Flight surgeon

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A flight surgeon is a specialised medical officer in the military, typically the air force. Flight surgeons are 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.

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 specialised 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 aviators 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 aviation officers, along with pilots, astronauts, navigators/observers/weapons officers, and air battle managers.