C.J. ChiversA blood chit carried by American military personnel
in or near the Horn of Africa, southwest and central Asia. It
includes translations of the same script in 31 languages. Today,
At War looks at the use of blood chits, a little-known and
partially classified American military system designed to help
lost or stranded service members find their way to safety. In
the simplest sense, a blood chit is a prepared message, written
in local languages, that a lost service member can present to
most anyone who might help. It offers a rough description of the
predicament – “I am not from here and would like to get back to
where I belong” – along with both a request for aid and the
promise of a reward for assistance. The chits are carried by
many air crews, particularly fixed-wing air crews, and by other
service members deemed to be at what the military calls “high
risk of isolation.” A current variant of a blood chit in
American military use is shown in part in the photographs at the
top of the post. Translat