Military nursing at the forefront: the Army Forward Surgical Team

From World War II to current conflicts, history has validated the need for early surgical intervention to save lives and established the need for FSTs. Historically 10% to 15% of soldiers wounded in action require surgery to control hemorrhage and to provide stabilization sufficient for evacuation to a medical treatment facility where definitive care can be provided. Undoubtedly, many lives were saved in past conflicts because resuscitative surgery and care were available a short time after being wounded. The need for surgical stabilization for patients to survive a long evacuation was well-established during military operations such as Operation Desert Storm. Resuscitative surgery capability must be present on the battlefield, and this capability must be able to move with the units the FST is supporting. These two imperatives were the driving force of the creation of the US Army's FSTs: they are light, easily transportable, and able to keep pace with the supported units. FSTs are an integral and essential element in providing surgical care to save soldiers' lives on the modem battlefield. The US military has been involved in more operations and deployments since the end of the Cold War than in the preceding years. FSTs participated in many of these operations and have performed superbly. FSTs will continue to have a critical role in providing combat health service support to soldiers on the battlefield of the twenty-first century, and FST nurses will continue to be an indispensable asset.