Military Aviation Medicine
Military Aviation Medicine
Militaries around the world train and employ specialized physicians who uphold aeromedical standards and ensure these special operators are fit for flight. In the United States, these doctors are called flight surgeons.
Although this misnomer (flight surgeons are seldom credentialed surgeons) dates back to the birth of combat aviation during WWI, the profession is anything but static.
In addition to spending time in the flight medicine clinic diagnosing and treating routine disease and injury, flight surgeons also serve as rated aircrew, public health officials, occupational medicine liaisons, and human factors experts.
Explore additional topics in Military Flight Medicine below!
A day in the life of a U2 Spy Plane Flight Doc
It is an exceedingly rare privilege for anyone aside from highly trained military pilots to don the yellow pressure suit and fly along the very edge of outer space in…
Serving in Residency
This is an article our newest Featured Flight Doc, Lt Col Robert SOJU Ryu, authored when he was just a lowly Major and a resident back in 2019. In this piece,…
Building a USAF Flight Surgeon: A New Approach to Training
How does one become a USAF Flight Surgeon you may ask? The recipe is simple. Step 1: Meet the appropriate licensing requirements to practice medicine. Step 2. Join the USAF…
Medical Standards iOS (iPhone) App
I’ve always found it paradoxical that incredibly high tech organizations like the Department of Defense and government space agencies seem to lag far behind in common mass technologies. If you’ve…
Phiz Biz: GFM Partners with USAF Aerospace Physiologists
Phiz Biz (a clever play on Physiology Business) is a monthly newsletter produced by the USAF Aerospace and Operational Physiology Flight at Peterson AFB in Colorado. The team started this tradition…
Pilot Education: LASER Exposure & Eye Injury
LASER exposure continues to be an increasingly frequent problem in both military and civilian aviation. Typically, these exposures arise from people pointing green commercial LASERs directly at flying aircraft. The…
LASER Eye Injuries in Aircrew
A separate post written as a resource for pilots and aircrew on LASER exposure/eye injury can be found here. The crux of aerospace medicine is the identification of medical…
Top Knife – Fighter Pilot Tactics for Flight Docs
This article discusses an awesome opportunity specifically designed for USAF flight surgeons to gain a firmer understanding on fighter and combat aircraft operations. This course is a good use of…
In Flight Emergency – Cabin Pressure & Hypoxia
I was recently in Estonia for a NATO military training exercise. Flying in the back seat of an F-16D (two seater), I was ‘gently’ reminded of the importance of human…
Ground Collision Avoidance Technology
On a recent flight in a Block 40 F-16 with our squadron’s weapons officer I was introduced to the new pilot-activated recovery system (PARS). Starting at about 20,000 feet (FL…
Aviation Podcast “Slipstream Radio” Features GFM
In January 2014, F-22 Raptor driver and creator of TallyOne, Rob “Shotz” Burgon partnered with commercial aviator Brent Owens of iFlyBlog to create a unique podcast for aviation enthusiasts called Slipstream Radio. This past…
Why do Flight Surgeons Fly?
In the United States, Flight Surgeon is the title used by the military (and NASA) to designate a medical doctor who has completed specialized training in aerospace medicine and has been awarded an aeronautical rating.…
Dietary Supplements in Aircrew
“Ok, I got this nailed- Vitamin M, dip, coffee, Jack & Coke. That’s what makes a fighter pilot” ~ Anonymous Fighter Pilot Although this may be the typical formula that fighter…
Incentive & Familiarization Flights in Military Fighter Jets
Many times large number of incentive and familiarization flights are offered to maintenance and operational support personnel during temporary duty (TDY) deployments. Flight surgeons play a crucial role in this…
Cosmic Radiation
Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR’s) are considered a threat to aviators, flight crews and frequent air travelers. This risk to astronauts is even greater (possibly even lethal) and continues to pose a significant obstacle…
Tarnak Farm – Reckless Pilots, Speed, or Fog of War?
On 17 April 2002, as the Afghanistan conflict was escalating, a friendly-fire incident swept the headlines. An American F-16 being flown by an Air National Guard pilot mistook Canadians training in…
Stimulants & Sleep Aids in Military Aviation
Chemical stimulants and sleeping aids have a long history of use in improving performance in military personnel. The first pharmacologic stimulant, Amphetamine, became available by prescription in 1937. It was used in…
Ejection Seat Safety & Reliability Improvement Program
Legislators of the Armed Services Committee recently published comments on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015. This federal law is passed every year and specifies the…
Combat Stress Response & Tactical Breathing
I recently finished the book, On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace, by former Army Ranger turned psychologist, Lt Col (ret.) Dave Grossman.…
Combating Fighter Pilot Fatigue
Pilot fatigue is a constant threat to all aircrew. There are particular risk factors for those flying high-performance fighter platforms. Flying high-G sorties is physically exhausting. This is an tiring business…
Recent Comments
Total BS. When you lose horizon you might go into a slow descent, if you are not trusting your instruments,…
Actually chaplains and doctors both have a duty to chose between conscientious objector and form two personnel. Flight surgeons almost…
Hi Jay, I've just led myself to this article after coming across your PPP slides from the AF Specialty Teleconference,…
Textbook cases of not breathing correctly. Most of them seem to have not even tried.
How do flight surgeons reconcile Geneva Convention status issues? As medical officers, they are non-combatants; as pilots, they definitely ARE.…
Ratstar, I have not yet gained the FAWM suffix. It does remain a personal goal however!
This sounds so cool! Are u a fellow already?
I want to ask that is final year MBBS student (only 1 Year Internship left out of 5.5 years MBBS…
Major Jedick, Very intersting piece. I often wondered this myself- I briefed a flight surgeon once (WX) and we chatted…
We do not need more female physicians or doctors of any specific race or ethnic background. We need the best…