Medical success in El Salvador

American medicine is respected worldwide, and our ability to respond with aid is beyond that of any nation. While we cannot administer aid indiscriminately, our ability to provide swift, effective humanitarian aid is one way in which we can demonstrate that we are truly relevant in the Third World. Recent United States experience in El Salvador proves this point. In 1983, when the Army was sending the first medical mobile training team to El Salvador, the mortality rate of wounded Salvadorian soldiers was 45%. As a result of U.S. military medical assistance, over the past four years the mortality rate of the wounded decreased to 5%. Activities of the Army Medical Department in El Salvador are an excellent example of efficient use of military medicine in low intensity conflict.