Medics respond quicker with ATTV

By Spc. Jacqueline Griggs

28th PAD, Fort Irwin, Calif. July 3, 1997

The heat, dust, and harsh training of the Advanced Warfighting Experiment battlefield at the National Training Center causes serious medical problems
or casualties for many soldiers participating, but combat medical specialists are evacuating and treating the soldiers quickly and proficiently
with the Armored Treatment Transport Vehicle, a Force XXI initiative here.

An early model ATTV

Soldiers of Company B, 4th Forward Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, and the Combat Support Command,
working with Task Force 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry (Mechanized), are impressed with their testing of the ATTV.

I'm hoping the Army keeps the system and adopts it very soon," said Spc. Melancthon S. Spencer, combat medical specialist, Co. B, 4th FSB.
"The diversity of the vehicle and the training is great."

The ATTV, based on an MLRS chassis, replaces the evacuation of casualties by a Humvee or an M-113 transport tank.

According to the medical soldiers, the ATTV attributes various functions that provide proper treatment of casualties during the two-week battle
including spacious room for patients, higher speed for drivers, and more lights for medics.

"The speed of it impresses me the most," Spencer said. "The ATTV has a top speed of 45 miles per hour and before, the M-113 ran 30-to-35 mph."

The larger size of the transport vehicle allows the room to move and treat the patients while the vehicle is rolling.
More room in the ATTV also permits the installation of a large three-door medical chest replacing several small medical kits.

In its earliest form the ATTV was renamed the M2A0 AMEV
(Armored Medical Evacuation Vehicle)

The soldiers will be happy to hear about the safer protection the ATTV provides for the casualties during the battle, according to Hecht.

"The six litters are padded nicely and the bolts of the litters are more secure, but easier to detach if needed," Hecht said.
"The generator has the power to provide heat or air conditioning for heat casualties or cold-weather casualties
and provides more types of lights to work with like regular lights and some fluorescent lighting."

It also provides protection in an nuclear, biological, chemical environment.

"The ATTV contains a four percent NBC overpressure," Spencer said.
"This means the treated soldiers inside the ATTV won't be affected by an NBC attack, however, the driver will still need to mask up."

The ATTV contains the standard V-2 as part of the Force XXI initiative.

"The ATTV is way above the other vehicles," Spencer said. "It's amazing how it keeps up right along with the Bradleys and M1A1 Abrams."

The ATTV has been occasionally set up as an aids station during the AWE battle.
The most-common injury the medics treat here is the object in the eye because of the dust and uncovered Humvees.

"We set it up three times in two weeks as a temporary sick call or aids station," Hecht said.
'Each day we treated about 30 soldiers--they definitely need to use eye protection."

A later derivative of the ATTV is the AMTV (Armored Medical Transport Vehicle)

The above article was taken from the website:

dcmilitary.com

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