Photo By Robert Hammer | Lt. Gen. Mary Izaguirre, U.S. Army surgeon general, emphasizes how Army Medicine...... read more read more
The top military surgeons general stressed the role of military medicine as combat power and the need to adapt and redesign it for future warfare, in which time, distance, and contested access reshape the battlefield.
Lt. Gen. John DeGoes, surgeon general of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, Lt. Gen. Mary Izaguirre, U.S. Army surgeon general, and Rear Adm. Rick Freedman, acting U.S. Navy surgeon general, presented how medical readiness translates directly into warfighter lethality and mission success during a recent annual meeting of The Society of Federal Health Professionals.
Each leader emphasized the strength of military medicine from their service's unique perspective integrated into the joint force.
“Our Navy is built in the foundry, tempered in the fleet, and forged to fight,” Freedman said. “Navy Medicine is not a separate entity from that Navy, and medicine exists as an integral warfighting enabler of our maritime power projection.”
Izaguirre emphasized how Army Medicine strengthens the hand of the commanding general and reinforced its commitment to “inspire trust in those who would go into harm’s way in defense of our nation, and to keep faith with their families.”
The U.S. Air Force remains focused on its readiness mission by “organizing, training and equipping smaller medical units of action to go with the force,” DeGoes said, with a sharper focus on “returning them to duty, getting aircrew back up in the air, and winning the fight.”
Evolving ‘golden hour’ in future conflicts
DeGoes emphasized future wars will challenge military medicine in ways like never before.
“Air superiority is not guaranteed,” he said, warning that future threats have been “transformed by advancements in stealth, hypersonics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems.”
The medical leaders described a shared operational reality: the “golden hour” — the critical window of care after a traumatic injury — will need to adapt in a contested theater.
The discussion centered around how medical planners can no longer count on fast evacuation, steady resupply, or uncontested movement during the golden hour. Instead, medics may need to stabilize patients longer and operate with smaller teams in harsher conditions.
Freedman recalled how quickly wounded troops reached advanced care in recent wars. “It was not unusual that we would see an injured Marine, Soldier, Sailor, or coalition force in our trauma bay within an hour of receiving injury to receive lifesaving resuscitation that may not exist in a future environment,” he said. “We won't have those advantages.”
DeGoes said the U.S. Air Force must still move patients across theaters — as it did from Iraq or Afghanistan to Germany — but warned future medical forces may have to hold patients longer and work with fewer resources. That means “relearning triage and doing things differently with our service and international partners,” he said.
Those realities are driving a shift away from large, fixed medical structures toward smaller, mobile, and more adaptable teams that can move with combat units and support operations across competition, crisis, and conflict, the surgeon generals noted.
Freedman described the U.S. Navy evolving medicine as the “North Star,” saying, “By 2027, Navy Medicine will deliver agile, scalable, trained, and certified expeditionary medical teams to provide enduring support to the Navy and joint force.” He noted a primary goal to replace legacy mass with medical support that can survive, deploy, and stay relevant during maritime operations.
Izaguirre highlighted how Army Medicine is integrated within the U.S. Army’s campaign plan, as the “combat-ready care” objective. She outlined how Army Medicine would meet this objective by recruiting and retaining the force, modernizing to medically support ground forces in multidomain operations, to sustain the health of the force, and to deliver combat-ready medical formations. “The campaign objective is not part of a medical plan,” she said. “That's in the Army’s [campaign] plan.” Her message was clear: Army Medicine is optimizing to provide support inside and integrated with operational design, not beside it.
Unification for a medically ready joint force
Even with service-specific approaches, the surgeon generals underscored integration as essential to readiness.
DeGoes pointed to the Air Force Medical Command, created after the Defense Health Agency assumed full authority for military hospitals and clinics in 2023, as part of a governance model meant to meet U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force needs while staying aligned with the joint system.
Izaguirre emphasized data and visibility for all commanders. She described efforts to build “a medical data layer” integrated within the current maneuver commander’s dashboard so combat leaders can see “where there are beds available, how much blood is available, where the medevac is.” In an austere environment, Izaguirre said visibility can shape battlefield decisions and preserve fighting strength.
Freedman stressed collaboration with DHA on access for warfighters and families. “Family readiness equals force readiness,” he said, stating Sailors and Marines stay ready when their families trust the system behind them.
The surgeons general urged partnerships beyond their own services, with DeGoes calling these alliances “absolutely required going forward in a complex, contested environment.”
Izaguirre said, “We cannot wait until the time of need to build relationships,” adding that if deterrence fails, “we are ready to fight and win shoulder to shoulder together.”
That cooperative mindset reached beyond the joint force to allies, civilian systems, and other government partners — with the surgeons general focusing on interoperability: The ability of forces to connect, share information, move patients, and sustain operations under pressure.
While these partnerships are vital, the surgeons general noted recruiting and sustaining the workforce remains a core priority.
Freedman cited projected national shortages of nurses and physicians as the “most existential threat” to military medical readiness, while Izaguirre spoke of the need to “recruit, build, and strengthen Army Medicine.”
Each surgeon general reinforced readiness depends on people as much as platforms and plans. The goals were the same for each: Support mission readiness by pushing capability forward, build smaller, more agile teams, integrate across the enterprise, strengthen the workforce, and treat medicine as part of combat power.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.06.2026 15:33 |
| Story ID: | 562035 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 28 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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