Rescue Drag and Carry Techniques
There will be times when you, as a Corpsman, will be required to evacuate a sick or injured person from an emergency scene to a location of safety. Casualties carried by manual means must be carefully and correctly handled, otherwise their injuries may become more serious or possibly fatal. Situation permitting, evacuation or transport of a casualty should be organized and unhurried. Each movement should be performed as deliberately and gently as possible.

Manual carries are tiring for the bearer(s) and involve the risk of increasing the severity of the casualty's injury. In some instances, however, they are essential to save the casualty's life. Although manual carries are accomplished by one or two bearers, the two-man carries are used whenever possible. They provide more comfort to the casualty, are less likely to aggravate his injuries, and are also less tiring for the bearers, thus enabling them to carry him farther. The distance a casualty can be carried depends on many factors, such as

strength and endurance of the bearer(s),
weight of the casualty,
nature of the casualty's injury, and
obstacles encountered during transport.
You should choose the evacuation technique that will be the least harmful, both to you and the victim. When necessary and appropriate, use a one-rescuer technique (several of which are described in the following section). Two-rescuer techniques and the circumstances under which those techniques are appropriate are also listed below.

ONE-RESCUER TECHNIQUES.-If a victim can stand or walk, assist him to a safe place. If there are no indications of injury to the spine or an extremity but the casualty is not ambulatory, he can be carried by means of any of the following:

Fireman's Carry: One of the easiest ways to carry an unconscious person is by means of the fireman's carry. Figure 3-35 shows the steps of this procedure.

Pack-strap Carry: With the pack-strap carry, shown in figure 3-36, it is possible to carry a heavy person for some distance. Use the following procedure:
1. Place the casualty in a supine position.
2. Lie down on your side along the casualty's uninjured or less injured side. Your shoulder should be next to the casualty's armpit.

3. Pull the casualty's far leg over your own, holding it there if necessary.

Figure 3-34.-Hoisting a person.

4. Grasp the casualty's far arm at the wrist and bring it over your upper shoulder as you roll and pull the casualty onto your back.

5. Raise up your knees, holding your free arm for balance and support. Hold both the casualty's wrists close against your chest with your other hand.

6. Lean forward as you rise to your feet, and keep both of your shoulders under the casualty's armpits.

Do not attempt to carry a seriously injured person by means of the pack-strap carry, especially if the arms, spine, neck, or ribs are fractured.

ArmCarry: The technique for a one-person arm carry is shown in figure 3-37. However, you should never try to carry a person who is seriously injured with this method. Unless considerably smaller than you are, you will not be able to carry the casualty very far using this technique.

Blanket Drag: The blanket drag, shown in figure 3-38, can be used to move a person who, due to the severity of the injury, should not be lifted or carried by one person alone. Place the casualty in the supine position on a blanket and pull the blanket along the floor or deck. Always pull the casualty head first, with the head and shoulders slightly raised so that the head will not bump against the deck.

Figure 3-35.-Fireman's carry.

Figure 3-36.-Pack-strap carry.

A variant of the blanket drag is the clothes drag, where the rescuer drags the victim by the clothing on the victim's upper body.

Tied-hands Crawl: The tied-hands crawl, shown in figure 3-39, may be used to drag an unconscious person for a short distance. It is particularly useful when you must crawl underneath a low structure, but it is the least desirable because the victim's head is not supported.

To be carried by this method, the casualty must be in the supine position. Cross the wrists and tie them together. Kneel astride the casualty and lift the arms over your head so that the wrists are at the back of your neck. When you crawl forward, raise your shoulders high enough so that the casualty's head will not bump against the deck.