Histroy of the Special Forces Medic - Justin Barr

Scimitar · 12-03-2008, 17:29

Hello Gentlemen,

In 2005 Justin Barr was awarded the project for developing a work on the History of the Special Forces Medic.

I have traded a few emails with Justin and he advices that the manuscript is currently in for review with the Army. So hopefully it may be published relatively soon.

I have asked Justin if he might be able to provide us with some sort of brief to wet our appetites.

I will keep you posted

Scimitar

alright4u · 12-03-2008, 21:27

[QUOTE=Scimitar;238081]Hello Gentlemen,

"In 2005 Justin Barr was awarded the project for developing a work on the History of the Special Forces Medic."

Think it was about 2001 when Len Blessing contacted me about writing a book about SF medics. I put him in touch with some SF medics . I have never read his book.

I have never read any of Plaster's books or even Tilt Myers book, or any of the others to include Harve Saal's. Harve was quite a character. Hopefully, this man will include the medics of today as they certainly deserve our respect as do all in SF from the beginning to today.

I am alive today because of our SF medics who pulled me out of shock.

Scimitar · 12-04-2008, 01:36

I personally really enjoyed Len Blessings book. Closed the deal for me wanting to pursue SF-18D.

I have heard a rumor that he's bringing out a "Part II" but can't find any mention of it anywhere.

Soft Target · 12-04-2008, 07:50

I'm glad that Len Blessing's book got published. I'll look for it. I was in contact with him around 2001 and provided him some stories; don't know if any made it to print.

Scimitar · 12-07-2008, 04:16

Here's a brief from Justin Barr. He tells me that in its current form the manuscript is about 200 double spaced computer pages long; looking forward to it being a good read.

Quote:

Special Forces (SF) medics have been saving lives on and off the battlefield for fifty-five heroic years as part of the US Army, yet to date there is no systematic account of their exploits, analysis of their training, or recording of their voices. This monograph fills that void. It describes the transition from covert operations in World War II to the 1952 Special Forces and the meager medical assets there involved. The work goes on to detail the development of the SF medic and recount his experiences in the jungles and rice paddies of Laos and Vietnam. It later elucidates the connection with the Physician's Assistant movement and examines their evolution from a basic field medic in the early years to the modern physician substitute saving lives in Afghanistan today. While many opportunities exist to explore the social and cultural history of this unique position, this work confines itself to studying the role within the confines of the Special Forces through archival sources and oral histories. There is, of course, no single experience but rather thousands of individual episodes, and this book may well recount specific events differently than some recall. The author can only offer an attempt to synthesize and synergize the history to present the most complete version.

Scimitar · 07-17-2010, 18:02

Dear ****

As of a few weeks ago, MSG Sammy Rodriguez (Ret.), who now works for the Center for Army Lessons Learned, was trying to get it published electronically as one of their products. I called him today to check on the status; I'll let you know what I hear as soon as he gets back to me.

Badger52 · 05-15-2012, 13:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scimitar

Hello Gentlemen,

In 2005 Justin Barr was awarded the project for developing a work on the History of the Special Forces Medic.

First, this should be proof for anyone that if one SEARCHES first there's a good chance there is something here.

Up-front: Scimitar I don't know if the final work discussed here is new/expanded material or the re-titled version of your previous update in this thread.

I was perusing my latest e-copy of Cold War Times and read that Justin Barr's work got an Honorable Mention from the John A. Adams '71 Center for Military History and Strategic Analysis, Dept of History, VMI in their 2011 Cold War Essay contest. The essay is entitled:

"History of the Special Forces Medic and the Role of Medicine in Counterinsurgency, 1952-1975" (Justin Barr, Yale University)

I was able to ferret out Mr. Barr's email and have fired a flare, along with congratulations, asking to either get a link or copy since, if properly done, this should be rich in SF history for the period (unless the material is the same as what's already posted).

Badger52 · 05-19-2012, 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badger52

I was able to ferret out Mr. Barr's email and have fired a flare, along with congratulations, asking to either get a link or copy since, if properly done, this should be rich in SF history for the period (unless the material is the same as what's already posted).

UPDATE: Mr. Barr responded to me & provided a copy of this work, which is different & takes a different approach. As the title above mentioned it examines the role of the SF Medic as a powerful weapon in the CI toolkit. It contains examples & some names/maps/pics, especially from the earliest efforts in Laos.

He has asked that, at this juncture, it not be published, cited, or quoted so I won't be uploading. (And downsized from a Word doc the thing is still a 6.3MB PDF.)

However, he welcomes input from actual SF Medics and would welcome contact from them with their views/critiques. So...

Not being remotely qualified as a broker, if one of the 18D QP's would like to PM me with their email address I will send it to you along with Mr. Barr's email address and you can eval/critique/share within your community to your heart's content. Again, he just asks that it not be published or quoted; apparently it also is not in his mind a finished work yet.

Badger52 · 05-25-2012, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badger52

Not being remotely qualified as a broker, if one of the 18D QP's would like to PM me with their email address I will send it to you along with Mr. Barr's email address and you can eval/critique/share within your community to your heart's content. Again, he just asks that it not be published or quoted; apparently it also is not in his mind a finished work yet.

The essay has been handed off to QP 'tom kelly' along with contact info for the author who is open to contact/feedback/critique, etc.
Thanks to you all for the heady times I can only read about.
Salud.