Today's military is being asked to deploy in an increasing range of operational scenarios. Rather than a reduced schedule to match the rapid downsizing, the operational tempo has dramatically increased and military medical departments are deploying alongside to provide healthcare support in a wide variety of situations.
Military medicine is faced with three competing imperatives.
We must learn to balance the very different requirements of peacetime healthcare, humanitarian missions and combat support operations, each of which has a unique mix of personnel, equipment and medications. These tasks, while competing, do not stand in isolation. Indeed, none can exist without the others. Like legs of a three-legged stool, they support each other and combine to make a stable platform. Training and care provided in one area is intricately linked with and ultimately enhances the ability to provide care in all aspects of our healthcare system.