Bilateral Institutional Relationships: A New Mission for U.S. DoD Medical Capabilities in Support of Health Diplomacy

U.S. medical assets from all three Services are routinely applied in support of force health protection, garrison health care, and stability operations. With rare exception, those three pillars encompass the entire doctrinal application of Department of Defense (DoD) medical resources. This article recommends establishment of an additional doctrinal role for DoD assets in support of Health Diplomacy and Building Partnership Capacity initiatives. More specifically, the establishment of enduring, bilateral relationships between U.S. and host-nation medical institutions should be routinely pursued as a means to accomplish mutual security objectives.