To Be There, To Be Ready, and To Save Lives: Far-Forward Medical Care in Combat

Abstract

U.S. Army combat medical care is the best in the world. But the number of injuries sustained by soldiers that lead to death, usually due to hypovolemic shock, remains unacceptably high. Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) far forward on the battlefield have led to advanced, professional medical and surgical care earlier than previously possible. Yet MASH hospitals are Corps-level assets, and as such are often too far back to intervene in the 'golden hour' of trauma care when lives can be saved. Forward surgical teams can be built from the assets of either MASH hospitals or Combat Support Hospitals (CSH), and can be utilized as far forward as the medical companies of the Division's Forward Support Battalions (FSB), thus decreasing the evacuation distance from point of wounding and providing life-saving surgical treatment much farther forward than previously possible.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 15, 1993
Accession Number
ADA264582

Entities

People

  • Darrel R. Porr

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Casualties
  • Civil War
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military History
  • Military Hospitals
  • Patient Care
  • Penetrating Wounds
  • Second World War
  • Surgery
  • Therapy
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Wounds And Injuries

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Trauma or Military Medicine