MEDICAL READINESS AND SUPPORT REPORT

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USAFE MEDICAL SERVICE SUPPORT TO OPERATION DESERT STORM/PROVEN FORCE

INTRODUCTION

	With over 500,000 US personnel in the Persian Gulf region and a
developing medical care system in CENTCOM, the National Command
Authority had to ensure the availability of adequate resources to
support the medical needs of patients evacuated from the theater of
operations. HQ EUCOM was tasked with this responsibility and
determined that the major share of this support would come from USAFE.
The Air Force medical team in Europe signed up to the challenge; the
results are presented in the following summary.


PERSPECTIVES

	The reality of war looming on the horizon brought home the
realization that what had been only a remote possibility was now
probable. USAFE would transition from primarily a flying mission to a
supporting command. General Oaks, CINCUSAFE, stated on a number of
occasions that USAFE's number one mission in support of Operation
DESERT STORM (DS) was medical.

WARTIME MEDICAL CONCEPT

	Prior to Operation DESERT STORM/PROVEN FORCE (DS/PF), the USAFE
Combat Casualty Care System was developed for a European general war
scenario which assumed that US airfields would be attacked early.
Limited by space and manpower, peacetime medical facilities could
expand only minimally, and would be quickly overwhelmed by casualties.
USAFE therefore needed standby, off base medical facilities which
could be activated on short notice. This requirement led to the
development of "turnkey" contingency hospitals which have full
medical and surgical capability with associated support materiel
inplace and ready to use. The advantages to this concept are relative
security and minimal activation time. Since development began in
1982, USAFE has established 5,750 contingency hospital beds.

	USAFE medical support for DS/PF was an amalgamation of the
wartime concept described above and the peacetime system which
remained ongoing throughout the Gulf conflict. Concepts and
procedures wore modified or newly developed; hospital staffing
patterns were adjusted; and the peacetime medical system expanded to
accommodate the "dual" health care roles.

MEDICAL MISSION OVERVIEW

	During Operation DS/PF, the USEUCOM/SG was tasked to support
CENTCOM with 5,500 beds. Expansion of EUCOM's entire peacetime

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