WARSAW, Poland - Polish and U.S. military medical leadership assembled at the Ministry of Defense building in Warsaw, Poland, for the Poland-U.S. Command Surgeon Summit on 28 July. U.S. Command Surgeons from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army Europe and Africa, U.S. Air Force Europe, V Corps, 30th Medical Brigade, and Illinois Army and Air National Guard attended the event. Polish Surgeon General, Dr. Aurelia Ostrowska, led the Polish delegation, which included representatives from the Department of Military Medical Service and Poland’s General Command.
The Summit enabled the assembled leaders to discuss current operations, review the success of medical security cooperation events from the past year, and establish objectives for planed events through fiscal year 2025. Following the talks, attendees exchanged cultural gifts and military awards.
Polish Col. Zygmunt Glogowski, Chief of Plans at the Department of Military Medicine, Ministry of Defense, explained the importance of planning for future events.
“This is the most beneficial way to tie our links and cooperation is to understand how we can cooperate better together in the future,” the colonel said. “We have to rely on our colleagues, and they must rely on our medics as well. Both nations must hold the same level of qualification on the same level of proficiency. In the end, there is always a patient we have to treat properly, carefully, and in a timely manner.”
This year’s event served as the second Command Surgeon Summit between the two nation’s medical leaders. Previously in 2021, the event successfully linked the ally’s strategies in the region regarding medical security cooperation activities. This year’s event fulfilled these goals and also enabled joint U.S. partners to collaboratively plan engagements and build unity between Army and Air Force equities.
When asked about the importance of medical interoperability, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, Joint Staff Surgeon at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., said, “Our real mission is to take care of those who serve. We have a real privilege as military medical to take care of the folks who volunteer to serve our country. At these international engagements, we get to meet others who are equally passionate about serving their country. Taking care of our forces is a real privilege.”
The ability of each nation’s medical providers and systems to work together is a critical component to bolstering the extended network of alliances and partnerships needed to decisively meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Global Health Engagements open doors with allies and partners and strengthen one of the greatest strategic assets we have in protecting our nation.
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