Consideration of the medical care and biomedical support of women and children on Role 2 Afloat maritime contingency operations.

The Royal Navy's Role 2 Afloat (R2A) capability has now been firmly established in support of United Kingdom (UK) troops on contingency operations such as humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations. This article reviews the current capability of R2A to deliver medical care to children and pregnant women, including the challenges facing the deployed Biomedical Scientist (BMS).