This issue is primarily focused on the abstracts for the coming Australasian Military Medicine Conference to be held in Brisbane in October 2017. The abstracts reflect a very diverse and comprehensive overview of military health. As befitting the theme of the conference, there will be a significant number of presentations on all aspects of disaster response, from military and civilian deployments to the management of animals in such events. There are are also a range of mental health presentations, with resilience, post-traumatic stress disorder, management of alcohol abuse and support to veterans being particular themes. Clinically, there is a strong focus on the management of acute trauma, infectious diseases and critical care, including in the aeromedical evacuation and submarine escape contexts.
The full gamut of military healthcare is examined, from recruitment and training through deployment and operational service, with a particular emphasis on improving diagnosis and care across this spectrum, to retirement and veterans’ health. Military health leadership and management are also considered, from both a full-time and Reserve perspective, including the support systems required to make them succeed. Finally, there a range of military medical history presentations that provide important lessons for current and future military operations. All of these presentations will be complemented by some excellent poster presentations and the photography competition.
We encourage all our presenters to consider submitting articles based on their abstracts, with a number already in the peer review process. All articles are welcome, from original military health studies to reviews to operational perspectives. All articles are peer-reviewed and available online, and we continue to build the website with all articles online and an increasing range of journal metrics and indexing options available. I look forward to seeing everyone at the Conference and welcome anyone contacting me about current or future contributions to JMVH.
Dr Andy Robertson, CSC, PSM
Commodore, RANR
Editor-in-Chief
