Page 14 - JSOM Winter 2018

from the

SOMA PRESIDENTOMA PRESIDENT

Greetings to SOMA Members and SOMA and USSOCOM are
JSOM Readers, working on the conference ap-
provals for DoD attendance and
Another year is upon us, whether we hope to have the approval
Harold Montgomery, MSG (Ret)arold Montgomery, MSG (Ret)
you define that as a fiscal year, cal- H well in advance this year. Check
endar year, or SOMA year. With the website, social media, or your
that comes many of our annual activities. We want to e-mail for when you can start making hotel reservations
discuss a few of those activities and your part in them. and preregistration.

SOMA Membership Renewal Membership Growth

Many of our current members who signed on last year We are especially interested in growing our membership
will be coming up on their expiration on December 31. to include more Special Operations medics, corpsman,
Keep an eye out for the renewal reminder messages or and PJs. We would really like to see representatives from
be ahead of the game and sign on to the SOMA website the SOF units stepping up to let people know about
and renew early. By renewing early, you will not have a SOMA. All too often, it seems that medics do not know
break in your JSOM subscription or SOMA activities. or hear about what SOMA is or does for them. Having
We know it takes time to renew your membership each SOMA member representatives at the organizations can
year, that’s why SOMA is now offering a new, convenient really help disseminate information to potential mem-
and secure way to pay your membership dues. Renew bers. More importantly, unit representatives help keep
your 2019 membership by 31 Dec 2018 and subscribe SOMA tracking on the current and future needs of the
to auto-payment at the same time. You will be able to Operator medics. We can all read the published require-
choose from either annual or quarterly auto-renewal ments, reports, and official documents; however, getting
payments. You may only enroll in auto-payment by the needs of the medics directly from the medics is what
credit card or ACH withdrawal while you are renewing! keeps us all focused.
Next year, you will receive a reminder, but you can sit
back and relax knowing your payment has already been SOMA is not exclusive to Special Operators. All mili-
made. tary medics, prehospital medics, providers, and enablers
are welcome to join SOMA. Anyone with a passion for
Special Operations medicine can and should be part of
Special Operations Medical & Scientific Assembly— SOMA. We realize that while Special Operations medics
SOMSA 2019 (6–10 May 2019)
are unique in themselves and at the spearpoint, there is
The planning for SOMSA 2019 is in full swing. The a litany of people who support their mission. The more
program committee is putting together an incredible those people understand the needs of the Special Oper-
event that will keep taking SOMSA to new levels. Mark ations medic, then the better people can find ways to
your calendars for the second week of May (6–10 May support training, equipping, and prepping for the mis-
2019). It should be noted that we have shifted the event sion. Also, we see SOMA as a critical conduit for taking
so that it covers a work week from Monday to Friday the lessons learned in SOF and transitioning them to the
and does not overlap the weekend. The preconference conventional military and civilian practices.
labs are getting worked out, which will be the focus
of the Monday and Tuesday with the main conference Feedback and Participation
for the Wednesday through Friday. Every day will have
something for those with a passion for Special Opera- We really want to hear from the membership and need
tions medicine. Our goal is to have so many good, ap- members to take a role in SOMA’s future. Please pro-
plicable topics on the program that attendees truly must vide comments, questions, and ideas through any of our
decide which lab or session to sign up for. Whether SOF- methods on the website, social media, or just sending an
specific medicine, tactical medicine, prolonged field e-mail. Tell us what you want and need from the organi-
care, global engagement, human performance, or other; zation. Better yet, step up and take part. We are actively
there is a topic for you every hour of the day. recruiting for members to be on our many committees

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