2025 results: 130 more Ukrainian Armed Forces military medics completed advanced surgical training through the ASSET course

In 2025, 80 military surgeons and 50 operating room nurses from the Armed Forces of Ukraine successfully completed the ASSET (Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma) training program.

The training sessions were conducted in Warsaw, Poland, with the support of Aspen Medical and in partnership with the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

The ASSET course is recognized as the “gold standard” of surgical training in NATO countries. It is a mandatory stage of preparation for U.S. Army military physicians before deployment to mobile hospitals or forward surgical teams. The training curriculum follows the standardized ACS methodology and focuses on practical skills.

The course’s primary goal is to improve surgical techniques aimed at saving lives in combat trauma scenarios. ASSET is an intensive, hands-on training program focused on practicing critically important surgical exposure techniques to anatomical structures in cases where injuries pose a threat to life or limb. The training curriculum covers mastery of 26 types of surgical procedures used in the treatment of critical injuries.

Training for Ukrainian specialists was conducted across 10 training cohorts. The training enabled a systematic increase in the competence of Ukrainian surgical teams, bringing their practices closer to modern approaches to emergency care for severe injuries used by partner countries.

Notably, cooperation with international partners enabled the inclusion of the ASSET course in U.S. Department of Defense assistance programs for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All instructors are certified specialists of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Training military medics in accordance with international standards remains a priority for preserving the lives and health of Ukrainian defenders.