A flight surgeon is a specialized medical officer in the military, typically the air force. Flight surgeons are osteopathic or medical doctors . Flight surgeons are primarily responsible for the medical treatment and certification of aviation personnel e.g. pilots, aircrew members and air traffic controllers. In most branches of the U.S military, flight surgeons also have public health and occupational and preventative medicine roles. They are often called upon to provide medical consultation/advice as part of an investigation board into an aviation mishap, and they give routine medical exams to aviators. A periodic pilot exam is called a flight physical. An Air force is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. ... The word physician should not be confused with physicist, which means a scientist in the area of physics. ... Aviation refers to flying using aircraft, machines designed by humans for atmospheric flight. ... For other uses, see Aviator (disambiguation). ... In the Royal Air Force and United Kingdom the word Aircrew is used to describe the flying crew of the aeroplane. ... Controllers survey the field at Misawa Air Base, Japan. ... Military and civilian pilots must pass routine medical examinations known as Flight Physicals in order to retain the privilege of piloting an aircraft. ...

The position was co-created by the United States Army and the Surgeon General in the early 1900s, World War I era, underneath the US Army Air Corps. The original intent was for the military and the Surgeon General to understand what was causing 90% of their pilots to crash planes due to disorientation and other physical factors associated with flying. Shortly after the appointment of the first flight surgeons, research and experience led to a dramatic improvement in aircrew health as well as a significant raising of the entry medical standards for all aircrew.

This position requires additional specialized training. It was created as distinct from other medical professionals in the armed forces because of the special, and often higher, minimum standards of fitness and physical requirements required by the extremely high responsibility positions of aviators and ancillary personnel. For example, some routine treatments, such as certain antihistamines, when administered to aviation personnel, are cause for temporary grounding (loss of flying privileges) until the therapy and its effects are completed.

During WWII, General of the Army 'Hap' Arnold directed all flight surgeons in the U.S. Army Air Force to fly regularly with their patients in order to better understand the aviation environment. Consequently, in the U.S. military, flight surgeons are rated aircrew members who receive flight pay and who are required to fly a certain number of hours monthly.

The term "flight surgeon" comes from the era in which all military physicians were referred to as surgeons. Very few flight surgeons are actual general or specialized surgeons -- most are primary care physicians.

Due to the advanced training and education required to serve as a flight surgeon, many military services award a Flight Surgeon Badge to those so qualified. In the U.S. military, flight surgeons are rated military officers, along with pilots, astronauts, navigators/observers/weapons officers, and air battle managers. The Flight Surgeon Badge is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces which has existed since the Second World War. ...

See also

• Aviation Medical Examiner
• Aerospace Medicine Specialists
• Aviation medicine

An Aviation Medical Examiner (AME), in the United States, is a physician designated by the FAA and given the authority to perform physical examinations and issue airman medical certificates. ... Aviation medicine is a branch of medicine that applies medical knowledge to the human factors in aviation. ...

Memorable Quote

“This is flight-surgeon horseshit, Deke!”
--Tom Hanks, as Jim Lovell, in Apollo 13 Thomas Tom Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor, Emmy winning director, voice-over artist and movie producer who starred in family-friendly and screwball comedies before achieving notable success as a dramatic actor in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. ... James Jim Arthur Lovell, Jr. ... Apollo 13 is a 1995 film portrayal of the ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission. ...

External links

• Flying Pilot Podcast - Podcast interview with an ex-USAF flight surgeon.