“When creating the service, the first step was identifying the real issues — pinpointing what exactly was a problem within the military. The next step involved securing human and material resources, as well as planning operational processes”.
“Personnel is the hardest issue. Medicine does not forgive mistakes. On the one hand, you need professional expertise. On the other hand, you need people who are open to change and able to work as a team. There are many highly qualified professionals who simply aren’t cut out for field conditions. Take neurosurgeons, for instance — they can accomplish far more where there’s an environment that allows them to perform medical miracles”.
“The team we’re forming is built first and foremost on equality, regardless of one’s position. You may hold a PhD or three degrees — but the driver behind the wheel is your equal, because his responsibility is no less vital than that of the specialist sitting in the same vehicle. We reject any notion that doctors are more important than mechanics, engineers, pharmacists, or clerks. Every one of them matters”.
“The medical service is a multi-level system that includes diverse yet interconnected areas. Among them is outpatient care and treatment of non-combat injuries — anything from ‘something hurts’ to sleep disorders, minor trauma, or even COVID. We have a clinic staffed by general practitioners, an ENT specialist, a neurologist, an ophthalmologist, a trauma doctor, a surgeon, dentists — and crucially, we also have diagnostics”.
“Combat injury means a stabilisation point and evacuation. There’s a wound — so we treat, stabilise, and transfer”.
“Logistics — equipment, medication, transport, blood, plasma, immunobiologicals”.
“Documentation — a group of people handling the paperwork to ensure that a wounded soldier gets to the right hospital on time. ‘Bureaucracy’ is a soft word for what they do. In reality, they’re crisis managers”.
“There’s also an analytics department — vital in any structure to understand how it can improve or what the contingency plan is if things go wrong. For instance, the number of wounded could suddenly rise. We need to be prepared for completely different demands in both material and non-material supplies. That’s what the analytics team is for — to track where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we might end up. After that, we can monitor outcomes. Artillery can count strikes and effectiveness, but in medicine, you can’t say a certain number of wounded is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It’s just a fact”.
“We’ve also formed a separate maintenance and repair unit. These are the ones working with vehicles. An evacuation driver might be in the repair unit one day and transporting the wounded on another shift”.