RESPONSE TO THE WELCOMING ADDRESS
Brigadier General A. A. Towner, MC
Surgeon, Strategic Air Command
Offutt AFB, Nebraska
It gives me great. pleasure to add my welcome to those of General Preston and Colonel Mills on your visit to one of SAC’s busiest bases. We in SAC are indeed happy to be your hosts for several reasons. Foremost. among these is the fact that we employ more Sanitary and Industrial Hygiene Engineers than any of the other Major Air Commands; the contributions engineers are making in our aerospace medical programs are well recognized; and here at Vandenberg AFB; especially those of you who are not associated with SAC, will have the opportunity of seeing, and perhaps get a little better appreciation of the weapon systems now coming into being.
The introduction of missiles into our arsenal of weapons is causing more and more people to become cognizant of terminology and problems areas which have been familiar to some of you for many years. Fuels quite different from JP and gasoline, which were standbys for many years, are now being used. Others will undoubtedly follow as the years pass and new systems which are presently only the figment of someone’s imagination are developed~ It has always been of interest to me to observe the large number of experts who suddenly appear with ready answers to any and all problems when changes in procedures such as we are now witnessing are developed and used. In. SAC we shall continue to stress the responsibilities of the medical service and particularly the physician and engineer in resolving our aerospace medical problems.
But even with ourselves it is necessary that we stop and take inventory of just what is going on about us. Reviewing briefly, in retrospect, let us examine some recent developments. Not too many years ago it required nearly 10 years to develop a major weapon system. Changes in management tools have reduced this by a factor of more than two.
Today, the facilities which support the weapons are completed concurrently with the development of the weapon. To keep pace with these rapid change~ it is necessary that we in the medical service become thoroughly familiar with the techniques being employed in this process, keep abreast of the materials, procedures, and manpower to be utilized in the operation of the system in order that answers to problem areas which arise are obtained by the time the weapon system becomes operational. This is particularly pertinent to the Commands responsible for the development of the system, its use, and the logistic support manager. Existing Air Force regulations
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outline the procedures for each agency to provide its input to the Systems Project Officer. Consequently, the medical service, must discharge its responsibility by actively participating with other directorates whose primary interests are operations, maintenance, and other support functions. Unless this is done the medical service is failing in two respects, (1) by not discharging its responsibilities, as delineated In existing Air Force regulations, manuals, etc., and (2) by denying the commander and his staff the technical knowledge and assistance in technical areas foreign to them. In SAC we are using increasing quantities of cryogenics, ammonia, nitrogen, helium, RP 1, plus the other fuels related to our aircraft. Shortly we will have solid propellants as well as the storables. The latter are presently our primary concern. Even though some of the material has been used in missile operations for more than 10 years, toxicological data is not complete. Problems relating to the disposal of these chemicals are still with tas and unless techniques for their safe handling and. disposal are devised, adverse public reaction due to loss of aquatic and other wild life: the contamination of water resources; and undoubtedly claims for damages may occur.
Other recent changes and additions to our operational procedures include the increased use of radioactive materials both in medicine and industrial applications, Higher powered X’ray machines as well as accelerators are finding applications, and only recently the Air Force acquired its first reactor as a source of electric power. With the present research and activity applied to space systems it Is not unrealistic to presume that sooner or later these may well be a part of our weapon systems. Just what other techniques may be adapted to military application Is wide open for speculation. Only recently General LeMay indicated that a type of ray capable of projection over long distances may be a matter for consideration.
I well recognize that what I have just said is well known and understood by many of you. I restate it, however, since it emphasizes to me the many areas that engineers such as yourselves have distinct opportunities to make valuable contributions to the medical service, and more particularly the Air Force, in arriving at solutions to the many knotty problems with which we will be faced in making these instruments safe for the personnel who use them, as well as the ground crews who provide support services. The challenges and opportunities for medical contribution to the changing concepts of Air Force operations during this decade in my opinion exceed those of any previous period, as well as the immediate ones to follow. The challenge is yours and I in turn challenge you to accept it.
One word of caution I would leave with you in this matter of communications. Failure. to talk with one another or to pass on information seriously deteriorates any program. One of our major problems today is to develop a means
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whereby research and other pertinent data can be rapidly disseminated to those who have a need for it.
The program for your symposium has been developed to reflect on at least some of the areas indicated above. Whether or not the subject matter discussed Is pertinent to your particular needs, the fact that you have these few days to meet with your co-workers, and to have the opportunity to discuss mutual problems, should permit you to return to your respective bases with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.
Again let me assure you that it is a pleasure for SAC to have you as our guests. Your hosts will do everything within their capabilities to make your stay a pleasurable and profitable one.