The ACEP Board of Directors approved the formation of the Tactical Emergency Medicine (TEM) Section in 2003. It began with a few simple ideas and a fledgling group of 100 volunteers. During the past 8 years, the Section has grown to 370 members and has received three Outstanding Section Awards for web page (twice) and newsletter (once).

Rarely does a young Section experience such rapid growth or is one repeatedly selected, out of a pool of 30 Sections, for so many honors.

What’s so special about the TEM Section?

The TEM Section membership is composed of people from a wide variety of backgrounds. An estimated 5%-15% of its membership is “international.” These are members who were born or currently reside and work outside of the continental United States. Approximately 8%-10% of the membership are women, and there is a rapidly growing contingent of young professionals in the 25- to 35-years age range (medical students, EM residents, EM fellows).

Most members are residency trained and board certified in EM. An estimated 30% of the membership served or are serving in the military. Many of these physicians have worked in war zones or provided medical care during manmade and natural disasters. Some have worked closely with the Special Operations community. But you don’t have to be a

battle-hardened warrior to join the TEM Section! Many Section members don’t participate in law enforcement or military operations. Some find Tactical Medicine (TM) of academic interest but don’t want to participate in fieldwork.

A number of members are very active in related Sections such as Air Medical Transport, Disaster, EMS, Forensic, or Wilderness Medicine and joined the TEM Section merely to stay current with the technologies and strategies arising within the world of TM.

The Section contains representatives from many academic centers of excellence, EM residencies, and fellowship programs. Many are accomplished researchers, prolific authors, and well-known subject matter experts. One of the Sections’ most critical functions is to provide a neutral meeting ground for all these talented people, resulting in many successful collaborative ventures.

More than 45% of the membership interacts administratively and/or operationally with at least one federal agency. Some work at the state level, but most work in small to medium-sized local or county-level police or sheriff’s departments.

Most members keep their “day jobs” and engage in EM clinical shift work each month. This keeps their medical skills up to date, maintains their presence in the local medical system, and puts bread on the table. Most also have roles within the traditional fields of Air Medical Transport, EMS, and Disaster Medicine.

During the past several decades, a series of high-profile international and domestic terrorist events, school shootings, kidnappings, acts of piracy, wartime atrocities, and natural disasters has occurred. In a number of those situations, the use of traditional EMS and Disaster Medicine policies, procedures, and equipment actually hindered good patient care. TEM Section members excel at working safely and effectively in austere and potentially hostile circumstances. Tactical Medicine offers the most sophisticated and comprehensive paradigms available to out-of-hospital medical care providers.

The TEM Section is a great place to increase one’s knowledge and to network with likeminded professionals. We would enjoy hearing from you. If you have questions, please submit them to the ACEP Staff Liaison at dfly@acep.org. You will receive a timely response from a TEM Section member.

Dr. Bollard is a founding member and past chair of the TEM Section.