Army Medical Strategy. Issues for the Future

Abstract : The medical department of the U.S. Army has two primary missions: (1) It must be ready to project medical forces in operations, both for war and for peacetime deployments, and (2) it must care for the health of beneficiaries, such as military members, their families, and retirees, in clinics and hospitals during both peacetime and wartime. These different objectives create a tension: The beneficiary demand is visible and often gets immediate attention when shortfalls arise. But operational demands are less visible, more uncertain, and sometimes far in the future. Moreover, operational demands involve medical skills and resources that are often quite different from those required for beneficiary care. It is quite possible, therefore, that decisionmakers, pressed by day-to-day demands of beneficiary care, could lose sight of important developments for future needs on the operational side. Concerned about this possibility, the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) asked RAND to assess its operational posture and to highlight issues requiring further consideration or analysis. The request raised several questions: What may lie ahead? What factors may affect the Army's needs in operational medicine, given trends in the Army and in larger environments? Do Army planning processes meet those needs? If doubts exist, what issues need to be resolved, and how can analysis help to resolve them?