text: Army Health System Operations
  Table 4-3. Defensive tasks, purposes, and key medical considerations
  Defensive tasks Purposes Key medical considerations
  Mobile defense Deter or defeat enemy All medical functions fully synchronized.
  offense.
  Area defense Medical information management to document
  Gain time. health threat exposures and medical
  Retrograde
  encounters, to report health surveillance data
  Achieve economy of force.
  and information on the health of the command,
  Retain key terrain. and to accomplish medical regulating and
  Protect the populace, critical patient tracking operations.
  assets, and infrastructure. Emphasis is placed on the rapid acquisition,
  Develop intelligence. stabilization, and evacuation of patients
  generated by units in contact. This enhances
  the mobility of supporting Army Health System
  units and facilitates the commander’s ability to
  exploit opportunities and leverage the
  momentum to mount a counterattack or perform
  other maneuvers.
  Responsive medical logistics which facilitates
  and sustains the treatment of patients during
  the fight.
  Theater hospitalization to provide essential care
  in theater to all categories of patients.
  STABILITY TASKS
  4-24. Stability is an overarching term encompassing various military missions, tasks, and activities
  conducted outside the U.S. in coordination with other instruments of national power to maintain or reestablish
  a safe and secure environment, and provide essential governmental services, emergency infrastructure
  reconstruction, and humanitarian relief.
  4-25. The Army Medicine has historically conducted foreign humanitarian assistance operations when
  deployed in overseas areas. In some scenarios, medical forces may be deployed prior to the deployment of
  maneuver forces due to the humanitarian nature of their activities and medical personnel are more acceptable
  to a host nation than the deployment of the operational Army forces.
  4-26. Although the medical commander can provide the CCDR assistance in planning for the primary
  stability tasks to restore essential services and support to economic and infrastructure development, the
  assistant chief of staff, CA is the responsible staff agency for developing and planning CA operations. This
  ensures that all stability activities conducted are in consonance with the CCDRs theater engagement strategy.
  4-27. The importance of stability tasks in achieving U.S. national goals and objectives is discussed in DODD
  3000.05, ADPs 3-0 and 3-07. Stability task considerations were included in the design of the MEDCOM
  (DS) which has CA officers assigned to the staff. The command maintains a regional focus on medical issues
  arising within the CCDRs AOR.
  4-28. Table 4-4 (on page 4-10) depicts stability tasks, purposes, and key medical considerations for the
  preparation for the conduct of these tasks.