NATO Plans for Large-Scale Transport of Wounded Troops in Case of Russia War

[william]

BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO plans to coordinate the transport of a large number of wounded troops away from front lines in case of a war with Russia, potentially via hospital trains as air evacuations may not be feasible, according to a senior general

The future scenario for medical evacuations will differ from allies' experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, the head of NATO's logistics command, told Reuters in an interview. Sollfrank runs NATO's Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC), tasked with coordinating the swift movement of troops and tanks across Europe as well as logistical preparations such as the storage of munitions on NATO's eastern flank.

Russian air defences and jets would threaten medical evacuation flights in a way that insurgents in Afghanistan or Iraq could not, likely creating a need for hospital trains that can transport more casualties at the same time than aircraft.

"Air superiority will have to be achieved in the first place. It will require time to succeed over the entire length and depth of the front line," Sollfrank said.
"For planning reasons, all options to take a great number of wounded to medical installations need to be considered, which includes trains but potentially also buses."

Differing medical regulations between countries are another hurdle to overcome, Sollfrank said. A "military medical Schengen", akin to the political Schengen zone that allows free movement within most of the European Union, could be a solution.

It could entail an area of free passage for sensitive medications such as narcotics or strong painkillers, which would be needed to treat wounded troops but whose cross-border transport is regulated.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-09-25/nato-plans-for-large-scale-transport-of-wounded-troops-in-case-of-russia-war