Members of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Medical Command visited the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland, Nov. 8-9 as part of the 46th Annual Technology Cooperation Subcommittee Medical Working Group.

Each year, the USAMRMC and the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Medical Command take turns hosting this important meeting. This year four representatives, which included ROK Surgeon General Brigadier General Il-Ung Hwang, traveled from Korea to the U.S. to discuss important and emerging topics in military health care.

"In the medical field, collaboration and sharing of knowledge are key to change and innovation," said Maj. Gen. Barbara R. Holcomb, USAMRMC and Fort Detrick commanding general, during her opening remarks. "As our volatile world continues to expose our Service Members to new threats, we must prepare for an uncertain future."

The visitors met with USAMRMC personnel for two days of collaborative discussions on topics such as cold weather performance, infectious diseases, drug and vaccine development, and chemical defense training. Also this year, they were able to visit two of the USAMRMC key laboratories - the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense.

The meeting's primary objective was to exchange ideas and discuss potential opportunities for collaboration. Scheduled annually, the TCSC meeting allows for ongoing talks and progress reports on topics from previous meetings and provides a forum to introduce new topics and prospective joint efforts. At the conclusion, the two groups set the agenda and proposed dates for the 2017 TCSC meeting.

"Collaboration takes work, but as time has proven, we have almost five successful decades of sharing knowledge," said Holcomb.