DHA’s fiscal 2026 mission plan focuses on combat support

In fiscal 2026, the Defense Health Agency looks to strengthen its combat support role as well as bring more patients back into its military treatment facilities.

Acting Director David Smith outlined the plan in a message sent to the agency’s workforce in December, calling it a “mission-focused directive.”

“Our mission at the Defense Health Agency is to improve the health and readiness of the warfighters and support the Joint Staff, combatant commands and the military departments. This is our core purpose. In September, I shared that our headquarters leadership teams are focused on identifying opportunities to enhance value starting in fiscal year 2026. We have now developed a unified path forward to achieve this: the FY26 Mission Focused Directive,” Smith said.

The document outlines three lines of effort — combat support, care reattraction and enterprise services optimization.

A DHA official told Federal News Network the new framework is designed to reinforce the agency’s combat support mission, bring more patients back into military health facilities, which will improve its providers’ skills, and streamline the agency’s systems and processes. 

The first line of effort — “preparing for war daily” — is aimed at ensuring medical teams can support troops in combat.

“Warfighter readiness is at the heart of DHA’s mission as a Combat Support Agency. It is the sacred responsibility of our medics to provide lifesaving care on and off the battlefield. Our strategic focus this year is driven by the need to provide unified, effective, and agile health services to enhance the operational readiness of the Joint Force, so we are prepared for war,” the DHA official said. 

As part of that effort, the agency is focusing on improving how it manages critical blood supply assets, streamlining logistics for medical products and services and applying lessons learned from the battlefield through the Joint Trauma System. 

The second line of effort — care reattraction — seeks to draw patients back into its military treatment facilities (MTFs) after years of shifting care to the private sector. The Defense Department’s ability to care for patients in its own medical facilities has declined sharply over the past two decades. 

“DHA aims to re-attract and retain our beneficiaries in the Direct Care system (care delivered at our military medical treatment facilities), to include our beneficiaries over 65 years of age, as well as veteran patients, through high-quality, accessible care. Reattracting beneficiaries with more complex medical conditions will increase the volume and the complexity of our health care services in our hospitals and clinics. The work to support our older beneficiaries ensures our military providers maintain their skills and expertise to better serve all beneficiaries here in the U.S., overseas and in combat. These efforts will also allow us to provide high acuity care at maximum volume and capacity to enhance core operations at our readiness generating and patient reception facilities,” the DHA official said. 

The third line of effort — enterprise services optimization — seeks to “streamline processes and leverage technology to improve efficiency and workforce effectiveness,” according to Smith.

The DHA official said the agency will work on reducing administrative burdens by “leveraging business intelligence, technology and innovation.” 

“As we refine our governance structure to ensure data-driven decisions, agile resource allocation, and transparent accountability, we will be best positioned to achieve our mission,” the DHA official said.

As part of that push, the agency is developing a data strategy to transform data into a “trusted, mission-enabling strategic asset.” DHA is also creating a framework for the responsible and secure use of generative artificial intelligence. 

The agency will also work with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help improve provider skills and fill care gaps.

The successful execution of the fiscal 2026 plan, the DHA official said, will ultimately depend “on the unity of effort across DHA to achieve our sacred responsibility as health care providers to deliver lifesaving care on and off the battlefield.”

“As we innovate, test, and adapt to new challenges, employees will have opportunities to enhance their skills and competencies, paving the way for career advancement. The biggest takeaway for DHA employees is that their individual contributions are not only valued but are essential to creating extraordinary healthcare experiences every day. By embracing this framework, employees can expect a supportive environment that fosters their growth while fulfilling our mission together,” the DHA official said.

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