senior medical
cal Research Program. providers and line commanders.

What were some products of the Finding a manageable way to excel in all of the many
NSW Biomedical Research Program? skills in which SEAL medics are expected to be proficient
One was the 3-year research effort in which the Spe- is paramount. It’s challenging enough to maintain the
cial Operations medical community partnered with the full spectrum of SEAL operator skills; adding battlefield
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to trauma care and the other specialized areas of medical
produce the first set of Tactical Combat Casualty Care knowledge required to support NSW combat opera-
Guidelines in 1996. Another was the subsequent es- tions to their skill set is a very ambitious proposition.
tablishment of the Committee on TCCC in 2001. The
CoTCCC has been the primary group responsible for Any thoughts on current challenges
the remarkable advances in battlefield trauma care in preparing SEAL medics for the future?
made by the US Military in Afghanistan and Iraq. As I noted, a major challenge is developing a SEAL
medic who is well-trained to perform battlefield trauma
Other projects included the NSW decompression com- care and selected other advanced medical skills while
puter, laser refractive surgery in the military, extended maintaining proficiency in all of the other skill sets re-
carbon dioxide–absorbent canister operating limits for quired of a SEAL operator.
oxygen rebreathers used on SDV missions, a laptop-
based medical translator, the first US Special Operations There are many facets to providing optimal medi-
Command (USSOCOM) medical informatics system, cal support to NSW Operations. SEALs and Special

Special Talk: An Interview 131