Comment by renewiltord | Hacker News Reader

Comment by renewiltord | Hacker News Reader

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Interesting. Does medevac actually result in improving combat effectiveness directly? It seems that in a great-power war you rescue a fraction of combat personnel who will be injured and they will not return to combat any time soon.

The value then is entirely in believing that your guys have your back if you’re hurt, which I can imagine has a massive effect on morale. I suppose the existence of dedicated medevac also provides some constant reminder of humanity, which also has a similar effect plus the additional motivating factor of outrage when your med guys are hit.

Of course I could be entirely wrong and we could be frequently rescuing soldiers and putting them back into duty quickly. Curious to see what the numbers say.

A wounded combatant who could benefit from medevac is no longer a (edit: combat) asset to their fellow combatants, but is someone who may need one or more other people to try to keep them alive, or more people to carry them to a safer location. Their wounds or injuries may prevent the group from moving as easily.

In the cold calculus of ground warfare, a wounded combatant in the field is more valuable to the opposition than a dead combatant precisely because a dead person needs less support from their fellows. Rapid medevac has changed the historical wounded:killed ratio from about 3:1 to about 4:1 in recent US ground wars. Getting a wounded combatant to definitive medical care in the first hour after they are injured makes a huge difference in outcomes, which benefits troop morale.

In modern theater, if you're getting put on a bird you're probably going home. I've seen this with a few exceptions. CorpsMen and medics can take care of a lot of stuff in the field, and many things will just get wrapped up until you get back to base. The emphasis on modern military medical care is to return the troop to combat effectiveness, but a bird being called usually means you have exceeded what can be offered locally.

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