The battalion aid station belongs to, and is an organic component of, the unit it supports.
It may be split into two functional units for up to 24 hours, the main aid station consists of a medical doctor and three 68W combat medics or Hospital Corpsmen and a forward aid station consisting of a physician assistant and three more 68Ws or corpsmen.
According to the Geneva Convention, military medical facilities, equipment and personnel are non-combatants and may not be attacked as long as they remain in a non combatant role.
Medical personnel are allowed weapons for the purpose of self- and patient-defense.
While the Navy department still uses the general medical officer (GMO) physician to staff many BASs, the Army has worked to eliminate GMOs and fill most BASs with "residency trained physicians".
A TDA physician sees military dependants, active duty patients, and retirees.
The battalion surgeon technically manages the BAS including the assistant battalion surgeon, either a medical officer or physician assistant medical service officer as well as corpsmen.