To honor those who serve our nation, the Military Health System (MHS) and the Defense Health Agency (DHA) are committed to “Caring for those in Harm’s Way.” The MHS must continuously improve and innovate to provide quality healthcare delivery and enhance utilization in various battle conditions, across fifty states and territories, and internationally, each with different requirements and serving varying populations. Understanding the needs of the military population and their beneficiaries must move beyond health facility performance metrics to enterprise-wide health systems research which identifies factors that impact the health readiness and outcomes of Service members and their beneficiaries. The Military Health System Research Program (MHSRP) was established to use data driven research to assess the functioning of the MHS. More specifically, MHSR funds research grants to identify factors that lead to variations in care and areas where health care delivery improvements can have the greatest impact. MHSR grants reflect the priorities of DHA leadership and deliver knowledge related to cost, quality, variation, and outcomes of care. Grants cover a range of topics and clinical conditions, ranging from: pediatric diabetes as a proxy for understanding the transitions in care; to using geographic variation to improve the quality and reduce the cost of low back pain. The MHSRP examines the impact of policy decisions, such as management consolidation impact on utilization, cost, quality, and military readiness; TRICARE expansion of behavioral health benefits and provider availability on access and utilization of services. Some MHSR studies seek to understand the market determinants of variation in spending and utilization, with impact of direct versus purchased care as a driver of cancer outcomes. While these studies seem specific, they provide insights into the behaviors of the MHS as a system of care, identify activities for emulation, improvement, or cessation and/or identify factors for change. The MHSR program supports research through extramural and intramural funding, research support hubs to increase capacity, and academic partnerships for research innovation. Future efforts will involve accelerating access to medical data resulting in more rapid research results, developing webinars for knowledge dissemination and impact, and increased research partnerships with the Veterans Affairs. The MHSR program’s primary goal is to drive the MHS enterprise towards excellence as a learning health system that delivers quality care to our Service members and beneficiaries.