Nine Line Medevac Request

Study Material

Published on July 22, 2007 By pseudosoldier In Misc

Line 1. Location of the pick-up site.
Grid coordinate preferred, landmarks if necessary. Information encrypted if transmitting in the clear.

Line 2. Radio frequency, call sign, and suffix.
Information encrypted if transmitting in the clear.

Line 3. Number of patients by precedence:
A - Urgent (w/in 2 hr)
B - Urgent Surgical (w/in 2 hr)
C - Priority (w/in 4 hr)
D - Routine (w/in 24 hr)
E - Convenience

Line 4. Special equipment required:
A - None
B - Hoist
C - Extraction equipment
D - Ventilator

Line 5. Number of patients by type:
A - Litter (L + #)
B - Ambulatory (A + #)

Line 6. Security at pick-up site:
N - No enemy troops in area
P - Possible enemy troops in area (approach with caution)
E - Enemy troops in area (approach with caution)
X - Enemy troops in area (armed escort required)
* In peacetime - number and types of wounds, injuries, and illnesses

Line 7. Method of marking pick-up site:
A - Panels (color)
B - Pyrotechnic signal
C - Smoke signal
D - None
E - Other

Line 8. Patient nationality and status:
A - US Military
B - US Civilian
C - Non-US Military
D - Non-US Civilian
E - EPW

Line 9. NBC Contamination:
N - Nuclear
B - Biological
C - Chemical
* In peacetime - terrain description of pick-up site

Line numbers 1 through 5 must always be transmitted during the initial contact with the evacuation unit. Lines 6 through 9 may be transmitted while the aircraft or vehicle is en route. Line numbers 1 through 5 must be transmitted in under 25 seconds.

It's necessary to get this out as fast as you can because of the nature of some of these injuries. It's important to encrypt the message as much as possible to prevent giving away information about your position and disposition to any enemy that might be listening in (you'd be surprised how common that is). This is an important skill not just for a squad RTO (radio-telephone operator) but for all soldiers, so they can take care of their battle buddies if they take rounds; it's a natural extension of being able to provide first aid to your buddy.

Interesting (okay, the blog that linked to the blog that linked to the blog that linked to this was interesting; the actual post if frickin' awesome and scary and sad) blog post I found while researching this is here.

Comments

Texas Wahine

on Jul 23, 2007

Are you going to be using this information or is it just something you're interested in?

Everyone is required to take CLS aren't they? I don't know if this exact info is a part of it, but I know that they are trying to get everyone somewhat schooled on emergency medical procedures.

SSG Geezer

on Jul 23, 2007

They keep talking about every graduate of basic training, being CLS qualified, but it appears that they aren't going to extend basic, so finding the actual time doesn't look likely.

pseudo: Very good find on the Medevac blog.

lifehappens

on Jul 23, 2007

I remember this stuff.....haven't thought about it for a while but this kind of stuff just gets stuck back in the shadows of your mind.

pseudosoldier

on Jul 23, 2007

According to this Army Times article, starting 15MAY of this year basic trainees have been given full CLS (Combat LifeSaver) certification. "By adding 5-1/2 hours to the 22 hours of first aid training the new soldiers were getting" already, TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command) was able to have them meet the minimum requirements for the certification.

As of right now, any soldier that already went through Basic is not required to be certified as a CLS. Additionally, there are no requirements to have these soldiers maintain their certification; CLS requires an annual recertification class (which seems more strict now than it did in the past). The class itself is supposed to be more in-depth than it has been in the past; when I went through it was mostly the basic first aid tasks that all soldiers are taught anyway, a review of various combat-oriented carries for wounded personnel, and the additional task of starting an IV. I haven't re-certed in two years, but I was CLS qualified for about 3 to 4 years and was a First Responder in the Commonwealth of Virginia before I enlisted. (Also, I was a Boy Scout, which is where I got a lot of my primary paramilitary training.)

I posted the 9 Line because it came up in a training event and I wasn't as familiar with it as I would have liked. Researching it and typing it out should help me internalize it better (plus I found that nifty link I posted at the end of the article).

Texas Wahine

on Jul 23, 2007

I haven't re-certed in two years, but I was CLS qualified for about 3 to 4 years and was a First Responder in the Commonwealth of Virginia before I enlisted. (Also, I was a Boy Scout, which is where I got a lot of my primary paramilitary training.)

That's impressive.

plus I found that nifty link I posted at the end of the article

I actually didn't read that since you said it was scary and sad.

pseudosoldier

on Jul 23, 2007

That's impressive.

Thanks. I think what your husband is trained to do and does is more impressive, but I'm not going to dismiss the compliment.

I'm embarassingly rusty on a lot of these skills, so this is part of a personal refresher. I was slotted to go to a CLS class a few weeks ago, but my last class's FTX (Field Training Exercise) was moved to the same week. But I know it's a personal weakness and I'm trying to be better about self-analysis and self-improvement.

I actually didn't read that since you said it was scary and sad.

It provides a solid example of what can go wrong in a real life Medevac Request, although it wasn't an issue with the report format that caused the casualties. It was from quite awhile ago (Operation Matador) and did address the loss of two United States Marines. But I can understand why you would want to avoid it.

Big hugs to you and yours, B.

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