In Care Under Fire, what should you do first to maximize casualty survival?

In Care Under Fire, what should you do first to maximize casualty survival?

• A. Return fire or move to cover first, then control life-threatening bleeding if tactically feasible.
• B. Seek to identify every injury before acting.
• C. Stand by for commands from higher headquarters.
• D. Proceed to evacuate the casualty without securing cover.

Answer: (A)

In Care Under Fire, safety and preserving the ability to continue care come before other actions. The first move is to return fire or move to cover to reduce exposure to enemy threat. Once you’ve established a safer position, you address life-threatening bleeding if you can do so quickly and without increasing risk to yourself or the casualty. This order matters because staying in danger or delaying action to identify injuries or wait for orders jeopardizes both could-be-survivors and the ongoing mission. When you can control bleeding rapidly without compromising safety (for example, applying a tourniquet to a life-threatening limb bleed while moving to cover), you should do so, but never sacrifice your own safety or that of the casualty to do it.

In Care Under Fire, safety and preserving the ability to continue care come before other actions. The first move is to return fire or move to cover to reduce exposure to enemy threat. Once you’ve established a safer position, you address life-threatening bleeding if you can do so quickly and without increasing risk to yourself or the casualty. This order matters because staying in danger or delaying action to identify injuries or wait for orders jeopardizes both could-be-survivors and the ongoing mission. When you can control bleeding rapidly without compromising safety (for example, applying a tourniquet to a life-threatening limb bleed while moving to cover), you should do so, but never sacrifice your own safety or that of the casualty to do it.