USUHS
From Electrical Systems to Human Body Systems: How 2 EMDP2 Students Bring Technical Skills to Medicine
BLUF – Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Brandy Ledet, a former nuclear electrician, and Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Efrain Negron, an electronics maintenance technician, are transitioning toward careers as military physicians through the Uniformed Services University’s Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2). Their experiences demonstrate how technical expertise, operational leadership, and personal encounters with military healthcare can prepare enlisted personnel for medical careers, highlighting EMDP2 as an important pathway for developing future Navy Medicine physicians with firsthand operational experience.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/11/from-electrical-systems-to-human-body.html
Preparing Military Surgeons for the Challenges of Combat
BLUF – Navy Capt. Matthew Bradley, chair of the Uniformed Services University’s Department of Surgery, highlighted efforts to prepare military surgeons for combat through advanced simulation, civilian trauma center partnerships, and research into robotic surgery, artificial intelligence, and autonomous medical technologies. These initiatives address the challenge of maintaining surgical proficiency during peacetime while strengthening Navy Medicine’s ability to deliver lifesaving care in austere environments, particularly during large-scale combat operations where evacuation may be delayed or unavailable.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/preparing-military-surgeons-for.html
Modernizing the Capstone: How Operation Bushmaster Prepares Medical Officers for Large-Scale Combat Operations
BLUF – The Uniformed Services University modernized its annual Operation Bushmaster field exercise to prepare nearly 200 graduating medical students for large-scale combat operations, incorporating drone threats, updated Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines, disrupted communications, delayed evacuations, and multinational medical operations. The five-day exercise emphasizes clinical decision-making, leadership under stress, and casualty management in contested environments, reinforcing Navy Medicine’s need to prepare medical officers for prolonged casualty care, mass casualty events, and operational challenges where traditional evacuation and medical support may be unavailable.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/modernizing-capstone-how-operation.html
How to Become a Military Doctor at the Uniformed Services University
BLUF – The Uniformed Services University published a guide explaining how to become a military physician, outlining admissions requirements, application timelines, tuition-free medical education, active-duty officer pay and benefits, and the seven-year service obligation following residency, while noting that its Class of 2030 includes 178 students selected from more than 2,000 applicants. For Navy Medicine, the article highlights multiple pathways for developing future Navy physicians, including direct admission to USU, the Health Professions Scholarship Program, direct commissioning and the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program, which allows qualified enlisted personnel to prepare for medical school while retaining their military pay and benefits.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/how-to-become-military-doctor-at.html
9 USU Faculty Earn Teaching and Research Honors; Supplement Safety Summit Draws More Than 270
BLUF – Nine Uniformed Services University faculty members received awards recognizing excellence in teaching, research and medical education, including Navy Lt. Cmdr. Laura Barrett, who earned the Navy Chapter of the American College of Physicians Staff Teacher of the Year Award, and Dr. Elexis McBee, who received its Master Teacher Award. The university also hosted its fourth annual Operation Supplement Safety Summit, bringing together more than 270 military, medical and research professionals to address emerging concerns involving dietary supplements, peptides and GLP-1 medications, highlighting important considerations for Navy Medicine in patient safety, clinical education and force readiness.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/9-usu-faculty-earn-teaching-and.html
USU Medical Team Brings Military Medicine Expertise to Ironman World Championship
BLUF – A Uniformed Services University medical team, including retired Army Col. Francis O’Connor, Army 2nd Lt. Michael Kim and Navy Ensign Paige Sim, provided medical support at the 2026 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, gaining hands-on experience managing heat illness, dehydration, electrolyte disturbances and other emergencies in a demanding environment. For Navy Medicine, their participation demonstrates how military medical training in triage, operational medicine, interdisciplinary teamwork and rapid clinical decision-making translates to civilian endurance events while strengthening skills essential for caring for sailors and Marines in austere operational settings.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/usu-medical-team-brings-military.html
How Can Artificial Intelligence on the Battlefield Shape Moral Injury?
BLUF – Uniformed Services University researchers are examining how artificial intelligence in battlefield decision-making may contribute to moral injury, with Air Force 2nd Lt. Raymond Gilmore studying how excessive trust in AI recommendations, distrust of algorithms and uncertainty about human responsibility can produce guilt, shame and psychological distress following combat decisions. For Navy Medicine, this emerging research highlights the need to prepare behavioral health providers to recognize and treat moral injuries associated with AI-assisted warfare, including the psychological effects of remote operations, ambiguous accountability and lethal decisions influenced by autonomous systems.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/how-can-artificial-intelligence-on.html
7 Leaders Share Military Medicine Lessons in the USU President’s Strategic Leadership Speaker Series
BLUF – The Uniformed Services University highlighted lessons from seven senior military medical leaders in its President’s Strategic Leadership Speaker Series, emphasizing competence, character, mentorship, knowing and caring for subordinates, high-reliability healthcare, and leading effectively in complex operational environments. For Navy Medicine, the presentations by former Navy Surgeon General Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham and former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Capt. Stephen Ferrara offer practical leadership insights for developing medical officers who can balance patient safety, organizational performance and operational readiness.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/7-leaders-share-military-medicine.html
Where USU Is Going: A Strategic Plan Built for a Fight Without a Golden Hour
BLUF – The Uniformed Services University unveiled its 2026–2029 strategic plan to prepare military medical professionals for large-scale combat operations where the traditional Golden Hour for casualty evacuation may no longer exist, emphasizing prolonged field care, curriculum modernization, artificial intelligence, international partnerships and expanded medical education programs. For Navy Medicine, the plan establishes a goal for all USU students to demonstrate validated combat medical proficiency and obtain Joint Medical Role certifications by FY 2028, while expanding medical school enrollment to 200 students annually, nursing enrollment by 10% and allied health programs by 50% to strengthen the future operational medical workforce.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/where-usu-is-going-strategic-plan-built.html
USU Tracks Rapid Antimicrobial Resistance in Ukraine Combat Wounds
BLUF – The Uniformed Services University is collaborating on the ARROW study of more than 900 combat trauma patients across five Ukrainian hospitals, finding that highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria carrying NDM and OXA-48 resistance genes can emerge early in the casualty evacuation process, complicating wound treatment when evacuation and surgical care are delayed. For Navy Medicine, these findings underscore the need to strengthen infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, rapid diagnostics and treatment protocols for prolonged field care, particularly during large-scale combat operations where delayed evacuation may render standard antibiotics ineffective.
https://news.usuhs.edu/2026/10/usu-tracks-rapid-antimicrobial.html