The involvement of the French military medical service in helicopter rescue missions for Emergency Medical Aid at Sea: the current situation and prospects for the future.

French military Search and Rescue (SAR) is primarily for the recovery of downed aircrew in an operational environment but has traditionally also played an important civilian role. Military doctors and nurses with competence in this area frequently form part of civilian teams, their experience being transferable between operational and civilian spheres. A recent re-organisation of French Medical Aid at Sea (MAS) has seen greater involvement of civilian medical services in this sector with consequent potential for negative impact on future military involvement.The French Military Medical Service / Service de Santé des Armées (SSA) 2020 plan provides opportunities for mutually advantageous, deeper engagement and joint working between the SSA and the French National Health Service / Service Public de Santé (SPS).This article describes the current structure for MAS and the involvement of SSA therein before considering some of the challenges and potential solutions with respect to deeper civilian-military engagement in this domain in future.