In the Field
The DD 1380 is what makes TCCC care reproducible. Without documentation, the medic at the next level of care does not know what tourniquets are in place and when they were applied, what medications the casualty received, what the mental status was at scene, or what worked and what failed. The card is designed for completion under stress: pre-printed fields, check boxes, and minimal handwriting requirements. TCCC 2026 specifies AVPU documentation prior to ketamine, tourniquet timing on the card, and forward transmission with the casualty.
Common Mistake
Treating the DD 1380 as paperwork rather than handoff. The card is not for the medical record; it is for the next medic. Incomplete cards force the receiving provider to repeat assessments, miss prior interventions, and re-dose medications that were already given. The other mistake is documenting at end of evac rather than during care. Real-time annotation during the evac, even on bloody hands, beats reconstruction from memory hours later.
Technical Detail
DD Form 1380 is the Department of Defense standardized tactical combat casualty care card. Two-sided card (approximately 4 by 6 inches) with pre-printed fields for: casualty identifier (battle roster number, last 4 SSN), mechanism of injury, time of injury, time of presentation, vital signs (HR, BP, SpO2, RR, GCS or AVPU, pain), interventions (tourniquet placement and time, hemostatic dressings, airway interventions, fluids, medications with dose and time), and remarks. Reverse side includes anatomic diagram for wound mapping. Designed for completion with a permanent marker, weatherproof and bloodproof. Adopted as the universal field documentation by the CoTCCC; available in waterproof field-stock card stock through military supply and commercial vendors.
