Soldier Medical Readiness Campaign

​The Soldier Medical Readiness Campaign Plan (SMR-CP) is a five year campaign established in January 2011 by the U.S. Army Surgeon General to increase the medical readiness of the Army.  APHC, R2D, and USARIEM support the synchronizing, and integrating evidence-based health promotion, human performance optimization, and injury-prevention-related efforts across the Army. These efforts are designed to improve Soldier health and fitness and to reduce injury rates.

Major SMR-CP Initiatives

SMR-CP-Related Courses and Communication Materials

The health promotion and wellness initiatives within the SMR-CP are focused on coordinating and supporting services that promote physical activity, healthy weight, and tobacco-free living. These three areas are in alignment with the National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy as factors that impact injury risk and human performance. They also support the Army Surgeon General's Performance Triad. Soldiers who engage in regular physical activity, maintain a healthy weight and live tobacco free lives build personal health, reduce their risk of injury, and improve their unit's physical readiness.

Installation-based health promotion and wellness programs for Soldiers and Family members include:

Additional resources and programs on nutrition, tobacco-free living, and physical fitness and training are available.

Injury Prevention Program Monitoring develops the capability for surveillance among the Medically Not Ready (MNR) Soldier population, using  injuries as model. Data collected through the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC), the Medical Protection System (MEDPROS), eProfile, disability, and other sources will be used to identify, track and report specific health outcomes that are barriers to Soldier Medical Readiness (SMR). The knowledge acquired will enable the establishment of clinical and prevention efforts focused on leading barriers to SMR.

Activities that support this strategic objective:

• Company-level injury monitoring in Initial Entry Training: Represents the first unit-level injury surveillance program and supports evaluation of IET injury prevention programs such as the Soldier Athlete Initiative. Summaries of unit-level BCT and OSUT injury rates (i.e. company rates, battalion rates, and post rates) are produced by gender for each training type (i.e., AIT, BCT, OSUT INF, OSUT CAV, OSUT AR, OSUT, MP, and OSUT ENG).
• Administrative medical readiness data linked to medical records on injury and other conditions: Medically Not Ready data and electronic medical records are linked to identify leading specific health outcomes that are barriers to SMR, information that informs clinical and prevention planning.
• Surveillance reports for key medical outcomes (deaths, disabilities, and medical encounters): Existing medical and administrative data provide information that can be used to guide decisions regarding next steps for addressing leading causes of injury and barriers to medical readiness.

Among the Army active duty population, injury is a leading cause of medical encounters with over 1.3 million medical encounters due to acute injuries and chronic musculoskeletal conditions annually (Defense Medical Surveillance System, 2012). Identification and evaluation of injury prevention (IP) and human performance optimization (HPO) programs are vital to reducing injury rates and improving physical fitness.

The Army is currently evaluating promising injury prevention and human performance optimization initiatives in training and operational environments.

• Initial Entry Training Soldier Athlete Initiative: provides company-level injury surveillance to assist Army leadership with identification of units with effective injury prevention program (i.e. those with consistently lower injury rates).
• Evaluation of Physical Fitness Training in Operational Units: the Army Public Health Center Injury Prevention Program is leading efforts to evaluate the effects of unit-based physical training programs on injury rates and physical fitness within operational units.

 More information on injury prevention and physical fitness and training.

Identifying injuries quickly is important so that appropriate care and management can be initiated as soon as possible, preventing further complications. The ultimate goal of early identification and treatment of injuries is to maximize the Soldier's function. Unit-based and MTF-based programs provide early identification and management of injuries, return Soldiers to duty quickly, and optimize a medically ready force.

• Standardized e-Profile, sick slips, and reconditioning programs: used to facilitate unit physical training and improve communication between providers and unit leaders.
• Screening and Referral Tools: developed based on best practices and evidence to assist primary care providers in appropriately managing patients with acute injuries and conditions. Learn more about Musculoskeletal Screening and Referral Tools.

The Army is evaluating the effects of Musculoskeletal Action Teams, which are advanced physical training and reconditioning teams at the battalion and brigade levels that aim to reduce or lessen the severity of injuries through early identification and treatment of injuries.

Communication of findings and recommendations provides the link between research and practice necessary to implement effective injury prevention and human optimization programs. Experts from the APHC, the OTSG , and USARIEM have formed the SMR-CP Health Promotion and Musculoskeletal Injury Working Group to disseminate scientific information aimed at reducing musculoskeletal injuries to both military and civilian communities.

SMR-CP-Related Courses and Communication Materials

Soldier Medical Readiness Campaign Injury Prevention/Human Performance Optimization Education Series

The SMR-CP IP/HPO Education Series is designed to provide military medical providers and staff, including physical therapists, nurses, and health promotion professionals, with information about a variety of medical readiness topics. The Series consists of quarterly Defense Connect Online (DCO) sessions with two or more presentations from experts in the fields of injury prevention, human performance optimization, and health promotion.

Communication Print Materials & Resources

• Performance Triad Soldier Campaign: Soldier's guide, tip card and posters containing activity and injury prevention information are available on the Army Medicine website
• U.S. Army Stand To! Performance Triad Pilot Program
• Medical Readiness Rundown: SMR-CP Newsletter  (*AKO account needed to download)
• U.S. Army Stand To! Tobacco Cessation and Tobacco-Free Living
• AMEDD Tobacco-Free Living Toolkit
• Tobacco Use Reports, Literature, and Publications
• Tobacco Cessation Education
• Tobacco-Free Living Resource Materials
• U.S. Army Stand To! Extreme Conditioning Programs
• PHN No. 0312-01: What Army Leaders Should Know about Extreme Conditioning Programs
• Public Health Approach to Injury Prevention: The U.S. Military Experience, A supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol 38, No. 1 (p. S1-S222), January 2010
• Minimalist Running Shoes (brochure  & poster )

Visit the APHC Health Information Products e-Catalog to download or order available materials.

News Articles

• The Great American Smokeout- Be smoke free for a day  (17 November 2014)
• Pre-diabetes: Who is at risk?  (3 November 2014)
• Prevent ergonomic injuries in the workplace  (1 October 2014) 
• Army helps moms maintain fitness before, after, childbirth  (1 October 2014)
• Tobacco Kills. Period.  (10 September 2014)
• Dietary supplements: Safety still an issue, better options available  (2 September 2014)
• Army doctor: Soldiers should avoid overtraining to prevent injury  (25 August 2014)
• Scientists discuss strategies for making Soldiers stronger at international conference  (23 August 2014)
• International scientists discuss Soldier physical performance  (21 August 2014)
• Fostering Progress through International Collaboration  (21 August 2014)
• RACH dietitians offer tasty changes for diners  (15 August 2014)
• Partnerships enhance public health  (8 August 2014)
• Download This! The Performance Triad App (version 1.0)  (24 July 2014)
• Performance Triad app now available  (10 July 2014)
• Army Leader tests the Performance Triad   (3 July 2014)
• Protect your eyes in sports- just like you do in combat   (1 July 2014)
• Public Health Command promotes sleep, activity, nutrition during Performance Triad kick-off week  (12 June 2014)
• Post-retirement weight gain - fact or fiction?  (30 May 2014)
• Army program encourages healthy lifestyles   (29 May 2014)
• Be part of the System for Health  (29 May 2014)
• Farmer's markets offer healthy choices to Soldiers and families  (22 May 2014)
• Health screening; adequate sleep, activity, nutrition vital to Soldier readiness  (1 May 2014) 
• Is it possible to eat right on a budget?  (28 February 2014)
• Adequate sleep brings benefits for a lifetime  (28 February 2014)
• Injury experts evaluate safety of new Army parachutes  (21 February 2014)
• Reservists visit Aberdeen Army Wellness Center  (19 February 2014)
• Empower yourself to better health (2 January 2014)
• Strategies to avoid office weight gain (2 January 2014)
• Thirdhand smoke: a new tobacco hazard for families. (1 November 2013)
• Beware of emotional eating. (1 November 2013)
• Lower your cholesterol to improve your health. (3 September 2013)
• Children can eat healthy while on-the-go. (1 July 2013)
• Less salt please. (28 March 2013)
• Can't sleep? Ways to help you feel rested when traveling. (28 February 2013)
• Eat right, your way, every day. (28 February 2013)
• Secondhand smoke- A danger in the air (8 November 2012)
• Sports injuries in the Army: Don't get sidelined (6 August 2012)
• Helping Soldiers maintain a healthy weight through nutrition (2 April 2012)
• Use caution with new running shoe technology (3 January 2012)
• Soldiers who smoke have increased injury risk, reduced muscle endurance (15 December 2011)

Related Sites

• Human Performance Resource Center (HPRC) : HPRC's human performance optimization website is for U.S. Warfighters, their families, and those in the field of HPO who support them. The goal is Total Force Fitness- Warfighters optimized to carry out their mission as safely and effectively as possible.
• Soldier Medical Readiness Campaign Plan Video
• Performance Triad : Learn more about sleep, activity, and nutrition for the Army Family.