History of the Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons The Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons evolved from a strong movement on the part of practicing Air Force surgeons to foster excellence in surgical care. The movement originated in 1949 with an organizational meeting held to work toward such a goal. The first real clinical enclave was held in 1953 for general surgeons. Surgical subspecialty sessions were added in 1955. The Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons was formally chartered in 1958 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. In that year, the elected officers for the new Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons included Brigadier General Robert E. Lee as its first President. The membership is open to all doctors of medicine and osteopathy who practice surgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, podiatric medicine, doctors of dentistry who limit their practice to oral surgery and certified registered nurse anesthetists. You must be serving on active duty in the Armed Forces Medical Corps and be either in residency training, under the supervision of a board certified surgeon, or be in the active or inactive Armed Forces Reserve or National Guard. Recognizing the importance of our joint military and civilian training programs, civilian residents enrolled in these programs are eligible for membership during their training. Associate Members are Armed Forced physicians or dentists actively engaged in the practice of surgery, either in resident training or under the supervision of board certified surgeons, or active or inactive Armed Forces Reserve or National Guard surgeons, to include retired and separated. Life Members are members in good standing for 25 consecutive years and are not required to pay annual dues. Honorary Members who are selected by unanimous agreement of the Board of Governors are also not required to pay annual dues. The Annual Meeting is the primary focus of the Society. The purpose of the meeting is to improve surgery in its relationship to the mission of the United States Air Force. In 1981, the Society initiated the “Excalibur Award” to recognize an active duty surgeon who truly exemplifies the ideas of an Air Force Medical Officer. The award is presented annually at the awards banquet. In 1999-2000 the Society reorganized the meeting to serve as a platform to reestablish our relevance to Air Force surgery. The annual meeting became not only a scientific and educational experience, but also served as a forum for us to speak to the Air Force leadership about those issues that are most important to us; thereby establishing the Society as a means of dialog between Air Force leadership and the surgeon in the field. The Society now has 645 members with approximately 300 members attending the Annual Symposium each year. The annual highlight for the Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons is the Spring Symposium. This is an excellent professional meeting approved for Category 1 AMA CME credit. The meeting is combined with an enjoyable social gathering and brings together each spring, several hundred surgeons, surgical residents and their families for several days of education and fun. The meeting is generally held every other year in San Antonio, Texas and is hosted by Wilford Hall Medical Center. During other years, it is rotated among the other Air Force Medical Centers. Awards are always a welcome part of this annual meeting. The Clinical Surgeons Award was born in 1983. The Board of Governors instituted a cash award for the best paper written and presented by a resident or fellow at the annual meeting. In 1983-1984, $1,000.00 was presented to the first place paper. In 1985, the Board voted to increase the award to include first place in both clinical and basic science for $1,000.00 each, second for $500.00 and third for $250.00. In 2000 the Board voted to just have the first and second place awards and to roll the third place award into the Trauma/Critical Care Award to make the basic and clinical science of $500.00 each, instead of $250.00. The 2000 Board of Governors voted to honor Lt Gen (ret) Paul W. Myers and change the Clinical Surgeons Award to The Paul W. Myers Award for Excellence in Resident Research. Dr Myers has been a highly active member of SAFCS for 45 years. Paul Myers submissions must be original, not previously released work and must be written and presented by the resident or fellow. The Society’s program committee provides critical review and selects the four finalists from those submitting abstracts. The papers not selected for oral presentation will be considered for presentation at the subspecialty sessions. If the paper is later published, each author will be asked to include recognition for the Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons on the title page of the publication. Last, but not least, is the prestigious Surgeon General’s Award, for the best scientific paper presented in each subspecialty. SAFCS joined with Current Surgery in 1999-2000 making publication, as a group, very attractive. The infamous Knowledge Bowl is an annual event between the residents at Keesler AFB, MS, Travis AFB, CA, Lackland AFB, TX, and Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, with the winning base taking the plaque back to their base to display for the following year. Wilford Hall Medical Center and David Grant Medical Center have been passing the plaque back and forth since its inception. The Excalibur Award and Plaque is permanently mounted in the lobby of Wilford Hall Medical Center. A replica of this award is presented each year at the annual meeting to an outstanding member of the Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons. The Society blends the skills and knowledge of the medical profession with those of the military profession; benefiting both. The Society promotes excellence in surgery within the Air Force, serves as a forum for the presentation of scientific papers, fosters esprit de corps, and promulgates military surgical objectives with both headquarters USAF and with the membership. The Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons has achieved remarkable success in pursuing these objectives. Military Surgery has been at the forefront in hand surgery, reconstructive surgery, peripheral vascular surgery, maternal-fetal-medicine, pelvic reconstructive surgery, and the care of trauma patients. The goal of this Society is to continue to improve the surgical care of military members and their dependents.