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14 survival first aid

Access to a helicopter plays a vital role in ensuring the patient gets to a medical center in time for life-saving treatment.

Throughout this time, troops like the U.S. Marine Corps are expected to keep the injured person as calm as possible. They will try to do this by talking quietly but confidently, to reassure the patient. Elite forces are trained to: • Shield the patient from distressing sights of other persons injured or killed. • Not reveal too much detail if the patient’s injuries are severe but to keep the focus on the positive things the patient can do to make the situation better. Even if injured soldiers are deeply unconscious, it is likely that they will still have some understanding of what is being said around them. It is therefore important to keep talking in the usual reassuring manner.