CASEVAC

Casualty Evacuation

The unplanned, unregulated movement of casualties using any available platform — military or civilian, dedicated or expedient — to remove them from the point of injury to a medical treatment facility as quickly as possible.

CASEVAC is distinguished from MEDEVAC by its improvised, immediate nature. Where MEDEVAC is a regulated, dedicated medical evacuation using specifically outfitted aircraft with medical personnel, CASEVAC uses whatever platform is available — a combat vehicle, a civilian truck, a non-medical helicopter — when no MEDEVAC asset is accessible in time.

CASEVAC vs. MEDEVAC

Factor	CASEVAC	MEDEVAC
Platform	Any available asset	Dedicated medical aircraft (marked with Red Cross)
Medical personnel on board	Not required	Required (flight medic minimum)
Planning	Ad hoc, immediate	Deliberate, 9-line request process
Protection	Combat aircraft protection rules apply	Protected status under Geneva Convention
Speed	Immediate	Governed by mission request cycle
Use case	When no MEDEVAC available or time-critical	Standard medical evacuation

TCCC and the Casualty Collection Point (CCP)

Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) divides care into three phases:

Care Under Fire — return fire, apply tourniquet (upper extremity hemorrhage), move casualty to cover. No other treatment unless negligible risk to rescuer.
Tactical Field Care — out of direct fire, <30 min stabilization. MARCH: Massive hemorrhage, Airway, Respiration, Circulation, Hypothermia/Head injury.
Tactical Evacuation Care — en route to Role 1/2. Continue MARCH, IV/IO access, reassess.

The CCP is a pre-designated or hasty-selected location where casualties are consolidated before evacuation. It should be:

Covered and concealed from direct observation
Accessible to ground or air evacuation assets
Located outside the minimum safe distance of ongoing fires

Casualty Triage Categories (NATO)

Color	Category	Description
T1 — Red	Immediate	Life-threatening, survivable with immediate intervention
T2 — Yellow	Delayed	Serious, stable enough to wait for treatment
T3 — Green	Minimal	Walking wounded, self-care or buddy-care
T4 — Black	Expectant	Unsurvivable or would require resources that endanger others; palliative care only

9-Line MEDEVAC Request

Even in a CASEVAC scenario, the 9-line format remains the standard for communicating casualty requirements:

Line 1: Location of pickup site (grid)
Line 2: Frequency and callsign at pickup site
Line 3: Number of patients by precedence (U/P/R/C/E)
Line 4: Special equipment required
Line 5: Number of patients by type (litter/ambulatory)
Line 6: Security at pickup site (N/P/E/X)
Line 7: Method of marking (smoke/panel/strobe/none)
Line 8: Patient nationality and status (military/civilian/POW)
Line 9: NBC contamination (N/B/C)

Precedences:

Urgent (U) — evacuation within 1 hour or patient will die
Urgent Surgical (US) — requires surgery within 2 hours
Priority (P) — evacuation within 4 hours
Routine (R) — evacuation within 24 hours
Convenience (C) — no time constraint

CASEVAC Planning in the OPORD

CASEVAC is addressed in OPORD Annex F (Sustainment) and Annex H (Signal) (for MEDEVAC frequencies). Commanders designate:

Primary / Alternate CCP locations with grid references
MEDEVAC request frequency and callsign
PACE plan for evacuation: Dedicated MEDEVAC → CASEVAC vehicle → ground convoy → local national support
Role 1 / Role 2 locations and route from CCP to MTF

Medical Operationsmedicalmedevaccasualtytccclogistics

RELATED TERMS

ACE Report SITREP LZ / PZ