When NASA needed someone to help solve the problem of keeping astronauts alive during a three-year mission to Mars, they called a retired Marine Colonel who had already flown four Space Shuttle missions, completed a dual residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, run an Ebola treatment unit in Liberia, and cared for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. In a conversation recorded from Sydney, Australia, Dr. David Hilmers joined WarDocs to lay out a blueprint for military medic

What happens when a thousand wounded service members arrive on American soil in a single day — and they keep arriving for a hundred days straight? That is the scenario Dr. Paul D. Biddinger is paid to plan for, and in his WarDocs interview, he delivers a clear-eyed, data-grounded assessment: the U.S. healthcare system is not ready — and it needs to start building that readiness now. The Capacity Crisis Nobody Talks About Dr. Biddinger opens with a fact that reframes the

The Journey from Combat to Classroom Military service often provides a wealth of practical experience, but the transition to civilian leadership requires a different set of tools. In this episode of WarDocs, we sit down with Master Sergeant (Retired) Jonathan Lu, a former 18 Delta Special Operations Medic whose career path serves as a blueprint for professional evolution. From the front lines of route clearance to the corridors of academia, Lu’s story is a testament to th

This episode of WarDocs features Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Charisma Evangelista, the Air Force’s leading voice on refractive surgery and an expert in ocular trauma. The conversation begins with her upbringing in the Philippines and her unique path to military medicine, driven by a desire for service and the supportive, collaborative culture she found at the Uniformed Services University. Dr. Evangelista explains her transition from a prospective general surgeon to an

From Survival to Restoration: The Evolution of Military Rehabilitation In the wake of 9/11 and the ensuing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, military medicine faced a daunting challenge: a wave of casualties with devastating, complex injuries unlike those seen in recent history. In our latest episode of WarDocs , we sit down with Retired Army Colonel Dr. Paul Pasquina, a leader in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, to discuss how Walter Reed Army Medical Center adapte

In this compelling episode of the podcast, we explore the groundbreaking paradigm shift of bringing whole blood resuscitation from the combat zones of Afghanistan directly to civilian pre-hospital emergency care. For decades, standard civilian trauma protocols relied heavily on crystalloid fluids and component therapy, delaying crucial blood transfusions until a critically injured patient arrived at the hospital. However, hard-won lessons from military medical teams operating