Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) is a tri-service agency of the Department of Defense with a threefold mission of consultation, education and research. Within the Institute, there are 22 subspecialty departments with more than 120 pathologists. AFIP offers over 50 pathology education courses each year.
In 1998, U.S. military treatment facilities (MTF) received 12'109 of their 52'337 second opinions (all difficult cases), and all 40'100 primary cytology examinations, which included a large portion of active-duty women, supporting Air Force MTF's. AFIP experts are also actively involved in developing vaccines to prevent bioterrorism threats and to eradicate AIDS.