Air Force pararescuemen are training with next-generation wearable technology that will help rescuers quickly monitor blood pressure, heart rates, and the pulses of multiple casualties at the same time, helping Guardian Angels better respond to large-scale casualty events. Airmen from the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing spent two days in late August evaluating the system, called Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided kNowledge, or BATMAN. The system, developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, includes wrist-mounted smartphones, along with lights on gloves and heads-up displays in helmet goggles, according to an Air Force release. The airmen used prototypes during a two-day exercise at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, N.Y. The system has evolved since it began in 2003 with a chest-mounted laptop after airmen said they preferred the smaller smartphones, according to the Air Force. “This is a unique tool that can allow us to monitor up to five patients at once on a single electronic device,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Rush, a flight surgeon with the 106th Rescue Wing, in the release. “This increases our capabilities and effectiveness in a mass-casualty incident.”
The U.S. military is sending more fighter jets to the Middle East to step up its war with Iran, adding to what is already the largest buildup of airpower in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For now, the operation shows little sign of coming to a quick…