** This is the author’s opinion and does not represent the military or U.S. government. **

By Emily Gilley, MD

As many do, I distinctly remember what I was doing when I saw the image of a fire burning from the 80th floor of the North Tower at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  I had flipped on the news right before walking into the kitchen to dunk 2 pieces of bread in the toaster readying myself for my neuroscience class.  Along with the whole country, it stopped me in my tracks.  I think most knew that image of an iconic steeple of freedom and prosperity attacked on a beautiful crisp fall morning would change the course of history for decades to come.  Watching the aftermath of these events, I was inspired by the American people who came together from all walks of life.  First responders, fire and police, surgeons and physicians, even politicians innately responded with selfless acts and heroism lifting their fellow citizens from the rubble.  After all, we are Americans and we instinctively band together in times of need.  Nine months away, I would be graduating from Northwestern University and planning a career in medicine.  Inspired by these events, I joined the Navy through the health professions scholarship program in search of a way I could contribute to the efforts of preserving our freedoms.  But, looking back on my time in the Navy, I know that it was the people around me, the mentors, co-residents, fellow staff, leaders, patients and their families and their commitment to each other that contributed more to me as a hand surgeon. 

Force readiness is defined as the treatment necessary to ensure the sailor or marine is physically capable of carrying out the mission. Although described often in mechanical terms, this idea became so much more meaningful in practice.  It involves, at times, caring for the 18 year-old marine who is away from his family for the first time and having to make medical decisions that would otherwise be made by parents at this stage in life.  Other times, it meant trying to devise a plan of care that may not be the ideal long term treatment, but would allow the chief petty officer with 19 years of service, up for senior chief, to reach her next career goal.  Or sometimes, caring for the child of a deployed marine who receives notification halfway across the globe that his baby is injured.  This goal of force readiness became a shared unspoken understanding that you were working together as a team: surgeon, co-surgeon, resident, nurse, and corpsman, to care for one of your own.  This was, in fact, your family. 

I had the great benefit of learning from outstanding mentors, co-residents, and fellow staff surgeons.  Training the next generation of hand surgeons is an important task within a relatively closed system such as the Navy.  That resident maybe the surgeon standing over you or your family member at some point down the road and ensuring their competence and cultivating their passion for a long career in hand surgery is of utmost importance.  Deploying these skills honed in training, I have witnessed the creativity and ingenuity of my colleagues who have been stationed in remote or even austere environments using basic principles to manage with minimal resources.

The greatest gift my time in the Navy afforded was the sense of camaraderie in mission to the common goal.  The opportunity to participate on the ASSH Military Relations Committee alongside active duty hand surgeons, residents, retirees and veterans allowed me to witness the passion that exists for military hand surgery and the community and interconnections that lay across the country.  It became clear to me that the commonality of the military experience has created a unity of dedicated surgeons who continue to foster a community past the end of their military career.  ASSH provides a spectrum of great support, from training opportunities, financial assistance, and a forum and fellowship to share ideas and learn from great leaders in hand surgery.  From those of us who were trained in the military or served, thank you.