Complete Story
05/18/2025
Building Mission-Ready EM Physicians: Highlights from the 2025 GSACEP Government Services Symposium
CPT Cayla Guerra, MD, USA
The 2025 Government Services Symposium (GSS25) held April 10–12 at the Hilton Palacio del Rio in San Antonio, brought together military and federal emergency physicians from across the country for three powerful days of education, collaboration, and camaraderie. Set along the Riverwalk and within view of the Alamo, this year’s event reflected the strength, adaptability, and forward momentum of our specialty within the Military Health System.
This year’s agenda was packed with high-yield clinical updates and operational medicine insights. CDR Christine DeForest delivered a compelling presentation on translating civilian trauma lessons to the battlefield, equipping attendees with ideas to adapt civilian best practices to combat environments. Maj Joshua Lowe challenged us to reframe how we think about the role of emergency medicine in military operations in his session, “Military Medicine is Prehospital Medicine,” emphasizing the critical importance of point-of-injury care. Lt Col Joshua Stierwalt reminded us of a sobering but vital reality: procedural atrophy is a risk to readiness. His talk on procedural currency was a potent call to action for EM physicians to proactively protect clinical volume, advocate for hands-on opportunities, and elevate the importance of procedural competence as an honestly-tracked metric of readiness across the services.
Across the symposium, a common thread emerged—the future of military emergency medicine will require agility, innovation, and intentional focus on clinical excellence. Speakers stressed the need to maintain our edge, not only for the next deployment but for the evolving demands of near-peer conflict, humanitarian missions, and garrison responsibilities alike.
The conference also featured incredible engagement from trainees and early-career physicians. The Research Forum at the Alamo provided a truly iconic backdrop for a wide range of projects, from quality improvement initiatives to exploratory studies on burnout and prehospital workflows. Resident contributions continued with the New Speakers Competition, where presenters tackled topics like AI in battlefield triage, the role of interpreters in high-acuity settings, and innovative approaches to prehospital care. These rising voices showed that the next generation of GSACEP leadership is already stepping forward with insight and impact.
Another standout session came from our veterinary medicine colleagues, who delivered a vital and engaging presentation on the emergency care of military working dogs. Their expertise highlighted the unique operational role of these canine teammates and the importance of ensuring all providers are prepared to manage life-threatening K9 injuries in the field. It was a powerful reminder that military medicine is truly multidisciplinary—and that our mission readiness includes every member of the team.
On the final day, procedural labs and SimWars—hosted at Lackland AFB in collaboration with the Joint Services Symposium on Emergency Medicine—gave resident teams a chance to demonstrate their skills under pressure. Congratulations to the San Antonio team for securing first place and to one of the two Madigan teams for earning a strong second-place finish! The scenarios tested both clinical reasoning and teamwork, and the energy was electric.
GSACEP extends sincere thanks to all attendees, speakers, organizers, and sponsors who made this year’s symposium such a success. GSS25 was a clear reminder that while our settings may differ—from garrison clinics to combat zones—we are united by purpose and committed to readiness. We look forward to continuing this momentum into the coming year.
