United States. Department of Defense

“ This is a handbook of war surgery. Its lessons have been learned and then taught by combat surgeons - "young men who must have good hands, a stout heart and not too much philosophy; he is called upon for decision rather than discussion, for action rather than a knowledge of what the best writers think should be done."
In a world where multinational forces may be thrown together on one side in a large war, a need was clearly seen for standardization of equipment and techniques among nations expected to fight as allies. ”

“ We must not ever expect that the protected hospital environments of the Korean or Vietnam conflicts, bough with very necessary air superiority, will necessarily be present in future conflicts. Plans for the care of the wounded must be laced with a generous sprinkling of multiple alternatives and options, ranging from immediate air or surface evacuation with delayed suboptimal definitive surgical care to the more standard, early definitive treatment in a combat hospital with a 4-10 day retention period prior to further evacuation. ”

“ As in any medical endeavor, prevention is fare more efficacious than treatment. This is true for wounds sustained in war. Unfortunately, there is no precedent to suggest that man and nations have learned to coexist without armed conflict. ”