US Special Operations Medics Now Train on Both Applying and Removing Tourniquets

US Army Special Forces training personnel told Insider that students in the special operations medical pipeline must now master tourniquet removal in addition to application. Troops receive grades on these conversions and on their ability to teach the skill to others.

The Army's special operations medical course chief said battlefield data from modern conflicts without rapid evacuation has forced medics to decide when to reverse a tourniquet.

Tourniquets remain among the most important tools under Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines, and hemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable battlefield death. Ukraine reports show that tourniquets left on too long have converted injuries expected to be simple fixes into amputations.

The country has also recorded rising demand for dialysis among wounded troops whose tourniquets remained in place beyond safe limits.

Permanent nerve damage is another documented risk. Col. Ken Dwyer, commander of the Army's Special Warfare Center and School, said he applies a tourniquet to save life but must later find a less destructive method to control bleeding.

Students including Navy corpsmen bound for Marine reconnaissance units and Army medics assigned to Rangers and Green Berets are expected to teach the conversion technique to service members and allied forces. John Holcomb, a University of Alabama trauma professor and former head of the Army Institute of Surgical Research, stated that when air control is contested and evacuation is denied beyond two hours, the tourniquet itself can cause more problems than the original wound.