Timelines for Reaching Injured Personnel in Africa

"Conducting medical evacuations and other personnel recovery missions in Africa is challenging because of the continent's vast geographic scope and the small number of U.S. personnel scattered across it. This report studies the military medical literature and recent historical cases to explore the relationships between rescuability and time. Marginal changes in incident response times, given a baseline of 6 or 12 hours, do not correlate with dramatically different rescuability rates in the historical cases. Enhancements of the initial medical care provided can improve rescuability rates; however, providing even modestly improved care in an operational context may prove difficult. Future analyses can use the baseline results outlined here to assess the likely rescuability rates associated with alternative rescue options. The cost and effectiveness of options can then be determined and compared. The policy question revolves around balancing the benefits of speed and improved care with the operational, clinical, and financial costs"--Publisher's web site.