With this, the first issue of 2010, I announce several important changes for the Journal. First, this issue is the inaugural issue published by our new publisher, Elsevier. For the last 12 years, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine has been published by Allen Press. In early 2009, the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) Board of Directors made the decision to make a move to Elsevier based on several novel features and opportunities they offer. The transition from one publisher to another is an arduous process, with steep learning curves for all involved. I want to express my thanks to the folks at both Allen Press and Elsevier for working hard to make this transition as smooth as possible, and especially to our Managing Editor, Jonna Barry, for her tireless efforts to make sure that all “the plates kept spinning” while the transition occurred! I also thank our authors, our peer reviewers, and our section editors who have successfully navigated the switch from one online publishing system to another. And, finally, thank you to the folks at Allen Press who have worked with us over the years to make steady and profound strides in the quality of our Journal. I am confident that Elsevier will be strong partners in our continued growth!
Jeremy Windsor
I am also excited to announce the introduction of 2 new special-focus Sections in the Journal. The first is “High Altitude Medicine.” The Journal has always included articles of interest and importance in high altitude medicine for our readers, and I have, for a number of years, desired to develop a section dedicated to this important discipline. What has been needed has been the right leader for the section—a person with the necessary expertise and experience, both field and research, to oversee selection of appropriate high altitude–related manuscripts for us. That leader has been found. I am very pleased that Dr Jeremy Windsor will be our first Section Editor of High Altitude Medicine (and has, in fact, been hard at work in this role for a great many weeks already!). Jeremy is an anesthesiologist at University College Hospital, London, and an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre for Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment (CASE) at University College London. He has been involved in several expeditions to the Himalayas, and has functioned either as a guide, climber, or expedition doctor on many trips to Australasia, North and South America, Europe, and Africa. In 2004 he completed 9 first ascents in Knud Rasmussen Land, northeast Greenland. In 2005 he climbed Cho Oyu (8201 m) and, in 2007, Mt Everest (8850 m) as part of the Caudwell Xtreme Medical Research Team. In 2009 he explored the Lhonak Valley in northwest Sikkim and completed ascents in that region. He has served as a guide on Kilimanjaro (2008 and 2009) and Aconcagua (2010). He has been involved in high altitude research for a number of years and has published widely in both the medical and mountaineering literature. He has contributed to the Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine and recently authored the “High Altitude Illness” section for a new British Medical Journal textbook designed for personal digital assistant (PDA) devices. He has published altitude-related work in The New England Journal of Medicine and BMJ, and is 1 of 2 UK medical representatives on the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA). He is currently pursuing an advanced degree (focusing on the effects of hypoxia on the cardiovascular system) through Sheffield University and a Diploma in Mountain Medicine through Leicester University. In his leisure time, Jeremy is a member of both the UK Climbers Club and Alpine Club, and climbs regularly throughout the United Kingdom, with his first loves being the Cairngorms of Scotland and the Gritstone Edges of the Peak District.
Brad L. Bennett
The second new Section, “Operational and Tactical Medicine,” was approved by the Journal's Editorial Board at the 2009 Snowmass meeting. This section will focus on the provision of medical care in hostile, austere environments with limited resources, manpower, and medical supplies, and often with prolonged care required during delayed evacuation to definitive treatment. It will encompass the practice of tactical emergency medical support (TEMS) in the prehospital environment in both the civilian sector (eg, law enforcement support, disasters, mass events, community incidents), and military operational settings involving tactical combat casualty care (TCCC). This new section will bring together the intersecting disciplines of Wilderness Medicine and Tactical/Operational Medicine, both of which specialize in bringing the best medical care possible to victims in austere environments. The first Editor for this new section will be familiar to many of you—Captain Brad Bennett, PhD, US Navy (retired). Brad has been a long-time member and tireless supporter of the WMS, and is highly qualified to take on leadership of “Operational and Tactical Medicine.” He served for 27 years in the US Navy, and during that time was active in research, development, training, and education in the areas of applied physiology, prehospital emergency medicine, and operational aspects of military medicine. Brad conducted operational research on various topics with Naval Special Warfare (SEALs), the US Marines, and with Surface Warfare and Diving & Submarine personnel, to name a few. He graduated from the Navy Medical Department Deep Sea Diving Officer program in 1982, and still scuba dives internationally and maintains PADI certification as a Master Diver. He served as Assistant Professor and Director, Basic Sciences Division, of the Military and Emergency Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University, and from May 1997 to July 2000, served as the Department's Vice Chairman. While at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Brad augmented the Casualty Care Research Center as a tactical emergency medicine instructor in the Counter Narcotic Tactical Operations Medical Support (CONTOMS) program, and served as an on-call tactical medic with numerous Federal agency SWAT teams. He still maintains an adjunct faculty appointment at USUHS where he provides annual lectures on tactical medicine. Brad was selected for Executive Medicine by the Navy Surgeon General and served as the Commanding Officer for the Field Medical Service School, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California, and later as the Commanding Officer, Naval School of Health Sciences, Portsmouth, VA. In 2002 he began serving as a member of the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC), which provides state-of-the-art medical guidelines for battlefield trauma care for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security. He currently serves as a consultant on battlefield trauma medicine to DoD and NATO militaries. Brad enjoys the wilderness with frequent trail runs and hikes, and is passionate about photography, kayaking, sailing, and diving. He also serves as the volunteer Medical Officer for the Tidewater Search & Rescue (TSAR) team, Norfolk, VA. His credentials include being a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine, a Tactical Emergency Medical Technician and a nationally certified paramedic. He has authored 2 chapters on environmental trauma in the Prehospital Trauma Life Support Textbook. His service to the WMS includes current membership on the Board of Directors and the Editorial Board of WEM. He is Co-Director for the Academy of Wilderness Medicine Fellowship and is the Chief Editor for the WMS Educational Lecture Series. In recognition of Brad's service to the Society and his commitment to teaching, the WMS presented Brad with its 2009 Education Award.
Please join me in welcoming Jeremy and Brad to the strong ranks of Section Editors for Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, and watch for the changes to come as Elsevier adds us to the impressive list of influential journals they publish.
