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May 15, 2025
Austere Resuscitative and Surgical Care Teams: Supporting Far-Forward Trauma Care on the Future Battlefield
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — Over two decades of conflict in the Middle East, deployed military medical capabilities have made significant advancements in tactical combat casualty care, damage control resuscitation, and damage control surgery. Among these improvements include the austere resuscitative and surgical care (ARSC, pronounced ärsk) teams, whose history extends back to Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 when special operations forces (SOF) identified a need for far-forward surgical teams. The concept of ARSC teams expanded to conventional forces in the 1990s, later proving crucial during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The ARSC can be defined as an “advanced medical capability delivered by small teams with limited resources, often beyond traditional timelines of care, and bridges gaps in roles of care to enable forward military operations and mitigate risk to the force.”01 The recent deployment of these highly skilled teams closer to the front lines has made combat surgical capabilities readily accessible in the most restricted operational environments.
March 20, 2025
Operators Wanted: SORB Navigating the Recruiting Challenges Facing the Army
FORT BRAGG, NC — The Army is working to overcome recruitment and retention issues at a time when the nation is facing new geopolitical challenges. Those recruitment issues are many and come with consequences, including how the Army’s special operations forces recruit, select, train, and man units with important ongoing overseas missions and commitments. The Special Operations Recruiting Battalion (SORB) is currently assisting the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) with navigating this recruiting challenge. This article discusses the obstacles to recruiting, the SORB mission, and a growing initiative that will benefit the special operations community and the wider Army as we train and fight together to stay ready to protect the nation.