The Joint Emergency Medicine Exercise (JEMX), in its 2025 iteration, reaffirmed the United States’ pivotal role in global medical readiness by bringing together US and allied medical teams for a rigorous emergency response test.

Hosted at Fort Cavazos by Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center (CRDAMC) and Medical Readiness Command-West from June 8-13, JMEX-25 united professionals from the US Armed Forces, the Royal Netherlands Army, and the United Arab Emirates Army.

The exercise simulated harsh conditions to challenge participants in trauma care, prolonged field treatment, and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC).

JMEX began as a four-hour training event for US Army, Navy, and Air Force emergency medicine residents.

Over time, it evolved into the US military’s largest medical training exercise, aimed at bridging the gap between clinical training and the unpredictable realities of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC).

The evolution of JEMX reflects the military’s need to prepare medical personnel for operational settings.

Over successive editions, it expanded to include medics, corpsmen, and allied health professionals, focusing on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), prolonged field care, and MEDEVAC procedures -- cornerstones of military medical doctrine.

Tactical care and international cooperation

At the core of JMEX-25 was TCCC, the system guiding immediate battlefield medical care.

Participants trained under simulated conditions designed to replicate the urgency and pressure of combat zones, disaster response, and mass casualty events.

The exercise also focused on prolonged field care, where medical teams must sustain patients in resource-limited environments when evacuation is delayed.

Training included "walking blood bank operations," allowing prescreened donors to provide immediate blood transfusions in the field.

Additional skills covered damage control resuscitation, surgery, and care for Military Working Dogs.

MEDEVAC drills followed, using air and ground platforms to simulate the transfer of casualties from the point of injury to higher-level care facilities.

"Our primary goal here is to demonstrate the critical differences between stateside hospital care and deployed medical environments," said Lt. Daniel Brillhart, medical director for JMEX.

"While medical professionals excel in hospitals, those skills don’t always directly translate to the battlefield. We aim to identify and address those crucial friction points," he added.

US forces provided command oversight and training infrastructure, while participation by the Netherlands and UAE focused on knowledge exchange and interoperability.

For the UAE, involvement underscored its ongoing defense cooperation with the United States and its commitment to advancing operational medical readiness across the Middle East.

Through evacuation scenarios and simulated crises, allied medics built trust and practiced rapid, coordinated responses to life-threatening injuries in combat-like settings.

Exercises like JMEX-25 reinforce the United States’ commitment to collective security and medical readiness.

By integrating allied medics into realistic training, JMEX strengthens coordination, improves emergency response capabilities, and enhances regional stability.