RESCUE Act of 2025

The RESCUE Act of 2025 would require the Army to preserve a dedicated aeromedical evacuation (AE) capability within the Medical Service Corps (MSC), ensuring that AE missions are supported by specialized personnel, training, doctrine, and aircraft configured specifically for these missions. It also clarifies organizational authority: the Army’s aviation branch would organize, train, and equip AE assets, while the MSC (under the Surgeon General) would handle medical command and control, patient care, and clinical standards for AE operations. The bill directs that AE capability be maintained in alignment with medical readiness analyses and Army doctrine, and it protects the MSC’s distinct status by prohibiting restructuring AE into general aviation elements without congressional notification and accompanying risk assessments and reports. Any adjustments to force structure must consider operational medical requirements and joint force needs, with the Surgeon General retaining authority over medical force structure and related matters. Changes to allocations require prior consultation with the Surgeon General and certification that sufficiency analyses support the updated platform levels. The act would take effect 180 days after enactment, and it preserves the option to augment military patient movement with civilian or allied assets in contingency or humanitarian operations as determined by the Secretary of Defense.