2007 PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE As the President of the Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons, I took the initiative in August to alert the Surgeon General of the impending failure of our organization due to the stark decline of general surgeons in the USAF. Subsequently, a Surgeons Summit was held where there was an open and frank discussion of the issues. The concerns were taken to Air Staff and these were used as a template for the program at the Air Staff retreat in Leesburg in October. After Leesburg, the Board of Governors was updated and the decision was made to continue with the planned annual meeting of the Society, 13-17 April 2008 in Cincinnati. In addition to the traditional clinical and scientific forums, this meeting will emphasize the opportunity for surgeons in the Air Force to interact with our senior leaders directly and see the future direction of the Air Force Medical Service. I spoke with Lieutenant General James Roudebush and Major General Bruce Green and they are fully supportive of this meeting and have expressed their desire to participate as we look toward the future. They recognize that the weeks, months and years ahead will be challenging, but the steps we have taken have put us on the right path. They have expressed gratitude for the SAFCS’ enduring leadership, and the leadership within our AFMS surgical team in helping identify the way ahead. LtGen Roudebush has briefed his staff and they have marked their calendars for our Symposium. The plan for the Society Meeting is to review the presentations from Leesburg with the input from Air Staff. This will provide a forum for all SAFCS members, as well as all surgical specialists in the Air Force, to hear a summary of the outstanding work done since 9/11 and the proposed way ahead. We anticipate approximately one hundred centrally funded TDY slots again this year. As in years past, these will be afforded to active duty staff and residents. This year we will invite six USUHS students with an interest in surgery to attend the meeting to see the great opportunities that Air Force Surgery has to offer. We would encourage you as a member of the society or as a non member surgeon/surgical specialist in the Air Force to attend so that you can be involved in the future of our AFMS. This symposium will give us the opportunity to showcase our successes of the past in Balad and Bagram, and highlight the opportunities for the future of surgical care in the Air Force. The entire Board of Governors is unanimously behind this meeting and is quite eager to put the future of Air Force surgery on display. We are looking forward to showing the Surgeon General our commitment to the future and trying to reinvigorate the pride and passion in Air Force surgery and the Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons. We look forward to seeing everyone in Cincinnati in April Warm Regards Donald H Jenkins, Col, USAF, MC 2007-2008 President, Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons 2006 PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE Dear SAFCS Members I bring best wishes on behalf of the board of directors for a healthy and prosperous New Year. It has been an interesting and exciting year; this year has already proven to be no less fascinating. There is new leadership in the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS), new leadership and directions in the Global War on Terror, new missions in that war (Bagram Air Base Theater Hospital) and new one-year leadership in those deployed hospitals. The challenges this brings to our membership include longer tours for many and more of us deployed. Additionally, BRAC continues to provide new and additional challenges to those effected, sometimes detracting from other traditional duties. Increasing documentation requirements, dwindling over-65 population access to care in our facilities, decreasing budgets/increased costs, less money for TDY and the impending decline in the number of surgeons in the active USAF are all additional causes for concern. The BOD salutes each and every one of you for doing what you do everyday, especially in the face of the numerous challenges outlined above. There is no better time for our membership to look to one another for assistance, guidance and camaraderie in these difficult times. Solutions to some of these issues have been created in some centers by our members; the challenge is to disseminate these lessons learned and SAFCS can facilitate that on behalf of our membership. I am exploring a chat function be developed in the SAFCS website for such ease of sharing these important lessons. I implore the membership to bring new ideas and problems to your board representatives as we prepare for our Spring meeting. Furthermore, I challenge every member to recruit a new member into the organization to bolster our ranks, deepen our pool of experts who can bring their lessons learned, increase our voice in the AFMS and insure the future of clinical surgery in the USAF. Our program directors should encourage all residents to become members as well. Lastly, I encourage each of you to prepare to share your experiences at our next scientific symposium at the Millennium Hotel in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, from 13-17 April 2008. Get those abstracts, papers and presentations ready early. Don Jenkins, Col, USAF, MC 2007 President, Society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons 2008-2009 SAFCS President's Message 2004-2006 SAFCS President's Message 2003-2004 SAFCS President's Message 2002-2003 SAFCS President's Message 2001-2002 SAFCS President's Message 2000-2001 SAFCS President's Message