U.S. Army Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook2001, is a comprehensive medical reference resource designed for Special Operations Forces (SOF) medics. This “single-source” reference provides many revolutionary approaches to accessing medical information, such as a treatment hierarchy based on available medical resources and mission circumstances commonly facing the SOF Medic. The Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook is an innovative achievement in military medical knowledge, with contributions by over 80 medical specialists organized into a problem-oriented template for reference to diagnoses and treatments.
Few in the civilian (or even military) medical profession ever are challenged with the conditions in which SOF medics practice medicine daily. The SOF medic still has the ultimate medical mission. Despite the proliferation of medical information, no single reference source has emerged addressing the varied and complicated needs of the SOF medic. As a result, conflicting information and even misinformation have created confusion over the most basic medical questions, possibly endangering the lives of those we are committed to helping. The SOF medical community had to remedy this dangerous situation by creating a new SOF Medical Handbook, one that provides guidance to medics in our special environment, answering the hard diagnostic and treatment questions as best as possible. These answers are based on the best possible knowledge and tailored to the austere mission — in plain, straightforward language, without excuses, conditions or academic musings.
