Implementation of the Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) fills an urgent need for a force that is structured to respond rapidly anywhere in the world. It is the authors' opinion that the current medical readiness force structure will not support the AEF concept and must therefore be re-engineered. The research presented is a compilation of multiple sources; a complete review of available published materials concerning the AEF, briefings presented during this academic year from the Air Staff, review of primary source documents with the lead command, Air Combat Command (ACC), and multiple interviews with headquarters staff. Additionally, areas of potential savings are explored and lessons learned from previous deployments are identified and discussed. The current medical force structure is designed to support the deployable medical assets, the Air Transportable Hospital (ATH), the Air Transportable Clinic (ATC), and fixed locations known as contingency hospitals. This paper seeks to use existing literature coupled together with the efforts of the Air Staff and HQ ACC staff to explore possibilities for meeting AEF medical support requirements. Issues and questions are brought out to stimulate additional ideas and challenges the reader to formulate their own plan to address the problems associated with a force structured for rapid deployment with a small footprint. The goal is to explore options and provide input into the development and deployment of medical support for the AEFs.
