II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3418 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense 

to use only human-based methods for training members of the Armed 

Forces in the treatment of severe combat injuries. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2012 

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense to use only human-based methods for 

training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment 

of severe combat injuries. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Battlefield Excellence 

5 through Superior Training Practices Act’’ or ‘‘BEST 

6 Practices Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Department of Defense has made im2 pressive strides in the development and use of meth3 ods of medical training and troop protection, such as 

4 the use of tourniquets and improvements in body 

5 armor, that have led to decreased battlefield fatali6 ties. 

7 (2) The Department of Defense uses more than 

8 6,000 live animals each year to train physicians, 

9 medics, corpsmen, and other personnel methods of 

10 responding to severe battlefield injuries. 

11 (3) The civilian sector has almost exclusively 

12 phased in the use of superior human-based training 

13 methods for numerous medical procedures currently 

14 taught in military courses using animals. 

15 (4) Human-based medical training methods 

16 such as simulators replicate human anatomy and 

17 can allow for repetitive practice and data collection. 

18 (5) According to scientific, peer-reviewed lit19 erature, medical simulation increases patient safety 

20 and decreases errors by healthcare providers. 

21 (6) The Army Research, Development and En22 gineering Command and other entities of the De23 partment of Defense have made impressive strides in 

24 the development of methods for the replacement of 

25 live animal-based training. 


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1 (7) According to the report by the Department 

2 of Defense titled ‘‘Final Report on the use of Live 

3 Animals in Medical Education and Training Joint 

4 Analysis Team’’ published on July 12, 2009— 

5 (A) validated, high-fidelity simulators will 

6 be available for nearly every high-volume or 

7 high-value battlefield medical procedure by the 

8 end of 2011, and many were available as of 

9 2009; and 

10 (B) validated, high-fidelity simulators will 

11 be available to teach all other procedures to re12 spond to common battlefield injuries by 2014. 

13 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO USE HUMAN-BASED METHODS 

14 FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL TRAINING. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 101 of title 10, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing new section: 

18 ‘‘§ 2017. Requirement to use human-based methods 

19 for certain medical training 

20 ‘‘(a) COMBAT TRAUMA INJURIES.—(1) Not later 

21 than October 1, 2014, the Secretary of Defense shall de22 velop, test, and validate human-based training methods for 

23 the purpose of training members of the armed forces in 

24 the treatment of combat trauma injuries with the goal of 

25 replacing live animal-based training methods. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Not later than October 1, 2016, the Secretary— 

2 ‘‘(A) shall only use human-based training meth3 ods for the purpose of training members of the 

4 armed forces in the treatment of combat trauma in5 juries; and 

6 ‘‘(B) may not use animals for such purpose. 

7 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR PARTICULAR COMMANDS AND

8 TRAINING METHODS.—(1) The Secretary may exempt a 

9 particular command, particular training method, or both, 

10 from the requirement for human-based training methods 

11 under subsection (a)(2) if the Secretary determines that 

12 human-based training methods will not provide an educa13 tionally equivalent or superior substitute for live animal14 based training methods for such command or training 

15 method, as the case may be. 

16 ‘‘(2) Any exemption under this subsection shall be for 

17 such period, not more than one year, as the Secretary shall 

18 specify in granting the exemption. Any exemption may be 

19 renewed (subject to the preceding sentence). 

20 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—(1) Not later than October 

21 1, 2012, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall sub22 mit to the congressional defense committees a report on 

23 the development and implementation of human-based 

24 training methods and replacement of live animal-based 

25 training methods for the purpose of training members of 


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1 the armed forces in the treatment of combat trauma inju2 ries under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) Each report under this subsection on or after 

4 October 1, 2016, shall include a description of any exemp5 tion under subsection (b) that is in force as of the time 

6 of such report, and a current justification for such exemp7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘combat trauma injuries’ means 

10 severe injuries likely to occur during combat, includ11 ing— 

12 ‘‘(A) hemorrhage; 

13 ‘‘(B) tension pneumothorax; 

14 ‘‘(C) amputation resulting from blast in15 jury; 

16 ‘‘(D) compromises to the airway; and 

17 ‘‘(E) other injuries. 

18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘human-based training methods’ 

19 means, with respect to training individuals in med20 ical treatment, the use of systems and devices that 

21 do not use animals, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) simulators; 

23 ‘‘(B) partial task trainers; 

24 ‘‘(C) moulage; 

25 ‘‘(D) simulated combat environments; 


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1 ‘‘(E) human cadavers; and 

2 ‘‘(F) rotations in civilian and military trau3 ma centers. 

4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘partial task trainers’ means 

5 training aids that allow individuals to learn or prac6 tice specific medical procedures.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

8 at the beginning of chapter 101 of such title is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘2017. Requirement to use human-based methods for certain medical training.’’. 

Æ 


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