Editorial Board

Scott Kitchener

This  has been a year of change  for the Journal. After a long and colourful  career. CAPT Jenny Graham has departed  from active service  with the ADF and also her role on the AMMA Executive as the Editor of the Journal.  She not only w ill be. but had been sorely missed – a tribute to her efforts during service to the Association.  Prior to her departure the Executive discussed and accepted  a proposal to establish an Editorial  Board recognising  the significant logistic effort required to produce this publication.  ConcuJTent with this move will be a level of rigourt hat will further elevate the Journal into the scientific health literature. The strength of submissions to the Journal , the Annual Conference and the growth of the Association both support t his direction.  The Board will accommodate the close association of military  and veteran ‘s health and the increasingly academic nature of this field in Australia by including representatives from the Universities actively researching and teaching the field.

The President of the Association  will sit as Chair through  the initial stages of governance from the

Editorial Board. The Board  will then review the publication  process for the Journal  towards an efficient means of disseminating scientific  and academic in formation  of military and veteran’s health in addition to documenting the activities of the Association. Towards  the latter. accepted abstracts  of the AMMA 2006  Conference w ill be published  in t he next edition of the Journal  and will appear in future years as an annual supplement to the Journal.

Your suggestions  and advice will be sought at the Annual Conference  in Brisbane.  Comments  are also welcomed per email.

Finally. this edition includes the usual eclectic  mix of papers reflecting the diverse nature of health care practice in the military.  Papers range from historic contributions to contemporary issues in military health of sports medicine, nutrition. surgery  and occupational health.  My sincere thanks to the authors of these  papers and other contributors who have submitted papers  not yet published in the Journal.

Thank you for your continued support of Australian

Military Medicine.

Dr Russell Schedlich

As we go to press. the Australian Military Medicine Association/Defence Health Services joint Organising Committee  are putting the final touches to the programme for the 2006 AMMA/DHS conference  being held at the Brisbane Convention Centre from 19 to 22 October. The Organising Committee  has been working tirelessly to put together a Conference that is packed full of h igh quality papers as well as prov i ding delegates the opportunity  to mix with their colleagues  in a relaxed environment.

The DHS and AMMA came to an agreement earl y this year to co-host this conference. with AMMA being given the responsibility for management under the guidance of a joint Organising Committee.

We are honoured that the Defence Minister. Dr Brendan Nelson. will be opening the Conference. Being responsible  for the political  leadership of t he ADF as well as being a medical practitioner. Dr Nelson is sure to provide a unique perspective on military medicine in his Opening Address.

The Conference has an impressive list of Australian and international keynote speakers. including Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer. who will read papers on a wide variety of military medical  matters.

This w ill be an even t not to be missed. and I look forward to catching up with you all in Brisbane.

Members of the Defence Health Service continue to work at a high pace to supp011 operational and exercise deployments of the ADF. and t he level of activity remains undiminished.

There is continuing focus on the risks of deployments. particularly on those that impact on the long term health of veterans. The 2006 conference  will be our opportunity to support the scientific and professional development of the science of military medicine and health.

Australian Military Medicine is also undergoing significant change. Council agreed last year to join with the Defence Health Service. t he Cent re for Military and Veteran ‘s Health and other professional  bodies involved in support research and study into military medicine and heal th to establish an Editorial Board to guide the development  of the journal and to provide editorial support  for its publication.

The  new Editorial  Board consists of: Russ Schedlich. President AMMA.

• Editor-in-Chief
• Scott Kitchener, Grants Officer. AMMA Peter  Leggat,  Defence Health Services
• Keith Horsley. Depa11ment of Veteran Affairs
• Graeme  Can nell, Defence Health Services
• Malcolm Sim, Monash  Un iversity
• Bob Stacy, CSR

The Board will be meeting during t he Conference to map out concepts  and a plan for the evolution of the journal wit h a view to having it internationally recognised as a forum  for publication of research and comment on military  and veteran’s heal th.

The Board will be pleased to receive any thoughts on how best this may be achieved.

I look  forward to catching  up with you all at the

Conference in Brisbane in October.

DR  RUSSELL SCHEDLICH

Russ Schedlich graduated  from the University of New South Wales in 1979 and sta1ted working in the Royal Australian  Navy the following  year. After time at sea a nd in major shore Establishments. he specialised in underwater med icine. and in 1986-88 undertook a posting to the Institute of Naval Medicine in the Un ited Kingdom. Returning  to Australia. he served as Fleet Medical  Officer from 1989-90 and then completed a Master  of Public Health the following year. In 1 992. he was appointed  Medical Officer-in-Charge of Balmoral Naval  Hospital, and the following year joined Maritime Headquarters to develop  the concept. design and operational development  of the Primary Casualty Reception  Facilities in the Navy’s  ex-USN amphibious transport ships. In 1996 he was for the second time appointed  as Fleet Medical Officer. being promoted to Captain shortly afterwards.  In September  1 998. he was given the additional  position of Head Naval Health Branch. In December 1999, Russ transferred to the RAN  Reserves after nearly 23 years of service. and following 12 months in a civilian capacity at Fleet Base East Medical Centre, HMAS  Kuttabul,  moved to Broken Hill as Director Medical Services. Far West Area Health Service. In August 2004, he transferred to the NSW Health  Department  in the medical workforce area, grappling with issues around  medical practitioner and specialist numbers  and their education and training. Lifestyle  beckoned  in 2006 after his three children left home, and he is now Executive Director Medical Services in Rockhampton, living in a beach front unit and once again contemplating the sea.

LTCOL SCOTT KITCHENER

LTCOL Scott Kitchener is a Reserve Consu ltant in Tropical  Medicine and Clinical Research.  He holds a position  as Associate Professor at the Centre for Mil itary and Veterans Health  in addition to Principal Research Fellow  at the James  Cook University School of Tropical Medicine  and Public Health.  His civilian work includes research and post-graduate teaching at University of Queensl and, research  at the Wesley Research Institute and private practice as a Public Health Physicia n.  He has  been a member of AMMA since inception, recently being elected to the Executive.

LTCOL PETER LEGGAT

Joined the Australian  Regular Army in 1987. He was posted to variou s units. including the historic  2 Field Ambulance in Townsville. Lieutenant  Colonel  Leggat is currently serving in the Defence Health  Services, Army Reserve, Queensland, and is the nominee of the Head. Defence Health Service. on the Board of Australian Military Medicine. His day jobs are Associate  Professor and Acting Director of the Anton Breinl  Cent re for Public Health and Tropical Medicine. James Cook University and Visiting Medical Officer  at 5 Aviation Regiment, Townsville.

DR  KEITH   HORSLEY

Specialist Adviser (Healt h Studies)  with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.  He has been involved in research of Korean War veterans, Vietnam War veterans. Nuclear Test participants, and those involved in F- Ill maintenance. He is a graduate  from the University of Queensland  in medicine and public administration

PROF. MALCOLM SIM

Professor Malcolm Sim is an Occupational Physician who is Director of the Monash University Centre  for Occupational and Environmental  Health (MonCOEH). His main research interests include the human health effects of occupational  and environmental chemical  and other exposures, occupational  disease surveillance,veterans’ health and exposure assessment in epidemiological studies.

LTCOL GRAEME CANNELL

Graeme Cannell graduated  from the University of Queensland  with qualifications  in science  and a doctorate in biological chemistry.  Subsequently he completed other postgraduate studies in education, management and information technology. His career  has covered  30 years in research  with interests  in toxicology, pharmacology, mathematical modelling,  organ perfusion, cell culture and analysis. He has served  in the Reserves for 23 years and holds the position of SO 1  Research within Defence  Health Services

LTCOL BOB  STACY

As one of the founding members. Bob  Stacy  is no stranger to AMMA.  He has worked  within  the areas of human  factors and mi litary  medicine  for over 32 yea rs supporting l arge organisations. including Defence. Telstra. BHP and Melbourne Health.  He was the winner of the 2004  Eric Wigglesworth National  OHS Education Medal, and i s a Research Fellow of the  University of Ballarat  and a Fellow of the Safety  Institute of Australia. Bob  has a Bachelor of Science in Ph ysiology and

Human  Performance from  the University of New England; a Master of Science in Ergonomics and Human Factors from  the Loughborough University of Technology. in the UK; and a Doctorate from the University of Ballarat in OHS and organisational development.  Bob is CUITently working with CSR as their Group Manager  Occupational Health and Safety.