This is a unique account of the Falkland War, told by former Commando Medic, Malcolm Hazell, who led a team of 39 men, initially at Ajax Bay, and subsequently at Teal Inlet where they were alongside members of the Special Boat Service (SBS) and the Commandos specialist Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre (M&AW Cadre).

Detailed accounts are given of the facilities the medical team provided at both locations, and the largely untold military role Teal Inlet played in defeating the Argentine Forces. Above all this is a graphic account of the war, and its many battles, including Naval gunfire support provided by destroyers and frigates, and the damage and losses resulting both ashore and afloat. Having written the account, shocking anomalies regarding fatalities from both sides of the conflict are uncovered and remain unresolved.

Malcolm Hazell's medical team played a full part in the reception and treatment of around two-thirds of all the casualties treated ashore, ably supported at Ajax Bay by both Royal Navy and Parachute surgical teams; but at Teal Inlet they depended on just one surgeon and a handful of other medics to manage an operating table. When weather conditions deteriorated as the war reached its climax, the team at Teal Inlet were the sole receiving medical facility, placing an unimaginable strain on the facility, much of which was under canvas. Argentine and British fatalities were also being flown back to the facility - something that has proven highly controversial and contentious as the author has sought to clarify anomalies he identified in 2020, only to be met with denials and silence.

This is not just a medics story however, and the reader is given a full understanding of the tactical situation throughout the account, on a day-by-day, blow-by-blow basis. 'Commando Medics in the Falkland War' provides a complete insight into almost every aspect of this brutal war.

Andy Cresswell

Stemme