JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
An Army Capability Manager-Army Health System team from Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston provided their expertise from Feb. 6-12 during Arctic Warrior 21 at Fort Greely, Alaska, to assess the Army Health System, resolve Arctic warfare gaps, enhance readiness and inform modernization.
Arctic Warrior 2021, or AW21, is a cold-weather training event that incorporates airborne operations, situational training exercises, and live-fire exercises at the Donnelly Training Area near Fort Greely, Alaska, and the Richardson Training Area near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
The exercise validates winter field training in an arctic environment and tests the ability of maneuver units to fight and win against a near-peer threat, despite subfreezing temperatures or extreme cold weather.
The Army Capability Manager-Army Health System, or ACM-AHS, was previously aligned under Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston’s U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, as the TRADOC Capability Manager.
As of Nov. 1, 2020, ACM-AHS was realigned with operational control to the Army Futures Command, but administrative control remains with TRADOC. On Nov. 1, 2021, ACM-AHS will complete the transition to the Futures and Concepts Center, Army Futures Command.
The ACM-AHS team consisted of Col. Joselito Lim, Lt. Col. Cleve Sylvester and Master Sgt. David Edwards.
For Sylvester, it was the team’s first time assessing military operations in an extreme cold weather environment.
“Somehow, I do not think it will be the last – at least not for the ACM-AHS,” Sylvester said. “This was really a great experience as it provided an opportunity for us to integrate with our counterparts, but most importantly the warfighters in the field, and assess how the extreme climate affects operations.”
ACM-AHS is the modernization proponent and the capability developer for all things medical. They serve as the centralized manager for fielded force integrator activities associated with medical commands, brigades, field medical units and the Army Health System.
ACM-AHS coordinates, integrates and synchronizes doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities and policy, or DOTMLPF-P, domain activities in support of the Army Health System as a whole.
“We project that ACM-AHS will remain physically located at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston within the MEDCoE footprint which ensures synchronization of effort,” Sylvester said.
During AW21, the ACM-AHS mission was to support the larger U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, or CAC, study looking at the capabilities of Arctic-capable units in extreme cold weather, snow, high-latitude or high-altitude environment and what is needed to sustain the force in that operational environment.
Sylvester said their assessments largely focused on the operational missions of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division (1/25 SBCT) and the 4th Brigade 25th Infantry Division (4/25 IBCT).
Primary assessment focus areas included medical equipment, medical supplies, evacuation equipment, communications and procedures, capability and execution of Tactical Combat Casualty Care in extreme cold weather.
“We were able to augment the efforts of the USARAK (U.S. Army In Alaska) Surgeon’s office personnel by doing the field assessments while they focused on COVID-19 testing and managing the real-world cold-weather injuries,” Sylvester said. “The true impact of ACM-AHS, as well as that of other Centers of Excellence on AW21 will be evident in the near future as assessment findings are refined and coordinated with different agencies to look at trends and solutions.”
This year’s Arctic Warrior had the added challenge of ensuring adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures to include a 14-day quarantine before the exercise began.
Sylvester said protection from cold weather, however, was less practiced than protecting themselves from COVID has become.
“Without a doubt, the elements posed the biggest challenge – not just for our assessment team but for the assessed units.”
He recalled how the Army-issued extreme cold weather gear proved very useful when used properly.
“The medical aspect of extreme cold weather operations in the Arctic cannot be overlooked,” Sylvester added. “The USARAK commanding general recognizes that as part of his overall safety posture for his formation.
“The team feels like their efforts will make a significant impact on future operations and that the experience was a great opportunity,” Sylvester said. “We appreciate and seize any opportunity to interact with our fellow Soldiers as their representatives for integration and synchronization of the Army Health System across the DOTMLPF-P domains.”
Sylvester also said he expected that ACM-AHS will continue to build on lessons learned during AW21. For future assessments, they will look to assess even more areas, such as hospitalization, laboratory, radiology, and behavioral health care delivery in extreme cold weather conditions.