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Joint Force Quarterly

Abstract

In 1945, the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps invaded Okinawa. Heavy casualties were projected, and medical planning was thorough and multi-layered. Medical support was as joint as anything the period could offer, although quite different from today. In a dispersed, low-bandwidth environment, planners did not try to increase "jointness" but had services work in parallel and opted to reduce overlap.

This article looks at the medical planning and how medical support unfolded. Medical care was good, as good as possible in the period. Medical and surgical patients received plenty of care, but psychological patients could receive less care, although many could have returned to duty. However, shortages of hospitals in which patients could recuperate reduced the number of patients who returned to duty.

With dispersed low-bandwidth operations possible in the future, we may have to consider how to organize joint operations. Moreover, with long-range fires presenting challenges to evacuation and reinforcement, we need to remember that casualties are also a source of combat power, and consider the force structure needed to return them to duty.

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