US Air Forces in Europe hosted its inaugural international health symposium for military medical personnel from 11 NATO and Partnership for Peace countries at Ramstein AB, Germany. “When we looked at the countries we support, one of the common gaps that we found was the medical logistics capability to support their deployed and in-garrison units,” said Col. Charles Tedder, USAFE medical readiness chief. “So, we decided we’d focus on medical logistics,” he added. Accordingly, participants at the three-day symposium discussed medical logistics solutions and common roles for non-commissioned medical personnel, explained Tedder. Representatives from Armenia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine attended the symposium, held April 18-20. USAFE aims to make the symposium an annual event. The medical community “has an important role in building partnerships because medics in general speak the same language and . . . we are trying to heal people and we all have that common goal,” said Tedder. (Ramstein report by SSgt. Benjamin Wilson)
The Air Force’s study of possible links to elevated rates of cancer among personnel who worked on intercontinental continental ballistic missiles has begun, the commander in charge of the U.S. ICBM fleet confirmed March 28. The initial phase of that study will mine cancer registries for information and compile a…