Building partner health capacity with U.S. military forces

The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has developed an approach to planning for, assessing, and enhancing the effectiveness of missions to build partner capacity in health. These missions are systematic, long-term efforts to enhance the ability of governments in developing states that are important to U.S. interests to deliver essential medical, dental, and veterinary services to vulnerable populations. Helping to improve local public health and providing health services is expected to support the extension of good governance and counter insurgent and terrorist infiltration, recruitment, and exploitation. AFSOC believes that its health assets can be more effectively and systematically used by combatant commanders in achieving their theater security cooperation objectives, in conjunction with other organizations. This report documents the results of three research tasks undertaken to assist AFSOC in executing its mission: (1) placing health security in the context of U.S. strategy and security cooperation efforts; (2) drawing lessons from outside organizations on ways U.S. military forces can maximize their effectiveness in helping build partner health capacity; (3) developing a framework for planning and executing partner health capacity missions. Key findings are presented, along with recommendations for maximizing the effectiveness of efforts to build partner health capacity.