JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The Inaugural Operational Medicine Summit was hosted by the Health Readiness Center of Excellence, or HRCoE, at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Aug. 26-28 to foster unity of effort in the development of a ready medical force throughout the Total Army enterprise, capable of succeeding in a Multi-Domain Operations, or MDO.
More than 150 representatives from the operating and generating force attended the three-day summit at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. During the event, attendees discussed medical initiatives and current or anticipated gaps across the Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel, Facilities and Policy, or DOTMLPF-P, spectrum.
As a scene setter, attendees received information briefs on MDO and Unified Land Operations and overview briefs from U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army Futures Command, Office of The Surgeon General and the Joint Project Manager for Medical Modeling and Simulation.
On day three of the event, working groups were formed to help better define any problems related to training, manning, or equipping medical forces that were presented during the summit. Maj. Gen. Patrick D. Sargent, commander, HRCoE, urged the working groups to examine the problem set holistically and work toward solutions that consider DOTMLPF-P as a whole.
Sargent also explained why he thought the work was so vital.
"As a member of the Army Medical Department, we have an obligation to save lives; we are working toward zero preventable deaths on the battlefield," Sargent said. "But as leaders, it is our responsibility to give soldiers the necessary resources and training to execute their given mission."
The overall intent of the summit was to create a shared understanding through chartered working groups that will strive for collaboration as they work towards a solution set in a generating and operating forces co-lead effort. Colonel Bruce Syvinski, Director, HRCoE Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate, the CoE lead for the summit said his hope would be that attendees spread the word about the MEDCoE and their mission of developing the future force.
Syvinski said, "We are here for the Warfighter and the User, and we have to work within the system or change the system to ensure integration."
The Operational Medical Summit will be an annual event hosted at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston by HRCoE. Between events, HRCoE will lead quarterly VTC updates on working group progress. For more information about the summit or working groups, contact usarmy.jbsa.medcom-ameddcs.mbx.dcomm@mail.mil.