It is clear that future conflicts will be different than those wars of the last two decades. The term Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO, pronounced ‘Lihs-Koh’) is used to provide this distinction. The number of killed and wounded casualties, both from combat and disease and non-battle injury, in LSCO far outstrip anything that we have seen during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Given this uncomfortable reality, these authors spend some time analyzing an often overlooked, but absolutely essential, aspect of medical care, how we comfort our dying and care for our dead. They describe a current state where we currently have no guidelines for this kind of care. The majority of combat casualty care guidelines are designed to preserve life and return our troops to the fight if at all possible. By recognizing this sizable gap in the training of our frontline medical personnel, they are starting a conversation that can help to minimize suffering on the battlefields of tomorrow.

Link to article on Military Medicine website