Use of host nation facilities as medical force multipliers at the Operation Joint Guard intermediate staging base, March to October 1997

In March 1997, a transition occurred in the health service support of the i ntermediate staging base of Operation Joint Guard in Taszar, Hungary, by wh ich a level III, 32-bed Deployable Medical Systems facility staffed by 178 personnel was replaced by a level hi clinic staffed by 48 personnel with no organic surgical or blood transfusion capabilities. This was achieved by t he use of local host nation facilities for surgery, sophisticated diagnosti cs, and medical specialty hospitalization. In the ensuing 7 months, 34 Amer ican patients were admitted to Hungarian hospitals for a total of 100 inpat ient days, and 8 of them underwent surgery. This successful use of host nat ion facilities as medical force multipliers allowed great savings in cost a nd personnel and should be considered in future operations other than war t hat involve low-intensity conflict.