4 June 2026

Where Research Meets Response

Before the next crisis can test the nation’s medical trauma response, military and civilian medical systems must be connected, coordinated, and prepared.

As the inaugural member of RESPOND-US, The Geneva Foundation is joining a growing effort to strengthen trauma and emergency medical readiness through cross-sector collaboration, coordinated planning, and gaining a deeper understanding of how modern threats could affect care on the battlefield and at home.

RESPOND-US, Readiness and Emergency Systems Partnership for Operational National Disaster Response-US, is a newly formed nonprofit advocacy organization focused on addressing gaps in trauma and emergency medical readiness across military and civilian systems.

Jonathan Miller, President of RESPOND-US, said the organization was created to answer a central readiness question: “How do you ensure a more seamless integration between the military and civilian trauma communities? That is why we created RESPOND-US.”

That question is not limited to one institution, one sector, or one scenario. RESPOND-US is focused on building a coalition that can bring military, veteran, civilian, academic, industry, and policy stakeholders into the same readiness conversation. The goal is to help prepare systems, share expertise, and align resources before a large-scale emergency or future conflict create demands that no single system can absorb alone.

RESPOND-US cites a whole-of-nation approach as essential to saving lives, strengthening readiness, and bolstering national security. Miller describes the level of coordination needed as “all hands-on deck.”

“When you look at future conflicts overseas and existing bed capacity within the military hospital system, it is clear that we’re going to have to be able to partner with and work within the civilian medical community to treat patients, to treat casualties,” he said.

The urgency is tied to a changing operational environment. Future conflicts could involve contested logistics, limited evacuation options, constrained medical supply chains, drone-based threats, and casualty care demands that could exceed the capacity of any single system. Lessons emerging from Ukraine have made those risks more visible and have reinforced the need to prepare medical systems before they are under pressure.

“The nature of warfare, the nature of weapon systems has completely changed. This requires us to have a change in trauma capabilities, medical readiness infrastructure, and expertise of how to treat these injuries,” Miller said.

That readiness challenge is also a national security challenge. Trauma care, emergency response, rehabilitation, blood supply, medical technology, and clinical expertise are part of the infrastructure that protects Service members and sustains readiness. For RESPOND-US and Geneva, strengthening that infrastructure means treating trauma readiness as a shared military and civilian responsibility.

By partnering with RESPOND-US, Geneva brings experience translating military medical research priorities into coordinated, operationally relevant work. For more than 30 years, Geneva has advanced military medicine through research and development across military treatment facilities, federal laboratories, academic institutions, industry partners, and government collaborators. This experience gives Geneva a deep understanding of how research, operational needs, and clinical realities come together in contested environments.

Elise Huszar, President and CEO of The Geneva Foundation, said the partnership reflects the need to move beyond isolated efforts.

“Emergency preparedness, which is a piece of RESPOND-US, will require highly integrated collaboration,” Huszar said. “To date, preparedness and response efforts have been functioning as very siloed or isolated initiatives. RESPOND-US is well positioned to help drive a coordinated, collaborative effort forward. And that’s why Geneva joined RESPOND-US.”

For Geneva, the partnership also reflects a broader view of trauma readiness. Battlefield medicine and civilian emergency response are deeply connected. Lessons learned in combat casualty care can inform civilian mass casualty response, and civilian trauma systems may be called on to support Service members, families, and communities during future crises.

“This is about enhancing our military trauma expertise and addressing what the new trauma is going to look like,” Huszar said. “It is so aligned with civilian trauma. It is so aligned with mass casualty work. It’s so aligned with national preparedness.”

Through legislative engagement and strategic communications, RESPOND-US is working to build awareness among policymakers and readiness stakeholders while keeping its mission focused on practical action.

For Miller, that mission is simple. “We are here to save lives.”

Advancing that mission requires coordination and the right partners at the table without adding burden to already complex systems. As RESPOND-US builds its membership and advances its work across the readiness community, Geneva’s role as a member reinforces a shared commitment to preparing before crisis. Together, the organizations help strengthen the connections between research, response, and readiness so trauma and emergency medical systems will be better positioned to serve both military and civilian populations when the need is greatest.

Learn more about RESPOND-US by visiting https://respond-us.org/.