A Look Back

By André B. Sobocinski, historian, BUMED “Dryness, coolness, fresh air, sunshine, cleanliness of body, clothes and bedding, good food, pure water, temperance, refreshing sleep, occupation exercise, cheerfulness, and contentment of mind…” ~A Recipe for Good Health by Medical Inspector Albert Gihon, USN, 1871 For much of the nineteenth century the United States was losing a war to an overlooked threat. …

By André B. Sobocinski, historian, BUMED When you … arrive at Thompson’s Island you will investigate with utmost care the origins, progress and present state of the sickness which prevails on the island and in the Squadron.” ~Secretary of the Navy Samuel Southard to Commodore John Rodgers, October 1823 W hen the United States acquired the Spanish colony of Florida …

By André B. Sobocinski, historian, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Part IV: Bioastronautics and Medical Recovery It was a strange and exciting sensation. And yet it was so mild and easy—much like the rides we had experienced in our trainers—that it somehow seemed very familiar. I felt as if I had experienced the whole thing before….Nothing could possibly …

By André B. Sobocinski, historian, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Part III: The Mercury Seven Visit Naval Medical Research Institute “We spent two years doing many things and following up many avenues to make sure we had not overlooked anything. We crammed ourselves full of knowledge. We built up our stamina on the big machines. And we got …

By André B. Sobocinski, historian, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Part II: The Naval School of Aviation Medicine and the Human Disorientation Device “You tumbled slowly, twisted and rolled as your body lurched against the tight harness that strapped you to a couch. Then you rotated faster and faster until finally you were spinning violently in three different …