U.S. Army
Medical Specialist Corps
Physical therapists, occupational therapists, dietitians, and physician assistants — a profession the Army invented. The Medical Specialist Corps rehabilitates wounded soldiers and returns them to duty. From WWII rehabilitation centers to polytrauma wards at Walter Reed to H2F teams embedded in every brigade, SP Corps professionals keep the force fighting. Healing soldiers to fight again.
World War II — The Origins
1942 – 1947
WWII
REHABILITATION CENTERS
WWII
Mass Casualty Rehab
PT
Physical Therapy
OT
Occupational Therapy
Return
TO DUTY MISSION
World War II created hundreds of thousands of wounded soldiers who needed rehabilitation — amputees, burn victims, orthopedic injuries, and neurological cases that overwhelmed the existing medical system. The Army built rehabilitation centers staffed by physical and occupational therapists who developed the treatment protocols that modern rehabilitation medicine is built on. The Army Women's Medical Specialist Corps — the SP Corps' predecessor — gave these clinicians military status for the first time.
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DIETITIANS
NUTRITION · PERFORMANCE
65C
Dietitian AOC
MTF
Hospital Nutrition
Field
Feeding Operations
H2F
HOLISTIC HEALTH
Army dietitians have managed clinical nutrition and field feeding since WWII — designing therapeutic diets for wounded soldiers, advising on MRE formulation, and ensuring nutritional standards across military treatment facilities. Today's Army dietitians are integral to the Holistic Health and Fitness program — optimizing soldier performance through nutrition science. From hospital wards to dining facilities to deployed kitchens, dietitians ensure the Army is fed right.
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Modern SP Corps
Vietnam to Present
PHYSICIAN ASST
65D · BORN IN 1967
1967
First PA Program
Vietnam
Combat Medic → PA
65D
Physician Asst AOC
BN Aid
STATION · FST · CSH
The physician assistant profession was invented by the Army. In 1967, Dr. Eugene Stead at Duke University and the Army partnered to train experienced combat medics as physician extenders — soldiers who had learned trauma medicine in Vietnam and could be rapidly trained to provide primary care. The first PA class graduated in 1967. Today Army PAs serve at every echelon from battalion aid station to combat support hospital. They are the most forward-deployed medical officers in the Army — the provider soldiers see first.
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OIF / OEF
POLYTRAUMA · TBI · PTS
TBI
Traumatic Brain Injury
Amputees
1,700+ Major Limb
WRAMC
Walter Reed · Brooke
Return
TO DUTY · TO LIFE
Iraq and Afghanistan produced a generation of polytrauma casualties — soldiers surviving IED blasts that would have been fatal in any previous war. Over 1,700 major limb amputations. Hundreds of thousands of traumatic brain injuries. PTSD on a scale never seen before. SP Corps physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physician assistants were at the center of the rehabilitation mission — at Walter Reed, Brooke Army Medical Center, and every warrior transition unit. They gave soldiers their lives back.
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H2F
PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION
H2F
Holistic Health
PT
Embedded in Brigades
Prevent
Injuries · Optimize
Ready
FORCE GENERATION
The Holistic Health and Fitness program embeds SP Corps professionals directly in brigade combat teams — physical therapists, dietitians, and athletic trainers working alongside soldiers daily to prevent injuries, optimize performance, and keep the force ready. H2F represents a fundamental shift from treating injuries after they happen to preventing them before they occur. SP Corps officers are no longer just in hospitals. They're in motor pools, on ranges, and in gyms — keeping soldiers in the fight.
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77
Years of Service
1967
PA Profession Born
AMEDD
Army Medical Dept
Return
To Duty