Page 107 - JSOM Fall 2023

CoTCCC Chairmanship Change
and Upcoming Guideline Revision

Harold R. Montgomery, ATP*

CoTCCC Meeting Update, SEP 2023 Chairman of the Emergency Medicine Department of Naval
Medical Center San Diego. While dual-service as chair of the
The Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC) CoTCCC, CAPT Drew was the Division Surgeon for the 1st
met in San Antonio on 06-07 September 2023. This meeting Marine Division and subsequently the Force Surgeon for I Ma-
was a final review of upcoming change proposals for airway rine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, CA. CAPT Drew
management and traumatic brain injury portions of the TCCC is retiring after nearly 32 years of service. CAPT Drew has
Guidelines. The revised TCCC Guidelines are projected to be multiple combat deployments with the Marines and Special
voted on and published no later than December 2023. Also Operations Forces in various theaters. Brendon – on behalf of
discussed at the CoTCCC meeting was the ongoing review the committee, medics, and corpsmen abroad, thank you for
of chest trauma management, tourniquet conversion, hemo- your dedication to TCCC and for taking it to the next level.
statics, hemorrhage control methods, tranexamic acid appli- Your vision and focus have always been from the perspective
cations, and a comprehensive review of TCCC/prehospital of the combat medic/corpsman, providing them with the best
antibiotics. The Committee also continued work on extreme guidelines, training, and tools to save lives on the battlefield.
cold weather and pediatric applications within the scope of the
TCCC Guidelines. The CoTCCC is also undertaking a com- CAPT Travis Deaton, MD, FACEP, FAWM, assumed responsi-
prehensive review and later publication of the TCCC’s Top 10 bility as the Chair of the CoTCCC in September 2023. CAPT
priorities for Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation. Deaton graduated from the United States Naval Academy in
The CoTCCC meeting minutes are posted on the JTS website 1999 and completed medical school at the Uniformed Services
at https://jts.health.mil/. University of Health Sciences in 2003. He served as a flight
surgeon for the Marine Aircraft Logistics Squadron 36 and
Chairmanship Changeover then as the Group Surgeon for Marine Aircraft Group 6 in
Okinawa. Before completing the emergency medicine resi-
The September CoTCCC meeting also served as the official dency at Naval Medical Center San Diego, he was the Dive
chairman handover from CAPT Brendon Drew to CAPT Medical Officer for the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion at Camp
Travis Deaton. Since 2019, the committee has been chaired by Pendleton. CAPT Deaton then served as the 31st Marine Ex-
an active-duty physician, and we are continuing as such for the peditionary Unit Surgeon in Okinawa, Japan, and then as an
foreseeable future. Emergency Medicine Physician at Naval Medical Center San
Diego. He served as an emergency medicine augmentee with
CAPT Brendon Drew, DO, FACEP, FAWM, U.S. Navy, has the Joint Special Operations Command. CAPT Deaton was the
been the chair of the CoTCCC since September 2019. During Division Surgeon for the 1st Marine Division and recently as-
his 4-year tour, he and the committee have overseen 8 revision sumed duties as the Force Surgeon for I Marine Expeditionary
points of the TCCC Guidelines, the massive TCCC curricu- Force at Camp Pendleton, CA. CAPT Deaton has 13 combat
lum development and delivery of tiers 1-4 (ASM, CLS, CMC, deployments with the Marines and Special Operations Forces
CPP), and has guided 6 ongoing review efforts of TCCC com- to multiple combat zones. Like his CoTCCC chair predeces-
ponents. CAPT Drew graduated from the United States Naval sors, CAPT Deaton brings a wealth of combat casualty ex-
Academy in 1995 with service in the Navy prior to completing perience to the table as the incoming leader of the CoTCCC.
medical school in 2001 with a subsequent Emergency Med- He assumes the chairmanship in times of change throughout
icine residency at Naval Medical Center San Diego. CAPT the U.S. military, impacting how we train and conduct TCCC
Drew served throughout the Navy and Marine Corps in sev- and prolonged casualty care in different combat environments.
eral pivotal positions, including Battalion and Regimental Sur- Travis – welcome to this awesome responsibility, and we look
geon with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, and the 6th Marine forward to going to the next level under your leadership.
Regiment, with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was
the officer in charge of a Shock Trauma Platoon in Afghani- *Harold Montgomery is the Joint Program Manager for
stan. He served as a Staff Emergency Medicine physician with TCCC and Vice Chair of the Committee on TCCC with the
the 1st Marine Logistics Group, Naval Hospital Camp Pend- Joint Trauma System.
leton, and Naval Medical Center San Diego. He served as an
emergency medicine augmentee with the Joint Special Oper- PMID: 37702603; DOI: 10.55460/UY8Z-KB0M
ations Command, including Africa deployments. He was the

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