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The Defense Health Agency is the nation’s medical Combat Support Agency, providing or augmenting medical capabilities of the Combatant Commands, the military services, federal partners and partners and allies around the world. As one of the Defense Department’s combat support agencies, DHA works to provide combat forces with capabilities they do not possess, or possess in insufficient quantity. In cooperation with the Joint Staff Surgeon and Military Department medical organizations, DHA leads the Department of Defense integrated system of readiness and health through a global health care network of military and civilian medical professionals, including military hospitals and clinics around the world, to improve and sustain operational medical force readiness and the medical readiness of the Armed Forces.
Enhancing Military Readiness through Combat Support Capabilities
The DHA provides support for operating forces engaged in planning for, or conducting, military operations, including support during conflict or in the conduct of other military activities related to countering threats to U.S. national security. Among DHA’s most important combat support responsibilities is its work to increase readiness of U.S. forces to carry out their deployed missions.
The DHA fulfills its combat support responsibilities through capabilities including several components that provide crucial expertise and support to the Combatant Commands. Liaison officers within Combatant Commands enable direct contact with DHA, help the DHA better understand Combatant Command needs, and give the Combatant Commands better understanding of DHA capabilities.
The DHA is a critical enabler, working with the Military Departments to advance the health and readiness of U.S. forces and to manage the medical readiness platforms that keep the medical force ready to support operations worldwide. Working in close coordination with the Joint Staff Surgeon, the DHA provides medical-related combat support capabilities that apply across all phases of military operations, including:
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Jul 24, 2023
Expeditionary Medical Facility Kilo successfully completed its Operational Readiness Evaluation. The focus of the ORE held in Camp Pendleton, California was testing the command’s ability to stand up a fully functional field hospital, capable of operating when deployed at any location around the world.
Article Around MHS
Jul 18, 2023
The mental health aspect of recovery is just as important as the physical. See how the efforts provided by physiotherapists at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina go beyond the duty day to maintain the strength of the force.
Article Around MHS
Jul 10, 2023
Troop Command, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was redesignated the Medical Readiness Brigade, National Capital Region, during a ceremony June 30 at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, which also saw the leadership of the unit change hands.
Article Around MHS
Jun 28, 2023
The 88th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron provides direct support to U.S. Air Force operations by promoting and sustaining force health, preventing injury and illness, restoring health, and elevating human performance. Its top priority is ensuring airmen and military members are medically ready to execute their missions at home-base and deployed ...
Article Around MHS
Jun 15, 2023
Nurses and medical professionals from 24 allied and partner nations, including the U.S., converged at the U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa 2023 European-African Military Nursing Exchange conference, May 31 – June 2, to share medical knowledge and professional best practices with one another.
Article Around MHS
May 31, 2023
U.S. Army pharmacists and pharmacy specialists from across the country traveled to Camp Bullis, Texas, this week to participate in a 40-hour deployment readiness course hosted by the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence. The course is designed to prepare personnel to provide efficient pharmaceutical in an austere, multi-domain, large-scale operating ...
Article Around MHS
May 16, 2023
Sailors from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Portsmouth enhanced a casualty receiving treatment and amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and conducted a three-day certification exercise as part of a continued commitment to mission readiness, March 21.
Article Around MHS
May 3, 2023
Army Medicine, Defense Health Agency, and TRICARE East region contractor Humana Military representatives welcomed local TRICARE network health care providers to the Sabalauski Air Assault School on Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on April 13.
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Apr 20, 2023
The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron embarks on the U.S. Air Force’s first-ever AE paramedic-led flight in charge of an all-enlisted medical crew.
Article Around MHS
Apr 7, 2023
The Drill Sergeant Timothy Kay Soldier Performance Readiness Center, “represents a seismic shift” towards how the U.S. Army approaches how troops are trained, evaluated, and sustained, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Jason E. Kelly, Fort Jackson’s commander. “It is an investment in individual soldier preparedness.”
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Article Around MHS
Mar 14, 2023
Battlefield trauma simulations, evacuation procedures, and trauma care are just a few of the scenarios that medics and nurses experience in a new training platform. Find out what makes the TTREX course so impressive that participants are volunteering to teach it.
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Feb 24, 2023
They say teamwork makes the dream work, and it's happening at MacDill AFB. Find out how Airmen and Sailors are collaborating to save lives.
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Jan 27, 2023
Good eyesight is often take for granted, but vision impairment can be the difference between mission success and mission failure. Find out what's happening on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling so airmen in the National Capital Region remain sharply focused on their U.S. Air Force missions.
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Jan 27, 2023
National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Week is January 22-28, 2023. Learn why CRNAs like Lt. Jason Balazs use extraordinary precision and focus to support critical mission readiness and their impact on this profession's long history and enduring record of patient safety.
Article Around MHS
Jan 25, 2023
American soldiers from the 1st Area Medical Laboratory were hosted by their counterparts at the Australian Defence Force Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute in Brisbane, Australia. Find out what was discussed at this meeting to strengthen critical relationships, save lives, and enable both sides' mission readiness.
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Last Updated: February 08, 2024