Abstract

The UK military commitment to United Nations operations has led to a new challenge in identifying and developing skill sets required for humanitarian operations. The last two decades have concentrated on kinetic operations, with haemorrhage control being the main driver. The austere location and prolonged evacuation timelines have led to identifying management strategies of conditions that would previously have been evacuated to higher echelons of care. The Defence Medical Services have a multifaceted approach to training military personnel for operations, varying from regular exposure to high-acuity trauma and general surgery within their host NHS Trust, to validated training platforms that evolve continually to address the training needs demanded by differing fields of conflict.