ABSTRACT
The capacity of military doctors and medical providers to effectively treat battlefield injuries has expanded exponentially since the American Civil War. From the use of improved antiseptics during World War I to the cutting edge trauma and emergency procedures of today, a century and a half of medical research and innovation has dramatically enhanced clinical standards of care, shortened recovery times, improved rehabilitative outcomes, and decreased the rate of fatalities associated with many serious combat injuries. Yet, as we target current and future improvements in the quality of care, the importance of critically evaluating past successes and failures only increases. This chapter rests on the proposition that the wounded soldiers of today are best served, not by blind faith in medical science or the omniscience of doctors, but by the collective willingness of military leaders as well as all those who provide care to service members, veterans and their families to learn from what went before and to effectively apply that knowledge to tackle the biggest defense-related health care challenges of our time.
