text: Army Health System Overview
  CASUALTY EVACUATION
  1-16. Casualty evacuation is the movement of casualties aboard nonmedical vehicles or aircraft without
  en route medical care. Also called CASEVAC. (Currently the proponent for this term is FM 4-02 but will
  be moved to ATP 4-02.13 when revised). Casualty evacuation encompasses a wide spectrum of potential
  capability- depending on the mix of transport platform, medical equipment, and medical providers allocated
  to the mission. At the upper end of the spectrum, nondedicated platforms can be outfitted with the requisite
  medical equipment and MEDEVAC assets. At the lower end of the spectrum, CASEVAC can be no more
  than the transport of casualties using platforms of opportunity with no medical equipment or medical
  providers (in using such assets, the risk of not moving the casualty must outweigh the risk evacuating him/her
  in such a manner). Effective CASEVAC complements MEDEVAC by providing additional evacuation
  capacity when number of casualties (workload) or reaction time exceeds the capabilities of MEDEVAC
  assets. Casualty evacuation requires detailed assessment and planning in order to achieve an effective
  integration of MEDEVAC and CASEVAC capabilities. For more information on CASEVAC, refer to ATP
  4-25.13. For more information on MEDEVAC, refer to ATP 4-02.2.
  WARNING
  Casualties transported in CASEVAC platform may not receive
  proper en route medical care or be transported to the appropriate
  MTF that can best address the casualty’s medical needs. This
  may have an adverse impact on the casualty’s prognosis, long-
  term disability or even death may result.
  MEDICAL EVACUATION
  1-17. Medical evacuation is the timely and effective movement of the wounded, injured, or ill to and between
  medical treatment facilities on dedicated and properly marked medical platforms with en route care provided
  by medical personnel. Also called MEDEVAC (ATP 4-02.2). A patient is a sick, injured or wounded
  individual who receives medical care or treatment from medically trained personnel.
  1-18. The Army MEDEVAC system is comprised of dedicated, standardized MEDEVAC platforms (ground
  and air ambulances). These ambulances have been designed, staffed, and equipped to provide en route
  medical care to patients being evacuated and are used exclusively to support the medical mission, in
  accordance with the law of land warfare and the Geneva Conventions. The focus of the MEDEVAC mission
  coupled with the dedicated ambulances permit a rapid response to calls for medical support. The provision
  of en route care on medically equipped vehicles or aircraft greatly enhances the patient’s potential for
  recovery and may reduce long-term disability by maintaining the patient’s medical condition in a more stable
  manner. En route care refers to the care required to maintain the phased treatment initiated prior to
  evacuation and the sustainment of the patient’s medical condition during evacuation. (ATP 4-02.2).
  1-19. The United States Army is tasked with providing intratheater aeromedical evacuation (AE) as the only
  Service with dedicated air ambulances. The United States Army provides intratheater AE to all land
  maneuver forces (once ashore) and also provides support to ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship patient
  movement requirements.
  1-20. The USAF AE system operates within the “operational or strategic” environment and provides the vital
  linkage between the roles of care for regulated patients over extended distances and to continental United
  States (CONUS) for final patient disposition. The USAF AE is performed by designated fixed-wing
  platforms configured with standardized medical equipment and staffed with medical professionals who
  provide the timely, efficient movement and en route care of the wounded, injured, or ill personnel. The
  standardization of equipment and medical professionals aboard USAF AE assets ensures the continuity of
  care between roles of medical care. For these reasons, USAF AE is the sole provider of patient movement
  from Role 3 to Role 4 and is the preferred means of patient movement over great distances within a given
  area of operations (AO). Patient movement is the act of moving a sick, injured, wounded, or other person to