text: Chapter 11
  Medical Evacuation
  Medical evacuation encompasses both the evacuation of Soldiers from the POI or
  wounding to an MTF staffed and equipped to provide essential care in the AO and
  further evacuation from the AO to provide definitive, rehabilitative, and convalescent
  care in CONUS.
  SECTION I — INTEGRATED MEDICAL EVACUATION SYSTEM
  11-1. Medical evacuation is the system which provides the vital linkage between the roles of care necessary
  to sustain the patient during transport. This is accomplished by providing en route medical care and
  emergency medical intervention, if required, which enhances the individual’s prognosis and reduces long-
  term disability.
  11-2. Army MEDEVAC is a multifaceted mission accomplished by a combination of dedicated ground and
  air evacuation platforms synchronized to provide direct support, general support, and area support within the
  AO. At the operational level, organic or direct support MEDEVAC resources locate, acquire, treat, and
  evacuate Soldiers from the POI or wounding to an appropriate MTF. Soldiers are then stabilized, prioritized,
  and prepared for further evacuation, if required, to an MTF capable of providing required essential care within
  the AO. Essential care refers to the absolutely necessary initial, en route, resuscitative, and surgical
  care provided to save, stabilize, and return as many Soldiers to duty as quickly as possible. Essential
  care is medical care provided by medical providers at all roles of care that focuses on saving life, limb, and
  eyesight, and returning as many Soldiers to duty as quickly as possible within the theater evacuation policy
  or begin initial treatment required for optimization of outcome and/or stabilization to ensure the patient can
  endure evacuation.
  11-3. The mission of Army MEDEVAC assets is the evacuation and provision of en route medical care,
  however, the essential and vital functions of MEDEVAC resources encompass many additional missions and
  tasks that support the AHS. Medical evacuation resources/assets are used to transfer patients between MTFs
  within the AO and from MTFs to USAF en route patient staging system; emergency movement of Class VIII,
  blood and blood products, medical personnel and equipment; and serve as messengers in medical channels.
  11-4. The appropriate roles of medical care must be maintained throughout the continuum of care. A patient
  who has received complex care such as damage control resuscitation or damage control surgery requires
  continuous maintenance of the critical care support that was initiated at the forward MTF. To avoid the risk
  that these patients will deteriorate during transport, the level of care should not be decremented during en
  route care. Based on the appropriate level of care, the medical personnel providing en route care may be
  paramedics, nurses, or other properly trained medical specialists. When possible, this en route care should
  be used as far forward as mission, enemy, terrain and weather, troops and support available, time available,
  and civil considerations allows.
  THEATER EVACUATION POLICY
  11-5. The theater evacuation policy is established by the Secretary of Defense, with the advice of the Joint
  Chiefs of Staff, and upon the recommendation of the CCDR. Theater evacuation policy is a command
  decision indicating the length in days of the maximum period of non-effectiveness that patients may be held
  within the command for treatment, and the medical determination of patients that cannot return to duty status
  within the period prescribed requiring evacuation by the first available means, provided the travel involved
  will not aggravate their disabilities or medical condition. (ATP 4-02.2).