By Paul Brinkley
Turner Publishing Company, 2014

U.S. medical commands must adapt to changing times and help lead the way in shaping the operational environment before, during, and after major operations. Medical diplomacy can be enhanced by a more forward policy that makes medical initiatives part of a larger package of soft power capabilities including education, commerce, and culture. Military medical personnel should serve as part of overall teams as health attachés in critical overseas missions. They should coordinate with medical foreign military sales arrangements in the interest of wider efforts to advance peace and stability, build professional and personal relationships with medical and nonmedical host nation leaders, and stand as advocates for U.S. health care in all of its phases including patient care, education, and research.

Civilian participants in conflagrations are rightly concerned about cultural property protection (CPP) in host or occupied nations and appeal to military players to see preservation of icons as a force multiplier. Present precautionary measures are neither empowered nor timely enough to prevent unnecessary damage. An independent international academic center is proposed that would join a military CPP competence center fashioned by NATO or an academic entity to validate and energize projects. The concept of military necessity must be examined by all military and civilian stakeholders with CPP remaining depoliticized and kept in accord with international agreements and mandates. Related controversies can be mitigated through education, training, resource commitment, and dialogue, all creating a cooperative civil-military culture that protects cultural treasures.