Peer Visitor Support of Recent U.S. Military Amputees

Peer Visitor Support of Recent U.S. Military Amputees
by Jeff Gambel, Jim Mayer, Andrew Lourake and Fred Downs
Volume 14 · Issue 6 · November/December 2004

More than 160 U.S. military service members have suffered amputation of at least one major limb during Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom following the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The majority of their traumatic injuries have occurred due to blasts, such as from improvised explosive devices, landmines, and rocket-propelled grenades, and due to small weapons fire.

The care of these service members, representing each of the military services, has included immediate life-saving care and rapid medical evacuation in the theater of war for further medical stabilization and treatment. The average time for further medical evacuation from the theater of war to Germany and then to the United States is approximately one week.

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