Military medical units that deploy to areas of contingency operations would benefit if they had a better idea about the levels of care they should provide to deployed Defense Department civilians, according to a Feb. 10 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report also suggested that Army health officials update doctrine and organization of medical units with better information about doctrine and organization of medical units, specifically addressing their size, composition, and use. The GAO review was spurred by concerns that military medical units are feeling the strain of prolonged deployments, which typically begin before main units arrive and end after those units return home. During its review, GAO learned that military medical staffs overseas expressed uncertainty about the protocol for treating DoD civilians, who often face the same dangers and hardships as their uniformed comrades.
