"Assessing Readiness: The State of the Military's Medical Corps"
Advances in battlefield medicine during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, such as rapid medical response and new tourniquets, achieved unprecedented survival rates. However, post-war cost-cutting measures and outsourcing to civilian institutions have jeopardized these gains, reducing military medical readiness. The Pentagon is now reversing course to restore in-house medical care and staff, but future conflicts without air superiority may require every soldier to be trained as a medic.