The Eight Implementing Actions of 

Presidential Decision Directive NSTC 7

Eight key areas of action were laid out in the

PDD's implementing actions relevant accomplish 

Presidential Decision Directive.  DoD GEIS has used

ments in FY 2001.

these as a framework for organizing its approach to

the problem of global emerging infectious diseases.

 1. Enhance the surveillance and response compo 

This annual report will highlight for each of the

nents of our domestic and international health

infrastructure. 

Activities Based in the Military Health System

General Public Health Laborat

ory Imp

rovement and 

Laboratory Based Surveillance

Core to any public health program involved with

public health laboratory services was directed towards

infectious diseases are laboratory capabilities.  As

developing an on line DoD Directory of Military

was highlighted at the DoD GEIS sponsored Military

Public Health Laboratory Services.  These would

Public Health Laboratory Symposium and Workshop

include public health services provided by a highly

held in September of 1999, these capabilities differ in

competent but uncoordinated and in some cases

significant ways from those established for routine

generally unknown collection of DoD clinical,

patient care.  Public health laboratories must focus on

research, and veterinary laboratories around the world.

surveillance and outbreak detection, specialized and

These are or should come under the oversight of the

reference laboratory testing, population based data

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) office

integration, formal coordination and information

that manages the DoD implementation of the Clinical

exchange with regional and national networks, flexi 

Laboratory Improvement Program and which will

bility and capacity to meet emergency needs, and

manage the on line directory.  The IOM characterized

applied research (Wilcke BW Jr, The state of public

this initiative as  making good organizational sense 

health laboratories, Mil Med, 2000;165(Suppl 2):

and noted the potential of this tool to make DoD's

8 11).  In recent decades, restructuring of civilian

assets  more accessible   and [for] encouraging

and military health care and changes in the practice

collaboration and use of the full spectrum of DoD

of medicine inadvertently created challenges to the

laboratory capabilities in the conduct of GEIS projects. 

delivery of critical, high quality public health labora 

tory services.  The Military Public Health Laboratory

To this end during FY 2001 a Memorandum of

Symposium highlighted these and made specific

Agreement (MOA) was developed between the

recommendations that were endorsed by the Armed

DoD GEIS Central Hub and the AFIP, and start up

Forces Epidemiological Board.

funding was provided.  A web based prototype devel 

oped in house by the DoD GEIS Central Hub was

A key step taken during FY 2001 to reconstitute and

reviewed by the AFIP, hardware to support this system

unify the DoD network of laboratories providing

was purchased, installed, and tested, and the necessary

8