Healthcare on the Battlefield during the Iraq-Iran War

Before the revolution and until the beginning of the imposed Iraq-Iran war, every combat unit, in the army, had a unit called the "healthcare unit". This unit was responsible for all healthcare needs and necessary aid of combatants. We sought to assess the general services required during offensive and defensive periods delivered by the same unit in the cities and military operation centers. During wartime, the structure of military health services in the Islamic Republic of Iran's army, spanned from the closest distance to the front lines to the tertiary hospitals in major cities. These included the relief posts, front line emergency units, umbrella emergency centers, field hospitals, supporting medical facilities, general hospitals in major cities close to the war zones, and specialized hospitals in other cities of the country which were assessed. The structure of the military medicine units in the guards corps of the Islamic revolution of Iran, a newly established military force, provided emergency first aid by the field paramedics alongside the operational forces at the war zones. After this vital step, the wounded were taken back to the rescue posts. During the war, several emergency services were operating in the battlefields and war zones. This study outlines the effective organization and characteristics of these emergency units.