Director's Corner
Our primary role in the Military Operational Medicine Research Program is to support Readiness of the Force. MOMRP knowledge and materiel products are developed to ensure operational forces are resilient and resistant to operational stressors that span the physical, physiological, and psychological. Movement does not break machines, friction does. It is for this vital reason that we must improve our understanding and monitoring of the acute and long-term friction of operational stressors on our most important machines -- our Service members.
Beyond the characterization of operational challenges, biomedical RDT&E enables optimized performance and optimal recovery and generates the basis for medical investments that support directly the Lethality of Warfighters by facilitating the projection and sustainment of combat power. Readiness is potential energy, Lethality is kinetic. In these terms capability generation from MOMRP supports Service members on both ends of the spectrum. MOMRP efforts also inform protective equipment and body armor, generates preventive and occupational medicine, and empowers operational communities to withstand and recover from significant challenges downrange, in the air, and at sea.
Above all, it is rare that our Forces are exposed to isolated stressors and it is uncommon that exposures create injuries or conditions that are easily reversible or completely erased following treatment. It is for these reasons that "medical" cannot be limited to Hospitals and must encompass prevention, protection, endurance, recovery, treatment and rehabilitation under operational dynamics.
We appreciate your interest in our work. Please feel free to contact us for further information.
CDR Christopher T. Steele, MSC, USN
Director, MOMRP
Chair, Joint Program Committee (JPC) 5