History of the Department of Deployment Health  

A October 2003 CBS News story outlined Reserve and National Guard Service Members complaints regarding their medical care at Ft Stewart, GA, and caused the Army and the Army Medical Department to reevaluate the process of providing such care to mobilized Reserve and National Guard Service Members.

Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC), provider of medical support for the Fort Bragg Power Projection platform, took an aggressive stance which was to identify and align the appropriate medical and administrative resources needed to provide optimum care possible in a rapid deployment environment.

Thus, the Department of Deployment Health (DODH) was created to achieve the following operational goals:

1. Rapid identification and evaluation of medical concerns with determination of medical fitness.

2. Provision of appropriate, timely treatment of pre-and post-deployment medical conditions.

3. Improve the provision of care and the documentation of medical issues for service members involved in the Physical Disability Evaluation (MEB/PEB) process.

DODH is comprised of 5 organizational elements:

1. Soldier Readiness Center - performs annual Soldier readiness processing, Pre-Deployment & Post-Deployment medical readiness processing as well as Post Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA).   All activated units are processed through the Soldier Readiness Center (SRC) within one week of arrival at Fort Bragg.  

2. Medical One Stop - performs active component medical readiness In- and Out-processing for Ft Bragg, also walk-in PDHRA services are available on a daily basis for those Soldiers who are 90 -180 days back from deployment to a combat area.

3. Physical Exams - provides medical screening and documentation for AC, RC, and ROTC in preparation for transition to: Military Training Schools, Incarceration, End of term of service (ETS) Physicals, and Retirement Physicals.

4. Medical Management Center  - Provides a well coordinated care experience for Active Duty soldiers that are classified as Medically Not Ready (MNR).

5. Integrated Disability Evaluation System - provides medical screening and consolidation of medical documentation for AC and RC forces in preparation of medical disability determination hearings.