Page 7 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Summer 2016

COL (Ret) Gary Gilbert, PhD in the future but with the aim of reducing the financial
COL Sean Keenan, MD risk to the association. We do not anticipate holding an
event in 2016 but will be pursuing this as a goal in the
We also said farewell to some and welcomed new com- coming years.
mittee chairs.
SOMA Historian MSG (RET) Sammy Rodriguez Finally, to lay some rumors to rest, SOMA had com-
(if you have any SOMA historical memorabilia, mitted to the 2017 and 2018 SOMSA dates prior to the
please contact him) SOFIC dates being finalized. Once we became aware of
Communication Committee Chair Kasia Hampton the conflict between these events, SOMA worked to ad-
Membership Committee Chair SFC (Ret) Mike just our 2017 and 2018 dates to eliminate the conflict for
Jackson our vendors and attendees. We plan to reach out to the
Prolonged Field Care Chair LTC Jamie Riesberg SOFIC organizers to try to eliminate any future conflicts
Research Committee Chair Kate Kemplin of event dates. Mark your calendars today and plan to
Second Half Initiative Co-Chairs 1LT James Johnson attend SOMSA 2017 (22–25 May 2017) and SOMSA
and Karl Holt 2018 (14–17 May 2018) at the Charlotte Convention
Center. As with any maiden voyage, there will be some
We are also pleased to welcome back Immediate Past things to shake out from the experience. The best part
President LTC Bob Mabry, since he will complete the of being in Charlotte is that when they say, “We support
Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy fellowship this our troops,” it’s not just a catch phrase; they are truly
summer. He will rejoin the board to offer valued insight happy to support us, and it is greatly appreciated.
to the association as well as to serve as the Nominations
Committee Chair. For those who were able to attend this year’s SOMSA,
thank you, and we hope to see you and your friends
Going forward, SOMA is committed to continuing to next year.
share SOF medical lessons learned with the conventional
forces. We held a successful symposium in December All the best and with much respect,
2015 in San Marcos, Texas, to further that mission. We SOCM Steve Viola, SOCM, ATP, NREMT-P
are exploring the possibility of holding similar events
SOMA President

See related article, “2016 SOMSA Abstracts” on page 71.

From the SOMA President v