![]() ![]() Nonetheless the MASHes were extremely successful. This coupled with the high volume of casualties during a battle necessitated the use of meatball surgery as opposed to conventional surgical techniques. Each Corps typically had two MASH units, each of them supported several divisions. While US Army doctrine specified that each division should be supported by its own MASH, there were never enough MASH units during the Korean War. ![]() The proximity of the MASH to the fighting troops, aided by the development of heli medevac meant that a Korean War casualty could get life-saving surgery within an hour, or even a few minutes, after being wounded. Critically injured personnel could also be sent directly from an aid station to a MASH. From there, those needing further treatment would be sent to Echelon II, usually a division clearing station which would route those needing urgent surgery to a MASH. Casualties were first treated at the point of injury through buddy aid, then transported to a battalion aid station (Echelon I) for emergency stabilizing treatment. MASHes were Echelon II facilities, in other words, only stage 2 along the US Army's chain of casualty evacuation. The 45th was the 8076th MASH before it was renamed in early 1953. Note the similarity of the layout seen on the film and TV series. The complex of tents in the center with red crosses are the O.R. Note the key elements of mobility: fleet of trucks mainly on the lower left, chopper pad on the lower right, main road nearby. This made them distinct from other types of hospitals such as Evacuation Hospital and Field Hospitals - these did not have as much transport and so tended to operate from semi-permanent locations.Ī photo of the actual 45th MASH as it existed during the Korean War. They could keep up with an advancing army or quickly "bug out" in the face of an oncoming enemy threat. Thus, the MASHes could be packed and moved within 6 hours. Important features of these MASHes they were fully equipped with their own comprehensive truck transport and would work mainly out of tents. The MASH concept was designed to get experienced surgical personnel as close to the front as possible, a few miles behind the front, just outside of enemy artillery range. The portable surgical hospitals had been too light and under-equipped, while the field hospitals were not mobile enough and therefore an advancing army found that casualties needed to be transported over great distances before they could get proper treatment. It was an improvement to the system of portable surgical hospitals, field hospitals, and general hospitals used during World War II. DeBakey and other Army surgical consultants as the "mobile auxiliary surgical hospital". Towards the end of World War II, the MASH concept was conceived by Michael E. Army decommissioned the last MASH unit on February 16, 2006. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War where they proved to be highly successful. The term Mobile Army Surgical Hospital ( MASH) refers to a United States Army hospital capable of providing definitive surgery within a combat area of operations and yet mobile enough to keep up with advancing troops.
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