Spring 07 front cover - United States Special Operations Command

Ricardo Ong, MDLTC USASOCCENT SurgeonI have resolved the problems with my TCS ordersand I am now officially on-board and getting involved inthe war effort. Following an 18-month stint with the conventionalArmy (which was very educational), I am happyto return to the Special Operations community. I amthrilled to be back among warriors who love Special Operations,are superbly motivated, would rather be nowhereelse, and willingly live deep within enemy territory battlingour enemy on every front.As I integrate into the SOCCENT battle staff, Iam grateful to COL Bob Noback for his efforts to establishpermanent manning on the JTD for the SOCCENTSurgeon section, while, more importantly, addressing allthe current issues concerning medical support capabilitiesfor our Special Operations Forces engaged in the fight. Ioffer my sincere gratitude to COL Noback for his outstandingwork over the past 18 months (and for dual-hattingthe past six months awaiting my arrival). I also thankthe SOCOM Surgeon, COL Rocky Farr, for providing aDeputy Surgeon (Lt Col Kevin Franke, COL Tracy Wyatt,and MAJ Kevin Cooper all occupied this position) to supportthe mission over the past six months, as I tried toclose-up my business on the conventional side.A number of issues require my attention. Foremost,I am re-engaging MNC-I on the issue of blood componenttherapy in our remote regions of the Iraqi theater.COL Noback was able to acquire packed red blood cells(PRBCs) in these locations, but met stiff resistance to therequest for fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and the appropriaterefrigeration equipment. Of course, the driving concernis that without FFP the medical facilities in these outlyingregions are unable to support a proper resuscitation,should it be required, given the extensive air evacuationtimes. I am optimistic that I will meet a favorable responsefrom Multinational Corps (MNC) — in this goaround,as there are some new faces in key positions thatare more likely to be SOF friendly.As most are aware, there is a strong push withinSOCOM for SOF-specific level II surgical support (resuscitative,damage control, and holding capability). EachTheatre Special Operations Command (TSOC) has providedSOCOM a request with its specific requirement.Hopefully these direct requests will provide additional justificationto COL Farr’s initiative to get AMEDD to modifyits doctrine and equip/train/authorize modular, flexible,SOF-specific Level II surgical teams that could also beuseful on the conventional side. Since I do not expect thisprocess to provide appropriately funded, fielded, andtrained Level II teams in the near future, I am actively pursuingother options, including use of AFSOC Special OperationsSurgical Teams (SOST). This requirement willbecome more important over the next several years shouldconventional forces in Iraq continue to draw-down; atsome point, health service support (HSS) assets would beexpected to constrict as well.Another project that I expect will occupy a fairpart of my time is assisting COL Anders in the transitionof the Africa AOR from SOCEUR and SOCCENT toSOCAF. I am certain this will be no small mission forCOL Anders. The SOCCENT Surgeon cell stands by,TSOC Surgeon 13