Army Surgeon General's Contingency Programs Provide Rapid Medical Readiness
Today's Army faces complex, worldwide threats that set the conditions for varied missions in numerous environments – all under continuing budget reform. Being able to medically support Soldiers anywhere in the world at any given time demands a commitment to readiness -- all the time. Readiness determines the Army's ability to fight and win our Nation's wars; it is the capability of forces to conduct the full range of military operations to defeat all enemies regardless of the threats they pose.
To ensure the highest level of readiness, Army Medicine created several medical materiel contingency programs, including the Medical Materiel Readiness Program; the Centrally Managed Medical Potency and Dated Materiel Program with Unit Deployment Packages; and the Medical Chemical Defense Materiel contingency stock. These programs are operationally managed by staff at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency, a subordinate organization of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
Each of these Army Medicine contingency programs offer specific medical capabilities that can be leveraged individually or combined to support a variety of operational requirements, affording today's Army with greater logistical flexibility and medical materiel readiness.
Medical Materiel Readiness Program
Combat Support Hospitals provide unmatched Role 3 combat health support with a 98 percent survivability rate over the past decade–the highest in the history of American warfare. To ensure CSH capability in a contingency, Army Medicine developed the MMRP in 2007. While this program was originally developed as a result of the Reserve Component Hospital Decrement program, none of the assets within the MMRP are earmarked to a specific unit. Rather, the MMRP focuses on making sure that four centrally-managed, fully-modernized CSHs are maintained at a maximum state of readiness for any approved medical unit – active or reserve. A team of biomedical equipment specialists service the MMRP maintenance–significant equipment year-round at Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, California. They complete one hospital per quarter, so that three CSHs are ready at all times.
What's included: The current program consists of four Role 3 hospital configurations, including three 248-bed CSHs and one 240-bed Hospital Center of Class VIII medical materiel. Typically, units request smaller "slices," such as specific medical sets, of an MMRP CSH or field hospital/detachment as a component of a hospital center, based on approved requirements.
What's not included: The MMRP does not include potency and dated materiel with a shelf life of 60 months and less.
How to request it: The Office of the Surgeon General is the release authority. Supply Bulletin 8-75-S7 provides a template (Appendix C) that units can complete and then route through their higher headquarters. Once the OTSG has advised the USAMMA of approved release, the USAMMA will deploy the MMRP Medical Logistics Support Team. The MLST will conduct a thorough quality assurance check required to prepare the approved bed configuration for inventory and ship to the gaining unit.
Unit Deployment Packages
Potency and dated items create unique logistical challenges for units. These items can be costly and have a limited shelf life. While units are expected to maintain their unit basic load of medical P&D materiel, lessons learned from previous conflicts indicate that many units may have P&D shortages. To ensure units have the medical resources they need when called to support a contingency, the OTSG and the USAMMA developed the Centrally Managed Medical P&D Materiel Program. The term "unit deployment package" is used within the program to describe a unit's basic load of medical P&D materiel with a shelf life of 60 months and less. This program can provide early deploying Echelon Above Brigade medical units, that are deploying from state-side home stations, with their basic load of medical P&D materiel with a shelf life of 60 months and less. Strategies for providing this materiel include acquiring and positioning medical materiel at various stateside and overseas locations, or using multiple prime vendors.
What's included: A UDP consists of medical and non-medical potency and dated materiel with Medical Unit Assemblage Group Codes 1, 4-9, A, B, D, E, G-I, and N and a shelf life code of 60 months and less (Type I NSNs SLC A-H, J-N, P-S and Type II NSNs SLC 1-9). Active Component, Reserve Component and National Guard early deployments in Echelon Above Brigade units will receive Type I and II medical and non-medical UDP items (MUAG 1) with a shelf 60 months and less based on the initial 31-day declared contingency Time Phased Force Deployment List requirement and available funding. While the Centrally Managed Medical P&D Materiel Program will provide materiel to those Echelon Above Brigade medical units deploying on or before day 31 of a declared contingency, units must keep in mind that the TPFDL is a flexible and fluctuating schedule. Should a unit with an initial deployment date sooner than day 31 suddenly find itself deploying beyond day 31, that unit will be deleted from OTSG's list of units scheduled to receive a UDP. Therefore, units must plan appropriately.
What's not included: Non-potency and dated materiel, such as equipment, are not included.
How to request it: The OTSG is the release authority. Supply Bulletin 8-75-S7 provides a template (Appendix B) that units can complete and then route through their higher headquarters. Pending OTSG approval, the USAMMA will coordinate procurement and shipment.
Medical Chemical Defense Materiel
To protect our Soldiers from deadly threats, Army Medicine sustains an initial issue inventory of consumable medical countermeasures against a variety of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear warfare agents. These assets are maintained for Soldiers and military working dogs that deploy in support of geographic combatant commands theater-strategic and operational requirements. Additionally, Army Medicine sustains the initial issue of potency and dated CBRN items for the Medical Equipment Set Chemical Agent, Patient Treatment [Line Item Number (LIN) M23673]. These CBRN warfare agents provide deploying medical units with the capability to treat and protect themselves and other chemical casualties.
What's included: Initial issue MCDM for Soldiers, military working dogs and the Chemical Agent Patient Treatment MES are maintained under three separate projects:
- DH1 - Initial issue MCDM for Deployable Force Packages
- DH5 - Potency and Dated MCDM for the MES, Chemical Agent Patient Treatment (LIN M23673)
- Y3R1 - Initial issue MCDM for Defense CBRN Response Force
For a full description of what is available in each project, read Supply Bulletin 8-75-S7, chapter 5.
What's not included: Non-potency and dated materiel, such as equipment, are not included.
How to request it: The OTSG is the release authority. The one exception to this rule is during installation or local emergency situations where access to MCDM is critical to lifesaving treatment of casualties. In that emergency, the storing military treatment facility commander may authorize release of MCDM for that purpose. Instructions for requesting an MCDM project are available in SB 8-75-S7, chapter 5, paragraph 7.
In collaboration with the Army Prepositioned Stock program, the OTSG's contingency programs are designed to help meet the needs of deploying units and contribute to the Army's ability to rapidly deploy power worldwide.
To access the USAMMA Supply Bulletins and learn more about OTSG/Army Medicine contingency programs, visit:
http://www.usamma.amedd.army.mil/supply_bulletins.cfm