ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Military retirees and eligible beneficiaries who use Tricare can now enroll in or make changes to their health care coverage.

This year’s Tricare open season begins Nov. 13 and ends Dec. 12. During that time, beneficiaries who use Tricare Prime or Tricare Select can choose to stay on their plan, enroll in a plan or change plans. Any changes will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Getting blood to the front lines of future battles is a critical survival factor for injured troops and a challenge for Army medical personnel. 

The Iraq and Afghanistan wars proved the value of having blood available as close as possible to the front lines, Brig Gen. Mark Thompson, Army Medical Command’s deputy chief of staff for support, said during a Warriors Corner presentation at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama. 

The Army’s 11,000-member medical force is focused on remaining agile and adaptive, keeping pace with other Army modernization efforts, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle said in testimony before a Senate subcommittee.

Appearing March 7 alongside other military medical leaders, Dingle said bluntly, “There is no second-place in war.”

The Army has a lot to learn and a lot to develop to prepare for large-scale, high-casualty and remote wars. 

In an Oct. 11 Warriors Corner discussion at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2022 Annual Meeting and Exposition, medical leaders said they are sharply focused on caring for future casualties on distant battlefields from which quick evacuation isn’t possible.  

Army medical researchers are working to develop new capabilities as the force prepares for a more lethal but austere future battlefield, a senior medical officer said.

Working with the expectation that battlefield casualties will need life-saving care farther forward for longer periods of time, the Army is looking for new capabilities suited for use in austere environments and will leverage emerging capabilities such as unmanned vehicles. 

Six more military medical teams will be mobilized to help civilian hospitals stressed by a spike in COVID-19 cases, President Joe Biden announced Jan. 13.

Hundreds of medical service members are already augmenting hospital staffs across the country, in addition to thousands of National Guard troops who are supporting COVID-19 efforts in 49 states.

COVID-19 is “one of the most formidable enemies America has ever faced,” Biden said. 

Preparing for the tough and more lethal battlefields of the future requires today’s Army medical community to look to its schoolhouses and its logistics and research commands, a panel of experts said at an event hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

As the Army prepares to face growing global threats, its trauma and skills initiatives will ensure that troops are healthy enough to sustain the fight, senior military medical experts said. 

In particular, the next conflict will require troops to be much more dispersed and mobile and an Army medical force that is ready to follow suit, said Col. Jason Seery, trauma surgery consultant to the Army surgeon general. 

The ability to quickly return to duty wounded or sick soldiers in a multidomain operations environment will be one of the top priorities for Army medical personnel, a senior medical officer said.

The Army surgeon general said he’s both “incredibly proud” and concerned about the Army medical community, one that is hardworking and dedicated but on the cusp of big changes. 

Speaking Dec. 7 at an Association of the U.S. Army Medical Hot Topic titled “Holistic Health and the Soldier,” Lt. Gen. R. Scott Dingle said it is important that troops have confidence “to do things a normal man would not do” because they can depend on Army medicine to look out for them.