Page 6 - JSOM Summer 2020

from the

SOMA PRESIDENTOMA PRESIDENT

Greetings to the SOMA to be made. We reviewed the re-
Membership and JSOM Readers, sults of our first membership sur-
vey so that your feedback could
ell, 2020 has been quite H guide the Board when making
Harold Montgomery, MSG (Ret)arold Montgomery, MSG (Ret)
a strange ride so far. I decisions about the best path
Whad hoped to have my final comments as the forward. As a result, membership categories and fees
SOMA President in person at the large SOMSA gather- were realigned, new gear items were offered, we began
ing in Raleigh. However, COVID-19 changed all of that, work on expanding the ways in which education and
as it has changed most of our lives in so many ways over training are provided, and we began to reimagine the
these months. One of the most difficult decisions of the social events and schedule of sessions at the Scientific
SOMA board this year was the cancellation of SOMSA. Assembly.
As of this writing, we are exploring various means to
still provide some of the planned presentations through Our members and their impact on Special Operations
virtual means that will be available later in the year. medicine are what it is all about. The best way for us
to increase our impact is by increasing our member-
Being part of something bigger than myself has always ship numbers and the contributions of those members
been a life goal. In so many ways, SOMA has certainly toward the greater cause. Being a SOMA member and
become one of those somethings for me. I would not have contributor really is about being part of something big-
thought as such when first attending SOMA events back ger than yourself and I hope and encourage all of you
in the 1990s. Like many of you today, to me it was an to do your part. Take action and be SOMA! We need
event and an organization, but I never saw myself hav- SOMA members to be part of our many committees to
ing any significant role in it. In truth, I never paid much progress SOMA initiatives.
attention except for that year’s event. Then over time I
became more and more engaged as a I saw what kind of Thank you all for the opportunity to be the SOMA Pres-
role that SOMA could play for us all. SOMA provided ident over these last couple of years. It has been one of
a common platform and network for the different SOF the greatest honors of my life and I hope I had some
tribes to link with each other as well as industry, research measure of improving SOMA as an organization. I hope
& development, and our international and civilian coun- I lived up to at least a few of the expectations put before
terparts. I hope many you will see SOMA the same way me and I hope to continue serving SOMA for years to
and become more engaged in the future direction of the come. Thank you to my wife, Laurie, and son, Alex,
organization. for the support and encouragement over these SOMA
years as well as the way too many years of sacrifice and
Over 30 years ago now, the original founders Dale service. I want to recognize and give my personal thanks
Hamilton, Bob Clayton, Jim Coy, and Craig Llewellyn to Ms Stephanie Newman, our Executive Director or
had a vision and hope for what SOMA could become. XO in military terminology. Without her guidance and
SOMA continues to be an organization committed to diligent work, the organization would struggle to exist
saving lives and relieving suffering of both military and daily. Thank you to the Kellen support staff who work
civilians through advancing the science, technology, and coordinate everything from SOMSA to our commit-
knowledge, and skills of unconventional/SOF medicine. tees and everything in between. I turn the reigns over to
Achieving that mission requires stimulating collabora- Ranger Buddy and multiple deployment comrade COL
tion. Through SOMA, we can link Operator medics with (Ret) Russ Kotwal and a spectacular SOMA Board, hav-
researchers, educators, developers, and manufacturers, ing no doubt that they will take SOMA to even higher
ensuring that they are connected to the science and tech- levels. Again, thanks to all, stay safe, and God bless!
nology that will further their knowledge and skills.
Harold “Monty” R. Montgomery
Looking back, much of 2019 focused on taking a fresh President, SOMA
look at all the products and services that SOMA offers MSG (Ret), SO-ATP
to assess what adjustments and improvements needed

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