Sidebar and Story Ideas
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How Good is the Medical Care of Those Wounded in Iraq War.
Causality evacuation
has improved. Each war’s medical experience led to improved medical and surgical
process in the next one. In For instance in WWI a US Army pilot and Reserve medical
officer modified a Curtis JN-4D “Jenny” to carry a patient on a litter in the rear
cockpit area. This aircraft is recognized as the first American air ambulance and
was designed as a crash-rescue plane to aid pilots involved in accidents. World
War II saw the introduction of blood and serum transfusions into the front line
surgical environment at the medical clearing company level.
In Korea we began using the helicopter to transport the wounded from front lines
to hospitalonwheels@earthink.net units and Combat Cargo transport aircraft to return injured to Japan. In
Vietnam improvements were made that placed more highly trained medics on the front
lines and the casualty evacuation was even further improved with the use of air
transports both helicopter and C-130A’s.
In Iraq we have improved upon the previous use of Aeromedical Evacuation (AME) by
using specialist trained medical practitioners working from dedicated AME helicopters,
improved the medical training, medical and surgical processes, diagnostics, patient
tracking, bandages and surgical devices among many other improvements.
1. Medical training has improved:
• We are deploying simulation centers to teach medical care professionals how to
handle war wounds.
• Marines are conducting “Combat Life Saver Course” (CLC) to their warriors before
they deploy to a combat zone. Each Marine is taught how to handle a causality until
a corpsman or medical officer is able to take over. The training consists of how
to apply a tourniquet, treat various wounds, administer an IV, recognize and treat
shock, control blood loss and the anatomy of ballistic injuries. They have a five
to seven minute window to stop the bleeding, clear the airway, and regulate breathing,
apply IV’s, assess multiple wounds, apply bandages and splints and provide medication
among numerous tasks.
• Improving “Medic” training by requiring them to complete a five week Emergency
Medical Technician course and gain National Registered EMT-Basic certification,
then attend Pre-hospital Trauma Life Supporting training and finally complete Trauma
AIMs, a 96 hour course in trauma assessment.
2. Front Line care is better.
• Trauma care in Iraq is designed to be quick and efficient. Since the implementation
of the military trauma system the number of soldiers killed from combat wounds has
dropped to 8.8 % compared to 16.5 % during Vietnam.
• Development of acute care facilities throughout Iraq.
• Coordinating all medical services through a new position called “Trauma System
Director”
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¹Aeromedical evacuation — the first 100 years Air Commodore Tony K
Austin, AM, MB BS, DipAvMed, DipAdminStud, MPH,
FRACGP,FRACMA/http://www.defence.gov.au/DPE/dhs/infocentre/publications/
journals/NoIDs/ADFHealthApr02/ADFHealthApr02_3_1_43-46.pdf/ accessed 2-21-2007/
Ghosts from the past http://members.aol.com/pacevac/aeplanes.html .Accessed 15 June 2001.
²MNF-Iraq.com, 2-4-07, “ Corpsmen, Marines save lives in Anbar” by Cpl. Luke Blom
³US Medicine, January 2004, “Combat Medicine Evolves as Battlefields Change”. By
Lt. General James B. Peake, MC, USA, http://www.usmedicine.com/column.cfm?columnID=155&issueID=58,
Accessed 21 February 2007
*he journal of TRAUMA, “ Trauma System Development in a Theater of War: Experiences
From Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom,” by Brian J. Eastridge
MD, Donald Jenkins, MD Stephen Flaherty, MD, Henry Schiller, MD, and John B. Holcomb,
MD, .October 23, 2006/
http://members.aol.com/pacevac/aeplanes.html>.Accessed 15 June 2001.
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