text: Chapter 4
  Army Health System Operations
  Army Health System support is provided across the competition continuum and
  various types of mission support (traditional support to a deployed force, operations
  predominantly characterized by stability tasks, and defense support of civil authorities)
  may be provided simultaneously in various locations throughout the operational area.
  SECTION I — PLANNING FOR ARMY HEALTH SYSTEM SUPPORT
  4-1. Army Health System planners must anticipate the types of support that may be required and develop
  flexible plans that can be rapidly adjusted to changes in the level of violence and operational tempo, as well
  as to transition from one type of task to the next.
  UNIFIED LAND OPERATIONS
  4-2. Unified land operations describe the character of the dominant major operation being conducted at any
  time within the land force commander’s AO. The competition continuum helps convey the nature of the
  major operation to the force to facilitate common understanding of how the commander broadly intends to
  operate. See ADP 3-0 on unified land operations for an in-depth discussion of the competition continuum.
  Further, refer to AHS doctrine for medical planning considerations.
  4-3. Unified land operations are executed through decisive action by means of Army core competencies
  that are guided by mission command. The Army’s core competencies are combined arms maneuver and wide
  area security (ADP 1) with a number of enabling competencies. These enabling competencies include
  security cooperation, tailoring forces, entry operations, flexible command and control, the support we provide
  to the joint force.
  4-4. As all major operations are joint in nature, the competition continuum can be used to group similar
  types of activities under a predominant theme. Unified land operations are simultaneous offensive, defensive,
  and stability or defense support of civil authorities’ tasks to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative to shape
  OEs, prevent conflict, consolidate gains, and win our Nation’s wars as part of unified action (ADP 3-0).
  OPERATIONAL VARIABLES
  4-5. As the OE is comprised of all of the factors, both military and civilian, that affect the conduct of
  military operations in an operational area, the medical commander must define how the different elements
  will impact on the concept of operations. The operational variables are a means for exploring and describing
  an OE that focuses on the human aspects of the environment. Commanders and planners can use political,
  military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical environment, and time (operational
  variables) to ensure all elements are considered. The operational variables are used by strategic planners in
  the development of plans and information may be broader than required for mission analysis at the tactical
  level, however, as medical issues often have a regional focus and may be the result of environmental,
  socioeconomic, political, and religious practices, it is essential for the AHS planner to consider the medical
  aspects of an operation on a much broader scale than the immediate AO. As the theater medical command,
  the MEDCOM (DS) provides this regional focus in support of the CCDRs theater engagement strategy. For
  a detailed discussion of each of the political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical
  environment, time (operational variables) considerations, refer to ADP 5-0.