Chapter

Medical operations

Geoffrey S. Corn

U.S. military operations : law, policy, and practice

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2016

p. 603-638

English

This chapter provides an overview of legal obligations related to the wounded and sick encountered in an operational environment, and how these obligations impact the planning, resourcing, and execution of military operations. The chapter explains how military commanders must prepare for the inevitable necessity —whether resulting from legal, moral, or policy considerations— to provide essential medical services during a military operation. Specifically, the chapter explores the challenges associated with complying with humanitarian legal obligations, balancing the preservation of finite medical resources to care for friendly forces and the risk of creating a perception of indifference to individuals whose medical needs might not fall within the scope of legal obligation. The chapter then explains commonly utilized tactics, techniques, and procedures to meet this challenge effectively and efficiently.

• Full text (restricted access : ICRC)

• U.S. military operations : law, policy, and practice / ed. by Geoffrey S. Corn, Rachel E. VanLandingham and Shane R. Reeves ; foreword by Stanley A. McChrystal