Draft:National Institute for Defense Health Cooperation

Training and Education Directorate

The Training & Education Directorate develops and delivers high-quality educational opportunities, including courses, lectures, academic summits, and other learning experiences, that support the needs of the federal interagency, partner nations, civilian stakeholders, and the Joint Force. Courses cover a range of topics including global health engagement (GHE), public health, and disaster medicine. NIDHC is initiating a Health Security Cooperation Education and Training (HSCET) Program^[5] targeted toward partner nation health professionals on October 1, 2026. The directorate offers courses through USU, including the Operational Impact Scholars (OIS) Program^[6], which provides research opportunities for students in the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2)^[7]

Research and Analysis Directorate

The Research and Analysis Directorate conducts rigorous research, formal assessment, monitoring, and evaluation (AME), and identification of future requirements in four primary functional workstreams: GHE, medical surge, technical innovation, and public health. The clear, unbiased, and actionable information and analysis produced by the Directorate drives improvements in health readiness practice and policy, and supports the DoW’s core warfighting mission by enabling a medically ready force.

Planning and Partnership Directorate

The Planning and Partnership Directorate acts as the strategic bridge, leveraging subject matter expertise of USU and its global partners to provide responsive operational reach-back support. In this capacity, the Planning and Partnership Directorate provides technical guidance to Combatant Commands (CCMDs) to inform policy and doctrine in alignment with National Security priorities^[8] and contribute meaningfully to both military readiness and global health security. It sustains strategic partnerships by facilitating military-to-military and military-to-civilian health engagements, including specialized academic initiatives and exchanges. Planning and Partnership also spearheads knowledge management efforts designed to capture, organize, and share insights that strengthen planning, coordination, and operational effectiveness across the defense health enterprise.

National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Pilot Program

NIDHC supports a Congressional effort to assess and strengthen the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to meet the needs of U.S. casualties returning from an overseas large-scale combat operation (LSCO). The effort focuses on enhancing NDMS interoperability, capability, and capacity across eight Pilot sites: Washington, DC; San Antonio, TX; Denver, CO; Omaha, NE; Sacramento, CA; Honolulu, HI; Shreveport, LA; and Puget Sound, WA. For partners, NIDHC provides a platform to test solutions, share best practices, and scale approaches nationwide. By designing, implementing, and evaluating projects with federal, state, and local stakeholders, NIDHC helps build a more integrated, ready, and resilient medical response system for crisis and conflict. Additionally, through extensive interagency partnerships, NIDHC addresses complex issues in synchronizing military and civilian healthcare delivery.

Military-Civilian Medical Surge Program (MCMSP)

Directed by Congress under Section 712 of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act^[9], the MCMSP was established in October 2026 to build a sustained, nationwide capability to deliver integrated medical surge during LSCO and other catastrophic events. The program strengthens medical operational readiness by continuously assessing and improving both surge capacity and capability at strategically important locations both domestically and internationally. It ensures the partnerships required to mobilize a coordinated medical response are established, maintained, and anchored in regional academic medical centers and supporting organizations. The program’s central objective is to establish adaptable, long-term operational structures at each pilot site, creating integrated military-civilian hubs that support innovation, coordination, and scalable response. Given its interagency scope, MCMSP requires sustained collaboration across the DoW, federal partners, and external stakeholders. This approach ensures a unified, whole-of-government capability prepared to respond at speed and scale.

Health Security Cooperation Education & Training (HSCET)

As a certified International Military Education & Training (IMET) schoolhouse, NIDHC provides health-focused Security Cooperation and assistance training to ally and partner nations worldwide. The HSCET Program utilizes Title 22^[10] security assistance and Tittle 10^[11] Security Cooperation authorities to deliver specialized health training through both in-residence and mobile training team courses. By leveraging subject matter experts from across the DoW and the federal interagency, NIDHC develops curricula and delivers courses that build partner capacity and strengthen international relationships in support of CCMD lines of effort and U.S. Embassy country plans. NIDHC’s goal is to be a leader in Health-focused Security Cooperation, working collaboratively to deliver education and training programs that build strong, resilient, and comprehensive international partnerships.

Disaster Health Core Curriculum (DHCC)

The Disaster Health Core Curriculum is a framework used to train and assess professionals in disaster medicine and public health. It is based on the “Core Competencies for Disaster Medicine and Public Health,”^[12] published in 2012 in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, which outlines 11 core competencies and 36 sub-competencies^[13] intended to guide responder capabilities across a range of emergency and disaster settings. The competencies have been used to inform training programs for domestic and international response organizations, including the Medical Reserve Corps, and have contributed to the development of competency frameworks in areas such as disaster nursing, mental health, and pediatric care. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts have been initiated to reassess and update the curriculum to reflect evolving requirements in emergency management, including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. These updates aim to align competency-based training with lessons identified during recent large-scale public health emergencies and to support the development of educational resources for the disaster health workforce.

Combatant Command Support Program (CCSP)

The Combatant Command Support Program (CCSP) provides responsive reach-back support tailored to the unique requirements of each CCMD and their Service components. From strategic advisory and logistics to administrative execution, CCSP provides the expert leadership necessary to navigate complex program and event lifecycles. The program’s operational impact is evidenced by its pivotal contributions to major CCMD initiatives including, the Indo-Pacific Military Health Exchange (IPMHE)^[14], the Ukraine Building Partnership Capacity in Military Medicine Program (UBPCMM), the Africa Partner Outbreak Response Alliance (APORA)^[15], and the Indo-Pacific Health Alliance for Security (IPhas)^[16], all of which engage partner and allied nations to foster international cooperation and advance health security.

Global Health Engagement Research Initiative (GHERI)

NIDHC manages the Global Health Engagement Research Initiative (GHERI), an extramural research program which enables DoW CCMD-prioritized applied research to develop insights about how GHE activities can be planned and implemented effectively and efficiently to achieve strategic, operational, and tactical objectives. GHERI is a collaborative program involving USU, the Defense Health Agency (DHA), the Office of the Joint Staff Surgeon (OJSS), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs (OASW(HA)). The initiative ensures high-quality research through reviews conducted by the USU’s Office of the Vice President of Research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review^[17], the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review, and Service GHE representatives.

Pre- and Post-Crash Care Program (PPCC)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)^[18]-funded Pre- and Post-Crash Care Program (PPCC)^[19] focuses on both preventing motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) and improving outcomes from MVCs by strengthening emergency medical services (EMS), prehospital care, 911 dispatch, and coordinated response systems. It integrates clinical practice, emergency response, and public safety efforts to reduce crash-related morbidity and mortality. Key activities include support for state EMS system development, expansion of prehospital blood transfusions (PBT), Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) traffic safety education, and promotion of bleeding control initiatives such as Stop the Bleed. The program^[20] also evaluates risks to fire and EMS responders during post-crash operations and supports research to strengthen the role of 911 systems in highway safety. Overall, the program links research, policy, and operational implementation to improve coordination across federal, state, and local agencies and advance evidence-based practices across the emergency response and trauma care continuum.

NIDHC Directors

• Dr. Jeffrey D. Freeman^[22] (Inaugural Executive Director, 2025–present)
• Col (Dr.) Elizabeth A. Erickson^[23] (Inaugural Principal Deputy Director, 2025–present)

NCDMPH (subcomponent) Directors/Chiefs

• Dr. Larissa Unruh (Chief, 2025–present)
• Dr. Jeffrey D. Freeman (Director, 2023–2025)
• Dr. Thomas Kirsch (Director, 2016–2023)
• Dr. Kenneth Schor (Acting Director, 2008–2013)