Support Operations: Lessons Learned in a Multifunctional Medical Battalion

摘要

As part of the greater transformation effort conducted by the Army in the last decade, the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) created a new unit called the multifunctional medical battalion (MMB), which includes a support operations (SPO) section. We think that the MMB's SPO organization is a poorly understood and often underused staff section. A literature review has found only two articles that discuss the MMB SPO section. Neither article is dedicated to this new staff section; they only briefly mention the SPO section and its capabilities. In this article, we will attempt to explain the roles and functions of the new MMB SPO sectior and discuss the lessons we learned while leading a SPO section in garrison and during a deployment.