• The Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy and consists of ground combat forces, service support forces, and aviation forces. Operating forces of the Marine Corps consist of: FMFs, Marine components aboard naval vessels, security forces at shore (field) activities of the naval establishment, special activities, and U.S. Marine Corps combat forces not otherwise assigned.
• The bulk of Marines assigned to the operating forces of the Navy are in the FMFs, and they are an integral part of the U.S. fleets. At the present time there are two such forces: Marine Forces, Atlantic (MARFORLANT) and Marine Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC). MARFORLANT and MARFORPAC are component commands under the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet (USCINCLANT) and Commaner in Chief, Pacific Fleet (USCINCPAC) respectively. They are also designated as FMFLant and FMFPac. One or more Marine expeditionary forces (MEFs) are contained in each FMF. FMFPac contains I MEF and III MEF and FMFLant contains II MEF. Each MEF is composed of a MARDIV, a MAW, and an FSSG.

The Marine Divisions

The MARDIVs consist of the ground combat forces within the Marine Corps. Each MARDIV contains a reconnaissance battalion, a tank battalion, a light armored reconnaissance battalion (LAR), an assault amphibious battalion (MV), a combat engineer battalion, a headquarters battalion, an artillery regiment, and the infantry regiments. Each regiment is further divided into a headquarters company and the infantry or artillery battalions. An infantry regiment, reinforced with Reconnaissance (RECON), tank, LAR, MV, engineer, and artillery personnel and equipment, is the major element of close combat power for the Marine Corps with the reinforced infantry battalion as the basic tactical unit of ground combat power.

The Marine Aircraft Wings (MAW)

The MAWs work in conjunction with a MARDIV and provide offensive air support, antiair warfare, assault support, air reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and control of aircraft and missiles. Each MAW is a balanced force which is employed in support of a MARDIV during amphibious assaults and land campaigns. Each MAW contains three types of groups: Marine wing support group (MWSG), Marine air control group (MACG) and Marine air groups (MAGs).

The MWSG is tasked with providing aviation specific ground support to the aviation combat element (ACE) assigned to a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The MACG provides air traffic control, communications, and anti-aircraft defense for the MAGTF. The MAGs are organized into fixed wing and rotary wing types and contain all of the aircraft squadrons within the MAWs.

Force Service Support Groups (FSSG)

The FSSGs are permanently structured combat service support (CSS) organizations that provide CSS to the air and ground combat elements of the MAGTFs. The FSSGs establish beach support areas, landing zone support areas, and combat service support areas as required by the level of operations of the MAGTFs. They provide maintenance, supply, transportation, health services, and engineering support to the air and ground combat elements when their needs exceed their own organic capabilities. They also provide postal, disbursing, security support, enemy prisoner of war management, information systems, exchange services, legal services support, civil affairs support, and graves registration services within the MAGTFs.

Fleet Marine Force Missions

• To serve as integral elements of the fleets in seizure and defense of advanced naval bases and in conduct of such land operations as may be essential to prosecution of a naval campaign.
• To develop, as directed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), those phases of amphibious operations which pertain to tactics, techniques, and equipment employed by expeditionary troops.
• To train and equip Marine forces for airborne operations as directed by CMC.
• To train a maximum number of personnel to meet requirements of expansion in time of war.
• To perform such other duties as may be directed.

Marine Air Ground Task Forces (MAGTF)

For combat operations, the FMFs are organized into MAGTFs. MAGTFs are multipurpose expeditionary combined armed forces that are rapidly deployable by amphibious assault shipping, strategic airlift, and Military Sealift Command ships. Each MAGTF consists of a command element (CE) with subordinate ground combat element (GCE), aviation combat element (ACE), and combat service support element (CSSE). The command element provides a single headquarters for command, control, and coordination of the other elements of the MAGTF. The ground combat element can range in size from a single reinforced infantry battalion to one or more divisions. The aviation combat element can range in size from a reinforced helicopter squadron to one or more aircraft wings. The combat service support element is tailored to meet the needs of the specific MAGTF depending on its size and mission.

A MEU is the smallest standing MAGTF, and it consists of a command element, a reinforced infantry battalion, a reinforced helicopter squadron that may also contain Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing (V/STOL) aircraft, and a MEU service support group (MSSG). In total, a MEU will have between 1,800 to 4,000 Marine and Navy personnel that embark on four Navy amphibious ships. Their mission is to provide an immediate reaction capability for operations of relatively short duration.

Special Purpose MAGTF (SPMAGTF)

A SPMAGTF is a non-standing MAGTF temporarily formed to conduct a specific mission. It is normally formed when a standing MAGTF is inappropriate or unavailable. SPMAGTF may be of any size, but normally it is the size of a MEU (or smaller) with narrowly focused capabilities chosen to accomplish a particular mission. It may be task organized deliberately from the assets of a standing MEF, or may be formed on a contingency basis from an already deployed MAGTF to perform an independent, rapid-response mission of limited scope and duration. By definition, SPMAGTFs include all four of the basic elements of a MAGTF. SPMAGTFs are generally employed in the same manner as a MEU. However, under certain circumstances they may be deployed via commercial shipping or aircraft, strategic airlift, or organic Marine aviation.

Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEF)

A MEF is the largest and most powerful of the MAGTFs and normally consists of a command element, a MARDIV, a MAW, and a FSSG, but it may be larger or smaller depending on the mission to be accomplished. A MEF can have more than 50,000 Marine and Navy personnel. A MEF can be task organized for a wide variety of combat missions, including amphibious assaults in any geographic environment and sustained operations ashore.

Medical Organizations of the Fleet Marine Force

The general mission of the medical and dental support units within the FMF is to conserve the combat power by providing first aid, emergency surgery, collection, transportation, triage, evacuation, and temporary hospitalization for casualties, and to provide the technical supervision to prevent or control disease. Each unit and organization within the FMF has a limited organic capability (level 1) to accomplish these tasks. The medical battalion, dental battalion and the health services support unit within the FSSG are the major sources of medical support (level 2) and the only source of dental support. Salient medical assets of the FMF include:

• Medical personnel assigned to all combat and combat support organizations of the FMF.
• CSS organizations have medical personnel assigned following the mission of the MAGTF they support.
• The medical battalion of the FSSG provides level 2 medical support to the aviation and ground combat elements.
• The medical logistics company, supply battalion, FSSG provides medical material support for all combat, combat support, and CSS elements above the battalion or squadron level.

General FMF Medical Principles

With increased force mobility, the medical support units must also be highly mobile to provide support in an effective and timely manner. They must have the ability to establish, displace, and relocate rapidly and therefore must be an integral part of their FMF units. Other general medical principles include:

• Commanders at all levels must provide adequate and proper medical care for their personnel.
• Medical services must be continuous from the time of onset of disease or injury until definitive treatment is received.
• A patient is moved to the rear only to the point where the required medical care is received and then returned back to duty.
• Triage of casualties is performed at all medical facilities in the chain of evacuation.
• Medical and surgical capabilities become more sophisticated and capable as casualties are evacuated further toward the rear.
• Medical units must be capable of being dispersed to render maximum service to the greatest number.
• The capabilities of nonmedical personnel for first aid are maximized through training that teaches simple techniques based on improvisation with material locally available in the combat zone.

Medical Support of the Marine Division

The medical section of the division staff consists of the division surgeon, medical administrative officer, environmental health officer, division psychiatrist, and enlisted personnel assistants. The division surgeon is a special staff officer to the division commander. The specific responsibilities of the division surgeon include:

• Exercising staff supervision of medical activities throughout the command, including routine health care, first aid, environmental sanitation, and other preventive medicine activities affecting the health of the command.
• Ensuring that medical supplies and equipment are properly stored, issued, maintained, and available to all organic medical facilities of the division.
• Ensuring that first aid supplies are available for troop use.
• Planning and supervising the system of medical treatment and casualty evacuation.
• Advising the division commander and staff on the potential effects of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons on personnel, equipment, water, and food.
• Prescribing treatment procedures and ensuring that facility for treatment of NBC casualties are available.
• Evaluating food and water after exposure to chemical or biological agents or other contaminants, to determine suitability for consumption.
• Examining and processing captured medical equipment and supplies.
• Providing technical supervision of all health care related training to both medical and nonmedical personnel within the division.

Medical Support of the Infantry Regiment

The regimental medical section consists of the regimental surgeon and seven hospital corpsmen. The regimental surgeon is the special staff officer who represents the regimental commander in all matters concerning health services within the regiment. The regimental surgeon is responsible to both the regimental commander. The regimental medical section is also tasked with providing medical support to regimental headquarters personnel. Regimental medical personnel can establish a regimental aid station (RAS) to provide this service or they may augment a battalion aid station (BAS) in close proximity to the regimental headquarters to form a combined facility.

The infantry battalions have organic medical assets consisting of a battalion surgeon, an assistant battalion surgeon, and approximately 65 hospital corpsmen. The hospital corpsmen are either assigned to the BAS or as an integral part of a weapons or rifle company. The assistant battalion surgeon, a GMO, directs the operation of the BAS and performs other duties as assigned by the battalion surgeon. The assistant battalion surgeon billet is usually only filled during war time. The battalion surgeon, also a GMO, is a special staff officer to the battalion commander and advises on all matters pertaining to the health of the battalion. The battalion surgeon is also responsible for:

• Organizing the battalion medical section and assigning medical personnel to appropriate duties.
• Preparing the health services annex to the battalion's operational plan.
• Supervising and assisting in the collection, care, treatment, and evacuation of the sick and wounded.
• Ensuring that medical supplies and equipment are properly managed, and that a responsive resupply system is planned and tested to ensure adequate supply levels in garrison and in combat.
• Recommending appropriate sites for battalion medical installations.
• Maintaining appropriate records and preparing reports.
• Conducting medical and sanitation inspections and advising the battalion commander of the medical situation.
• Training medical department personnel in subjects relating to health services support.
• Supervising instruction for nonmedical personnel in personal hygiene, preventive medicine, field sanitation, extraction of casualties from vehicles, litter bearing, and first aid and buddy aid.
• Developing plans and procedures for handling contaminated casualties.
• Developing medical standard operating procedures consistent with unit and higher guidance.

Battalion Aid Station (BAS)

When fully manned with medical personnel, each battalion is capable of establishing two battalion aid stations, one headed by the battalion surgeon and one headed by the assistant battalion surgeon. The BAS provides direct support to the corpsmen assigned to the companies within the battalion and provides an advanced level of care in the overall effort to sustain the combat force. The BAS is designed to provide advanced trauma life support under fire and is the lowest level in the medical evacuation chain where this service is available. The BAS is structured to operate as far forward as the tactical situation permits. The functions of the BAS are:

• Conduct triage.
• Treat casualties to minimize mortality, prevent further injury, and stabilize for further evacuation.
• Record all casualties received and treated, and report them to the appropriate unit section for preparation of casualty reports.
• Provide temporary shelter in conjunction with emergency treatment.
• Return patients to duty when possible.
• Transfer evacuees from the aid station to ambulance, helicopter, or other evacuation transportation.
• Initiate treatment of combat stress casualties.
• Provide routine sick call for battalion personnel.
• Maintain health records of battalion personnel.
• Provide personnel replacement and medical resupply (replenishment) for company medical platoons.

Litter Bearers

Litter bearers are Marines assigned by the battalion or regimental commander to perform casualty collection and evacuation within their units. They perform this function under the supervision of the battalion surgeon. Litter bearers must be designated well in advance of an operation so that proper training in the handling of patients can be done. Medical section personnel should not be designated as litter bearers because their skills are needed for the actual treatment of the sick and injured.

The FSSG contains elements to provide both internal medical support for the FSSG and external support for other elements of the MAGTF. Internal support is coordinated by the group surgeon, a special staff officer, who advises the FSSG commander on matters related to the health of the command and supervises the operation of the group aid station (GAS). In all other respects, the duties of the group surgeon parallel those of the division surgeon. The GAS is responsible for providing health services to the FSSG and is another area within the FMF for the employment of GMOs. External medical support is coordinated by the health services support unit (HSSU) of the FSSG and is supervised by the health services support officer.

The HSSU is tasked with coordinating the requirements for medical and dental support as well as medical and dental supply support to the MAGTFs and units external to the FSSG.

Medical Battalion of the FSSG

The medical battalion of the FSSG consists of a headquarters and service company for command and control, three surgical companies, each with sixty beds and three operating rooms, and eight Shock Trauma Platoons (STP) that provide mass casualty support and medical support augmentation to the level 1 medical units. The STP’s have a Collecting and Evacuation Section and a Stabilization Section with a Table of Organization (T/O) of twenty-five medical personnel per STP. The medical battalion provides surgical resuscitative support to the MAGTFs and is the primary source of medical support above the aid station level. The tasks of the medical battalion include:

• Provide health care through the 2nd level of medical care, to include initial resuscitative care, resuscitative surgery, and temporary hospitalization of casualties to the MEF.
• Provide medical regulating services for the MEF and smaller MAGTFs.
• Evaluate, recommend, and apply preventive medicine measures for the prevention and control of disease.
• Assist in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of medical intelligence.
• Provide the medical care at casualty decontamination and treatment stations.
• Provide casualty evacuation support to forward medical elements and coordinate casualty evacuation rearward to appropriate levels of medical care.
• Assist in the identification of human remains and preparation of death certificates, as required, in support of the Graves Registration Program.
• Provide medical support for the management of mass casualties and combat stress casualties.

Medical Support of the Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW)

Medical personnel of the wing staff include the wing medical officer, medical administrative officer, environmental health officer, industrial hygienist, and enlisted assistants. The wing medical officer is a special staff officer working under the cognizance of the wing chief of staff and is the advisor to the wing commander on matters related to the health of the command. Specific responsibilities include:

• Supervision of wing medical training of both medical and nonmedical personnel.
• Development of command medical policies.
• Exercising staff supervision of medical activities throughout the command, including routine sick call, medical treatment, flight physical examinations, food service sanitation, environmental sanitation, and other preventive medicine activities affecting the health of the command .
• Ensuring that medical supplies and equipment are properly stored, issued, maintained, and available to all organic health service support elements of the wing.
• Ensuring that first aid supplies are available for troop use.
• Planning and supervising the system of medical treatment and casualty evacuation.
• Advising the wing commander and staff on the potential effects of NBC weapons on personnel, equipment, water, and food.
• Prescribing treatment procedures and ensuring that facilities for treatment of contaminated casualties are available.
• Evaluating food and water after exposure to chemical or biological agents or other contaminants to determine suitability for consumption. In addition to the medical section of the wing special staff, each MAW contains a number of other medical personnel. The MAGs have a medical section consisting of a flight surgeon and enlisted assistants who are responsible for carrying out the wing medical officer's policies within the MAGs. The Table of Organization of each flying squadron also contains a flight surgeon and usually three hospital corpsmen. In addition to the flight surgeon billets, the MAWs also have billets for GMOs. The GMOs provide direct support to the Marine Wing Support Squadrons (MWSSs) and the Marine Air Control Groups (MACGs) within the MAWs.

MAGTF Command Element Surgeons

The MAGTF commander is responsible for the overall health of the MAGTF. A medical officer is assigned as the CE surgeon and is a special staff officer within the CE headquarters (either MEF, SPMAGTF, or MEU). This position poses unique challenges to the CE surgeon. Although often called on for primary clinical care of patients, the thrust of the job is as a special staff officer; in fact, the Table of Organization (T/O) for a MEF assigns a second GMO during wartime to the CE headquarters company to man the aid station and manage primary care. The primary responsibilities of the CE surgeon are (1) planning and (2) coordination of health services as a logistical commodity both afloat and ashore. Planning demands early integration of medical plans into the commanders' operational plans through constant interaction with the other principal staff section heads. This job is continuous and interactive, as planning attempts to keep up with and anticipate changes occurring at the strategic, operational and tactical levels. Coordination involves maintaining direct, ongoing liaison with the senior medical representatives of the ACE, GCE and CSSE. The goals are (1) to ensure timely exchange of information and (2) to ensure that subordinate command medical plans, designed to support the narrower mission goals of the subordinate commanders, are also adequate to support the broader concept of operations of the MAGTF commander. The terminal goal is a smooth transition of health services from the strategic down to the tactical levels, with delivery of the right services at the right time to the individual Marine or Sailor.

Amphibious Ships

The Navy's amphibious forces are tasked with moving troops, equipment, and supplies across the sea and from sea to shore to secure a desired objective. Naval ship designations have given the letter L (landing) to all vessels of the amphibious forces. The general purpose amphibious assault ship (LHA), and the multipurpose amphibious assault ship (LHD) are the largest ships in the amphibious forces and generally form the nucleus of an amphibious task force used in the deployment of a MAGTF.

Since the LHA and LHD are intended to support as well as deploy their embarked MAGTFs, the medical spaces are designated specifically to receive and treat large numbers of casualties. The ship's GMO is augmented by a fleet surgical team or a mobile medical augmentation readiness team MMART to perform this mission. The ship's medical department is also responsible for providing all medical care and supplies for treatment of MAGTF personnel while embarked aboard the ship. MAGTF medical personnel remain under the control of their commanders but they should augment the ship's medical department to the extent possible while aboard the ship when it does not interfere with planning and preparation for movement ashore in support of combat operations or exercises. Medical supplies organic to the MAGTF are reserved for operations ashore and should only be used aboard ship in the event of an emergency. Permission of the MAGTF commander should be obtained before their use.

References

1. Health Services Support Operations, U.S. Marine Corps, MCWP 4-11.1 (http://www.doctrine.quantico.usmc.mil)
2. U.S. Naval Flight Surgeon's Manual (Distributed by the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute.)
3. Organization of the Marine Corps Forces, U.S. Marine Corps, MCRP 5-12D (http://www.doctrine.quantico.usmc.mil).

Revised by LCDR Alonso, MC, USN, First Marine Division (REIN), FMF, Camp Pendleton, CA. and LT Mark L. Ramsey, MSC, USN, Health Service Support Doctrine Officer, Logistics Branch, Doctrine Division, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, VA (1999).