Comparison of a Novel Tool-less External Fixator Clamp with an Established System Regarding Handling and Stability
Introduction With a growing frequency of extreme weather events, associated natural disasters1 and military conflicts, there is an increasing incidence of fractures requiring emergency treatment in the context of ‘damage control’ using simple methods such as an external fixator. As Martinez-Rondanelli et al. point out in their 2021 manuscript on damage control in orthopaedics and… Read more »
Antimalarial Drug Supply Issues during World War
Abstract Malaria was a major cause of casualties during World War II in the Southwest Pacific, and drug supply issues were acute strategic concerns. The capture of the cinchona plantations of Indonesia by the Japanese Imperial Army and the lack of manufacturing capacity for synthetic substitutes were significant logistical constraints that limited Allied combat operations… Read more »
Behaviour Change Techniques, Barriers and Facilitators for Promoting Self-managed Physical Activity in Australian Defence Force Veterans: A Mixed-methods Study
Abstract Objectives: Australian Defence Force veterans find self-management of health challenging, and little is known about best-practice approaches for promoting self-managed physical activity in this population. This study assessed the strategies used by health professionals to support veteran patients to self-manage their physical activity regimes and their perceptions concerning the barriers and facilitators that impact… Read more »
Average 70kg D**khead: Motivational Lessons from an Ex-Army Special Forces Doctor
Warning: This review delves into trauma issues that may be distressing to some readers. Support is available through your Chain of Command, Chaplaincy or Health Centre, Lifeline 131144 or Open Arms 1800 011 046. Dan Pronk tells his story of transformation from a chubby average kid who joins the Army to train as a doctor… Read more »
Should the Australian Defence Force Conduct a Drug Trial of Wakefulness-Promoting Medications?
Abstract Fatigue jeopardises soldiers’ lives, and despite caffeine being the approved wakefulness aid in the Australian Defence Force (ADF), its efficacy equals a placebo with unwanted side effects. The US Military uses modafinil as an alternative, but no ADF studies on modafinil exist. This article argues for exploring alternatives, ensuring consent and conducting willingness-to-participate studies… Read more »
Georgian Naval Warfare, Ships and Medicine 1714–1815
Introduction Previous articles in this series describe the development of a cycle from prehistory to the end of the Elizabethan period, whereby increasing trade necessitated larger and more efficient ships to transport merchandise and better weapons to defend or attack them, thereby facilitating further trading opportunities. 1,2,3,4,5,6 However, it was not until the 18th century that… Read more »
Guest Editorial
“For Every Drop Shed in Anguish” In February this year a new sculpture was dedicated in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Its purpose was described as being “a place at the Memorial for those who have experienced and witnessed the ongoing trauma that can result from military service and for visitors… Read more »
Ex-Royal New Zealand Dental Corps Dentist and Korean Veteran turns 100
A few years ago, JMVH published an article on the Korean War. The front-page photograph showed a Royal New Zealand Dental Corps officer working in a Field Dental Unit. That officer was Major (Rtd) Alan Cull OBE. On Thursday 28 March, Alan celebrated his 100th birthday at a dinner hosted by the Manawatu Officers’ Club… Read more »
Efficacy of RSDL® (Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion) Kit in the Management of Acute Sulfuric Acid Burns in Rabbits
Abstract RSDL® (Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion) Kit is approved for decontaminating chemical warfare agents and T-2 fungal toxins. This work aimed to investigate the efficacy of RSDL or water irrigation for sulfuric acid dermal decontamination against untreated control in rabbit models. Rabbits were randomly assigned to Groups 1 (no decontamination), 2 (water) or 3 (RSDL) and… Read more »
Fundamental Inputs to (ADF Health) Capability: Personnel
Introduction There has been a longstanding misperception within Defence, government and the general public that the ADF health services only need to provide treatment services. This notion fails to recognise the other two intrinsically linked ‘purposes’ (what would now be called ‘missions’) identified by Arthur Graham Butler in his seminal WWI medical history:1,2 enabling operational… Read more »
Agent Orange Exposure, Cytogenetics, and Clinical Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma and MGUS Patients
Abstract Background While considerable research has examined transformation from monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to multiple myeloma (MM) and the association of Agent Orange (AO) with MM, adverse cytogenetics are understudied. Purpose To evaluate associations between AO and adverse cytogenetics or other poor prognostic factors such as abnormal light chain ratio in aged veterans… Read more »
Developing an Operational Skillset for Military Critical Care Physicians: A Scoping Review
Abstract Introduction There is an increasing recognition of the need for deployed intensive care physicians (intensivists) with the changing nature of conflict. Required capabilities of military intensivists are determined by the operational context and is different to those of the civilian work environment. We sought to identify an operational clinical skillset for military critical care… Read more »
Infectious Disease Mortality in Deployed Soldiers during the Spanish American War
The Spanish–American War In 2014, the US Army deployed 2500 soldiers into Liberia, West Africa, as part of a global response to an Ebola outbreak. Despite the fear of viral spread from civilians, no cases of Ebola occurred in US or UK military members, and very few febrile soldiers were seen with other complaints.1 The… Read more »
The PACT Act of 2022 Changed My Patient’s Life
To: President Biden and all who wrote and passed the PACT Act of 2022 to help veterans. From: David Bittleman, MD, Primary Care Internal Medicine Doctor at VA San Diego, CA. Date: August 7, 2023 J.W. a soft-spoken, Vietnam War Navy veteran has been my patient at the VA San Diego for about 10 years…. Read more »
Book Review of Signature Wounds: The Untold Story of the Military’s Mental Health Crisis
Signature Wounds: The untold story of the military’s mental health crisis By David Kieran. New York: New York University Press 2019. ISBN 978-1479892365. AU$32.98. Reviewed by Darren Cronshaw Warning: This review includes information on mental illness, trauma and suicide that may be disturbing to some readers. Support is available through your Chain of Command, Chaplaincy… Read more »
Editorial
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 »
Use of a Health Monitoring System During a US Military Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 2021): Participant Characteristics, Demographics and Differences in Participation
Abstract Background: Because of the close working environment, military personnel are exposed to respiratory disease, often greater than the civilian sector. During the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2021), an Oracle short message service (SMS)–based, mobile phone, daily COVID-19 health monitoring system was employed to monitor and protect the health of military members participating in a large-scale,… Read more »
Social Isolation of War Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Based on Emotional Inhibition: The Mediating Role of Rejection Sensitivity
Abstract War veterans experience significant social isolation due to problems in their cognitive-emotional process. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the mediating role of sensitivity to rejection in the relationship between emotional inhibition and social isolation in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this descriptive and correlational research, 300 veterans with PTSD, admitted… Read more »
Saint Longinus at the Cross – A Veteran’s Story
Abstract Although other historical and Biblical figures prior to St Longinus have demonstrated many aspects of a Spiritual Wound and Injury (SW&I), Saint Longinus is worthy of specific consideration on several levels. To start with, with his seven simple words, ‘Truly this was the Son of God,’ he is the first person to publicly declare… Read more »
System Configuration for an Extreme-Range Normobaric Hypoxia Generator
Abstract This manuscript describes the development of an extreme-range normobaric hypoxic environment (FO2 6.5%; PO2 31.4 kPa; simulated altitude 9300 m) utilising readily available commercial equipment and a low-cost portable hypoxia generator. The experimental configurations described validate the working hypothesis that reducing atmospheric oxygen partial pressure of air intake into a portable normobaric hypoxia generator will… Read more »
Effects of Agility Training on Body Control, Change of Direction Speed and Injury Attrition Rates in Dutch Recruits: A Pilot Study
Abstract Background: Injury prevention contributes to the improvement of basic military training graduation rates. Purpose: To obtain an estimated effect of agility training (AT) on body control, change of direction speed (CODS), and attrition due to injuries in Dutch recruits. Methods: Cluster randomised pilot study including 64 recruits undergoing 23 weeks initial military training with… Read more »
The Australian Army’s Two ‘Traditional’ Diseases: Gonorrhea and Syphilis — A Military-Medical History During the Twentieth Century
Ian Howie-Willis Abstract Two sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) marched in lockstep with the Australian Army in most, if not all, its overseas campaigns during the twentieth century. Gonorrhoea and syphilis, bacterial infections spread most commonly through sexual intercourse. This article illustrates through reference to the Australian Army’s major overseas deployments; from the Boer War at… Read more »
The Effects of the Incompatible “Soldier” Identity Upon Depression in Former Australian Army Personnel
M Kreminski, M Barry, M Platow In recent years, there has been a concerted effort by social psychologists to link the social identity approach with general health and well-being. The research, however, has overlooked that a strong and enduring identity that is incompatible with an individual’s current environment may have a negative effect upon that… Read more »
‘A near-run thing’: The foundation and early years of 1 Malaria Research Laboratory, forerunner of the Australian Army Malaria Institute, 1963–1969 (Part 4 of ‘Pioneers of Australian military malariology’)
Ian Howie-Willis Abstract During the 25 years following World War II, malaria re-emerged as a major threat to Australian military personnel deployed to malarious regions in South-East Asia. By 1952, malariologists in Britain knew that drug-resistant strains of the malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax had emerged in Malaya.[i] Successive contingents of Australian soldiers… Read more »
The Army Malaria Institute: Fifty Years of Esteemed “Vampire” Service
J. Pearn Abstract The Golden Jubilee (2016) of the Army Malaria Institute is a significant event in the history not only of the Australian Defence Force, but that of the Australian nation. The Institute’s research – entomological, pharmacological, epidemiological and clinical – has been crucial in the maintenance of optimal healthcare for every operational and humanitarian deployment of… Read more »
Cold Weather Injury Risk Analysis and Management in a Tasmanian Army Reserve Battalion
Abstract Cold Weather Injury (CWI) is a significant threat to military capability in Tasmania. In 2011, the Royal Tasmanian Regiment implemented a cold weather training policy and training package to formalise risk management and preserve military capability in training and operations. This article summarises relevant literature pertaining to military CWI and outlines an approach… Read more »
Would That White Coat Were Purple
Wing Commander Tony Austin RAAF A traditional Chinese curse goes something like this: ‘May you live in interesting times’. If it be so, then we are all most certainly cursed for those are indeed very interesting times. Economic reality has hit the military hard the buzz word for the 90’s is ‘downsizing’ and the military… Read more »
2023 AMMA Conference
