From the Clinic to the Battlefield and Beyond: The Many Faces of Military Medicine

With thousands of people stationed at a military base for varying amounts of time there can be the same issues facing the civilian population and some additional concerns as well. How those concerns are addressed can impact the quality of life of not only the service members on the base but also their families who are left behind when they are deployed overseas.

Lt. Colonel Daniel Lamar from the 87th Medical Group said that just like any municipality or state a military base takes public health seriously even if there are more areas to be addressed in their daily lives to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Hollywood movies often show wounded soldiers being airlifted from the battlefield by helicopter pilots flying through the bullets to get the patients to safety. While that is part of the overall picture of aviation medicine, it is just one part in a much larger puzzle.

Whether it is a trauma center in the middle of the inner city or in a war zone doctors are faced with many of the same life and death decisions. It is their ability to work through the trauma that can make the difference between a patient surviving and not returning to their families.