The Rise of the Unified Medical Command?:

May 25, 2006

Lawmakers earlier this month questioned service officials on whether mashing together the service medical forces is advisable. The Army said yes, while the Air Force and Navy were hesitant, citing the potential to lose expertise in service-specific care—aeromedical evacuation for USAF and sea-going medics for the Navy. The outgoing Air Force Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. George Peach Taylor Jr., also said that the Air Force would have the hardest time shifting to such an operation because its medical services are decentralized. Notwithstanding those caveats, DOD officials are formulating options for presentation to senior leaders later this year. They say that an implementation plan would surface with the 2008 budget request.

Related Content

House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget

July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs. 

Iranian Ballistic Missile Hit US Air Base in Qatar in June, Pentagon Reveals

July 11, 2025
An Iranian ballistic missile struck Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar during Iran’s attack on the base June 23, the Pentagon told Air & Space Forces Magazine July 11. Defense officials have touted the success of U.S. and Qatari Patriot anti-missile systems in blunting the missile attack that Iran launched at…

USAF Moves F-16s from Japan to Korea, Clearing Way for F-35s

July 11, 2025
The Air Force permanently transferred F-16 fighter jets from Misawa Air Base in Japan to Osan Air Base in South Korea late last month, the next step in its transition to base F-35s in Japan. The move continues a modernization...

STARCOM ‘on a Good Path’ to Build Up New Training Environment

July 10, 2025
Space Training and Readiness Command is “on a good path” to develop a digital environment where Guardians can train together across different locations against realistic threats in the next year or two, according to outgoing commander Maj. Gen. Timothy A. Sejba 

SOCOM Halves OA-1K Armed Overwatch Buy for 2026

July 10, 2025
U.S. Special Operations Command is once again slowing its purchases of the new OA-1K Skyraider II multipurpose counterinsurgency plane, as the Pentagon pivots its budget to prepare for a high-end conflict following two decades of wars in the Middle East.

DARPA Picks Bell Textron for New Runway-less Drone X-Plane

July 9, 2025
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.