The number one medical priority in CUF is early control of life-threatening external hemorrhage. Casualties with injuries to large central blood vessels (like the femoral artery, the axillary artery, or the carotid artery) can bleed to death in as little as 3 minutes.

A casualty can bleed to death in as little as 3 minutes. The faster you apply a tourniquet, the better the outcome and the less chance of shock and death.