A Brief History of Embedded Behavioral Health in the United States Military

Embedded behavioral health is a community-based model of care that has become popular and desired by military commanders and senior leaders in the last 10–15 years. While the concepts and tenets of embedded behavioral health have emerged over the last century of world conflicts, the terms “embedded behavioral health” and “embedded mental health” essentially have become brand names that are generally well recognized by military commanders and military behavioral health providers across services. This chapter looks at the evolution of this model of care starting with World War I, through key evolutions and adaptive changes during the Persian Gulf and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars, ending with discussion of major expansions in embedded behavioral health services over the last 15 years, and noting the landscape of embedded behavioral health in the current decade.