Page 3 - JSOM Summer 2018

t was great to see everyone at SOMSA last month. Because We would like to share with you the poignant comments given
Ithis edition was in the final stages of production during the by GEN Votel as he addressed the distinguished audience and
conference, our Fall edition will have all the post-SOMSA the awardees at the 3 May 2018 dinner on the role that mil-
after-actions and updates. We will publish the abstracts from itary commanders play in working with the medical commu-
the top podium and poster presentations, as well as list the nity for not only planning care for Servicemembers and their
podium presentation titles and their authors. families but also supporting innovation and research efforts to
continually improve the level of care provided.
There is “A New Standard for Battlefield Trauma Care in the
US Military.” On 16 March 2018, the Department of Defense For starters, medical care is commanders’ business—
Instruction on Medical Readiness Training (MRT) was final- scratch that, leaders’ business. I, and all of my subor-
ized. Please see this introduction in the TCCC Updates section dinate commanders, and any leader at any level in the
of this edition. In addition to the websites listed there, this in- military are all responsible for our fellow Servicemem-
struction is also published on our JSOM TCCC page at https:// bers’ well-being—be it physical, mental, or spiritual. And
www.jsomonline.org/TCCC.php. by physical well-being, this includes “unseen” injuries
such as traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.
We can delegate authority to the medical community, but
not the responsibility for ensuring it is taken care of. This
includes Servicemembers both at home station and while
deployed. I take this responsibility very seriously and ex-
pect that others in the command do as well.
What a great year for Andy! Second, most advancements in military medicine
The JSOM congratu lates are currently being implemented in the CENTCOM area
MAJ Andrew Fisher, PA-C, of operations. We are the only combatant command en-
SP, MS-2, ARNG, one of our
associate editors and a fre- gaged in multiple “shooting” wars where we have exten-
quent author in the JSOM, sive forward-deployed medical capabilities—we are the
for receiving not only one of “test bed” and we help provide the feedback that helps
two scholar ships from the Special Op erations Medical these innovations improve and prevent even more inju-
Asso ciation (SOMA) but also the 2018 Army Hero of ries, and save lives. Our medical personnel supporting the
Military Medicine. CENTCOM AOR are the best military medical profes-
sionals in the world and the experience they gain—and
The Heroes of Military provide—while deployed is invaluable in increasing our
Medicine (HMM) Awards overall competence, and perpetuating that knowledge
honors outstanding con- throughout the joint force.
tributions by individuals
who have distinguished Lastly, I have watched with pride as the Tactical
themselves through excel- Combat Casualty Care—or TCCC—program that we im-
lence and selfless dedica- plemented back in the Ranger Regiment in the late nine-
tion to advancing military ties has been implemented as far and as wide as it has. I
medicine and enhancing can’t overstate how important that work was, especially
the lives and health of our the efforts that went into greatly increasing our number
nation’s wounded, ill and of qualified Medics. It is a true testament to what can
injured Servicemembers, happen when the operational and medical communities
vet erans, and civilians. The work closely together, and don’t let contemporary proce-
Heroes of Military Medicine is presented by the dures or regulations stifle innovative people.
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement
of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF), http://www.hjfcp3.org In fact, as a Uniformed Services University article
honorees/2018-hero-of-military-medicine-honoree. from 2011 on “Eliminating Preventable Death on the Bat-
tlefield” [authored by Kotwal, Russ; Montgomery, Harold;
This is a huge deal Kotwal, Bari; Champion, Howard; Butler, Frank; Mabry,
as each Service has Robert; Cain, Jeffrey; Blackbourne, Lorne; Mechler, Kathy
only one winner. MAJ & Holcomb, John] powerfully and succinctly sates, “the
Fisher is a second-year . . . implementation of a comprehensive casualty response
medical student at system, sustained by focused training, directed by tactical
Texas A&M College of leaders . . . has resulted in historically low casualty rates
Medicine and a phy- for a frontline unit . . .” such as the 75th Ranger Regiment.
sician assistant in the The article also cites that TCCC contributed tremendously
Texas National Guard.
He was previously the to a “. . . virtual elimination of preventable combat death.”
regimental physician assistant assigned to the 75th As you see, three factors working together led to
Ranger Regiment. the program’s success: a comprehensive system; focused
training; and involved leadership.
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