The Continental Congress established the Medical Department of the Continental Army. This marked the beginning of organized medical support for the American military during the Revolutionary War.

Trained in medicine at Harvard and by his experiences during the War of 1812, Joseph Lovell became the first surgeon general to sit on the reorganized army staff. With a keen intellect, medical acumen, and wartime experiences, Lovell constructed an efficient and effective organizational and administrative framework for the new Medical Department of the U.S. Army.

On May 21, 1862, the Army Medical Museum, now known as the National Museum of Health and Medicine, was established during the Civil War to collect and study medical specimens, advancing the field of military medical research.

During the Spanish-American War, the United States lost more soldiers to typhoid fever than to combat. This prompted the Army to redouble research on tropical diseases, a commitment it maintains to this day. As a result, Army researchers developed several effective vaccines and prophylactic drugs to protect American service members abroad. Examples include typhoid immunization, and eventually several treatments for malaria, as well as ongoing research to develop a malaria vaccine.

U.S. Army Major Walter Reed led a team in Cuba that discovered yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. He also developed ways to prevent the spread of the disease. His research helped improve our understanding of yellow fever, its symptoms, and how to treat it.

The First World War led to advancements in fields such as trauma surgery, blood transfusion techniques, and prosthetics. Notable contributions include the establishment of mobile surgical units and the refinement of antiseptic techniques to prevent infection.

The Army Medical Research Board was formed to conduct medical research and develop strategies to improve the health and medical care of soldiers during World War I.

The devastating influenza pandemic of 1918, also known as the Spanish Flu, had a profound impact on military medical research. The outbreak resulted in the deaths of millions worldwide, including many soldiers. This event highlighted the need for improved disease prevention, treatment, and understanding of viral pathogens, leading to advancements in virology and epidemiology.

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research was established to conduct biomedical research, including studies on infectious diseases, vaccines, and treatments.

Key breakthroughs include the development of blood plasma and penicillin as life-saving treatments for wounded service members. Additionally, advancements were made in anesthesia, preventive medicine, and the use of antibiotics to combat infections.

Dr. Jonas Salk and his team developed the first successful polio vaccine, a critical advancement in military and public health.

Maurice Hilleman, a microbiologist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and chief of the Department of Respiratory Disease and his team developed the first doses of the Asian Influenza vaccine. An estimated 40 million doses were available for distribution to the public in the United States by the end of the year. Through a massive vaccination campaign, and the fast action of Hilleman and his team, potentially millions of lives were saved in the United States.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was established to develop and deploy advanced technologies for military purposes, including medical research innovations.

The Wound Data and Munitions Effectiveness Team was established during the Vietnam War. The team included medical and weapons experts who collected data on wounds and injuries sustained by service members during the war. The team’s findings were used to improve the design and effectiveness of military weapons and protective gear. The team operated until 1973 and collected data on more than 7000 wounded personnel.

In the 1970s and 1980s, noted surgeon R. Adam Cowley, founder of Baltimore's renowned Shock Trauma Institute, is credited with promoting the concept of the "Golden Hour.” The Golden Hour is generally described as the period after a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood when prompt medical and surgical treatment will prevent death. Cowley is quoted as saying, "There is a golden hour between life and death. If you are critically injured, you have less than 60 minutes to survive. You might not die right then; it may be three days or two weeks later — but something has happened in your body that is irreparable."

The Naval Medical Research Institute was founded to conduct medical research and support the health and readiness of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel. Today, the institute is known as the Naval Medical Research Command.

The Defense Trauma Registry was designed as a comprehensive database to collect analyze and manage data related to trauma cases among military personnel. Its primary objective was to gather information on traumatic injuries sustained by military services members and to track the outcomes and patterns of such injuries.

In the 1990s, early work got underway to explore how telehealth and telemedicine could enhance medical operational support, notably with the Army’s first usage of video-enabled care in 1993 in Somalia followed by expansion during the 1994-95 Balkan conflicts. The first U.S.-based military telehealth programs were launched at the same time, using the hub-and-spoke care management model pioneered by Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes to bring telehealth support to remote bases and facilities. This enabled Tripler Army Medical Center to provide tele-critical care to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam in 2001. Efforts within the continental U.S. included the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center serving as the hub for tele-consultations across a 21-state region and the Naval Medical Center San Diego providing tele-critical care support to military hospitals and clinics at Camp Pendleton (2014) and Camp Lejeune (2016).

The Department of Defense and The Department of Veteran’s Affairs successfully collaborated to form the Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program through a $3,233,000 congressional appropriations bill. The program’s intent was to track service members’ head and neck injuries, ensuring they get appropriate treatment, study the outcome of the treatments, and counseling family members regarding the victims’ injuries. Today, the program is knows as the TBI Center of Excellence

The Combat Casualty Care Research Program sought to drive medical innovation through development of knowledge and materiel solutions for the acute and early management of combat-related trauma; including point-of-injury, en route, and facility-based care.

In the early 2000s, the American military made incredible strides in the field of prosthetics for wounded soldiers. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiated programs like the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program, which aimed to develop advanced prosthetic limbs with increased functionality and natural movement. This research led to the development of groundbreaking technologies like the DEKA Arm System and the Modular Prosthetic Limb.

Soon after the attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, the Defense Department launched a series of studies to identify how to treat uncontrolled bleeding, which was the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. Quikclot Combat Gauze has been used by the U.S. military in operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. This type of bandage uses a compound found in the exoskeletons of shrimp and lobsters that helps form blood clots.

The Joint Trauma System is dedicated to the reduction of morbidity and mortality, and to improved survivability for all trauma patients in wartime and peacetime. The organization employs an organized approach to provide improved trauma care across the continuum of care to trauma patients – battle injury and non-battle injury. The JTS addresses all the components identified with optimal care of a patient from prevention through acute care, rehabilitation, and return-to-duty.

Air Force Col. (Dr.) Todd Rasmussen and Dr. Jonathan Eliason invent a resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) device that stops blood loss in the pelvic area and abdomen. The ER-REBOA is not only being used by the military, but also in more than 250 hospitals internationally, and has greatly increased patient survival rates. Learn more about REBOA.

On December 7, 2015, two amputees who were Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, Bryant Jacobs and Ed Salau, became the first Americans to get a percutaneous osseointegrated prosthesis, or POP implant, through a clinical trial funded through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The POP implants are surgically anchored into the patient's remaining thigh bone to allow connection to the prosthesis.