What phase of care do you provide airway management?

• A. Care Under Fire
• B. Tactical Field Care
• C. Evacuation
• D. Prehospital

Answer: (B)

Airway management is handled during Tactical Field Care. After you’ve reached a safer position and threat levels are reduced, you can focus on definitive life-saving interventions, including assessing the airway, suctioning as needed, placing airway adjuncts, and ventilating if required. This phase provides the time and environment to address the airway properly.

Under fire, the priority is to stop life-threatening bleeding and preserve safety, so extensive airway work isn’t feasible. Evacuation centers on moving the casualty to higher care, with airway care potentially continuing, but the structured stage where airway management is performed and stabilized is Tactical Field Care. Prehospital is not a distinct phase of care in this framework.