Natasha Bebo, MSN, RN’s Post

If war comes to the Western Pacific, the Navy and the joint force will have to deal with sunk ships and mass maritime combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) operations at a scale not seen since World War II. Although doctrine acknowledges that “the joint force may need to prepare plans and allocate resources to rescue potentially hundreds of survivors in a hostile environment if a naval combatant is sunk,” current personnel recovery concepts of operations, doctrine, and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) focus on recovering individuals and small groups of isolated personnel. The Navy has a moral responsibility to its sailors and their families to have the capabilities and plans to give them a chance to live “and return with honor” should their ship be sunk under them, to say nothing of the operational and political imperatives. The time for action is now. See some actionable recommendations in the latest Proceedings: #MMCSAR #JPRA #ReturnWithHonor #AlliesandPartners

This article in Health Affairs by Arthur Lodge Kellermann is a great read about the current state of the U.S. Military Health System. It highlights the challenges faced by this system and the critical importance of addressing them promptly. For me, Exhibit 1 of the article that looks at DOD healthcare spending compared to US healthcare and VA healthcare spending is eye-opening. Kellerman stresses that failure to act swiftly could have severe consequences for military readiness and the well-being of service members and their families. To ensure a robust and effective military health system, immediate action is required. #militaryhealth #HealthcareReform #nationalsecurity #militarymedicine #army https://lnkd.in/emZwTxya

Just an example why modern armed forces need to be a compact institution; self sufficient almost in all respects; from search and rescue, transportation, specialized education and training, medical corps, to military justice. https://lnkd.in/dr7SqQEY

Although Arthur Lodge Kellermann ‘s article was published last year, you won’t find a more succinct statement of how military medicine got to where it is today. Unfortunately, what took a decade to disassemble won’t be fixed anytime soon - the pipeline back to a healthy MHS is a long one, frought with outdated processes, unnecessarily onerous policies, and massive turnover. That being said, there are dynamic leaders in place at every level of the services and DHA! The MHS is not irreparably broken. As service members, we pride ourselves on critical thinking, flexibility and adaptability - these skills can’t just apply to the battlefield - MHS leaders must be given the opportunity and lattitude to apply these skills to innovate, update, and renovate the system. Dr. Kellerman’s recommendations are a good start!

In 2024 we added new providers bringing increased services and access to care for beneficiaries in optometry, physical therapy, women’s health and surgical services. #weprovidethebest #dhaproud #healthcare #healthcareheroes READ MORE AT LINKS 👇 ncreased access to optometry care for Fort Johnson Families, Retirees https://lnkd.in/gjxN6_hz Landrum joins BJACH Rehab Team, brings pelvic floor physical therapy https://lnkd.in/gsuaMNw3 New providers increase women’s health access at Fort Johnson https://lnkd.in/gvqeTi_C Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists increase surgical services at Fort Johnson https://lnkd.in/gbGi5YQi US Army I Defense Health Agency I JRTC and Fort Johnson I United States Department of Defense

This Veterans Day, we honor the brave men and women who have served our nation. Their service extends beyond the battlefield, profoundly shaping emergency medicine and prehospital care. Military research has revolutionized how we respond to emergencies, particularly with trauma and in wilderness and austere environments. Techniques like tourniquet use, trauma care, and hypothermia management—developed in military settings—are now lifesaving tools in both civilian and remote medical contexts. At the Mountain Training Network, our Wilderness Medicine brand, we proudly carry this legacy forward. Our curriculum is built on the latest clinical practice guidelines and enriched by the expertise of Colin MacDonald (pictured below), a Marine veteran and one of our Wilderness Medicine textbook authors. His unique perspective bridges the gap between military and civilian wilderness medicine, equipping responders to face the most extreme conditions. This shared knowledge doesn’t happen in isolation. Organizations like the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) and the United States Department of Defense Defense Health Agency (DHA) work together to ensure that advancements in military medicine benefit wilderness and civilian providers alike. Their collaboration has been instrumental in developing Prolonged Field Care (PFC) guidelines, which empower medical providers to deliver effective care in delayed evacuation scenarios—crucial for both military operations and wilderness expeditions. At Capital City CPR, we incorporate these advancements across all our courses. From First Aid/CPR, where we include STOP THE BLEED® at no extra cost, to advanced programs like Wilderness First Aid and Industrial First Responder, our training reflects the latest in lifesaving techniques. Today, we honor the lasting contributions of our veterans to emergency care and express our deepest gratitude for their service. #VeteransDay #WildernessMedicine #ProlongedFieldCare #STOPTHEBLEED #TECC #MountainTrainingNetwork #CapitalCityCPR

"...WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS...MAKE EVERYBODY A MEDIC." Enhanced medical training for virtually all combatants? If the next major war is in the Pacific, we cannot assume we'll have air superiority to quickly evacuate the seriously wounded... "What we've realized when we start looking at a theater like the Pacific, and the distances and a peer-to-peer fight, there is no way we're going to get to the golden hour [critical window for treatment that decreases risk of death or worsening wounds]. So if we're not going to be able to get a surgeon or somebody to the golden hour, then what we have to do is ... to make everybody a medic." This is a major challenge for our already over-stretched armed forces.

Today marked my first experience as a retiree utilizing the VA Healthcare system. The staff at the hospital displayed exceptional patience, helpfulness, and kindness. However, the VA in the D.C. area faces a significant access challenge, with appointments unavailable until January - 3 months away. This issue extends not only to military facilities but also to civilian hospitals nationwide. With over 30 years of experience in healthcare, I am eager to collaborate with the private sector to address these access barriers and enhance healthcare accessibility. We have to think differently. Our patients depend on it. I depend on it. #HealthcareAccessibility #VAHealthcare #PublicPrivatePartnerships

Please see the attached PDF for more information on the upcoming lecture featuring Dr. Frank Butler. IHMC Lecture Series Dr. Frank Butler THE TALK: Transforming Battlefield Trauma Care “Transforming Battlefield Trauma Care” is the extraordinary account of how a small group of world-class trauma experts joined forces with America’s best combat medics to rewrite the rule book in battlefield medicine - and then to introduce the revolutionary new concepts called Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) to a disbelieving medical world. This presentation provides a first-hand account of the challenges faced by TCCC innovators in developing and implementing TCCC’s novel approach to saving lives on the battlefield. TCCC has now been adopted as the standard for battlefield trauma care by the U.S. Military and by many other countries around the world. TCCC concepts are now gradually being transitioned into Emergency Medical Systems in the civilian world and are helping to save lives there as well.

A workshop on the incident command system in military hospitals was held In this one-day scientific workshop, the basics and components of the incident command system, the description of the duties of the command and specialized teams were explained to specialists, students and nursing experts, emergency medical services and doctors. #HICS