OVERVIEW of CLS TASKS and EQUIPMENT

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You have already been tested on your ability to perform the buddy-aid tasks which every soldier is expected to know and perform. The tasks you will now learn are tasks normally performed by the 91B combat medic. The most important task you will learn is to initiate an intravenous infusion. Initiating an intravenous infusion will help to control shock caused by blood loss, severe burns, or severe heat injury.

TASK

Identify the functions of the combat lifesaver and the contents of the combat lifesaver aid bag.

CONDITIONS

Given written items pertaining to the role of the combat lifesaver and to the combat lifesaver aid bag.

STANDARD

Score 70 or more points on the 100-point written examination.

The Army doctrine was developed to be used on a battlefield in which combat elements are widely dispersed. This will create a problem for the Army Medical Department as well as the rest of the Army.

Since the combat elements will be spread out and constantly on the move, it will be difficult for medical personnel such as the combat medic to quickly reach battlefield casualties.

Part of the doctrine calls for regular, nonmedical soldiers to be given training in providing additional emergency care to wounded soldiers.

This care will help a wounded soldier to survive those first few crucial minutes after he is wounded and help stabilize the soldier until he can be treated by trained medical personnel. The name given to this nonmedical provider of far-forward emergency care is the combat lifesaver.

Remember, as a combat lifesaver, your primary function is to accomplish your combat mission. You are to provide emergency care as a secondary mission when your primary mission allows. You may also be asked to assist the combat medic in providing care and preparing casualties for evacuation when you have no combat duties to perform.

Normally, each squad, team, crew, or equivalent-sized unit will have at least one member trained to function as a combat lifesaver.

Combat lifesaver training is a bridge between the self-aid/buddy-aid training given all soldiers during basic training and the medical training given to the combat medic.

In addition to being proficient in all self-aid/buddy-aid tasks, the combat lifesaver performs the following tasks:

Initiate an intravenous infusion.

Measure and monitor a casualty’s pulse.

Measure and monitor a casualty’s respirations.

Apply a SAM splint to a fractured limb.

Insert an oropharyngeal airway in an unconscious casualty.

Manage battle fatigue.

CLS tasks (cont):

Identify and treat cold injuries in addition to frostbite.

Administer first aid to blister, choking, and blood agent casualties and provide additional treatment to nerve agent casualties.

Administer over-the-counter pain killers (such as Tylenol�) and antihistamine tablets (such as Sudafed�).

Transport a casualty using various litter carries.

Load casualties onto military vehicles.

The combat lifesaver carries a small aid bag containing his medical supplies. The aid bag weighs a little over nine pounds and takes up about 0.44 cubic feet. The aid bag consists of the following items:

Two bottles containing 50 acetaminophen tablets (such as Tylenol). Administered for headache, common cold, and minor pain.

One roll of adhesive tape. Used to secure the I.V. catheter and tubing to the casualty’s arm.

Two rubber artificial airways. Used to keep the airway of an unconscious casualty open.

Five atropine autoinjectors. Used to administer additional antidote to nerve agent casualties.

Eighteen self-adhesive bandages with attached sterile pad. Used to protect minor wounds.

What is usually called an “ace” bandage is a gauze elastic kling bandage. While the combat lifesaver does not bandage sprains, this bandage can be useful as a reinforcement bandage and as padding for a splint.

Four muslin bandages. Used to secure splints and used as tourniquet bands, slings, and swathes.

Nylon case. Used to carry the medical supplies. The case has three zippered compartments for storing supplies and a shoulder strap.

Two catheter and needle units. Used in administering intravenous infusion.

Five CANA autoinjectors. Used to alleviate convulsions in nerve agent casualties.

Six field first-aid dressings. Used to control bleeding and protect wounds.

Three pairs of rubber sterile patient examining gloves. Used when initiating I.V.s for the protection of both casualty and combat lifesaver.

Two intravenous injection sets. Connects the I.V. bag to the needle and catheter unit. The clamp controls the rate at which the fluid flows from the bag.

Six packets of povidone-iodine impregnated cotton pads. Used to cleanse skin, especially before performing the I.V. puncture.

Eight packets of povidone-iodine ointment. Used to protect minor wounds from infection.

One bottle containing 24 pseudoephedrine hydrochloride tablets (such as Sudafed�). Administered for allergies.

Two I.V. bags. Each bag contains slightly more than a pint of sterile fluid to be administered intravenously to avoid hypovolemic shock.

One pair of scissors. Used to cut the casualty’s clothing to expose wounds, cut muslin bandages into triangular bandages, and cut tape.

One SAM splint. Used in splinting fractured limbs.

Fourteen inches of rubber tourniquet (flat). Used as a constricting band when performing the I.V. task.

Remember, the combat lifesaver performs emergency care as a secondary mission only when his primary combat mission allows. This lesson is tested in the written multiple-choice examination.