Essay Sample on Army Health System Lesson

With the shifting to large-scale ground combat in a multi-domain operations environment, there is stress on the army’s main strategic roles (Lundy & Creed, 2017). The following are the four main strategic roles that are included in the operations plan. Shaping the operational environment, conducting large scale combat operations, preventing armed conflict, and consolidating gains. This section discusses one of the main strategic roles: shaping the working environment.

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Albeit there is a different operating environment (such as Africa or pacific or Europe) by which the activities to be carried out are uniquely dependent on, there are specific activities that are applicable to all the operating environments. Thus, shaping the operational environment is the carrying out tasks that ensure security with the partnered nations to which the troops are deployed and enhance international cooperation. These activities that are used to shape the operational environment are usually linked with the bodies that are provided in the titles of the United States Code and authorized programs (Horne et al., 1995). Moreover, they are usually integrated and in line with the department of state, the relevant government bureau, member countries, and the member countries representative’s agenda and aims. The main function of the department of state is to design a joint regional plan to address the regional objectives and operational suggestions, and mission goals. They work by the united states organization for international growth in coming up with this. Before meeting the other countries to address the shaping of the operational environment. Each of the member countries designs their own plan that is supposed to be addressed in the meeting. Such include the mission’s goals and their plans for development. They also work with the geographic combatant commander and other organizers to create a theatre strategy, which then facilitates the member countries’ situation to attain their national objectives. The theatre strategy then is transitioned to a theatre campaign plan (TCP). This theatre campaign plan is the guide to shaping tasks that are done in the whole of the area of responsibility by the United States and the partnered country forces.

The following are the strategic roles used in shaping the operational environment. Planning contemplation includes the team personnel, the equipment movement, the agenda and aims of the tactical commander, selecting the site in the event that care is being provided during the shaping session, the main supply path, and another alternate supply route are established. The post-attack renaissance is conducted during this session. Also, movement plans are set, and medical skills that are sustainable are put in place together with a plan for mass casualty events included of the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear persons. The second strategic role in shaping the operational environment is identifying and strategizing any risks or gaps that may lead to the army health system support to not succeed in their mission. In this, the following issues are addressed. The team’s preparedness aspects are checked, the issues of expert shortages and deficiency of adequate alignment and integration with the multifunctional medical battalion are also addressed. After these issues are addressed, the possible solutions to minimize the risks are discussed (Clarke and Davis, 2012). One of the solutions that are put in place is the assigning to a multifunctional medical battalion-MED a brigade of the medical command as the top HQs for surveillance and preparedness. Another strategy is addressing the possibility of Doctrine, organization, preparation, materiel, governance and learning, personnel, facilities, or even policy changing. In this, there is a force design update to the allocated medical command [DS] theatre and routine association with the allocated units where possible. In addition, to shape an operational environment, the command and support relationships are checked. Here the multifunctional medical battalion area supports emergency air breathing units without a role to is assigned (Nilsson et al., 2010).

Within the shape that is designed to manage the operational control environment, there are different medical functions that play different roles. The following are the medical functions that are included in the army health system strategic roles; the medical command regulator, medical treatment (both the organic and area support), hospitalization, medical evacuation (inclusive of medical regulation), and dental services. Other functions include protective medicine services, combat, and operational stress control, veterinary service support, medical logistics (inclusive of blood management), medical laboratory service, and preventive medicine services (Nilsson et al., 2010).

This section addresses one of the ten medical functions and how the function operates and is significant within the scope of shaping the operational environment (Charnes et al., 1985). Medical evacuation is one of the main functions of the shape. It is inclusive of medical regulating. This unit conducts several pieces of training and certifications to sustain the medical knowledge and skills that are required in the operational environment. The training conducted is usually a mission essential task list and professional development courses. As part of the requirements in a real field situation, the medical evacuation team is supposed to both conduct their primary task of transporting the injured soldier to a place of further medication and also they are expected to quickly disassemble their tools, shift to a different locality, and reform to address another medical evacuation request. These practices are done irrespective of the weather conditions and time of the day or night. While it is a skill involving task, the medical planners are supposed to attend staff courses that equip them with the skills they need in this field. They also rehearse planning and working with the medical evacuation system such as the casualty collection point, the ambulance exchange point, the evacuation paths, the medical evacuation calls, alignment with the military treatment facility, and medical regulating (Sorbero et al., 2013). During preparation, the medical evacuation team sets time-phased and deployment information, they make sure the equipment sets are in-check, and containers are set together with vehicles for the deployment.

The main activities of the medical evacuation team that aid in shaping the operational environment include the following. Providing assistance to the military exercises, additional need, for instance, assisting the ship to shore and shore to ship or overwater operations. They also take part in deck landing qualification, helicopter emergency underwater egress equipment training.

The medical evacuation team also engages in military activities such as interacting with the joint countries’ military medical experts and their local civilian authorities; the medical evacuation team also assists with security cooperation through tasks such as medical evacuation exercise to foster partner capability. Though, in some instances, the medical evacuation activities in shape to foreign countries may be limited depending on the availability of vehicles and resources. In a particular event, the casualty evacuation unit can be engaged to aid in moving a casualty to a military training facility or an ambulance exchange point that is managed by the medical evacuation aircraft due to long distances and insufficient resources. The humanitarian support missions enable the army medical evacuation team to handle the mission while increasing the bond and trust between the joint country and the United States.

References

Charnes, A., Cooper, M., Dieck-Assad, W. W., Golany, B., & Wiggins, D. E. (1985). Efficiency analysis of medical care resources in the US Army Health Services Command (No. CCS-RR-516). Texas Univ at Austin Center for Cybernetic Studies.https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a159742.pdf

Clarke, J. E., & Davis, P. R. (2012). Medical evacuation and triage of combat casualties in Helmand Province, Afghanistan: October 2010–April 2011. Military medicine, 177(11), 1261-1266.https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article-abstract/177/11/1261/4345564

Horne, G., Carey, N., & Rattelman, C. (1995). Combat Casualty Management Issues in Future Operational Environments (No. CNA-CAB-95-97). Center for Naval Analyses Alexandria VA.

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:324006Lundy, M., & Creed, R. (2017). The Return of US Army Field Manual 3-0, Operations. Military Review, 97(6), 14.https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3e34/621cd83cc5e99d7560f715c449245fc7bdae.pdf

Nilsson, H., Vikström, T., & Rüter, A. (2010). Quality control in disaster medicine training: Initial regional medical command and control as an example. American journal of disaster medicine, 5(1), 35-40.

Sorbero, M. E., Olmsted, S. S., Morganti, K. G., Burns, R. M., Haas, A. C., & Biever, K. (2013). Improving the Deployment of Army Health Care Professionals: An Evaluation of PROFIS (No. RAND-TR-1227-A). Rand Arroyo Center Santa Monica CA.https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a585522.pdf