The RMO

This officer is one of the most important in the battalion. Field Service notes for Regimental Officers 1940

There really is no better role as a military doctor than an RMO in a county regiment but the regimental doctor is an often-overlooked man in military history. He wears a different cap badge to his fellow officers and answers to two masters: his commanding officer and the sometimes-distant RAMC chain of command. 

What were the characteristics of these doctors at medical school and how were they recruited, and how easy was the transition from a civilian to military clinician? Why were soldiers different from civilian patients and why did the allied soldier have an approach to sex that could frequently lead to the catastrophic effect of venereal disease? 

The story follows the role of the RMO, and the lessons learned from the fall of Fance in 1940, through desert and jungle to the campaign in Northern Europe, together with the unique experience of airborne, commando and special forces RMOs.

This book has never been written and the plentiful material from the many individual accounts has certainly not been published as a single readable volume. 

The author is a practicing doctor, and was an RMO in an armoured reserve regiment for 22 years.