The National Museums of Civil War Medicine honored the innovative work of Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Program (JTAPIC) and the leadership of COL Robert H. Vandre at a Gala Dinner on Thursday, October 21, 2010.

JTAPIC and COL Vandre each received a Major Jonathan Letterman Award for Medical Excellence, in recognition of their inspiring and pioneering spirit in the field of military medicine.

The Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat (JTAPIC) Program was established at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, MD and is a partnership among DOD intelligence, operational, medical and materiel development communities. JTAPIC collects, integrates and analyzes injury and operational data with the goal of improving the understanding of vulnerabilities to threats and enabling the development of improved tactics, techniques and procedures and materiel solutions to prevent or mitigate traumatic injuries.

Colonel Robert H. Vandre, U.S. Army Retired recognized the significant potential that the emerging field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine could have in improving the lives and livelihoods of our wounded warriors returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These warriors, who after modern medicine had done as much as it could for them, remain severely disabled from the traumatic injuries cause by blast and burns. COL Vandre acted on his vision and successfully led the creation of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). The leadership of COL Vandre has enabled U.S. Army medicine to go beyond current medical science in helping our severely wounded troops lead a more manageable life.