Supporting Desert Shield: An Analysis of the Response by the United States Army Medical Department Activity, Fort Stewart to Radical Environmental Change
Abstract
On August 2, 1991, Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait. Within a week of the invasion, the United States had begun troop deployments to the region to defend Saudi Arabia from further Iraqi aggression. The operation, code named 'Desert Shield,' would ultimately involve half a million American troops, among them, the 18,000 soldiers of the 24th Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Georgia. This study discusses the deployment of the 24th Division and its impact on the United States Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC) at Fort Stewart. The deployment of the 24th Division marked the first full-scale deployment of a heavy Army division since the Korean War. The MEDDAC's support of that deployment and of subsequent reserve mobilizations and deployments presented many unique situations. A number of these situations are discussed in this study, including: employment of the Professional Officer Filler System (PROFIS), use of backfill physicians, integration of an Army Reserve augmentation hospital, medical support of Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP), conduct of deployability medical evaluations, and the activities of various elements of the MEDDAC staff in support of Operation Desert Shield.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA261920
Entities
People
- John D. Quinlivan
Organizations
- Academy of Health Sciences