Medical Support in Vietnam
Ξ November 26th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Old School Papers |
Written around December 2001
Introduction
The Vietnam War is the longest military conflict that the United States has participated in. It cost the US $150 billion and 58,000 American lives and estimates on North Vietnamese losses range up to a million[1]. The Republic of Vietnam lies entirely within the Tropics. Saigon is halfway around the world from Washington, D.C. and there is a 12-hour difference in time between the two cities. The nearest off-shore U.S. hospital is almost 1,000 miles away at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, The nearest logistical support base is about 1,800 miles away in Okinawa. The nearest complete hospital center is in Japan, some 2,700 miles distant. Patients being evacuated to the United States must travel, some 7,800 miles to reach Travis Air Force Base in California, or almost 9,000 miles to reach Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, D.C[2]. When considering the nature of the Vietnam War, it is surprising that there were not many more fatalities on the American side. With staggering casualty rates, but high survival rates, one can begin to understand the success of the medical operations in during the war. During the 18 years of conflict the medical units of the army, navy and air force continued to provide exceptional care under extremely difficult circumstances. (more…)