ADF Health 2009 - Volume 10 Number 1EditorialA more cost-effective JournalIn this edition you will have noticed a radical change in format. The Strategic Reform Program (See Rosenfeld et al in this edition) has not spared ADF Health. Our budget was cut by 80 percent. Reliance for funding must now come largely from advertising revenue. At this stage the Editorial Board has determined that there will be only one edition per annum. I am particularly grateful to MAJ Mike Tyquin, LCDR Steve Rayner and AVM Bruce Short (Ret’d) who have shouldered much of the extra editorial responsibilities. In this edition we are profiling some of the specialist courses available to ADF health officers: Aviation Medicine (AVMED), Underwater Medicine, Deployed Surgeons O&G Skills course (DSOGS), Military Anaesthesia (MILAN) and Predeployment Surgical Simulation Training.LTCOL Orme has written a paper on post deployment re-entry and reintegration challenges for reservists. In addition there are two papers on military medical history which cover Elizabethan and early Egyptian medical science. There is a paper on ADF medical officers’ understanding of the Geneva Conventions and a guest editorial by Mr Jamie Cullens, Director of the Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics (CDLE) Joint Education, Training and Warfare Command. This addresses the initiatives to improve ethics training in the ADF. That was a principal recommendation of the CMVH Think Tank meeting ‘Towards a Framework for Military Health Ethics’ in October 2006 .There has been great enthusiasm expressed by many senior officers about the new Defence White Paper. MAJGEN Rosenfeld has highlighted the key points of the Paper including its implications for Defence Health. Another important recent review (Dunt) of ADF mental health services is summarised by LTCOL Hodson et al. The operational tempo of Joint Health Command continues to remain at a high level with demands for health support in many areas of operation. In Afghanistan our surgical teams continue to excel under busy and difficult conditions. Our respect and gratitude go out to them.
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Captain Michael O’Connor