YOKOSUKA, Japan — U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka conducted an Advanced Trauma Life Support course, reinforcing battlefield readiness and joint interoperability by training Navy, Air Force and host-nation medical personnel in standardized, life-saving trauma assessment and management. The most recent class included two Navy physicians, five Air Force physicians and one host-nation participant.

The course, supervised by the American College of Surgeons, provides an evidence-based framework for the initial care of severely injured patients. ATLS emphasizes rapid assessment and decisive early intervention, skills critical in overseas and forward-deployed medical settings.

ATLS certification is required for physicians assigned to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, reflecting the command’s emphasis on maintaining a shared doctrine of trauma care. The Yokosuka ATLS site also maintains critical ATLS certifications for military medical treatment facilities across mainland Japan, supporting readiness requirements at both Yokosuka and Yokota.

“ATLS certification is a requirement for physicians at the hospital because of the necessity for developing the common language of trauma care amongst our medical community,” said Cmdr. Benjamin Chi, an orthopedic surgeon and ATLS course director at U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka. “The medical setting of Yokosuka is exactly what ATLS is designed for. We are not an American College of Surgeons designated trauma facility, but we must have the ability to perform the initial assessment, management and stabilization of a trauma patient prior to transport.”


Chi said he has witnessed that standardization firsthand.

“In my time here, I have participated in several trauma codes where the code teams successfully applied ATLS assessment and management principles and a disciplined team approach,” he said. “As an instructor and course director, it is deeply gratifying to see the lessons from the course applied during real trauma.”

“In geographically distributed settings with variable resources, providers must be prepared to make time sensitive decisions under uncertainty,” said Dr. Kaori Ito, a general surgeon and ATLS instructor who completed residency and fellowship training in the United States before returning to practice in Japan. “ATLS establishes a common operational language and cognitive framework that allows teams to function effectively when seconds matter.”

Ito, who will assume a position as an instructor with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, noted that standardized trauma education is especially vital in the Indo-Pacific theater.

“For INDOPACOM, where distances are vast and response timelines may be extended, the ability of forward medical assets to deliver structured, high quality initial trauma care is a critical component of theater medical readiness,” she said.

The course also strengthens preparedness for mass casualty incidents, humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions and contingency operations. ATLS reinforces algorithm driven decision making and disciplined triage, reducing variability under stress and enabling coordinated team performance.

“All components of ATLS are important, but the Primary Survey, updated in the 11th Edition to xABCDE, likely has the greatest operational impact,” Ito said. “When broadly implemented across a force, this shared approach meaningfully reduces preventable mortality and enhances performance consistency under operational stress.”

As a readiness and sustainment platform, the Yokosuka ATLS site has trained and certified multiple physicians and physician assistants over the past several years. In addition to supporting U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force providers in Japan, the program has expanded to include Japanese fellows seeking certification.

“ATLS training opportunities are rare for many of our fellows,” Chi said. “Through this program, we have come to work closely with Dr. Ito and Col. Hayaki Uchino, master surgeons and leaders in their fields in Japan. Their roles as surgical instructors and officers within the Japan Self-Defense Forces further strengthen cooperation with our host-nation partners.”

Joint participation by U.S. and Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel further enhanced the course’s impact. Col. Hayaki Uchino, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, a trauma surgeon and instructor at the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Medical Service School, emphasized the importance of shared principles.

“One of the most important benefits of ATLS training is the establishment of shared terminology and clinical priorities in trauma care,” Uchino said. “These aligned principles enable medical teams from different nations to work together efficiently and safely from the outset.”

Chi also credited Maj. Heather Barber, an ATLS course director assigned to Yokota Air Base, for helping sustain the joint program.

“Through the years, she has lent her time and expertise directing and co-directing the course,” Chi said. “Because of her commitment to maintaining the high standards of the ATLS curriculum and the dedication of our instructors at Yokosuka and Yokota, this program has blossomed and strengthened Joint interoperability in the trauma setting.”

By hosting ATLS at U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, the command continues to advance medical force generation and bilateral readiness across the Indo-Pacific, ensuring military treatment facilities throughout mainland Japan maintain critical trauma certification standards.

“I would encourage any licensed independent practitioner to coordinate with their Staff Education and Training office to register for the course,” Chi said.

More information about the American College of Surgeons ATLS program is available at: https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/trauma/education/advanced-trauma-life-support/