# United States Army Medical Department Center and School

The U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE) is located at Fort Sam Houston, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. MEDCoE comprises the Academy of Health Sciences (AHS), the 32d Medical Brigade, and the AMEDD Noncommissioned Officers Academy (NCOA). MEDCoE enables effective and efficient integration and synchronization of Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leadership, Personnel and Facility, and Policy (DOTMLPF-P) development to ensure the latest solutions to any perceived or predicted Army Medicine gaps are documented and incorporated into doctrine and instruction.
Although its institutional lineage dates back to 1920, the present "CoE" was established by permanent order of the Department of the Army in 2018 after realignment from the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), with operational control by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC).

## History

On 1 September 1920, the Medical Department Field Service School was established at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania at the request of the Surgeon General, Major General Merritte W. Ireland. In December that same year, the Army renamed it the Medical Field Service School (MFSS).
After 25 1/2 years of operation, the school was deactivated on 15 February 1946 and its mission transferred to multiple schools located at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The school underwent various name changes and restructuring over the years; incorporating the diverse medical functional areas of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) along the way. One significant change was on 10 December 1972, when the Secretary of the Army, Robert F. Froehlke re-designated the school to the Academy of Health Sciences.
On 15 July 1991, the Surgeon General, Lieutenant General Frank F. Ledford Jr., established the AMEDDC&S by permanent order 103-1. The Academy of Health Sciences (AHS) now constitutes the "school" portion of the AMEDDC&S.
In 1993, AMEDD Center and School was realigned under the U.S. Army Medical Command (Provisional) and remained under the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as it became fully functional in 1994.
As a result of 2005 BRAC legislation that required the bulk of enlisted technical medical training in the Army, Air Force, and Navy to be collocated to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, much of the enlisted medical training was moved from AHS to the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC). The transition took place during 2010 and 2011. In 2015, it was designated as the US Army Health Readiness Center of Excellence (HRCoE).
In 2008, the Clinical Investigation Regulatory Office (CIRO) began realignment under the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).
In 2015, AMEDDC&S reorganized to become AMEDDC&S HRCoE. Also during this time period, the Defense Programs Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute (DMRTI) was realigned under the Defense Health Agency (DHA).
On 19 October 2018, AMEDDC&S HRCoE began realignment from the U.S. Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM) to U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) with operational control by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, to be completed effective 2 October 2019.
Effective 15 September 2019, the CoE was finally redesignated as the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE) to further solidify their abiding dedication to Army Medicine, reverence to their profound history, and their commitment towards Army modernization with the singular focus of training Soldiers who will win our nations wars and then come home safely.

## Structure

There are several major organizations that compose the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence:

### Center components

* Office of the Commanding General
* Chief of Staff (CoS)
* Coordinating Staff, including the International Military Student Office
* Special Staff
* AMEDD Personnel Proponent Directorate (APPD)
* U.S. Army Medical Test and Evaluation Activity (MTEAC)
* Medical Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate (MEDCDID)
* Directorate of Training and Doctrine (DOTD)
* Department of Simulations (DOS)

### School components

32d Medical Brigade
* 187th Medical Battalion
* 188th Medical Battalion
* 232d Medical Battalion
* 264th Medical Battalion
Academy of Health Sciences (AHS)
* Office of the Commandant (OTC)
AMEDD Noncommissioned Officers Academy (NCOA)
* Advanced Leader Course (ALC)
* Senior Leader Course (SLC)
AMEDD Personnel Proponent Directorate (APPD)
MEDCOE Credentialing Program (MEDCP)

### Other organizations

* Department of Simulations (DOS)
* Statistical Analysis Cell
* Fielded Force Integration Directorate (FFID)
* Army Capabilities Manager-Army Health System (ACM-AHS)
* The Army Medical Department Museum