MEDCoE hosts 2nd annual Army Medical Warfighting Forum

Story by Erin Perez

U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO—The opening day of the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence Medical Warfighting Forum took place on Sept. 4, on JBSA-Lackland Air Force Base.

This is the second forum following last year’s inaugural event that brought together leaders from a broad cross-section of the Army, in addition to attendees from the Defense Health Agency, Navy and Air Force.

The goal of this year’s event is to provide a forum for leaders and stakeholders to discuss trends and strategies, as well as work through potential challenges in the midst of the changing face of modern warfare from counterinsurgency operations to large scale combat operations. Attendees from U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Futures Command, as well as Navy and Air Force representatives will ensure a broad range of differing experiences and perspectives are a part of any future strategic plans and discussions.

In his opening remarks, Brig. Gen. Clinton K. Murray, MEDCoE commanding general, emphasized the importance of this week’s forum.

“The focus is making sure we understand from an Army Medicine standpoint as we transition to large scale combat operations and multi domain operations, looking to 2030 and 2040,” said Murray, “[and] as we transition from the ‘Golden Hour’ to triage, from MEDEVAC [medical evacuation] to CASEVAC [casualty evacuation], from rapid evacuation back to the [United] States to prolonged field care and rehabilitation in theater, to European Command and Indo-Pacific Command.”

On day one of the forum, U.S Army Futures Command, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Office of the Army Surgeon General, the Defense Health Agency, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command and MEDCoE briefed and led panel discussions with more than 350 participants in attendance, both virtually and in person.

MEDCoE Command Sgt. Maj. Victor J. Laragione emphasized the importance of collaboration between Army Medicine and commands across the Army and other services as these future plans and strategies are taking place. “We are here to save lives on the battlefield, and we’ve got to get it right,” said Laragione. “There’s a whole lot of discussion on materiel and technology and the future, but we have to really remember that skill set, people is what really matters.”

The rest of the week will provide further opportunities for panel discussions and a shared understanding of the evolving wartime environment and how battlefield medicine must change to meet those demands in order to both support the Warfighter and maintain the medical readiness of combat units.