Clinical red flags from the USSOCOM TMEPS--recognize, act fast, and evacuate!

Military medical practitioners working in active duty clinics are known for seeing lots of people in a short amount of time. If you've ever seen what goes on every morning at a troop medical clinic on a training post or base you know what I mean. The goal of morning sick call is to find that one really sick person among the many not so sick standing in line for your services. What you learn from working in that setting is how to recognize the red flag--the sign or symptom that clues you in to a potentially dangerous condition. When at war, the ability to recognize the red flag is extremely important. In the austere or unsecure environment, the SOF Medic needs to be the one who knows what the red flags are and what to do about them once spotted.