Safely transporting injured service members from the battlefield has always been a challenge, but tools, technology — and the people behind them — have enhanced the medical evacuation process to save warfighters.
Racing against time
Before the Civil War, the wounded often had to wait for whoever could reach them first, using a wagon or cart to carry them off, explained Bryant Macfarlane, curator of the U.S. Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
During the American Revolution, “regimental bands often carried wounded troops from the field,” said Alan Hawk, historical collections manager at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, in Silver Spring, Maryland. “After battles, surgeons from opposing sides sometimes...
News from around the Military Health System for the week of July 6-July 10, 2026, includes senior military medical leaders convening to discuss warfighter health priorities, the Uniformed Services University president recognizes 250 years of military medicine's service to the nation, and ambient listening technology rolls out across military hospitals and clinics worldwide.
