scholarly journals How do we fight COVID-19? Military medical actions in the war against the COVID-19 pandemic in France

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Pasquier ◽  
A Luft ◽  
J Gillard ◽  
M Boutonnet ◽  
C Vallet ◽  
...  

‘We are at war’, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the nation on 16 March 2020. As part of this national effort, the French Military Medical Service (FMMS) is committed to the fight against COVID-19. This original report aimed to describe and detail actions that the FMMS has carried out in the nationwide fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in France, as well as overseas. Experts in the field reported major actions conducted by the FMMS during the COVID-19 pandemic in France. In just few weeks, the FMMS developed ad hoc medical capabilities to support national health authorities. It additionally developed adaptive, collective en route care via aeromedical and naval units and deployed a military intensive care field hospital. A COVID-19 crisis cell coordinated the French Armed Forces health management. The French Military Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health provided all information needed to guide the decision-making process. Medical centres of the French Armed Forces organised the primary care for military patients, with the widespread use of telemedicine. The Paris Fire Brigade and the Marseille Navy Fire Battalion emergency departments ensured prehospital management of patients with COVID-19. The eight French military training hospitals cooperated with civilian regional health agencies. The French military medical supply chain supported all military medical treatment facilities in France as well as overseas, coping with a growing shortage of medical equipment. The French Armed Forces Biomedical Research Institute performed diagnostics, engaged in multiple research projects, updated the review of the scientific literature on COVID-19 daily and provided expert recommendations on biosafety. Finally, even students of the French military medical academy volunteered to participate in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, in an unprecedented medical crisis, the FMMS engaged multiple innovative and adaptive actions, which are still ongoing, in the fight against COVID-19. The collaboration between military and civilian healthcare systems reinforced the shared objective to achieve the goal of ‘saving the greatest number’.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Springer

This study is dedicated to the regional history of the East-West conflict on the basis of the relationship between the Germany military and the Belgian armed forces stationed in Germany. The central question it addresses is which factors were largely responsible for the interdependence between actors and institutions of both armies. In addition to analysing the limited time of the peak phase of Belgian military deployment in the Federal Republic 1946–1990, the book concentrates regionally on the military training areas of Vogelsang in the Eifel and the Wahner Heide near Cologne as military contact zones. For this purpose, the author evaluates unpublished archival sources at the local level for the first time.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Choufani ◽  
Olivier Barbier ◽  
Laurent Mathieu ◽  
Nicolas de L’Escalopier

ABSTRACT Introduction Each French military orthopedic surgeon is both an orthopedic surgeon and a trauma surgeon. Their mission is to support the armed forces in France and on deployment. The aim of this study was to describe the type of orthopedic surgery performed for the armed forces in France. Our hypothesis was that scheduled surgery was more common than trauma surgery. Methods We conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis of the surgical activity for military patients in the orthopedic surgery departments of the four French military platform hospitals. All surgical procedures performed during 2020 were collected. We divided the procedures into the following categories: heavy and light trauma, posttraumatic reconstruction surgery, sports surgery, degenerative surgery, and specialized surgery. Our primary endpoint was the number of procedures performed per category. Results A total of 827 individuals underwent surgery, 91 of whom (11%) were medical returnees from deployment. The surgeries performed for the remaining 736 soldiers present in metropolitan France (89%) consisted of 181 (24.6%) trauma procedures (of which 86.7% were light trauma) and 555 (75.4%) scheduled surgery procedures (of which 60.8% were sports surgery). Among the medical returnees, there were 71 traumatology procedures (78%, of which 87.3% were light traumatology) and 20 procedures corresponding to surgery usually carried out on a scheduled basis (22%, of which 95% were sports surgery). Conclusion Military orthopedic surgeons are not just traumatologists; their activity for the armed forces is varied and mainly consists of so-called programmed interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 228
Author(s):  
Siti Haizam Mohd Zin ◽  
Mohammad Nazri

Extensive research on the relationship between employees' use of English in the workplace and their job performance has revealed that the use of English at work leads to increased job performance and positive interactions among staff. In relation to this, a good command of English among military staff, especially officers, is of great importance to the Armed Forces, as military personnel often serve abroad and need to be proficient in communicating their instructions and orders to a foreign team. Previous research has also shown that self-efficacy is a significant predictor of job performance; however, the role of self-efficacy in learning English language skills has not been widely explored as mediator in the relationship between motivation to learn, intention to share knowledge, and job performance. Therefore, this paper aims to develop a conceptual framework that can be used to improve the understanding of English self-efficacy and its relationship with employees’ motivation to learn, intention to share knowledge, and capability to complete a given task. This framework informs and guides future research that will test the hypothesized relationships. The findings would assist the English Department of the Education Directorate of the Malaysian Armed Forces to design or revise military training syllabi and approaches.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Giustozzi

An assessment of the employment of mercenaries in Afghanistan gives mixed results. U.S. armed forces appear to have been happy with the Afghan Security Forces and ad hoc militias and only replaced them because of political reasons or because they felt that they were no longer needed. By contrast, the work of private security companies seems to have satisfied few. While in the short term no practical alternative to their use existed, it is not obvious that this option saves any money to the governments involved in the medium and long-term. Moreover, private security contractors are not subject to the control of military authorities, nor to military discipline. Their record of abusive behavior is indisputable and probably played a significant role in alienating the Afghan public. Unless much changes, the potential of private security companies in peacekeeping does not appear to be a bright one.


Author(s):  
A. N. Muzykantov ◽  
◽  
S. L. Khalepa ◽  

The author analyzes the periods of origin, formation and development of the military education system. The problems of military education in general and the training of officers in particular, which cannot be solved without the integration of military professional education and education in military training centers at civilian universities, are touched upon. Using the example of M. A. Bonch-Bruevich St. Petersburg State University of Telecommunications, a new approach to the formation of the personnel potential of the Armed Forces – officers’ training at a civil educational institution is shown.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Mitterbauer ◽  
Daniela Ghica

<p>The project ABC-MAUS is undertaken by a collaboration of the Austrian Ministry of Defense, Joanneum Research, the Austrian national weather and geophysical service Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik (ZAMG), including the Austrian National Data Center (NDC), as well as the private company GIHMM. The aim is to develop a strategy of protection for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threads (CBRN) for the Austrian armed forces.</p><p>In the frame of the project, a mobile infrasound array was deployed together with seismic sensors to monitor the military training ground Allentsteig in Lower Austria. During one week a series of controlled explosions was recorded. Infrasound data was processed and analyzed by using a duo of infrasound detection-oriented software (DTK-GPMCC and DTK-DIVA, packaged into NDC-in-a-Box). The dataset contained not only local and regional data, but revealed as well long term sources and – after comparing the data with data from stations of the CEEIN (Central Eastern European Infrasound Network) – some global events. Those events were localized using data of the temporary deployed array and by observations collected by other stations of the CEEIN.</p>


2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2021-001865
Author(s):  
Christin Schilz ◽  
S Sammito

IntroductionActivity of daily life is an important key to maintaining and improving the health status. This is especially important for people in physically demanding jobs, such as firefighters, military and police.MethodsIn order to record the actual state of activity of daily life among soldiers, a step count measurement with a pedometer was carried out on 196 soldiers of the German Armed Forces over 7 days and supplemented by a questionnaire on lifestyle factors.ResultsThe subjects exceeded the recommended 7000–8000 steps per day, with the rank and file moving the least and the commissioned officers the most. It was also striking that the soldiers in the study moved an average of 2600 steps less per day on weekends than on weekdays.ConclusionsBased on these findings, targeted physical activity measures can be established for the identified target groups within the framework of corporate health management in order to ensure the physical fitness of soldiers on routine duty and on deployment.


Author(s):  
Sanya Ojo

The condition of survival within the Nigerian Armed Forces, in terms of post-retirement career options, has inadvertently produced a growing number of ex-service members (veterans) who turned to entrepreneurship to earn income and remain active. However, against the alleged failure of entrepreneurship in this group, this chapter sets out to investigate the nature and characteristics of veteran entrepreneurship. Through the application of case study methodology, the study reveals that veteran entrepreneurship does not differ significantly to civilian entrepreneurship. Veteran entrepreneurs confront the same challenges as their civilian counterparts while veterans' military backgrounds and military training appear to have both facilitating and inhibiting effects on veteran entrepreneurships in Nigeria.


2012 ◽  
Vol 164 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-115
Author(s):  
Maciej MARCZYK

Polish soldiers have long participated in international operations under the auspices of various organizations, primarily the UN. However, since Poland’s accession to NATO and the adoption of our country to European Union, the activities of our military contingents have focused primarily on participation in international operations, organized by the two organizations and under the terms of their procedures. Poland, as part of joint and several actions to ensure common security, has actively been engaged in military operations and non-military missions of various international organizations, as well as local actions in the ad hoc coalition created. The degree of involvement and geographical areas are determined by the current capabilities of the armed forces and the clearly defined objectives coincide with the Polish raison d'etat, as defined in the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Polish and expressed in their efforts to strengthen Poland’s international position. This paper presents the results of research on the functioning of NEC communication network (the Polish military contingent) in military operations abroad. The research was carried out among the soldiers-specialists who were involved in international operations and it focused on the organizational requirements: the technical specifications for the NEC communication networks. Also, the research concerned the organization and operation of communication networks and its services as well as the means of communication and IT used by the staff, users, soldiers and NEC employees.


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