The war in Ukraine is exposing the dangers of prolonged tourniquet use. US special operations medics are adapting.
US special operations medics are updating their training to include the removal of tourniquets, a practice previously avoided due to the risk of complications. This shift is in response to lessons from the war in Ukraine, where prolonged evacuations make traditional tourniquet use more dangerous.
Why it matters
It highlights how modern combat conditions are forcing military medical protocols to evolve to prevent long-term injury.
A student at the Special Operations Combat Medic Course and School applies a tourniquet to a simulated wound during a casualty scenario at Fort Bragg, North Carolina Feb. 16, 2023. Petty Officer 2nd Class Russell Lindsey/US Navy Lessons from Ukraine are reshaping battlefield medicine as prolonged evacuations become more likely. US special operations medics are graded on when and how they safely remove tourniquets from casualties. Tourniquets save lives, but if left on too long, they can increase the risks of serious complications. As the US military prepares for high-intensity, mass-casualty future wars, its medics are training to do something they almost never did during the Global War on Terror — remove a tourniquet from a wounded soldier.
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