USAMRMC’s Vision...

We deliver the best medical solutions, for

today and tomorrow, to enhance, protect, and

treat the warfighter on point for the Nation.

USAMRMC’s Mission...

R Protect and sustain a healthy and medically

protected force;

R Be an agent of transformation for the

Objective Medical Force; and

R Enhance the care of service members and

the military family by leveraging medical

solutions.

A Message from Major General Lester Martinez-Lopez

Welcome to the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC).

We support the Army transformation by identifying, developing, procuring, and sustaining

the medical technologies that will best support the rapidly deployable and responsive

Army of the 21st century. This complex and diverse organization has a single purpose:

to sustain and improve the readiness of the armed forces of the United States. We sustain

the health and fighting ability of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines through our

programs in medical research, medical materiel development, medical logistics and facility

planning, medical information systems, and development of new technologies to improve

military health care on the battlefield. The Command is engaged in a broad spectrum of

activity, from basic research in the laboratory, to innovative product acquisition, to the

fielding and life cycle management of medical equipment and supplies for deploying units.

This brochure provides an overview of our programs. Thank you for your interest in the

USAMRMC and Army medicine.

MG Lester Martinez-Lopez, MC

Commanding General

U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command

USAMRMC’s Goals...

Goal 1. Ensure our military forces are deployed in

a state of optimal health, equipped to protect themselves from disease and injury.

Goal 2. Lead transformation for a flexible, agile,

and responsive Objective Medical Force.

Goal 3. Provide quality, accessible, cost-effective

health solutions.

USAMRMC’s Core Capabilities...

R Shape future medical solutions through research,

advanced technology, and partnerships;

R Execute streamlined medical logistics, facilities,

and acquisition management;

R Develop, integrate, acquire, and sustain medical

information management/information technology

solutions; and

R Provide best business and program management

solutions.
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The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel

Command is the Army’s medical materiel

developer, with lead agency responsibility for:

R Medical research,

R Product development,

R Technology assessment and rapid

prototyping,

R Medical logistics management and health

facility planning, and

R Medical information management and

technology.

The USAMRMC’s expertise in these critical

areas helps establish and maintain the

capabilities required by the Army to fight and

win on the battlefield.

U.S. Army Medical Research

and Materiel Command
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The USAMRMC operates six

medical research laboratories and

institutes in the United States.

These laboratories make up the

core science and technology (S&T)

capability of the Command. They

are centers of excellence in specific

areas of biomedical research,

staffed by highly qualified military

and civilian scientists and support

personnel. The Command’s

in-house S&T capabilities are

enhanced by a large extramural

contract research program, and

numerous cooperative research and

development (R&D) agreements

with leading R&D organizations in

the civilian sector.

The Command also operates eight

units exclusively focused on

medical materiel development,

contracting, medical logistics

management, health facility

planning, information management

and technology, and management

of congressional special interest

programs.

Approximately, 4,600 military,

civilian, and contractor personnel

are assigned to or support the

headquarters and 14 subordinate

units. Officers, enlisted soldiers,

and civilians provide a wide variety

of medical, scientific, and technical

expertise. Many of these personnel

are among the most respected and

knowledgeable specialists in

their fields.

The USAMRMC’s motto, “Protect,

Project, Sustain,” emphasizes the

Command’s priorities in support of

the warfighter. Medical information

and products made available by the

USAMRMC will protect the health

and safety of the force and sustain it

through deployment and combat.
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Medical Research and

Development

R Military Infectious Diseases

R Combat Casualty Care

R Military Operational Medicine

R Medical Chemical Defense

R Medical Biological Defense

R Congressional Special Interest

Medical Research
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Infectious diseases are a major

threat to operational readiness of

U.S. military forces. The Military

Infectious Diseases Research

Program focuses on prevention,

diagnosis, and treatment of

diseases that can seriously hamper

military mobilization, deployment,

and effectiveness. Research

emphasis includes the following:

R Development of vaccines against

militarily important diseases,

R Discovery and development of

prophylactic and treatment drugs

for infectious diseases,

R Techniques for rapid identification of disease organisms and

diagnosis of infections,

R Collection and analysis of

epidemiological data that aid in

control of relevant infectious

diseases, and

R Studies of control measures

against vectors of relevant

infectious disease.

In Vietnam, two-thirds of all hospital

admissions were due to infectious

diseases, including malaria, dengue,

scrub typhus, and Japanese

encephalitis. Dengue and malaria

caused hospitalizations in Somalia,

and dengue affected troops in Haiti.

Additional threats to soldiers

include diarrhea, hepatitis, hantavirus infections, leishmaniasis,

meningococcal disease, HIV, and

infection by sundry exotic lethal

and/or hemorrhagic fever viruses.

Threats vary depending on the

environment in which soldiers are

deployed.

This prolific research program has

produced licensed vaccines for

hepatitis A, Japanese encephalitis,

typhoid, adenovirus, and meningococcal meningitis. Licensed drugs

include mefloquine, doxycycline,

and malarone for prevention of

malaria, and halofantrine for treatment of malaria. The current

dosing regimen for and definitive

quantitation of the toxicity of

To minimize the risk of infectious diseases to military

personnel, the USAMRMC has a comprehensive

research program on disease surveillance, diagnosis,

treatment, and prevention. This allows early

recognition and response to both familiar diseases,

like malaria, and newly emerging diseases, like

hantavirus-induced hemorrhagic fever with renal

syndrome, wherever they occur.

Military Infectious Diseases Research

The primary goal of the Military Infectious Diseases Research Program is to

sustain the health of the warfighter

against infectious disease threats.

pentostam for treatment of

cutaneous leishmaniasis was

developed in this program. Finally,

the program has developed innovative new products for protection

from disease-spreading insects.
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Combat Casualty Care Research

musculoskeletal injuries

sustained on the modern battlefield;

R Neuroprotective treatment

strategies for brain and spinal

cord injuries, which significantly

improve the prognosis for

functional recovery of the soldier;

R Diagnostics to help the medic on

the battlefield to determine which

casualties require immediate

resuscitation; and

R The best fluids and strategies for

resuscitation to improve survival

when evacuation is delayed and

resources are limited.

Military casualties may wait for

hours before definitive health care

can be provided; initial treatment

and subsequent evacuation occur in

austere environments characterized

by limited supplies and limited

diagnostic and life-support

equipment; and provision of acute

and critical care is labor intensive

and must frequently be provided by

non-physician medical personnel.

The Combat Casualty Care

Research Program emphasizes

delivery of immediate, far-forward,

and en-route care for soldiers

sustaining life-threatening injuries

on the battlefield. Research efforts

address:

R Products and methods that will

reduce the number of battlefield

deaths due to hemorrhage;

R Advanced, noninvasive physiologic sensors for detecting

penetrating or blunt trauma

wounding events and remote

triage;

R Techniques or technologies to

improve the acquisition and

availability of blood products and

reduce the medical and logistical

requirements to care for battlefield casualties;

R Prevention and treatment of

dental disease and treatment of

battlefield oral and maxillofacial

injuries;

R Surgical techniques, equipment,

and implants to address extremity/

Because approximately

86% of all battlefield

deaths occur within the

first 30 minutes after

wounding, the abilities

to rapidly locate,

diagnose, and render

appropriate initial

treatments are vital to

reversing the historical

outcomes of battlefield

injuries.

Thus, the primary challenge for

combat casualty care research is to

overcome these limitations by

providing biologics, pharmaceuticals, and devices that enhance the

capability of first responders to

effectively treat casualties as close

to the geographic location and time

of injury as possible.

Since mid-WWII, nearly 50%

of combat deaths have been

due to exsanguinating hemorrhage. Of those, about half

could have been saved if

timely, appropriate care had

been available.

The all-electric field dental set provides

treatment capability equal to or greater

than the present capability with

reduced equipment cost. Also, by

eliminating the need for a 5 kilowatt

generator, each Dental Support Unit

will be 24 tons lighter and 18 vehicles

(trailers) smaller.
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Military Operational Medicine Research

Neuropsychology

and Performance

Principal Laboratory:

Walter Reed Army Institute

of Research

Symptomatic of the increase in

deployments of the Army as a

whole, the number of deployments

conducted by U.S. Army Europe/

Seventh Army has increased by six

times the deployments during the

Cold War while the number of

personnel has decreased by 70%.

This increase in operations tempo

(OPTEMPO) and personnel tempo

(PERSTEMPO) impacts the success

of military missions. Soldier

decision making, resilience, and

performance are studied to effectively manage the effects of

OPTEMPO and PERSTEMPO on

soldier and unit performance.

Pharmacological, training, and

nutritional strategies are studied as

interventions to optimize

performance, such as mitigating the

effects of sleep deprivation in

sustained operations.

Physiological status

monitoring is being

developed as a realtime gauge of soldier

and unit physiological readiness.

The information will

be used to inform

Command decisions

on unit performance

and provide remote

medical assessment

of combat casualties.

Army aviators and ground

vehicle crews rely on helmetmounted displays. These

displays change the center of

gravity normal to the head and

neck and increase the amount

of mass typically supported by

the neck. Articulated models of

the head and neck define the

manner and amount of headsupported mass that can be

sustained by a soldier.

Injury Science and Systems

Hazards Research

Principal Laboratory:

U.S. Army Aeromedical Research

Laboratory

During training and deployment,

soldiers are at risk for injury,

incapacitation, and degraded

performance resulting from inhaled

toxic gases, blunt trauma, whole

body blast effects, directed energy,

stress fracture, vehicle jolt, and load

carriage effects. The study of each

of these effects is leading to the

development of an integrated

biomechanical model of injury and

fatigue. Presently, articulated

models of the head and neck are

being developed to define the

manner and amount of headsupported mass that soldiers can

sustain without risk of injury or

performance deficits due to muscle

fatigue. These models are critical,

particularly for Army aviators, for

the exploitation of helmet-mounted

display technology and head and

eye protection devices.

The Military Operational Medicine

Research Program has three

medical research thrust areas

aimed at providing timely and

realistic biomedical solutions that

protect, sustain, and enhance

soldier performance and health

across the continuum of military

operations and training. The three

thrust areas are neuropsychology

and performance, injury science

and systems hazards research, and

metabolism and bioenergetics.

Within these thrust areas, basic and

applied medical research is conducted to develop a fit and ready

force. Basic research anticipates

the needs of the warfighter in future

operations. Applied research

provides biomedical solutions to

meet the immediate needs of the

warfighter. Additionally, congressionally directed projects fill urgent

military medical research needs

and have augmented research

programs in areas such as deployment health, neurotoxin exposure

protection, bone physiology,

neurobiology of stress, and health

hazard assessment methods.
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Women, and to a lesser extent men,

suffer high rates of stress fracture during

initial military training. A significant

research effort to protect and enhance

bone health is targeting the elimination

of training-related stress fractures.

The adverse effects of repeated jolt in

military vehicles and aircraft will be

significantly reduced as biomedical models

of injury and fatigue transition from the

laboratory to the operational environment

through improved equipment design and

the development of active restraints.

In addition to physical hazards,

there are significant risks for

psychological hazards. Critical to

Army aviators is spatial disorientation (SD)—the misperception of

aircraft position, motion, and

altitude. During Operation Desert

Shield/Storm, 81% of Army aviation

nighttime accidents were ascribed

to SD. USAMRMC, through the

Joint Technology Coordinating

Group 5, is leading a tri-service and

allied effort to capture research

results useful in training pilots to

identify conditions that lead to SD

so that they can learn to avoid or

recover from these events.

Metabolism and

Bioenergetics

Principal Laboratory:

U.S. Army Research Institute of

Environmental Medicine

Understanding the limits of human

health and performance in military

operational extremes is quintessential to protecting, projecting, and

sustaining the force as it is

projected into varied operational

environments. The body supplies

energy for vital functions during

sustained operation in extreme

environments by reducing other

metabolic demands and increasing

breakdown of tissue. Dramatic

responses of the hormones that

regulate metabolic systems help

retain salt and water and maintain

blood sugar levels and strength

endurance. Fitness and training

regimes and nutritional supplements are studied to optimize

metabolic adaptation to the high

energy demands of combat.

In extreme cold environments,

tyrosine promises to be a viable

nutritional supplement for maintaining marksmanship. In extreme

heat, methods of increasing skin

blood flow are explored to improve

microclimate regulation of core

body temperature. Acute Mountain

Sickness (AMS) can develop into

potentially fatal pulmonary or

cerebral edema in approximately

18% of soldiers at 2,000 meters and

in approximately 70% of soldiers at

Research to extend the capacity of soldiers

in extreme environments is currently

focused on hydration status and regulation

of core body temperature. Hypothermia is

an important operational threat in cold

environments but even heat exhaustion

can occur with intense workloads and

multiple layers of insulation.

4,300 meters with rapid ascent from

sea level. A number of acclimatization strategies and pharmacological

supplements are being explored to

reduce AMS casualties during force

projection to mountainous regions.

Toxic industrial and agricultural

chemicals, radiofrequency radiation, and other operational exposures are being studied to protect

soldiers against long-term health

consequences.

At least a dozen major field studies provided

the biomedical data for procurement of new

carbohydrate supplements to enhance

cognitive and physical performance in

operational environments.
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The mission of the Medical

Chemical Defense Research

Program (MCDRP) is to preserve

combat effectiveness by timely

provision of medical countermeasures in response to Joint Service

Chemical Warfare (CW) Defense

Requirements.

Nerve agents can be fatal to the

unprotected warfighter. Survivors

may have recurring seizures and

long-term brain damage. Through

Joint research and development,

the nerve agent threat has been

substantially reduced by the fielding

of numerous products:

R Pyridostigmine, a pretreatment

drug, can be administered orally

to troops under risk of CW

attack without degrading their

performance.

R The Mark I Nerve Agent Antidote

Kit provides the soldier with the

nerve agent antidote atropine/

2-PAM.

R The Convulsant Antidote for

Nerve Agent—diazepam in an

autoinjector—is used as an

Research and product development

supporting pretreatment, treatment,

diagnostics, and clinical management of the chemical casualty are

the keys to continuing discovery

and fielding of medical countermeasures to CW agents. Successful

ongoing acquisition development

programs include: active Topical

Skin Protectant research; Advanced

Anticonvulsant research; a therapy

for sulfur mustard exposure; effects

of exposure to low-level CW agents;

and comparison of novel threats to

classical CW agents and the

effectiveness of existing countermeasures.

The MCDRP also provides

education and training to officers

and enlisted persons from all

Services who will be the doctors,

nurses, and medics that will treat

the warfighter exposed to CW

agents. In addition, this information

is broadcast several times a year

via satellite to first responders who

would likely be tending to casualties

exposed to CW agents in the event

of a terrorist action.

Medical Chemical Defense Research

adjunct therapy for nerve agent

poisoning to protect against

seizure-induced brain injury and

to enhance survival.

R Aerosolized atropine can be

rapidly administered far-forward

to casualties for the control of

respiratory effects of nerve

agents.

R Skin Exposure Reduction Paste

against Chemical Warfare Agents

forms a film barrier on skin and

augments Mission-Oriented

Protective Posture (MOPP) gear

by preventing or delaying the

penetration of a wide variety of

CW agents including the blistering agent sulfur mustard.

The Performance Assessment

Battery, a microcomputer-based

software product, provides a

standardized means of estimating

the effects of drugs and other

environmental stressors on human

performance under operational

conditions.

The M291 Skin Decontamination Kit provides

the soldier with a safe

and effective means to

decontaminate exposed

skin areas.
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The mission of the Medical

Biological Defense Research

Program is to ensure the sustained

effectiveness of U.S. forces in a

biological warfare (BW) environment and deter the use of these

weapons by maintaining a strong

medical defensive posture.

Vaccines and drugs for biological

threat agents and toxins are

designed to prevent casualties in the

event of a BW attack. Diagnostic

tests and reagents are developed to

diagnose disease in the event of

actual exposure to biological

agents. Antitoxins and drugs are

designed to treat casualties, prevent

deaths, and maximize return to duty

after exposure.

Medical biological technologies in

advanced development include

vaccines against tularemia, smallpox (a next-generation cell-culture

derived vaccine), and bivalent

(A and B) recombinant botulinum

vaccine. Several medical technologies are maturing to the point at

which they will be ready for

consideration for transitioning to

advanced development within the

next 1-3 years. These include

common diagnostic systems for

BW threats and endemic infectious

diseases, recombinant plague

vaccine, multivalent Venezuelan

equine encephalitis vaccine,

recombinant protective antigen

(rPA) as a next-generation anthrax

vaccine for inhaled anthrax, and

vaccines against staphylococcal

enterotoxin and ricin toxin

exposure.

Research is currently ongoing to

develop multiagent vaccines, which

would provide the capability for

immunizing the warfighter against

multiple biological threats with a

single vaccine, needle-free delivery

methods for recombinant protein

vaccines, and a comprehensive,

integrated diagnostic system that

combines nucleic-acid-based and

immunodiagnostic-based platforms.

Ongoing research efforts in the

Command’s medical biological

research program directed toward

identifying and fully characterizing

therapeutics against viral, bacterial,

and toxin threats are expected to

reach fruition with candidate

countermeasures ready for transition to advanced development in

the far-term (5-10 years).

Because the most likely route of

dissemination of a BW agent on the

battlefield is through small-particle

aerosols, researchers continue to

develop, refine, and validate

equipment and experimental

models used to study airborne

infection and prevention of disease.

If exposure and illness do occur,

rapid diagnosis is essential for

proper treatment and medical

management. Field-deployable,

rapid assays are being developed

for diagnosis of BW agent exposure.

In addition to R&D, training military

and civilian health care professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of

BW agent exposure is a Command

priority. USAMRMC experts also

provide technical support to law

enforcement agencies and

counterterrorism initiatives.

Medical Biological Defense Research

Staff from the U.S. Army

Medical Research Institute

of Chemical Defense

(USAMRICD) and the U.S.

Army Medical Research

Institute of Infectious

Diseases (USAMRIID)

present an intensive 7-day

course to train military

health care providers in the

diagnosis and treatment of

chemical and biological

casualties.
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The U.S. Army Biological Arms

Control Treaty Office (BACTO) was

established within the USAMRMC in

response to a need for central

management of biological arms

control efforts and to ensure continuity of support within the Army

for all biological arms control

negotiations and implementation

activities.

The mission of this office is twofold.

As a focal point, the BACTO

provides Headquarters, Department

of the Army, the Joint Staff, and

the Office of the Secretary of

Defense (OSD) with technical

support for negotiations, compliance, and implementation of the

1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons

Convention (BWC). The BACTO

also facilitates and ensures Armywide implementation and compliance with all biological arms control

agreements to which the U.S.

Government is a signatory.

In executing these missions, the

BACTO performs the following

functions:

R Provides technical guidance for

U.S. negotiators in support of the

all BW-related arms control

agreements,

R Coordinates all preparations for

on-site activities to Army

facilities under BW-related arms

control agreements,

R Conducts assessments of Army

facilities and assists them in

assuring compliance with BWrelated arms control agreements

to which the U.S. is a party,

R Executes BW-related arms

control sample acquisition and

analysis as requested,

R Establishes and maintains the

Army biological defense facilities

database in support of BWrelated arms control agreements,

R Coordinates with major

commands to ensure uniform

implementation of biological

arms control support activities,

and

R Supports OSD’s efforts in

cooperative threat reduction

related to biological weapons.

Biological Arms Control Treaty Office
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Congressional Special

Interest Medical Research

Combat Casualty Care: Battlefield

Surgical Tissue Replacement/Repair

This program will develop a multifunctional integument and repair

material using an elastin biomaterial

deployed via dye-targeted laser

fusion that will provide a new and

important adjunct to the early and

aggressive treatment of hemorrhage,

organ rupture, organ fracture, and

hollow organ damage for use on the

battlefield by medics and surgeons.

Military Operational Medicine:

Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment

Program (NETRP); Bone Health

and Military Medical Readiness

Research Program (BHMMR)

NETRP grants advance understanding of environmental and military

operational factors potentially

involved in neurodegenerative

diseases, with particular emphasis

on Parkinson’s disease; this program

also explores mechanisms of injury

and identifies potential neuroprotectants and other preventive and treatment strategies. BHMMR grants

advance the field of bone research

with exploration of regulatory mechanisms involved in normal bone remodeling stimulated by biomechanical forces; this program will lead to

strategies to prevent stress fractures

and also optimize bone health to prevent later problems of osteoporosis.

Medical Chemical and Biological

Defense (MCBD): Heteropolymer

System (Anthrax Therapeutic)

This program will develop a proprietary monoclonal antibody-based

technology that transports anthrax

toxin to the liver where it is destroyed

by the body’s own natural processes.

MCBD: “Bug to Drug” (Botulism

Identification and Countermeasures)

This program will provide a means

to identify and develop medical

countermeasures to botulinum

neurotoxin and serve as a model to

help shorten the drug development

process from years to months.

The USAMRMC has been entrusted

by Congress to manage special

research programs. The funds for

the Congressional Special Interest

Medical Research Programs (CSI)

are not in the President’s Budget;

they are added to the Department

of Defense (DoD) Budget by

Congress. Since 1990, the

USAMRMC has managed over

100 CSI programs totaling more

than $3 billion. The USAMRMC’s

vision for CSI programs is to ensure

the sponsorship of good science,

as requested by Congress, that can

benefit the DoD and the civilian

sector. CSI programs directly

relevant to existing DoD or Army

R&D programs are managed by the

USAMRMC Research Area Directorates. CSI programs involving

advanced technology are managed

by the Telemedicine and Advanced

Technology Research Center. The

remaining programs are managed

by the office of the Congressionally

Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Following are

examples of CSI programs.

Research Area Directorates

Military Infectious Diseases:

Military Human Immunodeficiency

Virus (HIV) Research

The goals of this program are to

develop vaccines to prevent HIV

infection, educate troops, develop a

forward diagnostic test, and deploy

postexposure prophylaxis to

medical personnel in high risk

zones. The congressional funds

supplement core program funds.

Telemedicine and

Advanced Technology

Research Center

Disaster Relief and Emergency

Medical Services (DREAMS)

DREAMS has three components.

The emergency medical services

component will test interactive

telemedicine technologies to treat

patients in both urban and rural

settings. The CW/BW component

will develop chemical sensors for

on-site diagnosis of toxic substances and biological decontamination of CW agents. The diagnostic

methods and therapies component

will treat patients who are unable to

receive advanced care quickly, and

develop mechanisms to extend life

beyond the “golden hour.”

National Medical Testbed

The goal of this program is to apply

defense and aerospace technology

to advanced health care delivery.

It will support studies that will

improve and evaluate the delivery

of health care to underserved

populations, including the civilian

population in general, and farforward deployed active duty

service members.

Center for Integration of Medicine

and Innovative Technologies

(CIMIT)

The CIMIT combines the clinical

and technical expertise of a

consortium of nonprofit institutions.

The primary aim is to develop

technologies that push the

capability of modern medicine to

diagnose and treat patients using

minimally invasive approaches by

concentrating on five key Clinical

Focus Areas: cardiovascular

disease, cancer, stroke, trauma and

critical care, and new initiatives.

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12

The USAMRMC’s CDMRP manages

extramural grant programs for

research specified by Congress,

including programs for breast,

prostate, and ovarian cancers;

neurofibromatosis; and other

specified health research areas. In

pursuit of the objectives to reduce

the incidence of diseases, improve

survival, and enhance the quality of

life for those affected by disease,

the USAMRMC’s goals are to foster

new research directions, address

neglected issues, and attract new

investigators to the field.

Grant programs are managed as

unique public/private partnerships

among the military, scientists,

consumers, and policy makers.

Based on guidance from the

National Academy of Sciences

Institute of Medicine, a competitive

two-tiered review process was

implemented: a scientific review in

the first tier and a programmatic

review in the second.

Since 1992, the CDMRP has

administered almost $2.6B in

congressional appropriations,

processed over 22,800 proposals,

and provided over 4,700 grants to

institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

Breast Cancer Research Program

(BCRP)

The BCRP awarded over 3,700

research grants representing over

$1,375M in congressional appropriations from FY92-02. Collectively, a

broad-based, diverse research portfolio has been funded encompassing

all research disciplines relevant to

breast cancer. The BCRP aims to

complement other existing federal

programs by investing in innovative,

translational, and training research

projects.

Prostate Cancer Research Program

(PCRP)

Congress appropriated $395M for

the PCRP from FY97-02, supporting

over 800 grants and contracts.

Proposals were solicited to support

innovative research projects from

new investigators entering the

prostate cancer research field, and

innovative projects from established

investigators.

Ovarian Cancer Research Program

(OCRP)

Congress provided $61.7M from

FY97-02 for the OCRP, supporting

over 60 research grants. These

awards focus on the development of

new strategies and novel applications of existing technologies to

detect and prevent ovarian cancer.

Neurofibromatosis Research

Program (NFRP)

Congress appropriated $90.3M for

the NFRP from FY96-02 sponsoring

over 100 grants focused on the

basic genetics and pathogenesis of

neurofibromatosis. The FY97

program supported two natural

history studies of tumor growth.

The remainder of the awards have

been investigator-initiated awards,

nested postdoctoral fellowships,

idea awards, new investigator

awards, clinical trial awards,

therapeutic development awards,

and career development awards.

Peer Reviewed Medical Research

Program (PRMRP)

Congress appropriated $144.5M for

the PRMRP from FY99-02 supporting

over 90 awards investigating various

military health-related areas such as:

acute lung injury, biological hazard

detection, and smoking cessation.

National Prion Research Program

(NPRP)

The NPRP was established in FY02

with an appropriation of $42.5M,

supporting over 35 awards. The

NPRP goal is to develop a rapid,

sensitive, and reproducible test for

the detection of prions suitable for

use as an antemortem diagnostic

test as well as a screening assay.

Congressionally Directed

Medical Research Programs

Information on other programs funded by the

CDMRP is available at: http://cdmrp.army.mil.
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Core Functional Areas:

R Clinical Applications

R Information Technology

Engineering

R Program Integration

and Planning

Telemedicine and Advanced

Medical Technologies

Telemedicine reflects the convergence of

technological advances in a number of fields,

including telecommunications, space science

(e.g., satellites), materiel sciences, robotics,

computer and software engineering, artificial

intelligence, perceptual psychology,

and medicine.

13
14

R Incorporate health awareness

into battlespace awareness,

R Improve the skills of medical

personnel and units, and

R Improve quality of medical/

surgical care throughout the

battlespace.

Clinical Applications

Division (CAD)

The Clinical Applications Division

integrates advanced medical

technology with innovative clinical

business practice solutions to

improve access to quality medical

care. The CAD monitors private

and federal technology sectors to

identify emerging advanced medical

technologies for direct clinical

business applications. The CAD’s

access to practicing health care

providers, soldiers and patients, and

early input (as clinical end users)

into the design of products during

the R&D process allows for testing

and evaluating the telemedicine

technologies and associated clinical

practices in federal and civilian

The USAMRMC’s telemedicine

program, executed by the TATRC,

applies physiological and medical

knowledge, advanced diagnostics,

simulations, and effector systems

integrated with information and

telecommunications for the broad

purpose of enabling medical assets

to operate at a velocity that

supports the Objective Force.

The program scope is to leverage,

adapt, and integrate medical and

commercial/military nonmedical

technologies to provide logistics/

patient management, training

devices or systems, collaborative

mission planning tools, differential

diagnosis, consultation, and

knowledge sharing. These capabilities will effectively facilitate field

medical support by improving

planning and enabling real-time

what-if analysis, among other

benefits. Specifically, products of

this program will:

R Reduce the medical footprint and

increase medical mobility while

ensuring access to essential

medical expertise and support,

The Telemedicine and Advanced

Technology Research Center

(TATRC), a subordinate element of

the USAMRMC, is charged with

managing congressionally

mandated advanced technology

projects in telemedicine and

advanced medical technologies.

The TATRC maintains a productive

mix of partnerships with federal,

academic, and commercial

organizations. Additionally, the

TATRC provides short duration,

technical support (as directed) to

domestic, federal, and Defense

agencies; develops, evaluates, and

demonstrates new technologies

and concepts; and conducts market

surveillance with a focus on

leveraging emerging technologies in

health care and health care support.

Ultimately, by leveraging its

partnerships, TATRC’s activities

will help make medical care and

services more accessible to

soldiers, reduce costs, and enhance

the overall quality of health care in

war- and peacetime.
15

workflow, wireless information

access, intelligent agents, and

knowledge management.

The Operational Telemedicine

Section researches and prototypes

telemedicine systems utilizing

current and emerging commercial

and government off-the-shelf

technologies to enhance tri-service

medical care, medical command

and control, and situational

awareness. This section provides

short duration, medical augmentation to regional domestic, federal,

and Defense agencies responding

to disaster, civil-military cooperative action, and humanitarian

and emergency incidents.

Additionally, the Operational

Telemedicine Section provides

various support services to include

technical support, engineering

support, and telemedicine training,

and facilitates the prototyping,

integration, and testing laboratory

(PITLAB) to provide a simulated

field hospital environment for

testing and evaluating technologies.

clinical environments. Project

officers strive to ensure that advanced

medical technology research

projects produce outcomes of value

to military and civilian users.

Information Technology

Engineering Division (ITED)

The Information Technology

Engineering Division develops and

implements information management and information technology

solutions across three spectrums:

Information Systems, Operational

Telemedicine, and Information

Assurance.

The Information Systems Section

investigates, evaluates, develops,

and implements advanced internet

solutions to support the application

of telemedicine and medical/office

technologies; medical informatic

devices/programs that capture,

transmit, and analyze patient information; and other tools that enhance

decision-making processes such as

models, artificial intelligence,

The Information Assurance Section

investigates, evaluates, and develops solutions in support of Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance

efforts.

Program Integration and

Planning (PIP) Division

The Program Integration and

Planning Division has the primary

responsibility of providing oversight

to, coordination of, and direction

for TATRC’s diverse, dynamic

Congressional Special Interest

programs. The PIP is also responsible for developing and reviewing

advanced medical technology

policy and promoting earned value

management of all advanced

medical technology programs

under TATRC’s purview; measuring

and assessing program performance; and assisting in advanced

medical technology acquisition,

including strategic planning and

reporting.

The Special

Medical

Augmentation

Response Team

(SMART) can

be quickly and

easily deployed

to provide

communications on a

moment’s

notice.

The latest in Personal

Information Carrier (PIC)

technology — PICs allow

data capture and delivery

of information including

x-rays, MRIs, EKGs, or

hundreds of pages of text to

enable efficient information

management on the battlefield. The PIC, smaller than a

conventional dogtag, stores a

soldier’s personal medical

history and can also be

updated on a handheld

computer.
16

“One-stop shopping” for the whole

host of information management

modernization needs from the

purchase of personal computers to

the design, development, installation,

training, and operations of the most

sophisticated and comprehensive

software applications or databases. 

Information Management

& Information Technology

16
17

The USAMRMC is the Army Medical

Department’s (AMEDD’s) Information Management/Information

Technology (IM/IT) materiel

developer and telemedicine R&D

center. With the U.S. Army Medical

Information Systems and Services

Agency (USAMISSA) and TATRC as

leads, USAMRMC offers program

management support for IM/IT

initiatives where those initiatives

either cut across organizational

boundaries, or where the life-cycle

costs are projected to be significant.

The program management team in

USAMISSA is a dynamic group with

systems managers, project directors,

and engineers possessing certifications and experience in program

and systems management that

enable them to undertake IM/IT

initiatives of wide-ranging complexities. Coupled with the U.S.

Army Medical Research Acquisition

Activity (USAMRAA) as the contracting agency, and the requirements

documentation role of the AMEDD

Center and School, the USAMISSA

is capable of working with the

functional proponent from

requirements conception, through

system development and deployment, into sustainment, and

ending with system retirement:

managing the complete life-cycle

support for IM/IT systems.

The USAMISSA is also the

USAMRMC’s organization for

deploying and sustaining IM/IT

systems supporting the AMEDD as

well as tri-service organizations

around the world. The USAMISSA

is responsible for the data transport

network, bandwidth services, voice

and video services, network management, VTC room deployment and

certifications, Defense Messaging

System (DMS), dial-in services, and

computer systems security administration. By leveraging the DoD’s

security organizations, USAMISSA

has minimized the effects of the

recent upsurge in virus attacks, as

well as protected our medical IM/IT

systems using firewalls and intrusion detection systems. The year

2000 date rollover had little effect

on our legacy systems thanks to the

planning and execution of the Y2K

effort by the USAMISSA.

The USAMRMC is striving to

become the AMEDD’s IM/IT

provider-of-choice. Through the

efforts of its subordinate

organizations, USAMISSA and

TATRC, the Command provides a

complete life-cycle solution

supporting the customer’s needs.

The IM/IT mission

is to support

peacetime health

care delivery at

Army medical

facilities as well as

field medical forces

deployed anywhere

in the world.
18

In peacetime and during full-spectrum military

operations, USAMRMC provides leadership and

executes critical materiel support missions

worldwide. The USAMRMC’s capstone functions

are to provide direction and resources, acquire

and manage assets, provide capabilities and

distribute materiel, and support the power

projection force. Essential to the success of

the USAMRMC is the establishment of key

partnerships and associations that advance

professional and collective knowledge,

technologies, skills, and abilities.

Medical Logistics and

Facilities

18
19

The Command’s major responsibilities in the dynamic and diverse

medical materiel arena center on

these core competencies:

R Oversee materiel acquisition

and logistics functions as part of

the Medical Research, Development, and Acquisition (RDA)

Program;

R Execute strategic-level medical

logistics readiness and other

critical health care programs;

R Conduct operational logistics

and single integrated medical

logistics management (SIMLM)

in peacetime and during contingencies; and

R Promote planning, modernization, and technology improvements as part of life-cycle

management for Army health

facility programs.

The USAMRMC performs its critical

materiel missions across these

major Army processes: force

management, force projection, and

force sustainment.

Within the area of force sustainment, the Command is constantly

exploring and employing innovative

methods to meld automated

information technologies with

logistics and transportation best

business practices. Such focused

logistics initiatives provide more

efficient and accurate ways to

deliver and manage precision

packages and biomedical maintenance capabilities.

The U.S. Army Medical Materiel

Agency (USAMMA) serves as the

AMEDD’s strategic-level organization whose mission is to enhance

medical logistics readiness throughout the full range of military health

service support missions worldwide,

develop and implement innovative

logistics concepts and technologies,

and promote medical logistics

information and knowledge.

The U.S. Army Medical Materiel

Center, Europe (USAMMCE)

conducts operational logistics as

the European SIMLM in support of

the Army, Navy, and Air Force

component commands. The Center

also supports the Department of

State embassies throughout much

of the world and other U.S. forces in

Europe, Africa, the Middle East,

and Southwest Asia. Due to the

Center’s integrated medical logistics

capabilities, USAMMCE works in

partnership with USAMMA in

managing many of the strategiclevel programs.

The U.S. Army Health Facility

Planning Agency (USAHFPA)

consists of deployable experts in

planning, programming, design,

construction, transition, and

sustainment of facilities. The

USAHFPA provides assistance in

assessing and refining facility

requirements of the AMEDD and

other customers and then executing

design and construction investments whenever and wherever

needed. The Agency also deploys

special response teams during

operations other than war, disaster

relief, peacekeeping efforts, and

nation building.

As part of its role in force management, the Command participates in

and conducts technology watch,

materiel development, acquisition

logistics, and materiel distribution.

Fundamental to this role are the

materiel assessment, procurement,

fielding, and follow-on support for

improved or new medical equipment, organizations, and medical

facilities.

In the realm of force projection,

USAMRMC centrally manages

several Army and The Surgeon

General readiness programs.

These programs include the

acquisition, storage, distribution,

and transfer of prepositioned stocks

located ashore and afloat, as well

as medical chemical defense

packages, short shelf-life pharmaceuticals, and other materiel.

Integral to this support are partnerships with defense organizations

and industry. The Command also

supports deployable medical

logistics support teams.
Located throughout the

United States and overseas, the USAMRMC

consists of the

Headquarters, six

research laboratories

or institutes, and six

management organizations (plus CDMRP

and TATRC).

In addition, the WRAIR

manages two separate

detachments and three

overseas laboratories.

A third detachment is

overseen by the

USAMRICD.

USAMRMC Organizations

Overseas Laboratories and Detachments

AFRIMS: Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences

USACEHR: U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research

USADRD: U.S. Army Dental Research Detachment

USAMRD: U.S. Army Medical Research Detachment

USAMRU-E: U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Europe

USAMRU-K: U.S. Army Medical Research Unit-Kenya

20
U.S. Army Aeromedical

Research Laboratory

The U.S. Army Aeromedical

Research Laboratory at Fort

Rucker, Alabama, conducts

research to enhance soldier

safety, survival, tolerance,

sustainability, and performance effectiveness.

A unique Aviation Medicine

resource, the USAARL’s

research also supports

increased force effectiveness

and safety in mounted and

dismounted operations with

land-based tactical vehicles

and weapons platforms.

The USAARL provides stateof-the-art research capabilities

in acoustics, vision, repetitive

impact, crash survival, and life

support systems, as well as in

crew workload, stress, and

fatigue.

U.S. Army Medical

Research Institute of

Chemical Defense

Located at the Aberdeen

Proving Ground, Maryland, the

U.S. Army Medical Research

Institute of Chemical Defense is

the DoD’s lead laboratory for

development of medical

countermeasures against CW

agents. Medical countermeasures developed at the

USAMRICD protect the

warfighter through antidote

therapy, topical skin protectant

barriers, pretreatment

measures, and improved

management of casualties

through treatment regimens

that reverse or reduce the

toxicity of chemical agents.

The USAMRICD also has the

responsibility for training health

professionals in the medical

management of chemical

casualties. The Chemical

Casualty Care Division conducts classroom courses, field

training exercises, satellite

broadcasts, and numerous

training products for distance

learning (available at web site

http://ccc.apgea.army.mil).

The U.S. Army Center for

Environmental Health

Research, Fort Detrick,

Maryland, a detachment of

the USAMRICD, directs and

conducts research, development, testing, and validation for

the medical aspects of environmental surveillance and

environmental health in support

of Medical Force Protection.

U.S. Army Institute of

Surgical Research

The U. S. Army Institute of

Surgical Research now under

the operational control of

Brooke Army Medical Center,

Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is

historically famous as the

Army Burn Center and is also

recognized worldwide for its

advanced level of research in

the care of critically injured

soldiers. For the last few

years, the USAISR has also

developed an equally important research mission to

provide medical solutions and

products across the full

spectrum of combat casualty

care from far-forward self and

buddy care through evacuation

to definitive military medical

treatment and return to

combat. Focused areas of

research include hemorrhage

control, resuscitation, orthopedic injuries, and soft tissue

injuries to include burns.

U.S. Army Medical

Research Institute of

Infectious Diseases

The U.S. Army Medical

Research Institute of Infectious

Diseases, Fort Detrick,

Maryland, conducts basic and

applied research on biological

threats resulting in medical

solutions to protect the

warfighter. As the Department

of Defense’s lead laboratory

for medical aspects of biological warfare defense, the

USAMRIID collaborates with

the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC), the

National Institutes of Health,

the World Health Organization

(WHO), the Department of

Energy, the Federal Bureau of

Investigation, and academic

centers of excellence worldwide. The USAMRIID also

serves as a reference laboratory for the CDC and the WHO.

21

© Brian R. Wolff/IIPI

All Rights Reserved
U.S. Army Research

Institute of Environmental Medicine

The U.S. Army Research

Institute of Environmental

Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts, is the Army’s premier

research organization for

Warfighter Performance and

Environmental Medicine,

providing support to America’s

military at home and abroad.

The USARIEM protects,

sustains, and enhances the

health of America’s warfighters

through basic and applied

research in environmental

physiology and occupational

medicine by: performing

relevant cutting-edge research

to counter environmental and

occupational threats to U.S.

forces worldwide; maintaining

a vibrant and committed

military-civilian team; exploiting and applying new technology; and leveraging capabilities with industry, academia,

and other government

research, development, test,

and evaluation facilities.

The USARIEM’s current

scientific divisional areas of

expertise are: Thermal and

Mountain Medicine; Military

Performance, Nutrition, and

Biomedical Modeling.

U.S. Army Health

Facility Planning Agency

The U.S. Army Health Facility

Planning Agency, Falls Church,

Virginia, is the USAMRMC’s

operational command that

supports planning and execution of AMEDD facility lifecycle management worldwide.

As the Army Medical

Command’s (MEDCOM’s)

deployable experts in planning,

programming, design, construction, transition, and

sustainment of facilities, the

USAHFPA assists AMEDD and

other customers in assessing

and refining their facility

requirements then executing

design and construction

investments whenever and

wherever needed. The Agency

also deploys its expertise

globally as one of the

MEDCOM’s Special Medical

Augmentation Response

Teams–Health Support in

support of operations other

than war, peacekeeping, nation

building, and disaster relief.

Walter Reed Army

Institute of Research

The Walter Reed Army Institute

of Research, Forest Glen,

Maryland, is the oldest (1893),

largest, and most diverse

laboratory of the USAMRMC.

Its mission is to counter threats

from naturally occurring

infectious diseases, high

energy and trauma, stress and

sleep deprivation, and biological and chemical warfare

agents. Housed in a new stateof-the-art laboratory facility

and collocated with the Naval

Medical Research Center, the

WRAIR provides unique

research capabilities, including

sleep suites, an insectary for

production of mosquitoes and

sandflies infected with malaria

and leishmaniasis, biosafety

level 3 laboratories, a clinical

trial facility for conducting

human challenge studies, and

a Good Manufacturing Practice-grade bioproduction

facility. In addition, the WRAIR

manages collocated research

programs in laser/microwave

bioeffects (U.S. Army Medical

Research Detachment) and

combat dentistry (U.S. Army

Dental Research Detachment).

The WRAIR also operates overseas research units in Thailand,

Kenya, and Germany.

U.S. Army Medical

Information Systems

and Services Agency

The role of the U.S. Army

Medical Information Systems

and Services Agency is to

provide overall management of

a cohesive and accountable

AMEDD IM/IT acquisition and

maintenance program for the

sustainment of all Army

medical information systems.

The USAMISSA will develop

and coordinate long-term IM/IT

modernization, acquisition,

and sustainment plans and

programs for the MEDCOM to

ensure access to the broadest

capabilities possible.

22
U.S. Army Medical

Materiel Development

Activity

The U.S. Army Medical Materiel

Development Activity’s

mission is to protect and

preserve the lives of America’s

sons and daughters by developing new drugs, vaccines,

and medical devices that

enhance readiness, ensure the

provision of the highest quality

medical care to DoD, and

maximize survival of medical

casualties on the battlefield.

USAMMDA product managers

take promising new concepts

and technologies developed in

our laboratories and guide

them through the regulatory

maze to obtain Food and Drug

Administration certification,

and develop plans for fielding

in conjunction with the

USAMMA.

U.S. Army Medical

Materiel Agency

The U.S. Army Medical

Materiel Agency, Fort Detrick,

Maryland, serves as the Army

Surgeon General’s central focal

point and executive agent for

all strategic medical logistics.

Its mission is to deliver and

sustain responsive medical

logistics support for all

worldwide military health care

operations. The USAMMA

serves as the AMEDD’s

fielding command for all new

medical materiel, and centrally

manages a variety of strategic

logistics programs such as war

reserve and critical item asset

management, deployment of

materiel handoff teams, and

operational oversight of

medical materiel acquisition

vehicles. Core skills and

technologies center on conducting life-cycle management

for commercial and nondevelopmental items, sustaining and

modernizing the medical force,

supporting exercises and

contingency operations, and

promoting medical logistics

information and knowledge.

U.S. Army Medical

Materiel Center–

Europe

The U.S. Army Medical Materiel

Center, Europe, Pirmasens,

Germany, serves as the Single

Integrated Medical Logistics

Manager for the USA European

Command and USA Central

Command. USAMMCE

supports over 729 Army, Navy,

Air Force, and Department of

State Hospitals, Clinics,

Embassies, and Field Units,

focusing on acquisition,

storage, and distribution of

medical materiel; optical

fabrication; and medical

maintenance. The USAMMCE

manages the Army’s medical

war reserve and pre-positioned

stocks, and serves as Executive Agent to the Department

of State for Medical Humanitarian Assistance Missions. The

USAMMCE is ISO 9001:2000

Certified.

U.S. Army Medical

Research Acquisition

Activity

The U.S. Army Medical

Research Acquisition Activity,

Fort Detrick, Maryland,

provides contracting support

to the USAMRMC and its

worldwide network of laboratories, the Fort Detrick Army

Garrison, military tenant

activities, Office of the

Surgeon General-sponsored

projects, congressionally

directed research programs,

and numerous reimbursable

customers. The USAMRAA

provides quality, timely, and

cost-effective business advice

and solutions for our customers and other stakeholders.

The USAMRAA vision is to be

the most cost-effective

acquisition activity in providing

relevant, high-quality, and

timely business solutions for

our customers.

23
24

Medical research and materiel are critical to maintaining trained and ready Armed Services

capable of rapid deployment and decisive victory. Future battlefields are expected to be at

least as dangerous as any of the past, or any that were anticipated during the Cold War.

Our forces must be prepared to fight regional wars and win quickly in any climate or

geographic region, against adversaries equipped with the most modern and powerful

weapons. We must be able to adapt quickly and develop countermeasures to new threats to

the soldier’s health and performance.

No one knows precisely what threats we will face in the next conflict, but history suggests

that victory will depend heavily on the presence of a superior medical technology base that

can respond rapidly with required countermeasures to emerging health threats. The

USAMRMC provides the expertise to meet the challenges of the future battlefield.
COMMAND ORGANIZATIONS

Headquarters, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command

504 Scott Street

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012

(301) 619-2736

U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory

Fort Rucker, AL 36362-5292

(334) 255-6900

http://www.usaarl.army.mil

U.S. Army Health Facility Planning Agency

Falls Church, VA 22041-3258

(703) 681-8215

http://hfpa.otsg.amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research

Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6315

(210) 916-3219

http://www.usaisr.amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Information Systems and Services Agency (Provisional)

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5020

(301) 619-7507

http://www.usamissa.amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5001

(301) 619-7461

http://www.usamma.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Europe

APO AE 09138

011-49-633-186-6426

https://www.pirmasens.amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5009

(301) 619-7643

http://www.usammda.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5014

(301) 619-2736

http://www.usamraa.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense

Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5425

(410) 436-3276

http://chemdef.apgea.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5011

(301) 619-2285

http://www.usamriid.army.mil

U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

Natick, MA 01760-5007

(508) 233-4811

http://www.usariem.army.mil

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

Washington, DC 20307-5100

(301) 319-9038

http://wrair-www.army.mil

Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5024

(301) 619-7071

http://cdmrp.army.mil

Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center

Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012

(301) 619-7927

http://www.tatrc.org