OPMED team gains up-close experience during premier Joint Emergency Medicine Exercise at Fort Cavazos

Advanced medical developers and acquisition experts with the Defense Health Agency’s Operational Medical Systems (OPMED) Program Management Office joined an elite group of U.S. and international military medical providers last week to observe the Joint Emergency Medicine Exercise (JEMX) 2025 at Fort Cavazos, Texas.

The exercise featured medics, corpsmen, and medical officers from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and partner nations, who conducted immersive, intense, and realistic scenario-based training to build their critical lifesaving skills for future Large-Scale Combat Operations.

By simulating diverse combat scenarios, JEMX-25 challenged participants to apply their expertise in austere and high-stress situations through a series of combat casualty care lanes representing the continuum of care, from point of injury through medical evacuation.

OPMED’s presence at the exercise underscores DHA’s commitment to supporting the operational medical needs of the Department of Defense and the individual service branches that comprise the Joint Force. By directly observing dynamic training environments like JEMX-25, OPMED aims to refine the development and procurement of future medical technologies and solutions that directly enhance Warfighter readiness and lethality.

U.S. Army Col. Chuck Bane, director of the OPMED Force Health Protection division, emphasized the importance of connecting with military end users during events like JEMX-25.

"Our mission at OPMED is directly tied to the success of our frontline medics and medical officers," Bane said. "Being here, seeing their challenges in a tactical environment, is absolutely vital to what we do to support Warfighters. Direct interactions with our potential end users in the Joint Force during events like JEMX-25 help us shape the OPMED mission to truly meet their needs, ensuring they have the most effective capabilities to save lives and return service members to duty."

Role 1 care, often delivered by combat medics and corpsmen at the point of injury, focuses on immediate life-saving interventions and stabilization. Role 2 care, typically provided at forward surgical teams or aid stations, involves more advanced medical procedures, including resuscitation, damage control surgery, and preparation for evacuation to higher levels of care. These critical levels of combat trauma care are OPMED’s focus for current and future development and procurement, according to U.S. Army Maj. Leighona Powell, a member of OPMED's Program Management Acquisition Internship Program.

"Events and exercises like JEMX-25 are incredibly important for helping the OPMED team understand what our frontline military medical providers and units truly need to enhance their lethality for future Large Scale Combat Operations," said Powell. "Experiencing realistic operational training environments like JEMX-25 and seeing the real-world demands placed on our medics and medical officers is crucial for us to develop and acquire the right capabilities for future fights."

The observations gathered by the OPMED team during JEMX-25 will be instrumental in ensuring that medical systems fielded to the Joint Force are effective, adaptable, and meet the evolving demands of Large-Scale Combat Operations in austere, remote environments.

OPMED, part of the Defense Health Agency, is the DoD’s leading force in medical development and acquisition, focused on enhancing Warfighter lethality and readiness. Project managers with the team develop and deliver next-generation, world-class medical capabilities that empower combatant commanders for Large-Scale Combat Operations, particularly within austere environments, with a twofold mission: save lives on the battlefield and swiftly return injured service members to duty.