a. Battalion and Brigade Level. At battalion (squadron) and brigade (group,
division artillery) level, no preventive medicine personnel, as such, are assigned.
However, the surgeon or physician's assistant can assist the unit commander by
supervising company-level preventive medicine activities and by providing technical
advice.
b. Division Level. When the battalion physician assistant or brigade surgeon
needs assistance in preventive medicine matters, he can obtain specialized help from
the preventive medicine section of the division medical battalion headquarters company.
The section consists of a Medical Corps preventive medicine officer (SSI 60C), a
Medical Service Corps environmental science officer (SSI 68N), an environmental
health specialist NCO (MOS 91S40), and several additional enlisted medical specialists.
c. Echelons Above Division Level. Above division level, medical support in a
theater of operations is provided by a medical group or brigade in the combat zone and
by a medical command in the communications zone (COMMZ). The structure of each
of these organizations is flexible, so as to permit the tailoring of each for the efficient
command and control of the nondivisional medical units in the theater of operations.
Both the medical brigade and the medical command normally include the following
subordinate units, which provide backup preventive medicine services to the division or
to separate units within an established area:
(1) A medical laboratory (TOE 8-650). The medical laboratory augments
the capabilities of other preventive medicine units by performing tests in support of
epidemiological studies.
(2) Veterinary cellular teams (TOE 8-680), which may be found anywhere in
the combat zone or COMMZ, are responsible for much of the preventive medicine
programs connected with zoonotic diseases and foodborne disease controls.
(3) Preventive medicine cellular teams (TOE 8-600 and 8-620). These
teams are referred to as cellular teams because each is organized as a cell, or module,
to perform a specific function. They may operate independently or in any combination
of teams, as the situation dictates, under the control of a headquarters team or attached
to a preventive medicine unit. Each team (except team LE) has a structure similar to
one of the organizational elements of the preventive medicine unit and has a parallel
function. The personnel of this section are technically qualified to train unit field
sanitation teams to identify actual and potential health hazards and to recommend
corrective measures.
Section II. PREVENTIVE MEDICINE ACTIVITIES IN FIXED INSTALLATIONS
3-9.
GENERAL
The basic concept of preventive medicine in fixed installations does not differ
from that in operational areas--that is, the commander is still responsible for the health
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