United States Army Reserve (USAR) medical providers make up the majority of medical practitioners in the United States (U.S.) Army. Credentialing is a critical point in the licensed practitioners ability to serve during both war and peace times. The increased demand of Reserve doctors, nurses, and licensed clinicians from the start of Operation Desert Storm to the present creates an urgency to maintain a medical source pool in order to continue the readiness of the force. Current military doctrine dictates how credentialing should be managed however, Host Nation requirements, ambiguity of responsibilities and USAR culture determines the successfulness of this process. The overall purpose of this research is to identify and describe the factors involved in the credentialing process that influence medical providers' level of participation in training and-or deployments and suggest means of improvement. The personal accounts from military personnel directly involved in this process and a doctrinal comparison of sister services permits successful evaluation of this subject.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)