Reimagining the Army Medical Corps: Five Ideas for Raising Recruitment, Restoring Retention, and Restructuring Requirements

The Army Medical Corps comprises the physicians of the U.S. Army. In recent years, the Medical Corps' rate of recruitment has not been able to keep up with the pace of separations. Retention is down. A larger-than-expected proportion of Army physicians who have fulfilled their active-duty service obligation are separating rather than extending their careers and, possibly, serving until they are eligible for military retirement. This trend results in positions at military treatment facilities and other units being unfilled, compromising the Medical Corps' ability to fulfill its missions, whether in deployed operations or in caring for service members and other beneficiaries at home. In this study, the authors examine alternative strategies for the Army Medical Corps to ensure that it has access to the personnel it needs to support operational requirements. The authors consulted with subject-matter experts and gathered and analyzed data to help identify five courses of action (COAs) that could increase retention, increase accessions, or reduce the requirement for uniformed physicians.