Page 114 - JSOM Winter 2023

An Ongoing Series

5th Combat Medical Care Conference,
5 and 6 July 2023

Daniela Lenard; Dr. Florent Josse*

nternational symposium for tactical casualty care for med-
ics, paramedics and physicians “. . . For the treatment of our
Iwounded it must be paramount: all in or not at all.”

Beneath the tagline “All In,” the 5th Combat Medical Care
Conference (CMC Conference) has taken place at the Tagungs-
zentrum Blaubeuren Conference Center (TZB) on 5 and 6 July
2023.

The conference was organized by the event management de-
partment of the German Society for Military Medicine and
Military Pharmacy. The scientific leadership and guidance, as
well as the majority of scientific support staff, was provided
by the Department for Anesthesia, Intensive Care, Emer-
gency Medicine and Pain Medication of the Federal Armed
Forces Hospital, Ulm, professional home to CMC-initiator Lt-
Col Florent Josse, MD and his co-scientific-organizer, LtCol
Daniela Lenard, MD (Figure 1).
Within this great body of scientific assemblies, the CMC Con-
ference caters not only to special or specialized forces but also
to all personnel that is part of tactical casualty care – civil-
ian, police, and military – providing a place for exchange and
learning on an even level.
Because of renovations, the crew around LtCol Josse had
to change venue this year. The conference moved to placid
Blaubeuren amid the cave-riddled and picturesque Swabian
landscape. Reclusive and intimate, but highly modern and ac-
commodating, the Blaubeuren Conference Center provided an
ideal foundation for practical trainings, scientific lectures, and
leisurely productive social exchange and network.
Representing the Federal Armed Forces Hospital, Ulm, second
in command COL Prof. Friemert, MD, headed off the opening
About 1,300 participants from 36 nations, 53 exhibitors, 90 session. The Federal Armed Forces Hospital, Ulm, as one of five
lectures in up to 5 parallel tracks, 35 workshops and 2 days military hospitals in Germany, provides level 1 trauma center
of exchange and networking filled the tagline with life and services with multiple surgical departments. The hospital rep-
context (Figure 2). The CMC Conference again positioned it- resents an important contribution to Germany’s tactical med-
self firmly as the biggest gathering on the principles of tacti- ical involvement in multinational operations abroad, ensuring
cal medicine outside the U.S. and as a link between its grant medical training to military medical personnel and a high level
counterpart for special and specialized forces at the SOMSA in of expertise in damage control resuscitation and surgery. COL
North Carolina, USA. Friemert cordially welcomed the diverse crowd. With a precise
*Correspondence to florentjosse@bundeswehr.org
LtCol Daniela Lenard and LtCol Florent Josse are from the Department for Anesthesia, Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Pain Medicine
of the Armed Forces Hospital, Ulm, Germany.

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