Boxing in the Army

To the Editor. —  The article titled "Boxing-Related Injuries in the US Army, 1980 Through 1985"¹ contains important information about this cause of injury. From the information they obtained, the authors made a giant leap from being scientists to being experts in military preparedness and questioned the advisability of promoting boxing in the US Army. This was done in such a way that one can only conclude they believe it should be banned. In doing so they may have meant well but this action is misguided or naive.In matters of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of illness and injuries, the opinions of physicians have special status. The authors seem to believe they also have special competence to judge whether boxing does more harm than good as a tool to develop soldiers. In other words, they address the broader question of the appropriateness of boxing as a military training tool.