This study is a critical examination of Army Health System support in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater from 1942-1944. In CBI, the Theater Surgeon was tasked with two primary missions: to train and equip the Chinese Army's exhausted and ill-equipped medical units and to enable the Northern Combat Area Command's (NCAC) combat operations in northern Burma. Presenting each mission as a case study, this paper seeks to answer the question of how effectively the Army Medical Department supported the attainment of the United States' political and military objectives in CBI. The study concludes that the Medical Department successfully generated a sustainment structure within the Chinese army that, however incomplete, was resilient enough to withstand the rigors of large scale combat. In contrast, while the NCAC's mission to seize Myitkyina was an operational success, the Medical Department's failure to plan adequately for its conduct contributed significantly to an avoidable medical calamity.

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.)