US Joint Forces Command plans to hold a five-day seminar in early December for senior military medical professionals to indoctrinate them into the world of joint medical operations. Officials say that the present-day and future concepts for joint task forces necessitate a change in medical thinking. In today’s operations, medical personnel are no longer “going in, doing a job, and coming back out,” says Rear Adm. Gregory Timberlake, JFCOM command surgeon. As members of a JTF, he adds, medics are being “involved from phase zero” and on.
Air Force senior statesmen explained the reasons they jointly sent a letter to Congress urging restoration of the E-7 Wedgetail and more F-35s to the fiscal 2026 defense budget.