An exploratory analysis of cost effectiveness and feasibility of developing a Combat Medic Military Occupational Specialization within the United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is undergoing sweeping changes to confront the institution’s principal challenges, primarily due to appropriation divestiture cuts and the emergence of new global threats. The USMC Force Design 2030 policy seeks to modernize organizational culture within the Corps, divest in outdated warfare equipment, upgrade its technological inventory, and improve the quality of its human capital. The objective is to move towards becoming a light and lethal war organization, with a broader range of force options and capabilities to ultimately create the virtues of mass without the vulnerabilities of being cumbersome (Williams 2020).

As currently constructed, USMC doctrine relies heavily upon expeditionary maneuver warfare, large-scale amphibious forcible entry, and sustained operations ashore (Augier & Barrett, 2020). This concept of operations presents healthcare delivery challenges due to the distances combatants travel from staged facilities with capabilities to lower Marine combat mortality. To overcome such obstacles, the U.S. Navy (USN) and USMC have developed highly mobile medical teams capable of bringing advanced medical and surgical care to the forward areas of the battlefield. Fleet Marine Force (FMF) U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman (HM) assigned to USMC battalions are purchased manpower commodities that deliver emergency medical intervention at the point of attack. Fleet Marine Force (FMF) HMs are front-line lifesavers and care extenders for Marine Infantryman and women. A highly accomplished and decorated enlisted rating within the U.S. Navy, FMF HMs attend an 8-week course, a mixture of classroom and field training, and field medicine using the principles of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) (Kotwal et al., 2013). Despite the clinical and didactic education HMs are given to prepare for assignment with the operational forces, they are not trained Riflemen, nor are they permanently assigned to USMC billets throughout their Navy career.

With force restructuring taking place, is the status-quo medical support arrangement ideal for the USMC, or would the organization benefit from organically establishing and managing its own enlisted Combat Medic inventory?

3. Research questions: Describe the main question or problem you will address, and any secondary or sub-questions you may look into. Justify why this is an important topic to study.

• What is the feasibility of developing an enlisted combat medic Primary Military Occupational Specialization (PMOS) within the USMC?

• What would be the cost consideration in creating a combat medic PMOS expansion?

• Are HMs currently delivering quality healthcare to USMC beneficiaries?