FALLS CHURCH, Va. --  

The Air Force Medical Service Airmen exchanged Lifestyle and Performance Medicine and rehabilitation practices with Lithuanian counterparts during the International Scientific Conference of Military Medicine and Rehabilitation in Druskininkai, Lithuania, April 4 and 5, 2024.

While in Lithuania, the AFMS Lifestyle and Performance Medicine team, led by Brig. Gen. James Parry, Acting Director of Medical Operations, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, met with the Lithuanian vice Minister of Defense, the director of Lithuanian Military Medical Force and the director of the Lithuanian Military Rehabilitation Center.

In addition to learning about recent advances in military medicine and rehabilitation by the Lithuanian military, including a guided tour of the Lithuanian Military Rehabilitation Center, the AFMS team attended presentations by Dutch and Ukrainian practitioners, whose topics ranged from physical rehabilitation to mental health evaluations and treatments.

AFMS practitioners shared their efforts to integrate lifestyle and performance medicine as foundational care within the U.S. Military Health System. They discussed various approaches to prevent chronic conditions and minimize the effect of health conditions through restorative sleep, stress management, healthy nutrition, positive social connections, and physical activity. The medical specialty has garnered growing support in the U.S. Air Force medical community for its beneficial effects on health, performance optimization, and its application within military rehabilitation.

Soldiers from the Pennsylvania Air and Army National Guard - state partners to Lithuania - accompanied the AFMS Airmen. Led by U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kelly Ihme, Pennsylvania Air and Army National Guard senior intelligence officer, the Soldiers held a panel discussion on the Guard’s method for addressing mental health concerns.

“What we were presenting was a newer concept for them,” Ihme said. “An interdisciplinary team approach to mental health and resilience, and how we use that team approach in the Guard to ensure that Soldiers and Airmen get the right resources at the right time, from the right people.”

Ihme said both parties face similar limitations for mental health resources, which have led to vibrant discussion of finding creative solutions. The 30-year state partnership with Lithuania continues to provide insightful considerations for PAANG’s strategy in enhancing care delivery.

“There is absolute value in having cross-talk with our partners on the way that they take care of Soldiers and Airmen,” she said.

Additionally, the panel included conversations on behavioral and brain health, understanding stress responses, and individualized approaches to optimizing overall health and fitness for servicemembers in different career fields. The Lithuanian team presented on the topics of enhanced performance training, psychological wellness as a major focus in their military rehabilitation centers, and enhancing suicide prevention through family-focused programs and comprehensive maternal benefits for their military members.

Furthermore, Dr. George Smolinski, a colonel with the U.S. Army Reserve, presented on interdisciplinary rehabilitation at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Traumatic Brain Injury Program. Multiple panelists discussed the care of Ukrainian soldiers as well as novel approaches to accelerate treatment.

Beyond information sharing, the AFMS Lifestyle and Performance Medicine team is continuing efforts to foster international working relationships between the AFMS and Lithuanian Armed Forces.

“This military health engagement supports the 2024 U.S. Government Global Health Security Strategy’s goals, including to strengthen capacities through bilateral partnerships,” said Lt. Col. Chelsea Payne, Chair of the Air Force L&PM Working Group. “By working with the Lithuanian Armed Forces on Lifestyle & Performance Medicine initiatives, we optimize the collective readiness across our forces, from prevention of chronic disease to recovery from injury, and enabling return to service.”

Kiel emphasized the significance of the partnership in improving the approach to military rehabilitation.

“This experience certainly showed the important foundational role that lifestyle medicine plays in the successful physical and psychological rehabilitation of soldiers, as well as the tremendous work that the Lithuanian Military Rehabilitation Center and many others are doing to transform military health,” she said. “We look forward to future collaboration with the Lithuanian Armed Forces in this work.”