Combat lifesaver course

The U.S. Army Combat Lifesaver Course is an official medical training course conducted by the United States Army. The course is intended to provide an intermediate step between the buddy aid-style basic life support taught to every soldier and the advanced life support skills that are taught to US Army Combat medics and to US Army Special Forces medical sergeants .

Course outline

While a CLS certification is technically permanent, soldiers in Priority 1 units must retake the course once a year to retain their certification.

Aside from basic first aid, Combat Lifesavers are also taught to identify and perform the correct pre-hospital treatment for:

Tension pneumothorax produced by a penetrating or non-penetrating lung injury
Vascular hypovolemia produced by uncontrolled external hemorrhage
External arterial hemorrhage
Destabilized spinal cord injuries
Respiratory failure produced by a non patent airway in an unconscious or semi-conscious casualty

Combat Lifesavers are not, however, trained or permitted to perform laryngoscopy, single lumen tracheal intubation or any kind of surgery