Summer - United States Special Operations Command

Numerous military and civilian governmental/non-governmentalorganizations are heavily involvedin healthcare engagement activities. The vast majorityof these organizations, to include SOF units, are doingheroic, often unheralded work in demanding and dangerousenvironments in many of the world’s developingnations, trouble spots, and war zones; however, in spiteof these herculean efforts and notwithstanding the bestof intentions, much of this critically important work isbeing conducted without an overarching strategy. As aresult, many organizations conducting well-intendedhealthcare engagement missions habitually fail to adequatelycoordinate and integrate their efforts. Predictably,this lack of an overarching strategy and failureto coordinate/integrate activities further cascades into aloss of unity of effort and potential synergy, becomescounterproductive, and may, in fact, ultimately underminethe desired effect of the healthcare engagementmission. In response, AFSOC has created the USAF’sfirst and only IW/Healthcare Engagement Division.This division (AFSOC/SGK), under the leadership ofLt Col (Dr) Mike Hartzell, a veterinarian with a master’sdegree in Public Health, is staffed by a medicalplanner, international health specialist (IHS), and a seniornon-commissioned officer. The division is chargedwith the following:• Organize, train, and equip (OT&E) AFSOCmedical forces for healthcare engagement insupport of COIN, FID, IW, SSTR, disasterresponse, and humanitarian operations• Develop overarching healthcare engagementstrategy, doctrine, tactics, techniques, andprocedures (TTP)• Plan, coordinate, deconflict, and integratehealthcare engagement activities• Serve as subject matter experts; provide healthcareengagement, COIN, FID, IW, SSTR,disaster response, and humanitarian operations’expertiseIn short, AFSOC’s IW/Healthcare EngagementDivision will significantly increase AFSOC medical supportto COIN, FID, IW, SSTR, disaster response, and humanitarianoperations. Furthermore, the IW/HealthcareEngagement Division will ensure that the AFSOC healthcareengagement is conducted in accordance with a strategicplan designed to create effects that directly supportoverall theater campaign initiatives and theater engagementstrategy.Component Surgeons 89