Feb. 23, 2026 | By T. T. Parish, Operational Medical Systems
Team members with the Defense Health Agency’s Operational Medical Systems Program Management Office participated in the Arctic Edge exercise in Kodiak, Alaska, Feb. 22-27, 2026.
Arctic Edge, held at multiple sites across Alaska, is a NORAD and U.S. Northern Command-led homeland defense exercise designed to improve readiness, demonstrate capabilities, and enhance Joint and Allied Force interoperability in the Arctic region.
During Arctic Edge, OPMED supported scenario-based medical experimentation alongside U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army medical providers, with development and acquisition experts from across combatant commands and support agencies. These scenarios are designed to assess the efficacy of lifesaving tools and treatments during military operations in the arctic region.
Arctic Edge is a premier opportunity for OPMED to highlight two critical lines of effort — burn assessment and blood replacement — as the organization continues to reshape and refine its processes to better meet the needs of the Department of War, the DHA, and combatant commands.
As the exercise unfolded, OPMED’s Burn Digital Assessment device and Canine Freeze-Dried Plasma was incorporated into ship-board clinical settings and used during en route care from ship-to-shore aboard Coast Guard medevac aircraft. These near-real world scenarios gave OPMED experts critical feedback to help shape the future development of both products.
The BDA device is designed to provide objective, far-forward assessments of burn severity to better inform treatment decisions at and near the point of injury. Canine FDP is a shelf-stable, expeditionary blood replacement therapy developed for treating Military Working Dogs assigned to operational units.
Both programs are being developed to fill critical capability gaps in the combat trauma treatment continuum and to meet the needs of frontline medical providers operating in remote, austere environments across the globe.
About Operational Medical Systems
OPMED, part of the Defense Health Agency, is the DOW’s leading force in medical development and acquisition, focused on enhancing warfighter lethality and readiness. Project management teams develop and deliver next-generation, world-class medical capabilities that empower combatant commanders for Large-Scale Combat Operations, particularly within austere environments, with a twofold mission: save lives on the battlefield and swiftly return injured service members to duty.
About the Defense Health Agency
DHA is a combat support agency that serves as a force multiplier for the joint services by optimizing lethality through warfighter medical readiness. DHA delivers the full spectrum of health services in garrison and during combat operations to ensure warfighters are medically ready to deploy, fully supported throughout operations and rapidly returned to duty. As the foundation of an integrated health enterprise, DHA provides joint medical capabilities across a mission-ready health system worthy of the Department of War, geographic combatant commands, the Military Services, their families, and all beneficiaries.
