April 4, 2007
Special Operations Forces medical support is closely integrated and coordinated with Special Operations mission's requirements. SOF personnel are rigorously selected, highly trained and specially equipped to perform a variety of critical missions. These missions cover broad geographic areas and are usually very distant from conventional military combat health support. Disaster Medicine is often required on short notice, in austere and ambiguous conditions with a variety of personnel, from different organizations with disparate training and equipment. SOF and Disaster Medicine may be required to perform their missions in a "high threat", contaminated environment, with poor technological/communication and minimal personnel support. Some of the challenges include: How do you rapidly detect and assess patients? How do you provide initial responder care? How do you determine and plan for rapid and safe evacuation to definitive care? How do you coordinate and synchronize support requirements? How do you train personnel to perform their medical mission successfully? This presentation will explore the missions, requirements and issues for these challenging medical requirements and the integration of research, technology and the human element to enhance medical care.
COL (RET) Alan Moloff, D.O., MPH retired from the Army after 30 years of service. He has had numerous assignments in Special Forces to include 7th and 10th Special Forces Groups, commander of the Special Operations Medical Training program and Army Special Operations Command. He was the commander of the 212th M.A.S.H., U.S. Army Aeromedical Center and the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute, July 2002 through January 2006. During this last assignment at DMRTI he was focused on joint medical readiness, combat casualty care and had DOD oversight of the medical aspects of Homeland Security training and education regarding CBRNE and complex disasters. He attended the University of Vermont where he graduated with a B.S. in Medical Technology in 1976. He received his D.O. Degree in 1983 from the New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Later, he earned a MPH from Harvard University. He is Board Certified in Aerospace and Undersea Medicine. He is the past president of the Special Operations Medical Association, Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and American College of preventive Medicine. He is a founding member of the new American Board of Disaster Medicine. COL (RET) Moloff is a consultant for private industry and government organizations. He has faculty appointments at the Medical College of Georgia and is the Senior Medical Officer for the Global Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Assistance at the University of South Florida.