In March 1991, the 159th MASH of the Louisiana Army National Guard operated in Iraq in support of the 3rd Armored Division during Operation Desert Storm. In March 1991 the 5th MASH was operationally attached to the 24th Infantry Division to provide forward surgical care (often right on the front battle lines) to the combat units that attacked the western flank of Iraqi Army. This unit moved forward six times, always as the first up hospital for the region. MASH units continued to serve in various conflicts including the Vietnam War.ĭuring the Gulf War, in October 1990 the 5th MASH, 44th Medical Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, deployed to Saudi Arabia and was the first fully functional Army Hospital in country. A 1953 film, Battle Circus, also took place at a MASH. The MASH unit made its way into popular culture through the 1968 novel MASH by Richard Hooker, the 1970 feature film based on the novel, and the long-running television sitcom (1972–1983) based on the movie. This proved to be highly successful during the Korean War, a seriously wounded soldier who made it to a MASH unit alive had a greater than 97% chance of survival once he received treatment. Casualties were first treated at the point of injury through buddy aid, then routed through Battalion Aid Stations for emergency stabilizing surgery, and finally routed to the MASH for the most extensive treatment. It was designed to get experienced personnel closer to the front, so that the wounded could be treated sooner and with greater success. It was an alternative to the system of portable surgical hospitals, field hospitals, and general hospitals used during World War II. Ferguson, the executive officer of the Tokyo Army Hospital, also aided in the establishment of the MASH program. DeBakey and other surgical consultants as the "mobile army surgical hospital." Col. The MASH unit was conceived by Michael E.
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