Once again a new year is upon us, and in the blink of an eye we are nearly one quarter of the way through it. It seems like only yesterday that we were enjoying the conviviality of networking and the mentally stimulating environment of the 2006 Defence Health Services/ Australian Military Medicine Association Scientific Conference in Brisbane.
This second of the joint symposia/conferences was equally as successful as the first in 2002. Over 500 delegates attended, and were treated to four days of high-quality, well researched and well thought out papers. There were a wealth of international speakers and delegates, but as always the work of our local people was to the fore.
As one would expect from the State whose motto is “beautiful one day perfect the next”, Brisbane turned on its usual warm sunny climate, but with just a dash of rain to give us hope that perhaps the drought will not last forever.
We continue to see in the world abroad the ongoing commitment to the various military operations which require significant health support. The Defence Health Services continue to be in the forefront of the effort to support Australia’s contribution to these activities.
In recent weeks we have again been reminded of the potential for our troubled region to impact on our lives and require the commitment of health professionals to support Australia’s nationals in difficult working environments.
While the recent earthquake in Sumatra did not directly impact on our people, the tragic air crash at Yogyakarta involving some 10 Australians, five of
whom lost their lives, once again mobilised Australia’s health services in support. As always, the involvement of the ADF was significant in both deploying teams into location and in evacuating the wounded home.
2007 will be highlighted for the Association in two significant events. First, the launching of the Association’s new journal – the Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health – which will occur in June, and whose formation is detailed in the Editorial.
The second event will of course be the Association’s Conference, to be held in Melbourne from 19 to 21 October 2007. While this conference will not be on the scale of the 2006 joint conference, I have no doubt that both the quality of papers and the ability to significantly network will make it just as valuable and exciting. Details of the conference venue are included in the Journal, and I look forward to seeing you there.
Russ Schedlich
Please specify the URL of your file
