Military & Combat Medical Training

We know that 90 percent of all combat deaths occur before the casualty reaches a definitive medical facility, and if the victim survives long enough to reach definitive care, his or her chances of survival are excellent.

Education and training in handling traumatic injuries is also better, ranging from the Combat Lifesaver Course to highly realistic and intensive instruction for corpsmen and medical professionals. One example is the various tactical Combat Casualty Care courses, where corpsmen and army medics learn from trauma experts and their combat-experienced peers, and from “some very rigorous academic work” on hemorrhage control and maintaining breathing and cardiac output until the wounded victim can get to more definitive care.

The most challenging aspect of combat and trauma injuries in general is getting the victim from the battlefield or incident scene to an advanced care hospital. This transit time is called the “Golden Hour”. While studies of trauma medicine show that there is nothing significant about the 60 minute window, the point is that time is essential to surviving a traumatic injury.

 Many of the injuries come from roadside bombs, known by the military as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, which can tear through vehicles and cause extensive damage to limbs and muscle tissue.

There needs to be a shift in our thinking; the days of not providing self-aid and lying there and yelling "Medic" are over. We must have the ability to assess our own wounds, provide self or buddy aid when necessary and continue the mission if possible.

This strategy will increase the unit's combat effectiveness as well as its survivability.
If we could make some minor changes in our common soldier medical skills training, we could improve the survival rate of 15-20 percent of all battle injuries.