Building bridges is more important than building towers Published Jan. 20, 2012 By Col. Christopher Lentz 315th Aerospace Medicine Squadron JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ask anyone what the tallest building in the world is and you might get an answer of the Empire State Building (1250 ft, 19th tallest) or the Willis Tower in Chicago (1450 ft, 9th tallest). The tallest building is Burj Khalifa (2717 ft) in Dubai, which finished construction in 2010. However, ask someone what the longest bridge is, you may not get an answer so readily. The longest suspension bridge is the Akashi Kaikyo in Japan (6,532 ft) and the longest bridge over water is the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China (540,700 ft). When building "up" there are limits to how tall a structure can be erected, but bridge building is not subject to the same limitations. This is demonstrated that the longest bridge is 200 times longer than the tallest building! The purpose of building towers is usually growth; to create more space when ground space is limited. Bridge construction, however, is needed to overcome obstacles, such as rugged terrain or water; to facilitate communication and travel between two communities or cultures. Building bridges is also necessary to strengthen a society by strengthening ties with others sharing a common goal or collaborating with another to each other's mutual benefit. As leaders, we are sometimes preoccupied with trying to make our organization the biggest and best. And although growth within is important, it has limits, just as there are limits to building towers. We will struggle to overcome hurdles or obstacles that others may have found workable and efficient solutions. We can, at times, be reluctant to ask for help for fear of appearing ineffectual. These fears unfortunately slow the progress of advancing our organizations. An example of "building a bridge" came to our Squadron last year. Every January, we test our medical skill, knowledge and execution by staging a mass casualty exercise. Two years ago, the planned staged a security event with an armed patient. Although the scenario was managed, we, as medics, did not handle it in the most efficient manner. The following year, we planned a plane crash with burn victims. We involved security police from the 315th Security Forces Squadron and the firefighters from the 315th Civil Engineering Squadron. Their involvement in our exercise allowed members from all three squadrons to experience how each dealt with managing a mass casualty incident with inherent security risks and public safety hazards. Needless to say, our mutual involvement made the exercise much more efficient and strengthened a bond among three squadrons that normally do not interact with each other routinely. Another example in the Department of Defense Medical Service is our care of Soldiers and Marines in support of Operations NEW DAWN and ENDURING FREEDOM. With the injuries from improvised explosive devices there was a recognized need for vascular surgery expertise. There were insufficient vascular surgeons from both the active duty and reserve component of all three branches to manage these injuries. The Department of Defense partnered with the American Red Cross and the Society of Vascular Surgery to solve this problem. Civilian vascular surgeons across the country donate 2-3 weeks away from their practice to provide their expertise at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany for no pay. As a result of this partnership, the Department of Defense has 24/7 coverage for vascular injuries to support the war. On even a larger scale, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are building bridges with rehabilitation facilities and prosthetic limb companies to aid in the ongoing care of our wounded warriors that have survived these devastating injuries. Also, after two decades of discussion, four of the largest medical centers in the Department of Defense are combining to make health care more streamlined. The National Military Medical Center in Bethesda has combined with Walter Reed Medical Center in the Capital Region and Brooke Army Medical Center has combined with Wilford Hall to form the San Antonio Military Medical Center. These enormous "bridges" would have never been formed without first the recognition that combining efforts would lead to the mutual benefit of these already towering pillars of medical care. I admit towers are magnificent to build and behold, but bridges are a fundamental step in progress to serve the population. It's important to build up your organization, but recognize it has limits. Invest the time to build bridges this year to strengthen our ability to serve each other and our country.