«-- Economics and Investing: | Main | Five Letters Re: How to Build a Deeper Supply of Prescription Medications --»

Letter Re: The Latest Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook

Jim,
Among the books listed by the recent "favorite books" survey respondents was the US Army Special Forces Medical Handbook (ST31-91B). This book is obsolete and has been supplanted by the Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook.

The best summaries as to why the one is obsolete I've found are:
“That manual is a relic of sentimental and historical interest only, advocating treatments that, if used by today’s medics, would result in disciplinary measures,” wrote Dr. Warner Anderson, a U.S. Army Colonel (ret.) and former associate dean of the Special Warfare Medical Group.

“The manual you reference is of great historical importance in illustrating the advances made in SOF medicine in the past 25 years. But it no more reflects current SOF practice than a 25 year-old Merck Manual reflects current Family Practice. In 2007, it is merely a curiosity.”

“Readers who use some of the tips and remedies could potentially cause harm to themselves or their patients.”

JWR Adds: The new manual is a massive 680 pages. Here is the table of contents:

PART 1: OPERATIONAL ISSUES
PART 2: CLINICAL PROCESS
PART 3: GENERAL SYMPTOMS
PART 4: ORGAN SYSTEMS
Cardiac/Circulatory
Blood
Respiratory
Endocrine
Neurologic
Skin
Gastrointestinal
Genitourinary
PART 5: SPECIALTY AREAS
Podiatry
Dentistry
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Zoonotic Diseases Chart
Infectious Diseases
Preventive Medicine
Veterinary Medicine
Nutritional Deficiencies
Toxicology
Mental Health
Anesthesia
PART 6: OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
Dive Medicine
Aerospace Medicine
High Altitude Illnesses
Cold Illnesses and Injuries
Heat-Related Illnesses
Chemical
Biological
Radiation
PART 7: TRAUMA
Trauma Assessment
Human and Animal Bites
Shock
Burns, Blast, Lightning, & Electrical Injuries
Non-Lethal Weapons Injuries
PART 8: PROCEDURES
Basic Medical Skills
Lab Procedures
APPENDICES

Thanks, - Frankie

JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning the new manual! I have updated both the survey results post and the SurvivalBlog Bookshelf page, accordingly. OBTW, I have had difficulty finding an original copy of the new manual at a reasonable price. The copies that are presently listed on Amazon are "secondary market", at grossly inflated prices. But the good news is that the GPO also publishes a paperback edition for $59. I would prefer the military 9.7" x 6.4" edition that is three-hole punched (and hence will lay flat when open--making it a better "working" reference), but the GPO paperback edition should suffice. There are also electronic editions available for PDAs and Windows for $73, and for Palm PDAs for $60. The Special Forces.com online store sells a smaller 7.5" x 4.75" format edition (a bit harder to read), but they do sell it in combination with a CD-ROM.

Permalink -