Casualty evacuation

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Casevac is a portmanteau word that means "casualty evacuation". This can apply to injured soldiers or civilians, and is used to denote the emergency patient evacuation of injured people from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and air. Casevacs by air today are almost exclusively done by helicopter, a practice begun on a small scale toward the end of World War II; before that, STOL aircraft, such as the Fieseler Fi 156 or Piper J-3 were used. Casevac aircraft are not necessarily equipped with specific life saving equipment or specially trained medical personnel. They are used as a primary means of getting a casualty back to another location were they can be treated by professional medical staff.

The primary difference between a CASEVAC and a MEDEVAC is that a MEDEVAC uses military vehicles and equipment (HMMWVAmbulances, or Medical Helicopters) primarily designed for the sole purpose of treating casualties and evacuating patients to proper medical facilities. CASEVAC's on the other hand, use non-medical vehicles to transport casualties that are in dire need for evacuation from the battlefield and do not have time to wait on a MEDEVAC or a MEDEVAC is unable to get to the casualty.

While lacking advanced life saving equipment and medical personnel in regular vehicles, all personnel today enter the combat zone with an Infantry First Aid Kit (I.F.A.K) on their equipment. The I.F.A.K has basic medical supplies such as gauze, bandages, tourniquets, and QuikClot. All members of the US Armed Forces today are trained in some form of basic first aid. Most units have stretchers and burn blankets in their vehicles.

In the U.S. Military, the highest level of medical care available prior to a casevac is from combat medics. These personnel are trained to stabilize patients during very specific life-threatening situations, such as tension pneumothorax or severe bleeding, but lack equipment and training for any unusual or complex medical emergencies. A large percentage of soldiers in the U.S. Military are trained to be combat lifesavers.

In Australian military terminology, a casevac refers to the evacuation of a small number of troops, usually just one.