Defence Spending

As in research there are many dual use products, which can be part of defence spending. Robotics in production or rockets to launch satellites for telecommunication are such examples. Much less known to the public is the amount of military spending that goes into medical developments that benefit both the military as well as the civil population. Countries build a whole ecosystem round the provision of medical services for defence purposes , which consists not only of a sufficient number of qualified persons, but also companies that provide specialised products. Most of them have civil applications as well after minor adaptations.
Oxygen provision was a prominent example of a product that has civil and military uses in treatment of respiratory infections or contaminations. A mobile transportable operation table is another element of daily rescue services as well as potential use in situations of conflict, just like anesthesia machines. An increase in spending on such infrastructure and the necessary long-term training of persons operating and maintaining these medical applications take time and considerable financial resources.
The current debate in Europe and NATO neglects the considerable time delays in production and provision of the equipment. Research on “Skill Needs in OECD countries” has shown the substantial delays between sudden skill needs and the time to train high-skilled persons.
The International Review of the Armed forces Medical Services is a journal dedicated to publish up-to-date information on needs of medical products and persons trained to use them in special emergencies. The need to safe lives in extreme and dangerous conditions needs preparation of thousands of specialists. Of course we hope that such an incidence will not happen. The persons and material have an obvious potential to serve the civilian population in more peaceful times as well. The unfortunate “hog cycle” in skill provision is not a problem for dual use products or services.
(Image: edited extract of a mobile operation table)