U.S. Army Medical Department CenterCOMBAT LIFESAVER COURSE: MEDICAL TASKS

PHTLS: Prehospital Trauma Life Support, Military Edition consists of the PHTLS core content and features thirteen chapters written by military prehospital trauma care experts for practitioners in the military environment. PHTLS: Prehospital Trauma Life Support, Military Edition is created in partnership between the National Association of Emergency

A decade of intense combat in two theaters has taught us many lessons about what works and what does not in the effort to accomplish that all-important mission of saving lives in battle. A severely injured Soldier today has about twice the likelihood of surviving his wounds compared to Soldiers in wars as recent as Vietnam. That progress is the result of many things: better tactics and weapons, better body armor and helmets, better trained and fitter Soldiers. But, the introduction of tactical combat casualty care (TCCC) throughout the Army has certainly been an important part of that improvement. TCCC is fundamentally different from civilian care. It is the thoughtful integration of tactics and medicine, but to make it work takes a different set of skills and equipment, and every Soldier and leader needs to understand it and practice it. This handbook is the result of years of careful study of the care of wounded Soldiers, painstaking research by medics and physicians, and the ability of leaders at all levels to see and understand the lessons being learned and the willingness to make the changes in equipment, training, and doctrine needed to improve the performance of the Army Health System. It is the best guidance we have at the time of publication, but new information, new techniques, or new equipment will drive changes in the future. Be assured that these performance improvement efforts will continue as long as American Soldiers go in harm’s way.

Modern combat is chaotic, intense, and shockingly destructive. In your first battle, you will experience the confusing and often terrifying sights, sounds, smells, and dangers of the battlefield--but you must learn to survive and win despite them. You could face a fierce and relentless enemy. You could be surrounded by destruction and death. Your leaders and fellow soldiers may shout urgent commands and warnings. Rounds might impact near you. The air could be filled with the smell of explosives and propellant. You might hear the screams of a wounded comrade. However, even in all this confusion and fear, remember that you are not alone. You are part of a well-trained team, backed by the most powerful combined arms force, and the most modern technology in the world. You must keep faith with your fellow Soldiers, remember your training, and do your duty to the best of your ability. If you do, and you uphold your Warrior Ethos, you can win and return home with honor. Subjects covered include: -Individual Readiness -Combat Care and Preventative Medicine -Environmental Conditions -Cover, Concealment, and Camouflage -Fighting Positions -Movement -Urban Areas -Combat Marksmanship -Communications -Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape

Advances in trauma care have accelerated over the past decade, spurred by the significant burden of injury from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Between 2005 and 2013, the case fatality rate for United States service members injured in Afghanistan decreased by nearly 50 percent, despite an increase in the severity of injury among U.S. troops during the same period of time. But as the war in Afghanistan ends, knowledge and advances in trauma care developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) over the past decade from experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq may be lost. This would have implications for the quality of trauma care both within the DoD and in the civilian setting, where adoption of military advances in trauma care has become increasingly common and necessary to improve the response to multiple civilian casualty events. Intentional steps to codify and harvest the lessons learned within the military's trauma system are needed to ensure a ready military medical force for future combat and to prevent death from survivable injuries in both military and civilian systems. This will require partnership across military and civilian sectors and a sustained commitment from trauma system leaders at all levels to assure that the necessary knowledge and tools are not lost. A National Trauma Care System defines the components of a learning health system necessary to enable continued improvement in trauma care in both the civilian and the military sectors. This report provides recommendations to ensure that lessons learned over the past decade from the military's experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq are sustained and built upon for future combat operations and translated into the U.S. civilian system.

FM 21-11 1943: Basic field manual, first aid for soldiers.(OBSOLETE) "The purpose of this manual is to teach the soldier what he can do for himself or a fellow soldier if injury or sickness occurs when no medical officer or Medical Department soldier is nearby. Information is also given concerning the use of certain supplies which are for the purpose of helping to keep well. This field manual addresses wounds, fractures/dislocations/ sprains, common emergencies and health measures, effects of severe cold and heat, measures for use in the jungle/tropics and in aircraft and tank injuries, transportation of sick and injured, war gases, and description and uses of first-aid kits and packets.

BACKGROUND IN 1996, THE NAVAL SPECIAL WARFARE COMMAND DEVELOPED A NEW SET OF TACTICALLY APPROPRIATE BATTLEFIELD TRAUMA CARE GUIDELINES NAMED TCCC. THE TCCC GUIDELINES WERE ADOPTED BY THE U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (USSOCOM) AND APPROVED BY THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS (ACS) AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS. THE COMMITTEE ON TCCC WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2001 AND WAS DIRECTED TO FURTHER DEVELOP THE TCCC STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES. THE COMMITTEE ON TCCC FUNCTIONS AS A WORKING GROUP OF THE TRAUMA AND INJURY SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE DEFENSE HEALTH BOARD (DHB), WHICH HAS A CHARTER TO PROVIDE MEDICAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO ASD (HA) AND THE SERVICE SURGEONS GENERAL. TCCC CONCEPTS WERE INCORPORATED INTO THE 8404 CORPSMAN TRAINING CURRICULUM IN 2005. THE TCCC/CLS TRAINER COURSE WAS DEVELOPED IN 2006 TO PROVIDE CORPSMEN AS TRAINERS TO TEACH AND SUSTAIN TCCC STANDARDS TO CORPSMEN AND CLS SKILLS TO SELECTED MARINES WITHIN THE OPERATING FORCES. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TCCC ACROSS ALL SERVICES HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE HIGHEST COMBAT CASUALTY SURVIVAL RATES IN HISTORY AND IS RECOMMENDED BY ASD (HA) FOR USE WHEN TRAINING COMBAT MEDICAL PERSONNEL, REF B. TCCC INFORMATION IS PUBLISHED IN THE PREHOSPITAL TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT MANUAL (PHTLS), MILITARY EDITION, WHICH IS UPDATED EVERY FOUR YEARS. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD) APPROVED TCCC TRAINING CURRICULA ARE UPDATED ON THE DOD WEBSITE MHS.OSD.MIL/EDUCATION AND TRAINING/TCCC.ASPX AS THE TCCC GUIDELINES CHANGE. GOAL. ELIMINATE PREVENTABLE LOSS OF LIFE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. IN ACCOMPLISHING THIS GOAL, THE MOST RECENT TCCC GUIDELINES APPROVED BY DOD ARE TO BE UTILIZED AS A MEANS OF PROVIDING STANDARDIZED TRAINING TO THE MARINE CORPS AND IMPROVING FIRST RESPONDER CARE AT THE POINT OF INJURY. HISTORY OF TCCC: a. It is important to realize that civilian trauma care in a non-tactical setting is dissimilar to trauma care in a combat environment. TCCC and CLS are an attempt to better prepare medical and non-medical personnel for the unique factors associated with combat trauma casualties. b. Historical data shows that 90% of combat wound fatalities die on the battlefield before reaching a military treatment facility. This fact illustrates the importance of first responder care at the point of injury. c. TCCC was originally a US Special Operations research project which was composed of trauma management guidelines focusing on casualty care at the point of injury. d. TCCC guidelines are currently used throughout the US Military and various allied countries. e. TCCC guidelines were first introduced in 1996 for use by Special Operations corpsmen, medics, and pararescue (PJs). f. The TCCC guidelines are currently endorsed by the American College of Surgeons, Committee on Trauma and the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. The guidelines have been incorporated into the Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) text since the 4th edition. STUDENT CURRICULUM: Tactical Combat Casualty Care/CLS Overview Identify Medical Fundamentals Manage Hemorrhage Maintain Casualty Airway Manage Penetrating Chest Injuries Manage Hemorrhagic Shock Manage Burn Casualties Perform Splinting Techniques Administer Battlefield Medications Perform Casualty Movement Perform Combat Lifesaver Triage Perform Combat Lifesaver Care