Page 5 - JSOM Spring 2020

from the

PUBLISHER

elcome to the JSOM’s 20th year A Brief History of the JSOM
Win publication. We have several
new things we are bringing your way The JSOM was established by the Com-
this year. Michelle D. Landers, Lt Col (Ret) mand Surgeon’s Office of the United
States Special Operations Command
As you look through this edition, you will notice we added (USSOCOM-SG), under the command
many new associate editors to our board. This caused a need of COL Steve Yevich in 2000 when I arrived at the SG of-
to change the layout of our Meet the Experts page. If you need fice. It was designed to be a tool to promote education among
to contact any of our associate editors directly, they can be SOF medical personnel that would encompass all the branches
reached at: first.last@JSOMonline.org. of service. It is intended to facilitate communication between
various headquarters, military and civilian Special Operations
We are now diving into the medical disciplines, education and training, research and de-
Podcast world with editorial velopment, and operational and clinical enclaves. The JSOM
reviews on each edition, as was mil-mailed by SOCOM to all the units, and a bulk ship-
well as audio interviews with ment was sent to SOMA leadership, who then mailed them to
the Community leaders. These their members.
podcasts are being brought
to you by Alex Merkle, DSc, It took several years of review by the National Library of Med-
PA-C, NREMT-P, and Joshua icine and some changes to the journal layout to get it accepted
Randles, DSc, PA-C. Alex for indexing in PubMed (the sole internationally recognized
spent a number of years out index for peer-reviewed medical literature). That, of course,
West, where he passed the took the JSOM to a whole other level.
summers fighting forest fires and winters as a ski patroller.
Eventually he became an enlisted boat driver and subsequently The JSOM was then, and remains today, the only published
became a physician assistant. These days he works in and en- venue that brings together military SOF, civilian Tactical EMS
joys teaching austere medicine, tactical medicine, and trauma (TEMS), federal Department of Justice agencies with tactical
surgery. His goal for developing the podcasts is to serve as a medical assets, and those with an interest in prehospital emer-
conduit from Special Operations Forces (SOF) medic authors gency medicine in an austere environment in one forum to
to SOF medic readers, while not getting in the way too much! promote the sharing of knowledge of the unique trade craft in
Joshua enlisted in the Army in 2005 as a medic and deployed which they have trained so hard to be proficient.
twice to Iraq. After his second deployment, he entered the
Army Reserves, where he spent part of his time in a US Army The JSOM was a USSOCOM publication until early 2011,
Reserve hospital unit and then as a flight medic for the 11th when I retired. During the JSOM’s years at USSOCOM, the
Aviation Command. He was accepted to the Interservice Phy- SG Command Surgeon was the executive editor for the JSOM.
sician Assistant Program (the DoD’s PA school) and battal- The JSOM came to be under the command of COL Steve
ion time working for 10th Mountain. Currently, he works in Yevich, USA, and remained so for the first three editions. The
trauma and critical care as a PA and is looking forward to office reins were turned over to Col David Hammer, USAF in
more opportunities for education and research. He is assigned fall 2001. Col Hammer was the executive editor for the next
to the 528th surgical teams working at Carolina Medical Cen- 10 editions until he passed on the reins to CAPT Frank Butler,
ter in Charlotte, NC. Josh wanted to produce these podcasts USN, in April 2004. CAPT Butler remained the executive ed-
with Alex to highlight some excellent research being published itor for nine editions until he turned everything over to COL
by JSOM and educate others on how to critically read the Warner “Rocky” Farr, USA, in June 2006. COL Farr was the
literature. executive editor for 12 editions and says . . .

Please be sure to follow the Podcasts on our JSOM website I first saw an issue of the JSOM at Fort Bragg in late
at https://www.jsomonline.org/Podcasts.php. We are always 2000. The US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare
looking for feedback to better improve what we put out; you Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) Command Sur-
can contact Alex and Josh at Podcast@JSOMonline.org. geon had a copy of the inaugural issue of the jour-
nal, which I at once liked. Later in Summer 2006, I
If you haven’t been with us since the beginning, let me tell PCSed from the United States Army Special Opera-
you how we came to be. tions Command (USASOC ) at Fort Bragg to MacDill

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