Journal of Special Operations Medicine

Journal of Special Operations Medicine

The podcasts in this feed will review select articles from our academic, peer-reviewed journal. We also offer monthly interviews with leaders in the TEMS and TCCC communities, providing valuable insight into the latest and greatest information in the world of tactical medicine.

  1. Fall 2025 JSOM Podcast

    NOV 6

    Fall 2025 JSOM Podcast

    🎙️ Fall 2025 JSOM Podcast In this edition of the Journal of Special Operations Medicine (JSOM) Podcast, hosts Jessica, Sydney, and Matthew explore three cutting-edge articles shaping the future of operational medicine: 🛡️ Penetrating Axilla Injuries in Ceramic Plate Coverage: Matthew unpacks a compelling case series on the effectiveness of four-plate body armor systems in protecting vital axillary structures, drawing from his own experience as a Ranger medic. https://jsomonline.org/product/penetrating-axilla-injuries-and-ceramic-plate-coverage-a-special-operations-case-series/ ❄️ Mitigating Heat Loss in IV Tubing During Austere Blood Transfusions: Sydney reviews a West Point study quantifying how cold environments impact transfusion safety—and what innovations might help preserve blood temperature in the field. https://jsomonline.org/product/mitigating-heat-loss-in-iv-tubing-during-austere-blood-transfusions/ 🩸 Lab Evaluation of Four Ukrainian-Manufactured Tourniquets: Jessica breaks down a comparative study assessing the performance, durability, and design of Ukrainian tourniquets under simulated battlefield conditions. https://jsomonline.org/product/lab-evaluation-of-four-ukrainian-manufactured-tourniquets/ Plus, Dr. Dan Godbee highlights two additional must-read articles on prehospital blood use and JSOM’s ongoing commitment to mentoring medics through the publishing process. https://jsomonline.org/product/a-back-to-basics-approach-for-resuscitation-storage-and-transportation-of-whole-blood-in-chest-harness/ https://jsomonline.org/product/advocating-for-the-prehospital-administration-of-low-titer-o-whole-blood-dispelling-myths-and-misinformation/ Subscribe, rate, and review—inform your thinking with the latest in SOF medical science. Follow our Social Media - Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn @JSOMOnline. podcast@jsomonline.org

    43 min
  2. Summer 2025 JSOM Podcast

    AUG 2

    Summer 2025 JSOM Podcast

    This summer, Jessica will review “Ultrasound Use by Special Operations Combat Medics: A Narrative Review Limited to the JSOM” by Dr. Jonathan Curley. (https://jsomonline.org/product/ultrasound-use-by-special-operations-combat-medics-a-narrative-review-limited-to-the-jsom/) The heart of this article provides an overview of how Special Operations Combat Medics (SOCMs) use ultrasound in clinical practice and proposes future applications. Sydney is reviewing “Injuries in Specialist Police Officers: A Scoping Review” by Dr. Kate Lyons et al (https://jsomonline.org/product/injuries-in-specialist-police-officers-a-scoping-review/). This article identifies, collects, and synthesizes evidence on injuries sustained by specialist police and compares those injuries with those of other law enforcement officers and wider Special Forces populations. Matthew is reviewing “Proof of Concept: Is Small-scale Production of Diethyl Ether for Anesthetic Use Possible?” by Dr. Sandeep Dhanjal et al. (https://jsomonline.org/product/proof-of-concept-is-small-scale-production-of-diethyl-ether-for-anesthetic-use-possible/) In this manuscript, the authors explore the use of diether ether as a stopgap solution to anesthetic supply limitations in humanitarian crises or armed conflicts. Be sure to subscribe to the JSOM podcast on Spotify. You can also find it at https://jsom.us/Podcast. Follow us on Social Media @jsomonline or on our website https://www.jsomonline.org

    39 min
  3. Spring 2025 JSOM Podcast

    APR 21

    Spring 2025 JSOM Podcast

    We welcome our new podcasters, 2d Lt Jessica Rodriguez, USAF, 2LT Matthew Farinella, USA, and ENS Sydney Duke USNR to our podcast team. We thank and appreciate Alex Merkle and Josh Randles for all their hard work giving great reviews of our articles each quarter. Jessica, Matthew, and Sydney will review the following articles: The Use of Different Types of Supraglottic Airway Devices by Medics on a Manikin with Night Vision Goggles: A Pilot Study by Christoph Janig, Thomas Hummel, Manfred Berres, Arnulf Willms, and Tim Piepho (https://jsomonline.org/product/the-use-of-different-types-of-supraglottic-airway-devices-by-medics-on-a-manikin-with-night-vision-goggles-a-pilot-study/) Beyond Command: Exploring the Dynamics of the Military Medical Officer and Non-Commissioned Officer Relationship in Military Medicine by Kiia Crawford, Makinna Farrell, Ariana Barilla, Amy Hildreth, and Kebekah Cole (https://jsomonline.org/product/beyond-command-exploring-the-dynamics-of-the-military-medical-officer-and-non-commissioned-officer-relationship-in-military-medicine/) Successful Management of Battlefield Traumatic Cardiac Arrest Using the Abdominal Aortic and Junctional Tourniquet (AAJT): A Case Series by Dmytro Androshchuk and Andriy Verba (https://jsomonline.org/product/successful-management-of-battlefield-traumatic-cardiac-arrest-using-the-abdominal-aortic-and-junctional-tourniquet-aajt-a-case-series/) We Would Love Your Feedback Please email Podcast@JSOMonline.org. Follow us on Social Media @jsomonline or on our website https://www.jsomonline.org

    38 min
  4. Special Interview with Jeff Butler

    09/26/2024

    Special Interview with Jeff Butler

    A U.S. Soldier on a night patrol hears a gunshot, feels a sharp pain in the right side, and yells, “I’m hit.” The unit medic quickly moves to the casualty’s side. The wounded Soldier thinks of the family waiting at home and says to the medic: “Doc—will you please tell my family that I love them.” The medic responds, “Hey—shut up! I got this. You’re gonna be fine, and you’re going home to your family—you can tell them yourself. It’s not your day to die.” Far beyond any other battlefield trauma care program in history, Tactical Combat Casualty Care has enabled America’s combat medics to make good on that promise. Josh and Alex sit down with coauthor Jeff Butler to discuss the motivation and inspiration for the book, "Tell Them Yourself: It's Not Your Day to Die." Tell Them Yourself is the extraordinary account of how a small group of world class trauma experts joined forces with America’s best combat medics to rewrite the rule book in battlefield medicine - and then to sell these revolutionary new concepts to a disbelieving medical world. Thousands of Americans wounded in combat died in Vietnam - when they could easily have been saved. More deaths than in the Twin Towers on 9/11. More deaths than Pearl Harbor. In 1990, there had been very little progress made in battlefield trauma care since the Civil War. But the revolutionary new concepts embodied in Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) have changed that landscape dramatically. Against great odds, TCCC has reduced the incidence of preventable deaths among combat casualties to the lowest level in history and has been credited with saving the lives of thousands of our nation’s wounded Servicemembers in the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. TCCC is now mandated by the U.S. Department of Defense as the nation’s standard for battlefield trauma care. TCCC has forever changed the way care will be provided to America’s combat wounded and is now being used by militaries around the world and in civilian prehospital trauma care as well. This is a medical book like no other because it is a combat medical story like no other. Published by Breakaway Media, this book is available at https://jsom.us/TTY We Would Love Your Feedback Please email Podcast@JSOMonline.org. Follow us on Social Media @jsomonline or on our website https://www.jsomonline.org

    19 min
  5. Spring 2024 JSOM Podcast

    06/26/2024

    Spring 2024 JSOM Podcast

    Our JSOM Podcast team of Alex Merkle and Josh Randles will be reviewing the following articles for our Spring podcast: Our JSOM Podcast team of Alex Merkle and Josh Randles will review the following articles for our Spring podcast: Development and Implementation of a Standard Operating Procedure for Military Working Dog Blood Collection, Storage, and Transport by Elizabeth L. Evernham, Benjamin T. Fedeles, and Kayla M. Knuf (https://www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticle/2024128Evernham.pdf) Emergency Fresh Whole Blood Transfusion Training for Ukrainian Health Professionals in Austere Environments by Zachery L. Brown, Joshua P. Cuestas, Kevin J. Matthews, Jonathan T. Shumaker, Durwood W. Moore, and Rebekah Cole (https://www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticle/2024138Brown.pdf) JSOM Guest Editor Captain Cam Strawn reviews Development and Implementation of a Standard Operating Procedure for Military Working Dog Blood Collection, Storage, and Transport. Capt Strawn serves as an Air Force Combat Rescue Officer and combat veteran who teaches leadership as an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at Brigham Young University, where he is also completing a premedical post-baccalaureate program. He is a SOFtoSOM Scholar applying to medical school this year. JSOM Guest Authors Emergency Fresh Whole Blood Transfusion Training for Ukrainian Health Professionals in Austere Environments authors SFC Zachery Brown and HM1 Kevin John Matthews are interviewed by our podcaster team about their article. SFC Zachery Brown enlisted in the Army on 15 September 2009. He has served with the 75th Ranger Regiment for the past 13 years: 7 years in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 6 years in the Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC). He served as a Ranger Squad Leader, Regimental Reconnaissance Team (RRT) Medical Sergeant, RRT Assistant Team Sergeant, and RRC Operations NCOIC and has nine combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, amounting to over 500 Special Operations Raids. In 2021, the Uniformed Services University of Health Services (USUHS) selected him for one of seven Army slots for the 24-month Cohort 9, Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2). This program prepares top-performing enlisted Servicemembers to apply to medical school. He is currently enrolled as a graduate student and aims to continue serving our nation and global community as a military physician and medical officer in the United States Army. SFC Brown earned a BS in Biology, Bio-Engineering Concentration, from the University of Arkansas in 2008, an MS in Strategic Leadership from the University of Charleston, and is currently working towards completing an MS in Biology at George Mason University. Hospital Corpsman First Class, HM1 (FMF/ SW) Kevin John Matthews enlisted in the Navy in 2016. Operationally, HM1 Matthews served as the Senior Line Corpsman, Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, deploying to Africa and the Middle East aboard the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) in 2021. Upon returning from deployment, the Navy Education and Training Office (NETO) selected HM1 Matthews as a Combat Trauma Management and Valkyrie Emergency Fresh Whole Blood Transfusion training instructor. He oversees the training of all medical personnel attached to Marine Corps expeditionary ground forces at 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA. Hand-selected by the Division Surgeon, he was appointed the founding Course Manager for the inaugural Prolonged Casualty Care Course, preparing forward-deployed Corpsmen to sustain casualties beyond the “Golden Hour” in resource-limited environments and austere terrain. In 2021, USUHS selected HM1 Matthews for one of seven Navy slots for the EMDP2. He is currently enrolled as a graduate student and aims to continue to serve our nation and global community as a physician and Medical Officer in the United States Navy. HM1 Matthews earned a BA in History, Middle Eastern Concentration, from the University of California San Diego in 2014 and worked as an EMT-B and Ocean Lifeguard for the San Diego Fire Rescue Department from 2014 to 2016. Additional current and prior professional qualifications include PHTLS, ABLS, TCCC Instructor, Personal Watercraft Operator for High-Surf Rescues, and AHA BLS Instructor. We Would Love Your Feedback Please email Podcast@JSOMonline.org. Follow us on Social Media @jsomonline or on our website https://www.jsomonline.org

    24 min
  6. 01/30/2024

    Winter 2023 JSOM Podcast

    Our JSOM Podcast team of Alex Merkle and Josh Randles will be reviewing the following articles for our Winter podcast: Optimizing Brain Health of United States Special Operations Forces by Brian L. Edlow, Natalie Gilmore, Samatha L. Tromly, et al. (www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticles/2023447Edlow) Bluetooth Tactical Headsets Improve the Speed of Accurate Patient Handoffs by Daniel J. Stinner, Cory McEvoy, Michael A. Broussard, et al.(www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticles/2023475Stinner.pdf) Effectiveness of Sternal Intraosseous Device in Patients Presenting with Circulatory Shock: A Retrospective Observational Study by Allyson M. Hynes, Shyam Murali, Gary A. Bass, et al. (www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticles/2023481Hynes.pdf) JSOM Guest Medic: Our guest medic for this quarter is Ricky Ditzel, who will review “Optimizing Brain Health of United States Special Operations Forces” by Edlow and colleagues. Ricky and his two siblings’ adolescent lives were defined by chaos. Inspired to make a positive change for his family, he enlisted in the Army and served as a U.S. Army Special Operations Flight Paramedic. In this role, Ricky treated U.S. and Allied forces servicemembers who suffered from the acute and chronic effects of traumatic brain injury. These experiences propelled Ricky to become a neurodegenerative disease researcher and vocal advocate for brain and mental health. Ricky believes strongly in a life of service and consistently seeks opportunities to support underserved communities and promote health equity. He believes the current healthcare structure reduces access to care for individuals with neurologic disabilities because of limitations associated with public transportation, specialty care access, and education. Driven towards research and finding solutions to increase the quality of life for people with neurological disabilities, Ricky is pursuing a career as a physician. He plans to create a neurologic center of excellence that will provide comprehensive multidisciplinary outpatient care under one roof. Ricky is the Chairman of the Special Operations Forces to School of Medicine (SOF to SOM) (https://www.softosom.org/), a board member of Neuroacanthocytosis Advocacy USA, and the Special Operations Medical Association. He will continue to serve his country and community while doing his best to honor the legacies of those who have gone before him. “For they loved to fight, fought to win, and would rather die than quit. Night Stalkers don’t quit!” JSOM Guest Author Interview Our guest author interview will be with Cory McEvoy, author of “Bluetooth Tactical Headsets Improve the Speed of Accurate Patient Handoffs.” Cory is a former 18D who served with 1-1SFG(A) and USASOC. Cory has deployed to both humanitarian and combat zones as an 18D and has been involved with many research projects, with his primary interest being repetitive and low-level blast. Cory left the Army in 2023 and is in the process of applying to medical school. Follow us on Social Media @jsomonline or on our website https://www.jsomonline.org

    46 min
  7. Fall 2023 JSOM Podcast

    11/13/2023

    Fall 2023 JSOM Podcast

    Our JSOM Podcast team of Alex Merkle and Josh Randles will be reviewing the following articles for our Fall podcast: Slow Intravenous Infusion of a Novel Damage Control Cocktail Decreases Blood Loss in a Pig Polytrauma Model by Nathan J. White, MD, MS, et al. (www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticles/2023350White.pdf) Pain Control and Point-of-Care Ultrasound: An Approach to Rib Fractures for the Austere Provider by Reece Snyder, PA-C, et al. (www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticles/2023370Snyder.pdf) Phosphorus Burn Management with Multimodal Analgesia by Luc Saint-Jean, MD et al. (www.jsomonline.org/FeatureArticles/2023382Saint-jean.pdf) JSOM Guest Medic EditorTechnical Sergeant Derek Fyksen will be reviewing Pain Control and Point-of-Care Ultrasound: An Approach to Rib Fractures for the Austere Provider. TSgt Fyksen is currently an Air Force PJ. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2011 and served three years at 1st Marine Raider Battalion before transferring to the Air Force to pursue becoming a Pararescueman in 2017. After his separation from the Air Force, Derek intends to pursue a joint MD/MPH program. JSOM Guest Author Interview Dr. Luc Saint-Jean is affiliated with the 1st Specialized Medical Unit, Versailles, France. He will be reviewing his article, Phosphorus Burn Management with Multimodal Analgesia. Josh Randles will review Slow Intravenous Infusion of a Novel Damage Control Cocktail Decreases Blood Loss in a Pig Polytrauma Model.

    32 min
5
out of 5
25 Ratings

About

The podcasts in this feed will review select articles from our academic, peer-reviewed journal. We also offer monthly interviews with leaders in the TEMS and TCCC communities, providing valuable insight into the latest and greatest information in the world of tactical medicine.

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