CHAPTER VII

Aviation Medicine

Approximately two-thirds of the Army aviation resources supporting operations in Vietnam were assigned to the units, of the 1st Aviation Brigade. The remaining aircraft and men were assigned to those units organic to the divisions; relatively few were assigned to artillery, engineer, aircraft maintenance, signal, or other support units. Although the strength of the lst Aviation Brigade was not much greater than 25,000 men, its approximately 50 flight surgeons provided primary medical care on an area basis to more than 35,000 troops. In some areas, the dispensaries of the 1st Aviation Brigade were the only source of outpatient care. The medical units of the brigade established liaison and close working relationships with their nearest supporting hospitals, referring patients for consultations, inpatient care, and specialized treatment.

The flight surgeon is a physician who has received formal training in the specialized field of aviation medicine. His mission includes the prevention and treatment of disease, injury, and mental or emotional deterioration among aviation flight, ground crew, and maintenance personnel. He monitors the programs of flyers and is expected to participate in frequent flights. He is confronted by the problems of traumatic injury; of acute and chronic disease, ranging from the common upper respiratory infections to the most uncommon of tropical diseases; of psychiatric disorders, which run the gamut front occupational fatigue through the minor disorders of personality to overt psychoses; and of personal hygiene and environmental sanitation, including dietetics, venereal disease, insect control, and a multitude of bizarre and homely worrisome matters. The flight surgeon treats physical and mental conditions that might endanger pilots or passengers. Whether in the examination room or upon the flight line, he must be able readily to detect incipient major and minor disorders of. personality in men who, in their zeal to fly, frequently try to conceal the disorders. He administers and prescribes medications and treatment, and he reviews and studies the case history and the progress of the patient, He also acts as consultant in his specialty to other medical services and provides aeromedical staff advice. In addition, the flight surgeon serves as medical member of aircraft crash investigation teams and, when possible, contributes to aeromedical research and development.