I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3172 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. CARSON of Indi-
ana, Ms. SPEIER, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Sec-
retary of Defense to use only human-based methods for 
training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment 
of severe combat injuries. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Battlefield Excellence 
through Superior Training Practices Act’’ or ‘‘BEST 
Practices Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Department of Defense has made im-
pressive strides in the development and use of meth-
ods of medical training and troop protection, such as 
the use of tourniquets and improvements in body 
armor, that have led to decreased battlefield fatali-
ties. 
(2) The Department of Defense uses more than 
6,000 live animals each year to train physicians, 
medics, corpsmen, and other personnel methods of 
responding to severe battlefield injuries. 
(3) The civilian sector has almost exclusively 
phased in the use of superior human-based training 
methods for numerous medical procedures currently 
taught in military courses using animals. 
(4) Human-based medical training methods 
such as simulators replicate human anatomy and 
can allow for repetitive practice and data collection. 
(5) According to scientific, peer-reviewed lit-
erature, medical simulation increases patient safety 
and decreases errors by healthcare providers. 
(6) The Army Research, Development and En-
gineering Command and other entities of the De-
partment of Defense have made impressive strides in 
the development of methods for the replacement of 
live animal-based training. 
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(7) According to the report by the Department 
of Defense titled ‘‘Final Report on the use of Live 
Animals in Medical Education and Training Joint 
Analysis Team’’ published on July 12, 2009— 
(A) validated, high-fidelity simulators will 
be available for nearly every high-volume or 
high-value battlefield medical procedure by the 
end of 2011, and many were available as of 
2009; and 
(B) validated, high-fidelity simulators will 
be available to teach all other procedures to re-
spond to common battlefield injuries by 2014. 
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO USE HUMAN-BASED METHODS 
FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL TRAINING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 101 of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 2017. Requirement to use human-based methods 
for certain medical training 
‘‘(a) COMBAT TRAUMA INJURIES.—(1) Not later 
than October 1, 2016, the Secretary of Defense shall de-
velop, test, and validate human-based training methods for 
the purpose of training members of the armed forces in 
the treatment of combat trauma injuries with the goal of 
replacing live animal-based training methods. 
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‘‘(2) Not later than October 1, 2018, the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) shall only use human-based training meth-
ods for the purpose of training members of the 
armed forces in the treatment of combat trauma in-
juries; and 
‘‘(B) may not use animals for such purpose. 
‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than October 1, 
2014, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 
to the congressional defense committees a report on the 
development and implementation of human-based training 
methods for the purpose of training members of the armed 
forces in the treatment of combat trauma injuries under 
this section. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘combat trauma injuries’ means 
severe injuries likely to occur during combat, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) hemorrhage; 
‘‘(B) tension pneumothorax; 
‘‘(C) amputation resulting from blast in-
jury; 
‘‘(D) compromises to the airway; and 
‘‘(E) other injuries. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘human-based training methods’ 
means, with respect to training individuals in med-
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