Global Operational and Tactical Medicine

The Global Operational and Tactical Medicine (GoptMed) Special Interest Group (SIG) was established in April 2026 to consolidate the structure of the Counter-Terrorism Medicine and CBRNE SIGs, while also addressing the existing organizational gap in Military and Civilian Medicine by integrating functions into a single, cohesive unit. This consolidation aims to streamline output, concentrate resources, and elevate the collective leadership to focus on intentional, high-threat events, complex coordinated terrorist attacks, and hybrid warfare.

Global Operational and Tactical Medicine SIG Leadership

Katie Willet, MD

Co-Chair

Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center

George Tataru

Co-Chair

Founder, Counter-Terrorism Medicine Europe (CTM-E)

Mission & Purpose

Mission: To advance global resilience and reduce risk from intentional, asymmetric threats by fostering evidence-based, trans-disciplinary collaboration between civil, military, and academic stakeholders in mitigation, preparedness, and response.

Purpose: To define best practices for medical preparedness against modern intentional events (including CBRNE, hybrid warfare, complex coordinated attacks, and cyber threats); to integrate tactical medicine principles into civilian response; and to establish standardized protocols for effective civil-military cooperation in high-threat contexts.

Goals

The goals of the GoptMed-SIG are to:

Develop a unified framework integrating tactical/threat-based medicine into civilian response algorithms.
Establish and disseminate research standards for evaluating response to asymmetric attacks and protecting medical neutrality.
Advocate for policies that enhance the protection and resilience (hardening) of civilian healthcare infrastructure globally.
Network and integrate work into WADEM activities, including joint projects with the SIGs.