In this interview with Captain Leslie Riggs, we get an exclusive look into the inner workings and state-of-play of the Armed Services Blood Program. This piece touches on the challenges faced by the organisation, but also its requirements and priorities in adapting to a near-peer conflict possible world. Valuable insight for anyone related to transporting blood down range.

In preparation for our Deployed Medical & Healthcare Delivery Conference we interviewed the conference chairman and Head of research and clinical innovation for the UK Defence Medical Services, Duncan Wilson. Here he expresses the importance of the DMHD conference, and how being their aligns with the organisation’s wider objectives. Furthermore, he delves into what preparing for a near-peer conflict may hold for medical services. This is a perfect “warm-up” for what to expect for the conference.

The sustainment and management of temperature controlled logistics in the deployed environment is a constant challenge for militaries. Having the right infrastructure could save lives on the battlefield, as it would enable blood, medicine and oxygen to be transported to the injured soldiers when it is most critical. Developed 15 years ago, the award-winning Golden Hour technology aims to address this critical need, and makes blood available on the battlefield to treat critically-wounded soldiers during the first hour after injury.

Ahead of their participation at this year’s Deployed Medical & Healthcare Delivery conference, Defence iQ had the opportunity to gain exclusive insight from Mark Jezierski, Business Development Manager, Peli BioThermal about their Golden Hour technology, the critical characteristics of a thermal packaging product in a military context and the evolution of the requirements in an increasingly complex operating environment.

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In this interview, Mark Jezierski answers the following questions:

• Effectively delivering medical support to the battlefield depends in no small part on being able to transport critical resources – including blood – to the point of need, quickly. How does Peli Biothermal support that objective?
• What are the most important characteristics of a thermal packaging product in a military context? How does the Golden Hour Product demonstrate those characteristics?
• And what about the challenge of monitoring temperature-sensitive resources in transit? How can commercial providers support a robust supply chain for military medics and logisticians?
• How does the military market differ from the commercial one when it comes to providing a temperature-controlled logistics solution? How do you cope with requirements of ruggedisation and weight?
• How do you see the military requirement for temperature-controlled packaging changing as the operating environment grows more complex? What are the limits of blood storage pre-use in a deployed environment, and how can industry support, overall, extended field care?

Here at Defence IQ, we had the privilege of interviewing Major General Dr Ambrose Musinguzi, Chief of Medical Services for the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Force. This small but impactful piece gives an excellent state-of-play of the UPDF Medical Services, the challenges they face, and how they operate.