Electronic Dog tags

From Stars and Stripes-

WASHINGTON — Soon dog tags might tell battlefield physicians more than just name and blood type.

According to military medical researchers, within the next three years the tags could have every injury, every surgery, and every checkup of a servicemember’s life on there, too.

Military officials working on ways to get vital medical information downrange are working on new electronic dog tags containing troops’ complete medical history, along with that traditional social security number, service, blood type and religious information.

Already about 13,500 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are wearing electronic dog tags in addition to their standard-issue ones.

The experimental models are essentially reinforced memory sticks, which can plug into any laptop and display every injury, illness and medication troops are taking.

Sounds like a good idea to me. It will simplify work for a medic, corpsman, or Military doctor while at the same time making treatment safer. That is if the military members' medical records are always properly updated. Would that always happen with a soldier serving in a war zone?

Hat tip- GI in Korea who has some practical concerns about the dog tags weight and if they can exposed to sweat or water.
Linked to- Uncooperative Blogger, Third World County, Point Five,