How do you know if you are ready to deploy?

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Kathy Koonce
  • 916th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  Every Reservist is responsible for maintaining their Individual Medical Readiness. It is a key component of force health protection and war fighting readiness. The purpose of the IMR program is to provide commanders and military department leaders the ability to monitor the medical readiness status of their personnel, ensuring a healthy and fit fighting force is medically ready to deploy in accordance with Department of Defense Instruction 6025.19 dated Jan. 19, 2006.

You can view your IMR two different ways:

1. The AF Portal: to AF Portal Featured Links, to Deployment & Readiness, to Medical Readiness-Deployment Health. This takes you directly into your MyIMR page in the Aeromedical Services Information Management System web application; or
2. Directly from the web at https://asims.afms.mil/imr/MyIMR.aspx.

There are six key elements that encompass a person's medical readiness status.

1) Periodic Health Assessment
Periodic Health Assessments (PHA). An Annual assessment for changes in health status, especially changes that could impact a member's ability to perform military duties. Military Department-specific requirements for currency and methodology of periodic health assessment have been defined. Pass: annual PHA is current. Fail: annual PHA is overdue. For this purpose the PHA is overdue if not accomplished within three months following the due month. Example: a PHA due in October 2013 will be counted as overdue if it has not been accomplished by the last day of January 2014

2) No Deployment Limiting Conditions
No Deployment Limiting Conditions. There are many examples of deployment-limiting conditions such as pregnancy, asthma, severe traumatic injury with incomplete rehabilitation, etc. Deployment limiting conditions are defined by Military Department-specific policies. Pass: there are no deployment limiting conditions. Fail: there is a deployment limiting condition.

3) Dental Readiness
Dental Readiness. All Services use the same classification system to assess and monitor dental readiness. Pass: Class 1 or 2 per current annual dental exam. Fail: Dental Class 3 or 4. The class is 4 when the annual exam is overdue. For this purpose, an exam is overdue if it is not accomplished within three months following the due month. Example: a dental exam due in October 2013 will be counted as overdue if it has not been accomplished by the last day of January 2014.

4) Immunization Status
Immunization Status. Immunizations effectively prevent infectious diseases in the deployed as well as non-deployed environments. Immunizations will be monitored and kept current. Pass: Current for Total Force/All Services vaccines including hepatitis A, tetanus-diptheria (Td), MMR, IPV, hepatitis B (if series began) and influenza (once per season). Fail: overdue for one or more vaccines. Vaccinations are overdue 30 days after their scheduled due date. There is a special rule for influenza, which usually becomes available in October of each calendar year. An influenza vaccination is overdue if not administered by January 1of the current flu season. There are exceptions to vaccination requirements per Military Department or Service policy and occupational or deployment considerations (including medical and administrative reasons). Special immunizations, sometimes referred to as "flagged" vaccines are those required for one's occupation (e.g., rabies, typhoid, hepatitis B, etc.) or specific for a planned operation due to location or threat (e.g., anthrax, smallpox, Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever, etc). While important, these will not be assessed as part of the DoD IMR report until such time as all Services have the ability to consistently track and report these types of immunizations. Services with such capability are strongly encouraged to monitor "flagged" immunizations internally.

5) Medical Readiness Laboratory Tests
Medical Readiness Laboratory Studies. Core studies for the Department of Defense are current HIV testing and a DNA sample on file in the Armed Forces Repository of Specimen Samples for the Identification of Remains (AFRSSIR). Military Department or Service-specific policies may identify additional readiness lab tests such as Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase or hemoglobin S (sickle) testing, but they are not part of the DoD core-reporting element. For core reporting elements: Pass: HIV testing, with result on file, within past 24 months, and DNA sample on file with the AFRSSIR. Fail: one or more deficiencies

6) Individual Medical Equipment
Individual Medical Equipment. Medical equipment will be monitored as appropriate for personnel subject to deployment. The core requirement is one pair of gas mask inserts (GMI) for all deployable assets needing visual correction. Service-specific policies may identify additional items of medical equipment, such as two pair of prescription spectacles, hearing aid batteries, etc., but they are not part of the DoD core-reporting element. Pass: one pair of GMI for all deployable personnel needing visual correction. Fail: no GMI for all deployable personnel needing visual correction.

Each item above is assigned a color based on the status of the requirement. Any item which is current appears in green. Items that are due appear in yellow but once completed will revert to green. Overdue items are those that have exceeded their due date and are now showing red. Deployment limiting medical profiles will also make an Airman's IMR show red. Airmen with overdue IMR items, and those who have deployment limiting profiles count against the 916th Air Refueling Wing Medical Readiness Rate.

The responsibility to ensure the highest IMR rate falls to commanders, Unit Deployment Managers and ultimately Airmen themselves. Unit leadership has the hands-on ability to identify and monitor the IMR status of their Airmen. Commanders and UDMs have 24/7 access to IMR reports via the Aeromedical Services Info Management System web application. UDMs are responsible for ensuring Airmen are aware of their IMR requirements and for scheduling their annual Preventive Health Assessment appointment through their respective Unit Health Monitor. Finally, Airmen are responsible for knowing their medical readiness status, reporting for all scheduled appointments at the medical clinic and completing all required items in the six elements of their IMR.

This is a simple overview, but it is important that all Airmen understand the importance of the IMR program. Failure to maintain a good IMR status places a burden on fellow Airmen who may have to fill someone else's deployment tasking and also adds unnecessary administrative workload for command resources and medical personnel, detracting from the Department of Defense's ability to meet mission goals and requirements. A healthy or green status helps ensure we accomplish our Air Force Fly, Fight and Win mission.

Editor's note: Col. Judi Hughes and Capt. Stephanie White from the 628th Medical Group also contributed to this article.