For want of a flight surgeon

In 1863, Captain John Randolph Bryan conducted the Confederate States Army's first military reconnaissance balloon flights. On his second flight, he survived a class "A" aviation mishap. This article discusses the probable contributing mishap factors stemming from the lack of an effective aviation medicine program with appropriate flight surgeon input and participation. Physical standards, flying duty medical examinations, the Acceptability Rating for Military Aeronautics (ARMA), crew rest regulations, unit safety programs, physiological training, aviation life support equipment (ALSE), night vision training, survival training, and aircraft accident investigation are explored.