There’s a lot of caveats to that. It’s almost never civilian related casualties, stabilizing traumatic injury, and increasing combatant effective hours. A soldier missing a limb can’t fight anymore, no DoD funds for him, unless troop counts are predicted to fall below sustainable amounts and you desperately need a way to keep troops effective.
It’s a morbid way of looking at it, but you’re not wrong. War has always been a big driver of medicine.
There’s a lot of caveats to that. It’s almost never civilian related casualties, stabilizing traumatic injury, and increasing combatant effective hours. A soldier missing a limb can’t fight anymore, no DoD funds for him, unless troop counts are predicted to fall below sustainable amounts and you desperately need a way to keep troops effective.
I disagree with the “it’s almost never civilian related casualties” bit, simply because of all the mine-created amputees, throughout the world.
That MUST drive some medical-innovation, even if it isn’t flashy.
( it is really sad to be arguing this, btw.
Humankind ought get a life. )
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