Q. What was a field ambulance?
A. Each infantry and light horse brigade had attached to it a medical unit known as a "field ambulance"; the AIF eventually fielded 15 field ambulances and four light horse field ambulances. Theoretically, the field ambulance was the first stop in the medical chain after a wounded or sick man was evacuated from his unit. A standard ‘infantry’ field ambulance had a strength of 10 officers and 224 other ranks and was divided into three sections; A Section was the ‘hospital’ section, responsible for setting up the nursing facility, while B and C were the ‘bearer’ sections. The latter had the capability of operating independently and could be sub-divided into a ‘Tent Sub-Section’ and a ‘Bearer Sub-Section’. A light horse field ambulance was considerably smaller at 118 all ranks and divided into two sections, a ‘Mobile Section’ and in ‘Immobile Section’.
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