Combat Support Hospital A Combat Support Hospital ( CSH , pronounced " cash " ) is a type of modern United States military field hospital . The CSH is transportable by aircraft and trucks and is normally delivered to the Corps Support Area in standard military - owned Demountable Containers ( MILVAN ) cargo containers . Once transported , it is assembled by the staff into a tent hospital to treat patients . Depending upon the operational environment ( e . g . , battlefield ) , a CSH might also treat civilians and wounded enemy soldiers . The CSH is the successor to the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital . Facility . The size of a Combat Support Hospital is not limited , since tents can be chained together ; it will typically deploy with between 16 and 256 hospital beds , with 54 beds being most common . For patient care the CSH is climate - controlled , and has pharmacy , laboratory , X - Ray ( often including a CT Scanner ) and dental capabilities . It provides its own power from generators . The great operational advantage of the DEPloyable MEDical Systems ( DEPMEDS ) facility is the use of single or double expanding ISO container s / units to create hard sided , air conditioned , sterile operating rooms and intensive care facilities , which can produce surgical outcomes similar to that seen in fixed facility hospitals , and do so in an austere environment . Function . A CSH has two separate components , the HUB ( Hospital Unit Base ) and the HUS ( Hospital Unit Surgical ) . HUS personnel consist of surgeons , surgical nurses , surgical technicians , nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists . The HUB consists of all other hospital and support personnel including food service , motor pool , hospital admissions ( PAD ) , nurses , biomedical engineers , laundry & bath , etc . In concept , a HUS could be activated separately and interoperate with an existing fielded HUB . HUS surgeons , surgical nurses , nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists are usually back - filled with IMA ( individual mobilization augmentees ) . Because they are large and relatively difficult to move , Combat Support Hospitals are not the front line of battlefield medicine . Battalion Aid Station s , Forward Support Medical Battalion s and Forward Surgical Teams are usually the first point of contact medical care for wounded soldiers . The CSH receives most patients via helicopter Air Ambulance , and stabilizes these patients for further treatment at fixed facility hospitals . Ideally , the CSH is located as the bridge between incoming helicopter ambulances and outgoing Air Force aircraft . The CSH is capable of providing definitive care for many cases . Current medical doctrine does not encourage wounded soldiers , if they are not expected to quickly return to operational status , to stay in the combat zone . This is a pragmatic decision as the resources are usually available to bring them home quickly . Military aircraft constantly fly into a theater of operations loaded with equipment and supplies , but often lack a back cargo . Given that adequate " airlift " is usually present , it is easy to evacuate wounded promptly . For this reason the CSH bed capacity is not as heavily used as in past conflicts . The CSH will generally have a Medical Evacuation Company attached . This company consists of approximately 4 platoons of ground ambulances commanded by a Medical Service Corps officer . The Ambulance Company in cooperation with available air ambulances ( MEDEVAC ) is responsible for the movement of sick and wounded from the Battalion Aid Station and other forward - deployed locations to the CSH , as well as evacuation through an established medical treatment chain leading ultimately , for those seriously sick or wounded , to hospitals in the Continental United States in cooperation with resources in the U . S . Air Force . The CSH is larger than its predecessor , the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital . It is commanded by a Colonel , rather than a Lieutenant Colonel . A fully manned CSH has 624 people to staff 256 beds . The modular nature of the organization allows for partial deployments , and the full unit is not often deployed . History and past configurations . In 1973 and 1974 , the 28th Surgical Hospital MASH helped phase - in new designs for operating rooms and patient facilities from the previous canvas tents . Since then all MASHs and Field Hospitals have been inactivated or reconfigured to the CSH configuration . The last to convert was the 212th Field Hospital . In 1978 the 28th Combat Support Hospital ( 28th CSH ) was established at Fort Bragg , North Carolina , as part of the 44th Medical BDE as a MUST ( Medical Unit Self Contained Transportable ) Hospital . MUST was the ancestor of the current DEPMEDS design . It contained all necessary functions to provide care for 250 beds , including 2 intensive care units , 8 medical wards , emergency room , 4 operating rooms , orthopedic room , laboratory , X - ray and pharmacy . It consisted of hard containers which housed the operating rooms , laboratory , X - ray , and pharmacy . Inflatable shelters were used to provide double wall insulated areas for the patient care areas of the hospital . These " inflatables " required a power system called a Utility Pack ( also known as a U - Pack or power station ) to provide utility services . The Utility Pack ( Power Plant , Utility , Gas Turbine Engine Driven - Libby Welding Co . Model LPU - 71 , Airesearch Model PPU85 - 5 , AmerTech Co . Model APP - 1 , or Hollingsworth Model JHTWX10 / 96 ) , powered by a centrifugal flow gas turbine engine , provided electricity ( 60 Hz AC , 400 Hz AC , and 24vdc ) , heating , air conditioning , compressed air , vacuum , and hot / cold water . At 250 beds the hospital required 8 U - Packs . Each consumed 30 gallons of jet fuel per hour . After several years of using inflatables they were abandoned in the mid 1980s , largely due to the weight of the inflatables , and the amount of fuel required just to keep the tents from collapsing .