About USACHPPM
The lineage of the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine can be traced back more than 65 years to the Army Industrial Hygiene Laboratory (AIHL), which was established at the beginning of World War II under the direct jurisdiction of The Army Surgeon General.
Originally located at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, AIHL began with a staff of three and an annual budget of $3,000. It conducted occupational health surveys and investigations within the Department of Defense industrial production base, which proved to be beneficial to the nation’s war effort.
In October 1945, AIHL was transferred to the Chemical Warfare Center, Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. At that time, Army Regulation 40-220, Industrial Medical Program, was published as the first regulation on industrial hygiene; this turned out to be a milestone for Army preventive medicine. From 1940 to 1960, AIHL’s mission and personnel continued to expand, and AIHL became the U.S. Army Environmental Hygiene Agency.
In 1973, USAEHA became a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Health Services Command. The following year it was given command of the health and environmental resources of the Army Medical Laboratories. These assets are now USACHPPM subordinate commands: USACHPPM North, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland; USACHPPM South, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and USACHPPM West, Fort Lewis, Washington. USAEHA expanded its mission to support the worldwide preventive medicine programs of the Army, the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.
On Aug. 2, 1994, USAEHA was redesignated as USACHPPM, with provisional status and a general officer commander; USACHPPM became fully functional on Oct. 1, 1995. USACHPPM is headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground-South in Edgewood, Maryland.
USACHPPM also has two subordinate commands outside the continental United States. In 1994, the 10th Medical Laboratory, located at Landstuhl, Germany, came under the operational control of USACHPPM. In 1995, the 10th Medical Laboratory was inactivated; USACHPPM Europe was activated; and the Environmental Health Engineering Agency, Sagami, Japan, was redesignated as USACHPPM Pacific.
On Feb. 18, 2009, USACHPPM received the Army Superior Unit Award in recognition of the command’s meritorious service in support of the Global War on Terror and Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
The USACHPPM team is a linchpin of medical support to combat forces and of the military managed-care system. It provides worldwide scientific expertise and services in clinical and field preventive medicine, environmental and occupational health, health promotion and wellness, epidemiology and disease surveillance, toxicology, and related laboratory sciences. It supports readiness by keeping Soldiers fit to fight, while also promoting wellness among their families and the federal civilian workforce. Professional disciplines represented include chemists, physicists, engineers, physicians, optometrists, epidemiologists, audiologists, nurses, industrial hygienists, toxicologists, entomologists, and many others as well as sub-specialties within these professions.
The organization's quest has always been one of excellence and continuous quality improvement; and today, its vision to be the world-class Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine is clearer than ever. To achieve that end, it holds ever fast to its values, which are steeped in its rich heritage:
- Customer satisfaction is its focus.
- Its people are its most valued resource.
- Continuous improvement is its pathway.
USACHPPM is an organization fiercely proud of its history, yet equally excited about the future. It is destined to continue its development as a world-class organization with expanded services to the Army, the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, the nation and the world community.
