text: Chapter 2
  SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
  2-160. It is essential to the morale and effectiveness of our Soldiers and their units that Soldiers recognize
  and believe they will receive the best and most effective medical care possible should they be wounded or
  injured. The AHS must ensure that it can provide responsive medical care to our injured or wounded Soldiers
  regardless of their physical location. Our Soldiers must also be confident that their Family members will
  receive the highest quality, responsive, and compassionate care at their home station while they are deployed.
  This confidence in the ability of the AHS to care for both the Soldier and the Soldier’s Family is instrumental
  in reducing and mitigating some of the combat and operational stresses associated with lengthy deployments.
  SECTION IV — ARMY HEALTH SYSTEM TEAM OF TEAMS
  2-161. The AHS is a system of systems which is comprised of 10 medical functions. The AHS team is
  composed of a myriad of professional medical, scientific, research, operational, and administrative teams
  dedicated to the single purpose of providing the best medical care and treatment to our Nation’s Soldiers,
  Sailors, Marines, Airmen and their Families, deployed DOD civilian employees and defense contractors, and
  to other eligible beneficiaries in their time of need. To achieve this aim, the AHS team must be ready,
  reliable, responsive, and relevant (Figure 2-13).
  Figure 2-13. Army Health System—a team of teams
  Ready
  2-162. The AHS views readiness from two perspectives: medical personnel (ready medical force) and the
  operational Army (medically-ready force).
  Medical Personnel
  2-163. Medical personnel contribute to the success of military operations by applying medical skills and
  knowledge to problems on the battlefield. Medical personnel undergo institutional and organizational
  training to ensure they gain appropriate initial qualifications and maintain currency in their discipline.
  Ongoing training is essential to avoid skill and knowledge fade, and ensures practitioners adapt to evolving
  clinical practice guidelines, and advances in technology and treatment protocols. The training continuum
  comprises initial training in a specialty, sustainment training (including medical continuing education
  requirements), refresher training and pre-deployment training. AHS units (both in the institutional force and
  the operational Army) participate in realistic and rigorous training focused on reinforcing Soldier skills in
  the field and exercising the entire scope of battlefield medicine from point-of-injury, through the roles of