Page 133 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Summer 2015
P. 133
An Ongoing Series
A Case Study of MEDCANGRO
Relative to RAND Conceptual Framework*
Alvin Scott, MSC, MPA, CEM; Richard Hogan, IDMT, BHS, EMT-P
Our biggest problem isn’t caves; it’s credibility. Our messages lack credibility because we haven’t
invested enough in building trust and relationships, and we haven’t always delivered on promises.
—Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
ABSTRACT
The 2010 Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction Introduction
6000.16, Military Health Support for Stability Opera- In 2009, the Air Force Special Operations Command
tions, established medical stability operations as a core (AFSOC) Surgeon commissioned a study by RAND Cor-
military mission. National military leaders appreciated poration, Project AIR FORCE (PAF), to evaluate the new
that to better manage risks for US military personnel concept of a dynamic approach to building partner ca-
operating in far forward locations, reduce cost and foot- pacity in the healthcare arena. The final technical report
print requirements for operations, and aid partner na- was published in 2012, titled “Building Partner Health
tions with providing service to relevant populations in Capacity with US Military Forces: Enhancing AFSOC
underserviced/undergoverned the US military would need Health Engagement Missions,” and is available at RAND
to be employed strategically in efforts to build partner (http://www.rand.org). The report is exceptional in its
nation medical capacity. Medical Stability Operations precise documentation of the guidance that directs; ex-
has evolved into Global Health Engagement in the lexi- plication of the global need and identification of justifica-
con of planners but the goal is still the same. This article tion rooted in US national security objectives for medical
used a technical report authored by the RAND Corpo- capacity building in partner nations by US military forces.
ration as the basis of a case study of a Special Opera- The RAND report is insightful for medical and nonmedi-
tions Command Africa (SOCAF) Mission to the country cal planners and all others who are part of the program-
of Niger to build a casualty evacuation capability. The ming of missions to build capacity in partner nations.
case study evaluates the utility of a hypothetical frame-
work developed by the RAND researchers relative to the The RAND report concludes by offering a framework
actual events and outcomes of an actual mission. The for conducting BPC-H missions. Our intent is to overlay
principal finding is that the RAND technical report is of practical application to the proposed framework and
value to planners, Operators, and trainers as a system- provide a case study of a recent example of a BPC-H
atic approach to successful building partner capacity in mission. The RAND framework was a result of the les-
health (BPC-H) missions. The article also offers several sons learned from the study’s research and interviews
examples of metrics that aid leadership in making better with other organizations, which provide a similar ca-
decisions as to when corrective actions might be required.
pacity-building capability in the international market.
The framework was to provide a theoretical road map
Keywords: building partner capacity in health (BPC-H); to success based on the concept that medical personnel
global health engagement (GHE); international health mis- must go beyond merely taking care of the health of US
sion; medical stability operations (MSO)
*Please see the related article, “MEDCAN–GRO: Medical Capacity for African Nations–Growing Regional Operability: A Case
Study in Special Operations Forces Capacity Building,” by Melissa L. Givens, MD, MPH, and April Verlo, MSPH, REHS/RS,
in the Spring 2015 issue of the JSOM.
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