Date of Award

3-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

Phillip R. Jenkins, PhD

Abstract

The location, allocation, and utilization of military medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) resources significantly impact the quality and timeliness of medical care to injured troops. In 2009, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates introduced the Golden Hour mandate that entails the evacuation of critically-injured troops to military treatment facilities (MTFs) within an hour to prevent further complications. To develop high-quality policies that improve MEDEVAC system performance, several papers in the current literature assume that MTFs have both the capacity and capability of treating any patient, regardless of the type of injury. However, these assumptions are unrealistic when conducting high-intensity operations. While acknowledging MTF limitations, this thesis simulates the MEDEVAC dispatching and delivery system to evaluate the impact that MTF limitations have on system performance. Furthermore, this thesis adopts a realistic approach to modeling request arrival behavior via a Hawkes process. Results indicate that the MEDEVAC system, under the baseline policy, fails to meet the standard set by the Golden Hour mandate. As such, this thesis explores simple heuristic policies that seek to improve system performance. The insights gained from these explored policies highlight the substantial impact MTFs have on MEDEVAC systems and should be considered in future research.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENS-MS-22-M-127

DTIC Accession Number

AD1170722

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