The recent Asian Tsunami has resulted in an unprecedented number of Australia military medical personnel on deployment throughout the world providing both health care to our deployed forces and humanitarian support. Currently, health staff are providing services in the Solomon Islands, the Middle East Area of Operations and Indonesia. Australia’s contingent of personnel involved in Operation Tsunami Assist worked tirelessly from HMAS Kanimbla, the ANZAC Field Hospital and the Banda Aceh Public Hospital.
The ANZAC Field Hospital was established as part of the Banda Aceh Public Hospital in the first week of January to run the surgical and infectious disease wards while the hospital’s staff gradually returned to work. Prior to the Tsunami, the facility had functioned as the city’s largest public hospital and medical training college. The Tsunami resulted in massive losses of hospital staff as well as significant damage to the facility, requiring a massive clean-up that is still under way.
To acknowledge the hard work of our permanent and reserve health personnel, the journal will be publishing a themed edition in November dedicated to the Tsunami operation. Authors are encouraged to send in manuscripts for publication, dealing with any aspect of their support to the Operation. Manuscripts detailing health personnel’s experience and working environment are particularly sort.
On a different note, this edition marks my first as the new editor. In this role, I have begun to introduce new procedures to streamline the publication of articles and letters in the journal. Prospective authors are encouraged to read the new Instructions to Authors at the end of this edition before preparing their manuscripts. These new procedures will reduce the time between manuscript submission and publication, by shortening the refereeing process. Other changes will appear over coming issues, to ensure that the journal continues to promote the study and dissemination of military medicine.
