High Quality Medical Care a Top DOD Readiness Priority

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's top priority is caring for service members and their families.

The Defense Department takes caring for people very seriously, said Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, who spoke today at the Association of the United States Army.

Taking care of people is also an important part of ensuring the medical readiness of the force, he said.

Martinez-Lopez outlined how DOD is taking care of its people.

In some austere locations, there's often a shortage of health care personnel and facilities. Martinez-Lopez said the department is trying to fill these gaps in care by hiring more civilian providers, using telemedicine and hoping to use circuit-rider doctors to visit these places regularly.

More than 100,000 people are working in the Defense Health Agency worldwide, he said, noting that more are needed, and the salary has to be competitive to what is being paid in civilian hospitals and facilities.

DHA is responsible for treating casualties, as well as training medical providers at military treatment facilities and large medical centers. Delivery of care to these many places must be seamless and systematic, he said.

"All parts of a system have to be ready to do their part to make sure your care is there," the doctor said.

Martinez-Lopez turned to the battlefields of Ukraine, mentioning that Ukrainian medical providers are receiving U.S. training outside of Ukraine that advises them of the best way to take care of their casualties.

In turn, the Ukrainian medical providers are sharing lessons learned with the U.S. medical community, which may someday need to apply them to a major combatant, he said.

In such a future scenario where the U.S. might not have air superiority, evacuating the wounded would likely take longer than for more recent conflicts, he said. Additionally, troops could be widely dispersed on the battlefield, making logistics difficult for the distribution of available blood, drugs, equipment and personnel, he said.

Investments in science and technology could help close this delivery gap, he said.

"We're working hard. The goal is to not disappoint. … As I go around, the people we have, they're great. They're great people. They're committed," he said, adding that it gives him hope that they'll "be able to not only succeed but excel in this enterprise."