Life Support for Trauma and Transport: first field use

During the Persian Gulf War, the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) found evacuation distances for patients increasing as a result of the fast movement of the forward line of troops. Thus, there is a need for a trauma and intensive care transport system that avoids the medical dangers that accompany such evacuation distances. In 1998, after a few years of research and development, the AMEDD introduced a prototype transport "trauma pod" called the LSTAT (Life Support for Trauma and Transport). In March 2000, the LSTAT was issued to the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital that deployed to Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, for its first real-world fielding. This article describes the initial Kosovo fielding phase, highlighting the LSTAT benefits, advantages to military medicine, and recommended enhancements.