Military medicine
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As the burgeoning roles of women afford them the opportunities to perform in all combat and combat support assignments, the impact of all environmental, occupational, physical, and psychosocial factors inherent in military training and operations on their health must be considered. A robust foundation of knowledge is necessary to ascertain, prevent, and treat the potential impacts on women's health. However, a systematic review of the literature from 2000-2015 revealed widespread gaps in scientific knowledge of the musculoskeletal, psychological, occupational, and reproductive health of military women. The purpose of this study is to determine priorities for military women's health (MWH) research that will serve to fill these gaps in knowledge. ⋯ The MWH research agenda is a validated research agenda of high-priority research topics that will promote enduring efforts to ensure evidence-based practices and health policies for military women through research.
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Review
Leaders, Talent Management, and Allies: The Keys to Successful Integration in the Combat Arms.
Servicewomen enhance the U. S. ⋯ To eliminate inequities experienced by servicewomen, leaders across all levels of the military play a key role in supporting the successful integration of servicewomen, cultivating an environment of belonging, and guarding against toxicity, which will result in optimized performance and readiness for all servicemembers in defense of the Nation. Herein, we review the original gaps related to leadership and peer behaviors identified by the 2014 Women in Combat Symposium, provide updates in the literature, address the topics that arose at the 2021 Women in Combat Symposium, and finally, outline the remaining barriers and challenges to the successful integration of female servicemembers.
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The modern female soldier has yet to be fully characterized as she steps up to fill new combat roles that have only recently been opened to women. Both U.S. and U.K. military operational research efforts are supporting a science-based evolution of physical training and standards for female warfighters. The increasing representation of women in all military occupations makes it possible to discover and document the limits of female physiological performance. ⋯ Female physiological limits and performance have yet to be adequately defined as women move into new roles that were previously developed and reserved for men. Emerging evidence indicates much greater physical capacity and physiological resilience than previously postulated.
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The Women in Combat Summit 2021 "Forging the Future: How Women Enhance the Fighting Force" took place during February 9-11, 2021, via a virtual conference platform. The third and final day of the Summit regarded the physical health and well-being of military women and included the topics of urogenital health, nutrition and iron-deficiency anemia, unintended pregnancy and contraception, and traumatic brain injury. ⋯ In order to continue to develop the future health of military women, health care providers, researchers, and policymakers should consider the recommendations made in this supplement as they continue to build on the state of the science and forge the future.
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The 2021 Women in Combat (WIC) Symposium brought together hundreds of service members, researchers, and multidisciplinary leaders for 3 days of virtual education and interactive discussion regarding female leadership, operational performance, and physical health and well-being. Three days of presentations were followed by virtual face-to-face breakout room sessions that aimed to identify gaps currently impacting military servicewomen, mirroring the inaugural WIC Symposium held in 2014. ⋯ This event was collectively attended by nearly 10,000 people, reflecting an attendance of over ten times the number of registered attendees. The 2021 WIC Symposium was successful in part because of the groundwork laid by previous researchers who laid out virtual meeting best practices and in part because of the increased accessibility of an online event.