Advancements of Tourniquets in the Iraqi War Essay

Background of the War The name of the Second Gulf War has often been referred with the Iraq War, which has begun from March 20, 2003 and is still deteriorating lives of millions of people in the Iraqi region of the world. In the year 2003, invasion of Iraq was led by the United States of America, and this war is still ongoing, which has affected the world adversely. Development of weapons of mass destruction was one of the main rationales that were presented by the government of the George W. Bush, as well as, his supporters in the form of different Democratic and Republican parties. (Danchev, pg. 62-65) According to the Bush government, allies and interests of the United States posed a threat from the development of abovementioned weapons by the Iraq. In the year 2003, it was claimed during the State of the Union Address by the President George W. Bush that there was no time to wait for the imminence of the threat from the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. However, such weapons were not found by the United States after the invasion of the Iraq. In order to support the decision of the Bush’s government, connection was made between the al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein by the citing of their claims. (Murray, pg. 71-73)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason for the invasion of Iraq   Ã‚  given by the George W. Bush was the democracy in the Iraq, which was necessary for the development, as well as, stability of the country due to the abuse that was being done by the government of the Saddam Hussein in the Iraq in terms of human rights before the invasion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many forms have been observed in the casualties of the war in Iraq since March 2003 until present. In addition, great variation has been noted in the available information, as well as, its accuracy and validity regarding the occurrence of different types of incidents that have resulted in different types of casualties in the Iraq.   Even in the great variation, it is confirmed that the Iraq War has deteriorated and terminated thousands of lives and damaged houses and habitats of many lives in the region. One of the reasons of this deterioration was the opposition and criticism of the war by a number of experts, professionals, critics, and even the Americans. A range of serious health issues, as well as, mental disorders has been reported by many veterans of the Iraq War in the United States forces. Tumors, migraines, blood in urine, muscle pains, dysfunction of the sex, and a number of issues have been reported by the coalition forces in the Iraq. In this regard, utilization of radioactive depleted uranium has been found to be causing the abovementioned health issues and disorders in the coalition forces, which cannot be stopped during the war. Thus, the Iraq War has provided a number of serious losses to the United States government. (Murray, pg. 99-100) (Abrams, pg. 101-111) Over nineteen thousand casualties have been suffered by the military of the United States, as the fourth year started on March 19, 2006 during the war in Iraq. All these casualties included a broken leg, or a broken arm, which created a sense of fear and opposition in the Iraqi, as well as, American civilians. A number of American soldiers were sent to their homes with one leg, or one hand that changed their lives from their scratch. A soldier, who used to protect the country, now can look in the sky and dream of doing the same, while sitting on his wheel chair. This was the condition of many soldiers in the United States. (Danchev, pg. 50-52) This resulted in the hatred towards the Bush government, and towards the decision of sending American soldiers in the Iraq. (Abrams, pg. 91-101)   To help this kind of dreadful situation, the US Army started to provide their troops with a special kind of tool, a Tourniquet, which was designed to help the soldiers to save a limb thus saving their lives. What are tourniquets? To explain in simple words, a tourniquet is a piece of cloth and a stick, which is used to stop the flow of blood if a person faces emergency. These simple types of tourniquets were used in the 18th century. The exact and modern definition of a tourniquet is a device that works on the principle of compression and uses pressure to be applied on the wounded limb that blocks the circulation of blood in the specific area and prevents the flow of blood for a certain period. (Klenerman, pp. 33-36) With the advancement of technology and research, various types of tourniquets were introduced. Modern surgical types of tourniquets are being very popular because of their convenient mode of operation and availability. There are two types of tourniquets being used, one of the types uses a cloth or a piece or rubber and the other make use of gas to apply pressure. The number of limb-deprived soldiers was increasing day by day; to help solve this problem the US Army widened the use of tourniquets. (Abrams, pp. 40-44) Before the discovery of the highly effective tourniquet, the soldiers were using the basic field expedient tourniquet, which uses a cloth and stick to help control the flow of blood.   The Pentagon made every possible effort to provide every soldier present in Iraq with a standard tourniquet. The tourniquets were saving lives and the lives were stopped from being wasted unnecessarily. Data indicated that the soldiers that were not using the tourniquets and were not equipped with the tourniquets died, in a way, unnecessarily. In the year 2005, a newly designed tourniquet named as â€Å"The special operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet† (SOFTT) was issued to the soldiers in Iraq. This type of tourniquet was designed to be used using a single hand so that the soldier is able to apply the tourniquet all by him without needing any help. The SOFTT replaced the field expedient method. The field expedient method was also proving itself beneficial but SOFTT was even better. The number of casualties was also decreasing because SOFTT was also helping to save time. The SOFTT was reported to be very effective and useful in injuries that were hard to reach. The strap of SOFFT can be released completely and can be rethreaded; this allows it to be applied on limbs that are trapped. The SOFFT makes use of two latches, one is needed to provide effective use for the tourniquet while the other provides ability for securing the limb after the tightening..In order to use the SOFFT it is needed to be slide up on the limb and the pulling of the tail right after application. In order to be secure the screws must be tightened. The device remains in use until the bleeding is stopped. During these times another invention by US Army institute of surgical research came forth, which was the â€Å"Combat Application tourniquet† .This type uses a system of windlass with an internal band that provides pressure to the wounded limb. After tightening, the windlass is to be locked when the blood flow is stopped. A strap made of Velcro is then used to keep the windlass in place. The Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) was tested in 2004 at the US Army institute of surgical research with the other eight tourniquets available in the â€Å"Tourniquet off† .It was marked as the most effective tourniquet and it topped the list . It was easy to use hence it was recommended for use in the army. CAT was placed on the top of the â€Å"TOP 10 GREATEST INVENTIONS THIS YEAR† by the Army in 2005. Before SOFFT and CAT were introduced, the tourniquets were being used but they included the conventional cravat and stick types’ .The soldiers during their training periods were taught to use the conventional types that belong to the American civil war period. An unfortunate incident, proving the significance of tourniquets occurred with an Army medic who was climbing to reach the helicopter in Baqoubah in Iraq when suddenly bullets seared through his left thigh. As he lay beside his helicopter, he took hold of a tourniquet inside his pocket and immediately slide it on to his wounded thigh and the tourniquet worked efficiently in stopping the bleeding. Hence, the device, which was once considered extremely low tech, ended up saving yet another life in this high tech world. (Klenerman, pp. 65-66) If USAISR had not created such an invention, there would have been no effective tourniquet. Tourniquets are still being used widely and they are proving to be functional when it comes to saving lives, since there is no useful device available on the battlefield to save lives. There is a great deal of increase in the use of tourniquets during the Iraq war. The tourniquet, which has gained immense popularity, is the CAT and is still in use by the soldiers until date. The CAT was also made available for use for the civilians. In case of extreme traumas, CAT can be used as a lifesaver. (Taliaferro, pp. 22-25) Now, the Army doctors state that the use of tourniquets in the battlefield cannot be dispensed and they are striving to design even better and modern tourniquets to facilitate self first aid on the battlefield. Conclusively, we have discussed that a device that works on the principle of compression and uses pressure to be applied on the wounded limb that blocks the circulation of blood in the specific area and prevents the flow of blood for a certain period has been referred as a tourniquet. It is a hope that this paper will help the students, professionals, and experts in the better understanding of the tourniquet, as well as, its significance in the Iraqi war. References Alex Danchev. (2005). the Iraq War and Democratic Politics. Routledge (UK). Irwin Abrams. (2003). the Iraq’s War and its Consequences. World Scientific. Leslie Klenerman. (2004). the Tourniquet Manual. Springer. William Hay Taliaferro. (1972). Medicine and the War. Ayer Publishing. Williamson Murray. (2003). the Iraq War. Harvard University Press.