 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2013) |
A field ambulance (FA) is the name used by the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth nations to describe a mobile medical unit that treats wounded soldiers very close to the combat zone. In the British military medical system that developed during the First World War, the FAs formed an intermediate level in the casualty evacuation chain that stretched from the regimental aid posts near the front line and the casualty clearing stations located outside the range of the enemy's artillery. FAs were often assigned to the brigades of a division.
The term is no longer used in the British Royal Army Medical Corps. They were replaced by medical regiments (which are assigned to brigades) and field hospitals. It is however still used in the Royal Canadian Medical Service within the Canadian Armed Forces.