By Robert Hammer, Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs/Military Health System

One of the key components of the Military Health System Digital Transformation Strategy is to develop a digitally competent workforce. The roadmap emphasizes the importance of educating medical professionals in digital health solutions and informatics to improve force readiness and health care outcomes.

“Digital literacy is increasingly important,” said Bill Bonner, chief transformation project officer at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, adding that educational opportunities in artificial intelligence provided by MHS offers “world-class education and training of digital health capabilities.”

Educational opportunities in digital technology, including AI, offered by the MHS include:

  • The Naval Postgraduate School offers a distance-learning data science certificate, as well as courses in AI, data management, and simulation — all of which can be used to enhance and create more efficient medical systems.
  • Digital University, a joint venture between the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, is a platform providing access to training in areas such as coding, data science and digital product management to Department of War staff members. The program also offers access to internships and individual certifications.
  • The U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence Directorate of Simulation provides state-of-the-art medical training to enhance the readiness and proficiency of U.S. Army medical personnel — offering realistic, scenario-based training that integrates medical modeling and simulation to educate and certify combat medics.
  • The Defense Health Agency’s Medical Simulation and Training Program Management Office builds readiness through simulation, training, and education.
  • The DHA’s Continuing Education Program Office provides courses for health care providers on subjects including AI and natural language processing.
  • The Medical Education and Training Campus on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas serves as the primary training center for enlisted military medical personnel. Offerings include virtual reality/augmented reality training aids, 3D printing, multimedia-blended machine learning, and AI education.

University leads the way

As the premier medical educational facility within the MHS, USU serves as a vital test bed for these new educational models. Rather than just reading about technology, students are actively using AI-driven standardized patients to simulate clinical encounters and personalized tutors to refine their skills, said Bonner.

“From an MHS perspective, the first hurdle that you have to overcome when you’re educating individuals is giving them access to the tools,” he said. “There are so many ways to apply the technology, whether it’s AI or traditional sorts of statistical models.”

USU leadership has opened the aperture on acceptable AI use, Bonner said, encouraging students to experiment with these tools responsibly. This includes using large language models to generate study questions or review material.

Using the tools comes with significant precautions that are addressed in courses of study. “The overarching message is responsible use and compliance with strict rules regarding the use of identifiable health information with these tools,” said Cmdr. (Dr.) Jacob Cole, director of healthcare informatics at the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

The goal is to create a dynamic learning environment that blends traditional methods with high-tech experiences such as AR, AI-tailored training, and operational exercises.

Training today’s workforce

Upskilling and reskilling the current medical workforce with emerging tools — like ambient technology — is a vital part of the digital strategy. In October 2025, the DHA began piloting ambient technology, a virtual scribe tool that turns a doctor’s conversation into a draft clinical note. It is expected to roll out to every military hospital and clinic this year.

To reach the wider force, USU has launched a faculty developmental series, a “road show” designed to teach staff at military hospitals and clinics about digital technology. The 12-hour program shows faculty how to bring AI and large language models into clinical practice safely and ethically.

USU has also developed graduate certificates in areas such as informatics and data science that personnel across the enterprise can use.

Expanding on the university’s innovations in training, education for MHS professionals “is not being done in a vacuum, it is being coordinated across the enterprise,” said Cole. “The component members of the MHS pursuing this imperative from their own perspectives and unifying those efforts toward this common goal of improving the quality of care that we are providing.”

Practice in digital tools before patients

Military medicine operates in high-stakes environments, from emergency medicine to combat medicine — and reality changes how people should learn new tools.

At USU, educators describe the school as a controlled, proving ground where teams can integrate tools, test workflows, and refine training before scaling across the enterprise.

“You need to make sure that practitioners are trained with the tools in an environment where they can make mistakes,” Cole said. “Because DHA is a can’t-fail organization, we need to ensure that the innovative tools we are using, don’t create unnecessary risk to our patient’s health or privacy.”

Bonner said these are “places where they can make and learn from those mistakes. They can study them, they can do the research, and then they can find the right way to apply it in those can’t-fail scenarios over and over.”

Operational medicine training exercises let teams test workflows in a risk-free environment, Bonner explained. He cited the university’s Operation Bushmaster, where providers practice tactical combat casualty care under realistic conditions in challenging conditions, as an example of this critical training.

Digital competence starts with fundamentals

Cole said education should cover practical essentials: how the tool works, what data it uses, and what guardrails protect security and confidentiality. “They have to have a fundamental understanding before they can trust it, and to ensure that those learning and using AI are not blindly trusting but also verifying the information provided.”

When it comes to learning AI, Cole said it is important to remember that “not everybody needs to become an expert in every technology or discipline, but they at least know that they can change something or pursue change in their environment. Showing folks what’s possible is a big part of preparing them for the future.”

Bonner noted it’s important to remember that AI does substitute for the human element but encouraged providers to embrace the digital tool.

“AI is not going to replace the doctor, but doctors who don’t use AI will be replaced by doctors who use AI.”