Regional Medical Exchanges Increase Expertise, Collaboration

U.S. military medical professionals from commands throughout the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) area of responsibility work regularly with counterparts from other nations to share expertise in a range of areas that ultimately benefit both military forces and civilian communities.

A 13th Air Force article about a medical laboratory surveillance workshop highlights one recent engagement that brought 40 interagency medical professionals from Laos, Thailand and the U.S. together to exchange ideas and lessons learned to collectively increase their capacity to effectively manage infectious diseases.

In the past year, PACOM medical professionals have conducted multiple workshops with partner nations on such topics as pandemic/avian influenza and HIV/AIDS. In April, military medical representatives from the U.S. and 18 Asia-Pacific nations met at the 19th Annual Asia-Pacific Military Medicine Conference in Seoul.

Through medically-oriented missions such as Pacific Partnership 2009, in conjunction with military exercises such as Balikatan, or in standalone events such as the Cambodian Interoperability Program, medical professionals are providing care to those in need, while also building important professional relationships and providing invaluable training opportunities.

In the coming months, workshops in various nations will focus on blast injury management and emerging infectious diseases.

By collaborating with regional partners, PACOM medical teams and their host-nation counterparts increase regional stability by more effectively identifying and responding to pressing medical issues and enhancing the ability to respond to crises if required.