DVIDS – News – Malaysia hosts Sultanate to host Indo-Pacific Medical Health Exchange 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – More than 580 medical military leaders representing 24 countries in the Indo-Pacific region will gather in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from September 26 to 29, 2023 for the 2023 Indo-Pacific Military Health Exchange. I did.

IPMHE is a biannual multilateral health activity that allows health professionals to exchange and share information among allies and partners, discuss common issues and concerns, and increase regional interoperability .

“Multilateral cooperation strengthens preparedness and readiness to respond to future pandemics, natural disasters, crises, and conflicts,” said co-sponsor and U.S. Navy Capt. Jeffrey Bitterman, Surgeon General, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Stated.

The theme of the military exchange, hosted by Malaysia and sponsored by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, was “Achieving Health Solutions through Diversity and Inclusion.”

In her opening remarks, Nazrin Shah, Ruler of Perak and Colonel of the Royal Medical and Dental Corps, said: “The number of adverse climate-related events such as floods, fires, hurricanes, landslides and disasters continues to increase. ” he said. Together, storm surge constitutes another area of ​​non-traditional health-related safety threats. ”

Recognizing the military’s growing role in humanitarian response operations, Shah said: “The military and its medical operations are critical to both responding to immediate emergencies and their aftermath, and contributing to prevention and preparedness. , is increasingly required in this context.” To build resilience. ”

Attendees will be treated to general and breakout sessions on topics ranging from “Innovating and Improving Prehospital Combat Casualty Care,” to “Health Challenges in Unique Military Environments,” to “Global Partnerships in Disaster Response.” Nearly 30 were served.

U.S. Army Pacific Command Surgeon Maj. Gen. Paula Roddy, who also serves as commander of the 18th Medical Command, reminded officers and noncommissioned officers during a keynote speech about building strong relationships for a safer and more prosperous Indo-Pacific. I let it happen. The future of armed conflict will be characterized by large-scale ground operations in which all territory is contested.

“This operational environment will complicate healthcare delivery, particularly in the areas of command and control, patient evacuation, and logistics,” Rodi said. “This will be further exacerbated by increased lethality, which is expected to produce an unprecedented number of casualties.”

Like many other armies, the U.S. Army has begun efforts to modernize its medical field.

“Two notable efforts toward command and control capabilities are the maturation of the Department of Defense Health Agency as a strategic enabler and combat support agency and the operationalization of theater medical command,” Roddy said.

“The Defense Health Agency provides medically ready forces to combatant commands in both peacetime and wartime,” she continued.

The militaries of multilateral countries had similarities as well as differences in their systematic approaches to how they practiced medicine.

As an example, the U.S. Department of Defense specifies medical processes, medical devices, and responsibilities between each service branch. Malaysia, on the other hand, has a unique military medical system that serves the entire military.

“There’s a lot of opportunity,” said Lt. Gen. Bob Miller, the U.S. Air Force and Space Force surgeon general. We work with Indo-Pacific countries to respond to training events, respond to natural disasters, and respond to: [COVID-19]?

“This is a wide range of issues that we need to prepare for and that is the focus of this conference as well. We want to learn some of the best practices from other countries and see how some of our partner countries are doing better than us. It’s about learning what we do and making sure we can bring it to the table. ”

A key event during the four-day military exchange was the ceremonial handover of two mobile Roll 2 surgical/critical care systems and a Roll 3 field hospital from USINDOPACOM to the Malaysian military.

“Originally it was a five-year plan,” Bitterman said. “However, the Malaysian military delivered and installed expeditionary capabilities in just 18 months, culminating in a ceremony and field demonstration on the final day of IPMHE 23.”

He said, “The rapid deployment of this capability is a true testament to Malaysia’s commitment to improving disaster response capacity and capability in the region.”

The Indo-Pacific region is home to the countries of the Pacific Rim of Volcano, where a variety of unpredictable natural and man-made disasters occur, including climate change, Pacific Rim volcanic activity, and even military and economic threats. This makes it one of the most difficult regions in the world. Those who seek to disrupt the balance of international norms and freedom of navigation throughout the Indo-Pacific.

It is not uncommon to extend humanitarian assistance to other parts of the world stage, which continue to be interdependent, despite the unique challenges that require local support.

“This mobile intensive care unit capacity strengthens the civilian-military relationship and provides an opportunity for us to work together to address humanitarian crises,” said Ai Manu Bala, U.S. Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Malaysia. I’ll give it to you.” We reflected on the force’s use in assisting Turkey during the recent humanitarian relief crisis in Malaysia and around the world after the devastating earthquake.

“This is a great example of how our partnership has benefited vulnerable people affected by crises in remote parts of the world,” Barra said.

The importance of hosting this event was not lost on several Malaysian Armed Forces Health Service personnel.

Dr. Menaha Subramaniam (Major), MAFHS, who specializes in primary care and field medicine in the Royal Medical and Dental Corps, said his country is proud to host IPMHE 2023 and said: Stated. An opening experience for me. We learned a lot related to military medicine. Among the many topics discussed, I personally was more interested in vector-borne disease related issues and telemedicine. There was a lot of interaction between the countries and it was a lot of fun. I was able to learn a lot. ”

The next IPMHE is scheduled to be held in Japan in 2025.

“As the IPMHE flag was symbolically passed to Japan, the host country of IPMHE 2025, all our international partners will increase interoperability and leverage the strengths of diversity and inclusion to build regional capacity. and the importance of strengthening disaster response capabilities,” Bitterman said. .

“Indo-Pacific Command looks forward to working together as co-chairs to support Japan as it once again plans and executes successful multilateral engagements in 2025,” he said.