FORT DETRICK, Md. (Jan. 20, 2015) -- Seated at a small table within the offices of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command's, USAMRMC, Combat Casualty Care Research Program, Dr. John Nagl nodded his head in silence as he listened to stories about the future.
Nagl spent the morning learning about the program's recent forays into emerging technologies like computer-driven brain injury detection systems and frozen blood transfusion techniques. About an hour into the conversation, program director Col. Todd Rasmussen acknowledged to Nagl the sobering truth.
"There is no safety net for this type of trauma research," Rasmussen said. "And to do our jobs effectively, we need to get our heads up and figure out how to innovate."
"Always," agreed Nagl.
Innovation is a concept that Nagl knows well. In fact, it is perhaps his fascination with innovation that has directly led to his evolution from lieutenant colonel to bestselling author.
Nagl's book "Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam," established him as an outspoken proponent of both practical and institutional change with regards to the way the U.S. armed forces approaches contemporary combat operations.
"Conventional armies struggle when they fight insurgencies because they don't think that's what they're supposed to be doing," said Nagl, later expanding upon the concept of change while addressing Soldiers and civilians on Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. "Armies need to be able to learn and adapt quickly."
Nagl's presentation, entitled "Modern War in Theory and Practice," was a tour through not only his career in the Army and as a doctoral student at Oxford University, but also through his own personal outlook on the role and capacity of modern armies within the current geopolitical landscape.
Nagl said the key concept for the U.S. Armed Forces to understand in moving forward is that Service members must adapt to the concept of fighting a more scattered, amorphous enemy as opposed to the larger, more cohesive armies of the past.
"The enemy hasn't quit; the enemy is still working to get us," Nagl said.
That brand of pointed commentary is one reason Nagl has become such a popular speaker since his retirement from the Army in 2008, popping up everywhere from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to "60 Minutes" and "The Daily Show with John Stewart."
"Smart people with smart ideas help us all," said USAMRMC's Chief of Staff Col. Richard Starrs, of Nagl's presentation.
Nagl also entertained questions from the crowd on a variety of topics, ranging from terrorism to the Cold War to current international relations.
"It was an insightful presentation by an expert who infuses practical knowledge with strategic vision," said Maj. Matt Adams, who also attended the presentation.
After his presentation, Nagl visited with several other USAMRMC program experts to learn more about the role the organization plays in research and advanced development, as well as acquisition and medical logistics.
"Amazing," said Nagl, fiddling with a next-generation aortic tourniquet. "We didn't have these when I was in the service."
Related Links:
.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command'
Army.mil: Inside the Army News
U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command Combat Casualty Care Research Program
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