Forward-deployed Medical Assets and the COIN Offensive

Abstract : Deployed U.S. military medical assets are primarily structured to support combat operations on the conventional battlefield, but they are increasingly deployed in support of expeditionary counterinsurgency (COIN) operations. The development of doctrine to guide medical support in a COIN environment has not kept up with the brisk pace of operations, resulting in significant gaps in the capabilities necessary to meet needs. With the publication of Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency, in 2006, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps jointly developed a strategic framework to guide COIN operational planning, but medical and health support activities are not mentioned.