Command of military medical units: grounding the paradigm

Proper command of medical units is central to their effectiveness. For many years the majority of commands have been available only to physicians. This paper suggests a concept for structuring the way in which individuals are considered suitable for command assignments. In this regard, there is an ongoing process within the Army Medical Department working toward delinking command from specific corps and substituting branch immaterial commands. Some ideas are presented to clarify this issue and contribute toward the resolution of a crucial and potentially divisive area.