As we enter 2026, consideration needs to be given to various conflicts and touchpoints around the globe, from Ukraine to South Sudan, Middle East to the South China Sea. While the Australian Defence Force has not been drawn directly into these conflicts, there remains the potential for escalation, for which we all need to continue… Read more »
In my Editorial in January 2023, I discussed the role of deception in war and peace. 1 While deception is accepted military strategy, such as in Operation Bertram in the lead up to the second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942, attempts to intentionally or non-intentionally deceive in medicine have the potential to cause… Read more »
Editorial – Somalia – 30 years on On 9 December 1992, United States (US) Marines, under the command of Lieutenant General Robert Johnston, landed on the coast of Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope. 1 General Charles Krulak, in his description of the ‘three block war’, captured some of the complexity of operations in… Read more »
Infectious Diseases in Military Medicine In spending a little less time on COVID-19, I have been reflecting on the role of infectious diseases in military operations, as diseases like tuberculosis, Japanese encephalitis and even syphilis make a resurgence in Australia and overseas. Biselli et al. provide an excellent historical review of the role of military… Read more »
Inaugural Perth AMMA Conference The first AMMA Conference in Perth will be held from 12-15 October 2023. Perth, and wider Western Australia (WA), has had long links to Australian military history and to past and contemporary military strategy. From the initial deployment of the Australian Imperial Force through Albany in 1914 to key submarine bases,… Read more »
Jortani SA, Snyder JW, Valdes JR. The role of the clinical laboratory in managing chemical or biological terrorism. CHn Chern 2000 Dec; 46(12): 1883-93. Background: Domestic and international acts of terrorism using chemicals and pathogens as weapons have recently attracted much attention because of several hoaxes and real incidents. Clinical laboratories, especially those affiliated with… Read more »
December is always an interesting time to consider what progress has been made in the year past. We have seen, once again, the Australian Defence Force heavily committed in our regional area, in East Timor and Bougainville; at home, with over 5,000 troops involved in ensuring Australia had a safe and unforgettable Olympic Games; and… Read more »
Vegetius wrote these comments sometime in the fourth or fifth century AD. Unfortunately, this observation is as true today as it was then. As military health personnel, with many of us serving in active or reserve roles within the Australian Defence Force. We must always be striving for peace by preparing for conflict. Unlike one,… Read more »
Trunkey DD. History and development of trauma care in the United States. Clin Orthop 2000 May;(374):36-46. Until recently the development of systems for trauma care in the United States has been inextricably linked to wars. During the Revolutionary War trauma care was based on European trauma principles particularly those espoused by the Hunter brothers. Surgical… Read more »
Morgan-Jones D. Hodgetts TJ. A unified emergency care system from first aid to de¬finitive care. J R Army Med Corps 1999 Oct;145(3):132-5. The Unified Emergency Care System (UECS) provides an integrated system of medical sup¬ port from point of injury to the time a casualty is handed over to specialist care within hospi¬tal. It enables… Read more »
Thus spoke Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade”. This charge, during the Crimean War, was probably one of the most ill-considered events in military history. The Crimean War, however was the one of the turning points of military medicine. From this foundation, we’ve seen the development of military medicine… Read more »
AS WE GET THIS ISSUE TO PRINT, l am integrally involved with reviewing Disaster Preparedness and Management Plans for the WA Department of Health. Events like the Bali bombing in October 2002, the Waterfall train crash in Sydney, the recent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Asia and Canada, and the continuing threat of… Read more »
AS WE GET THIS ISSUE TO PRINT, l am integrally involved with reviewing Disaster Preparedness and Management Plans for the WA Department of Health. Events like the Bali bombing in October 2002, the Waterfall train crash in Sydney, the recent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Asia and Canada, and the continuing threat of… Read more »
Caldicott DG, Edwards NA. The tools of the trade: weapons of mass destruction. Emerg Med (Fremantle) 2002 Sep 14 (3):240-8. Caldicott DG, Edwards NA, Tingey D, Bonnin R. Medical response to a terrorist attack and weapons of mass destruction. Emerg Med (Fremantle) 2002 Sep 14 (3):230-9. Caldicott DG, Edwards NA. The global threat of terrorism… Read more »
MORE MILITARY MEDICAL ACRONYMS- just what we need. These acronyms, however, are important as they herald a quiet revolution in how the Australian Defence Force intends to train, remunerate and hope¬ fully better retain their health personnel. Working on the basis of the 1998 decision by Defence to progress Specialist Officer Career Studies (SOCS) through… Read more »
Henderson DA. The looming threat of bioterrorism. Science 1999 Feb 26; 283(5406):127-82 Biological weapons have recently attracted the attention and the resources of the nation. Discerning the nature of the threat of bioweapons as well as appropriate responses to them requires greater attention to the biological characteristics of these instruments of war and terror. The… Read more »
Higgins I. Benchmarking in health care: A review of the literature. Australian Health Review 1997; 20 (4):60-9 This paper provides a review of the 10 significant publication related to benchmarking in health care. The discussion which follows is presented according to four headings: what the study did, how the study was conducted, what was learnt… Read more »
Affleck PJ, Needleman S. Sevotlurane and the 885A field anaesthesia machine: Clinical report. Mil Med 1997; 162(11): 7692-5 The Ohmeda 885A field anaesthesia machine is equipped with a non-agent-specific, universal vaporiser that can be used with most volatile anaesthetic agents. On a recent humanitarian medical mission to Honduras, the 885A was used to administer general… Read more »
PHOSGENE IS USED IN industry widely and has potential use as a chemical weapon. In this paper, its chemistry, uses and effects will be reviewed. CHEMISTRY Phosgene (COCl2) was first synthesised by Davy in 1812 from carbon monoxide, chlorine and activated charcoal in the presence of sunlight. At room temperature and normal atmospheric pressure, phosgene… Read more »
OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS, Australian Military Medicine has published a myriad of articles on all aspects of military medicine. One aspect that has been close to my heart, particularly over the last 10 years, has been the health effects of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons. The world has changed in this period… Read more »
AS WE APPROACH the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September, the Australian Defence Force remains actively involved in Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and central Asia, as well as East Timor, Bougainville and the Solomon Islands, and in the seas to our north. For all three Services, this continues to be one of… Read more »
ANOTHER INTERESTING FORTNIGHT has come to an end, as our ADF ships and personnel pre-deploy to the Gulf. One of the key issues over this period has been the Australian Defence Forces Anthrax Vaccination Program. While generally not controversial, the Anthrax Vaccination Program has reached that status with help from the media and the ADF… Read more »
IT IS NOW SIX MONTHS since the tragic and frightening attacks of 11 September (or 9-11 as the Americans now seem to refer to it). The new Bush government has gone from its initial unilateralist and isolationalist stance to a more involved (although still often unilateral) role in world affairs. The Australian Defence Force is… Read more »
Drazen JM. Smallpox and bioterrorism. N Engl 1 Med. 2002 Apr 25;346(17):1262-3. Bicknell WJ. The case for voluntary smallpox vaccination. N Engl 1 Med 2002 Apr 25;346(17):1323-5. Fauci AS. Smallpox vaccination policy-the need for dialogue. N Engl 1 Med. 2002 Apr 25;346(17):1319-20. COMMENT The April 25 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine contains… Read more »
Introduction CS is the generic name for the lacrimating agent 0-chlorobenzylidene malonitrile (2- chlorobenzalmalonitrile). which was originally developed in 1928 by B.B. Corson and R.W. Stoughtonl.2. CS is normally a solid, which is disseminated either dissolved in a solvent liquid (acetone, methylisobutylketone or methylene chloride) or in a particulate form as a smoke.1 The latter… Read more »
What a difference three months makes! When I wrote editorial for the August edition of Australian Military Medicine, I was thinking ahead of the tenth AMMA conference and my vision for the future for the journal. What none of us had planned for were the events of September 11 and its aftermath. September 11, 2001… Read more »
“You can never plan the future by the past” (Edmund Burke 1729-1797) I have now just completed nine months as the Director of the Joint Health Support Agency. I often get asked how long I have been in the job, as many people imagine, for some bizarre reason, that I have been in the job… Read more »
Srinivasan A. Kraus CN, DeShazer D, et al. Glanders in a military research microbiologist. N Engl J Med 2001;345(4):256-8. Comment: This is the first reported human case of glanders in the English medical literature since 1949. It was, unfortunately, laboratory acquired at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease. A couple of interesting… Read more »
