Army Health System Command and Control Organizations (FM 4-02.12)

This field manual (FM), "Army Health System Command and Control Organizations," establishes command and control (C2) doctrine for the provision of Army Health System (AHS) support in echelons above brigade (EAB). It discusses all roles of care within the theater. The AHS is the overarching concept of support for providing timely medical support to the tactical commander. This publication is designed for use by medical commanders and their staffs that are involved in the planning and execution of medical operations in the EAB. The AHS is a complex system of interrelated and interdependent systems comprised of ten medical functions. The synchronization of these systems is essential to ensure that all of the capabilities resident in the AHS can be optimally employed to provide a seamless health care continuum from the point of injury or wounding, through the successive roles of essential care within the area of operations (AO) to the continental United States (CONUS)-support base for definitive, rehabilitative, and convalescent care. The medical functions align with medical disciplines and specialty training and the capabilities required to provide state-of-the-art care to Soldiers regardless of where they are physically assigned. These functions include: medical C2, medical treatment (area support), hospitalization, dental services, preventive medicine (PVNTMED) services, combat and operational stress control (COSC), veterinary services, medical evacuation, medical logistics (MEDLOG), and medical laboratory services. The ability of AHS commanders and leaders to coordinate health service support (HSS) and force health protection (FHP) requirements and to synergistically task-organize and augment lower roles with medical specialties and medical materiel, when required, maximizes the utilization of scarce medical resources, enhances patient care capabilities, and ensures the AHS is responsive to the tactical commander's concept of operations.