Health is an essential element of military
readiness, and prevention is and always
will be the best way to health. Preventing
diseases and conditions that threaten the
health of the warfighter is more
operationally sound since it maximizes
available manpower. It is more beneficial
to the Soldier, from a well-being
perspective, to stay healthy and avoid all
that the hospital has to offer, such as long
waiting room times, diagnostics, and
treatment. When considering healthcare
costs, both short-term and long-term,
prevention again wins out. In an ideal
world, the military would be able to
minimize disease and nonbattle injuries
(DNBI), through prevention and health
promotion, while optimizing the
restorative medicine resources and
applying them toward those diseases and
conditions that are not readily
preventable, especially combat injuries.
This article takes a brief look at military preventive
medicine, its background, its current status, and some
future considerations for its use in improving the
health of our warfighters.
