Home VHS: Combat Wound Management

Hi there. I'm Chief Hospital Corpsman Ivan Phillip Keaton of the USMC.

We lost some good men fighting the forces of Saddam...

... but we would have lost a lot more without our skilled medical corps.

Today we're going to walk you through some typical combat wounds.

A lodged bullet must be extracted with a tweezers.

Disinfect the wound thoroughly.

Then the wound must be sutured with a suture needle and thread.

Finally, put a clean bandage over the wound.

Painkillers will help manage the pain...

... and antibiotics should be kept on hand in case of infection.

Pieces of metal or glass shrapnel follow a similar procedure.

Remove the shrapnel, then either bandage the wound if it's not deep...

... or disinfect, suture and bandage if it is.

Follow these steps and your soldiers will live to fight another day.

Semper fi!

<bzzt>