- Due to the popularity of the series M*A*S*H, colloquial use might refer to any mobile military field hospital.
The
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (
MASH) refers to a
United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional
hospital in a
combat area of operations. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War and later conflicts. The term was made famous in the television series
M*A*S*H, which depicted a fictional MASH unit. The U.S. Army deactivated the last MASH unit on February 16, 2006. The successor to the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is the
Combat Support Hospital.