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I was a medic in the Viet Nam war so I know what it's like to get a wounded soldier off the field and to a med-evac unit. But now that it's my son who was injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I can't help but wonder how they got this kid from the front lines to the U.S. in under a week. That would have never happened for us. I can't really ask him yet (the subject is off limits) so I'm digging around on the Internet to see what I can find about combat injuries.
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There are some changes in the way seriously injured soldiers are treated in today's war time. Surgical teams are posted much closer to the front lines than ever before. That means patients get help much faster -- sometimes going from battlefield to field hospital in under an hour. Once they are stabilized, they can be transported to Germany within 12 hours and stateside by day 5. That sure beats the 15 hour delay soldiers experienced just getting off the battlefield in World War II.
During the Viet Nam conflict, soldiers could be transported from the battlefield to a MASH unit (mobile Army surgical hospital) in two hours. Often the wait was much longer. Today's soldier involved in Operation Iraqui Freedom would be taken to the closest combat support hospital.
Military medical personnel at these level 3 treatment facilities know how to manage the soldier who has what is referred to as polytrauma -- a spinal cord injury plus traumatic brain, chest, back, bone, organ, and/or other injuries. Aeromedical transport via helicopters continue to be instrumental in getting our soldiers care faster than ever before.
Right now, military medical experts report that most patients get to a level four care facility (usually in Germany) from Iraq in 12 hours. The longest turn around time from battlefield to level four care is 48 hours. If stable, the soldier will be transported to the United States within four to five days -- unheard of in the Viet Nam era. Soldiers were lucky to get stateside until six or eight weeks after injury.
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