AIMS. Military personnel may sustain injuries in battlefield. In this case, performing primary life support measures by soldier can decrease morbidity and mortality of forces. In this study, scientific knowledge of a group of military personnel have been measured about self- and nonself aid.

METHODS. This is a cross-sectional study performed during a maneuver included operational forces (no paramedic). A questionnaire which consisted of three parts (demographic data, knowledge about self- and nonself aid and contents of self bags) was used. 200 questionnaires under the supervision of accompanying physicians were filled. After collection of data, they were analyzed using statistics descriptive characters.

RESULTS. The highest level of knowledge was seen associated with symptoms of external bleeding and opening obstructed airway (77.5%) and the least with disinfectation of water by clore (43%). There was a significant difference regarding knowledge between those who had participated in former classes and those who had not (p<0.005) in self- and nonself aid. Totally, 185 (79%) individuals were familiar with self bags, its contents and method of using them.

CONCLUSION. The military personnel who had participated in training courses, showed a higher level of knowledge with regard to self- and nonself aid. They were able to perform life support in emergency situations better. These findings indicates the importance of performing self- and nonself aid training courses in regular intervals and with modern educational methods.