1982 Falklands War: An analysis of UK combat injuries and survival

It is thought likely that the next conflict in which the Naval Service is closely engaged will show greater similarity to the Falklands War (Operation CORPORATE) of 35 years ago than to the recent, prolonged, counter-insurgency operation in Afghanistan (Operation HERRICK). This study uses registry data to examine casualties sustained on Op CORPORATE and compares the injury severity of survivors with that observed on Op HERRICK. Because of their mechanistic consistency, dismounted gunshot wound (GSW) casualties are used as the cohorts for comparison.This report details the first systematic quantitative analysis of Op CORPORATE casualties. The analysis suggests that, at least amongst those dismounted casualties injured by GSW, more severely injured casualties survived during Op HERRICK than during Op CORPORATE. Allowing for the different operational scenarios and the significant differences in the provision of medical care, it can be concluded that these differences were not as marked as might have been expected and that, overall, survival outcomes approached those seen more recently in Afghanistan.