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Running head: The United States
The United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM)
Phillip Parnell Woodard
University of Phoenix
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The United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM)
With the war on terrorism raging, the spotlight justifiably is on the Army’s medics,
evacuation units, surgical teams, and field hospitals in the theater of war. Yet the Army Medical
Department is also a seamless chain of care stretching back to fixed hospitals in Europe and the
United States, where Soldiers receive state-of-the-art care. Field medical units are under the
command of the combat commanders and their movements and work must be coordinated with
those of the fighting forces. The fixed hospitals are commanded by the U.S. Army Medical
Command (MEDCOM). The challenge for Army medicine is (1) how to provide medical
leadership for field units while respecting combat commander’s “ownership” and (2) how to
integrate the work of field and fixed units (The United States Army Medical Command, 2009).
MEDCOM oversees a $10 billion annual budget and international health care organization
staffed by 70,000 dedicated Soldiers, civilians, and contractors. We are experts in medical
research and development, medical logistics, training and doctrine, the critical elements of public
health—health promotion and preventive medicine, dental care, and veterinary care—in addition
to delivering industry-leading health care services to 3.5 million beneficiaries around the world
(The United States Army Medical Command, 2009). For the last 200 years Army Medicine has
advanced the medical knowledge not only of United States forces, but of all mankind, while
reducing human suffering in many lands through humanitarian efforts. None of this could have
been possible without the insight and wisdom of our founding government to rely on highly
trained and dedicated leadership from the Army’s inception and subsequently MEDCOM’s
beginnings.

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Management and Leadership
Webster’s dictionary defines management as judicious use of means to accomplish an end.
The backbone of the Army is the non-commissioned officer (NCO) whose job is to manage the
daily work effort of the MEDCOM in accomplishing its global mission. Although 18% of the
MEDCOM workforce, the NCO plays a critical role in every aspect of the organizational
structure, helping to build a culture founded on these guiding principles: (1) loyalty, (2) duty, (3)
respect, (4) selfless service, (5) honor, (6) integrity, and (7) personal courage. Operating where
“the rubber meets the road”; the NCO or sergeant supervises the enlisted corps of Soldiers within
the organization each day, often without direct officer leadership.
Leadership comes from the commissioned officer corps and the senior executive civilian
corps, both providing executive oversight for the MEDCOM missions either directly (the officer
or executive in charge) and indirectly (project officer). The relationship between leadership and
management is integral to the moral and success of the unit. The commissioned officer has only
a one to two year tour of duty, whereas the senior executive civilian can serve indefinitely. Many
within the civilian workforce are retired members of MEDCOM, or have family ties in some way
(e.g., spouse of an active duty member, or other family member employed at entry-level) in this
way, continuity is remains and the command continues to function despite the changes in
commanders and functional staff.
Management and leadership within MEDCOM are very interchangeable. Both officers and
non- commissioned officers provide leadership and they both manage, although the officers rely
on the NCO’s to handle the supervision of the Soldiers while they attend the staff meeting and
command briefs to receive the orders or the change in mission.

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Maintenance of a Healthy Organizational Culture
The vision of MEDCOM is to serve as America’s premier medical team saving lives and
fostering healthy and resilient people. Army medicine…Army strong! This is accomplished by
the mission:
Promote, Sustain and Enhance Soldier Health
Train, Develop and Equip a Medical Force that Supports Full Spectrum
Operations
Deliver Leading Edge Health Services to Our Warriors and Military
Family To Optimize Outcomes (The United States Army Medical
Command, 2009).
The seven core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and
personal courage are the foundation for maintenance of a healthy organizational culture.
(The United States Army Medical Command, 2009). The mission of the organization is to
conserve the fighting strength, and it is by this mantra MEDCOM focuses every resource to this
end. The global outreach of the professionalism and sacrifice by leadership is evident wherever
the U.S. Army serves, whether in full spectrum operations or peacekeeping efforts.
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Reaching Across Borders
The strategic theme of MEDCOM consists of the following:
Maximize Value in Health Services
Provide Global Operational Forces
Build the Team
Balance Innovation with Standardization
Optimize Communication and Knowledge Management
In Operation Iraqi Freedom, a war characterized by amazingly low fatalities among
American troops, the fate of wounded Soldiers has become a focus of intense interest for the
American people (The United States Army Medical Command, 2009). Military medicine has
been on the cutting edge of innovative practices and inventions that have made tremendous
impact not only in the fighting forces, but also to the health and welfare of populations all over
the world. Soldiers confident in the abilities of their medics to save their lives are not afraid to
put themselves in harm’s way for the defense of our freedoms. Technological advances play an
integral part in the healthcare system and because of this; remain standardized with allied nations
on every continent. MEDCOM is indeed a globally directed entity as evidenced by:
In the Balkans, Army medics treat peacekeepers of many nationalities. They also help
out in civilian hospitals—giving care to those who need it while teaching local
physicians and nurses, often donating badly needed equipment and supplies.

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In Latin America, Army medical teams make periodic visits. The visits are good training
but also offer once-in-a-lifetime access to the miracle of modern care for poor people in
remote villages.
In Saharan Africa, U.S. Army dentists, veterinarians, preventive medicine experts and
ophthalmologists coached local professionals and volunteers on modern medical
methods while treating hundreds of local patients. This was during just one exercise.
Other AMEDD teams have delivered surplus medical gear and coaching to former Iron
Curtain nations striving to modernize health services after decades of stagnation under
Communism.
Army experts are often dispatched overseas to help local officials cope with disease
outbreaks, such as a dengue fever epidemic in El Salvador in 2000.
The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases has helped overseas
and at home to study and contain outbreaks of deadly diseases such as SARS and Ebola
(The United States Army Medical Command, 2009).
Forces agreements are in place to ensure American forces receive the same level of
medicine they have become accustomed. The seamless execution of the medical mission is not
possible without the global reach and impact of the MEDCOM organization and it’s strategies to
create and maintain a healthy organizational culture.
Maintaining a Healthy Organizational Culture
An organization’s culture is its set of shared values and practices related to what is
important and how the world works (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Throughout this paper the seven

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leadership values that shape the culture within the MEDCOM: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless
service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. The corporate mission state “to conserve the
fighting strength” serves to put every member of the command on notice that the single most
important job we have is to train for and save the lives of Soldiers’ who put their lives in harm’s
way. Two of the most important strategies within the MEDCOM for fostering a healthy culture
are the internal environment and the external environment.
The unity of an organization forms the bedrock of its strength and commitment to
employees, customers, and members of the surrounding community. MEDCOM makes use of
the “one-staff” concept. The Army surgeon general’s staff in the Washington, D.C., area and the
commander’s staff at Fort Sam Houston form a single staff for both three-star functions
(MEDCOM, 2009). Although separate entities with variant duties and powers (OTSG explains
the budget to Congress; MEDCOM oversees the spending), this arrangement cuts duplication
and improves communication. This organizational culture is very important in today’s
unpredictable and often volatile global environment. Leadership and management must
responsive and on one accord in order for the seamless projection of medical platforms wherever
they are in the world. I have served as the intelligence officer for the Multi-National Brigade
East surgeon and Task Force Medical Falcon commander, two positions under a single hat. The
management duties inherent for our staff did not change because of the dual role of the staff, but
streamlined operations and communications between ourselves and allies throughout the region.
The medical profession is unique in that the leadership brings to the table highly valuable skill
sets, which required years of education and training to attain. The military recognizes this quality
and encourages the leadership culture not seen in other branches of service. Just as the

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organization stresses continuity of effort, so does the command place a premium on the external
influences of the community in which we live and serve.
The MEDCOM’s home station is south central Texas situated in historical San Antonio on
Fort Sam Houston. This installation boasts the largest concentration of historically preserved
structures of any post in the continental United States. Little wonder this sprawling training and
education base is home to numerous medical and non-medical organizations. The close
relationship between military and civic communities is very unique and a source of pride for
Service Members, family members, and the entire San Antonio metropolitan area. Throughout
each year, the MEDCOM supports the Battle of Flowers parade, Cinco de Mayo celebrations,
and many other national and international festivities. Participating in these events unify the
military can civilian communities into one large family of organizations working together for the
defense of our nation and the celebration of our past. Despite the changes as a result of
September 11th, 2001 the MEDCOM and surrounding San Antonio community continue to
foster a strong commitment to culture and unity as a military friendly city and a first class place
of employment for thousands of locals.
As a global leader, MEDCOM prides itself on a culturally diverse organization that places
a core set of values as its foundation for success and pride. A strategic leader in Washington,
D.C., or a First Sergeant in a training company in San Antonio, MEDCOM is poised to project
responsive, highly trained medical professionals wherever needed in the world. Without the
support of the community, none of this would be possible and the commanders and leadership
understands this more than any other facet of our existence as an organization. Management and
leadership are inseparable and often parallel one another both in scope and duties within the

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United States Army MEDCOM in order to “conserve the fighting strength” well into the 21st
century and beyond.
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References
Bateman, Thomas S., & Snell, Scott A. (2009). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a
Competitive World (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
The United States Army Medical Command. (2009). U.S. Army Medical Department Army
Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/
John Kumle, & Nancy J Kelly. (2006, August). leadership vs.
management. SuperVision, 67(8), 11-13. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from
ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1085946531).
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