It's like a dream come true — or maybe a nightmare. Soldiers could be sent back to the battlefield over and over again after near-maimings and minor mutilations. One experiment succeeded in growing back a soldier's fingertip after it got cut off, thanks to a "Extracellular Matrix" or "magic dust," made out of cells from the intestinal lining and urinary bladder. It stimulates the body's natural self-repair ability, by making the body think it's back in the womb.

Another breakthrough is an engineered skin substitute from a patient's own — you can grow a postage-stamp-sized piece, and it grows to be large enough to cover a burn or wound, or even large damaged regions of the body. The military is working on nerve and vein transplants. And they've pioneered a biodegradable splint, or scaffold, made of ceramic, that can help regrow missing or damaged bone. (So far they've only regrown about three centimeters of missing bone in rat clincial trials, but they hope to get up to five centimeters within a few years.)

And then there's BEAR (pictured right), a robot that can retrieve injured people from the battlefield, so they can have their wounds miraculously healed. Another robot is Packbot, a voice-controlled bot that can do explosives removal and surveillance. [CNN]

• Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer from Predator: As the only surviving member of a squad who encountered a Predator, Dutch isn't afraid to take risks and do what he needs to do to survive. He might not be the best at keeping everyone around him alive, but he'll make sure the objective is taken out no matter what the cost. Plus he's handy to have around for catchphrases and one-liners.
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• Second Lieutenant Juan "Johnny" Rico from Starship Troopers: Sure, he may have joined up for a girl, and he almost washed himself out after he got a squadmate killed, but when the going got tough he decided to man up for the job. Heck, he was even reported dead and survived a giant claw through his thigh.
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• Sergeant Todd from Soldier: As a genetically engineered soldier who has been trained since birth, Todd won't break down and start wishing he was back home during a skirmish in the rings of Saturn. He's a cold, calculating, killing machine, and he's there to get the job done. Just don't expect him to show any emotion.
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• Sergeant Andrew Scott from Universal Soldier: You'd need two sergeants to keep a group like this in line, so why not balance out Sgt. Todd's emotionless stare with the over the top insanity from Sgt. Scott? He'd be crazy enough to put the fear of god in you, and you probably wouldn't question his orders.
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• Master Chief from Halo: As another genetically engineered super soldier, Master Chief is already tough under his hardened battle armor, and he'd be the perfect man to throw at groups of invading aliens for some brute force action. Plus he seems to have an endless supply of lives on-hand, which could come in handy.
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• Mandalorian Supercommando Jango Fett from Star Wars: Jango Fett was so tough and feared that they eventually engineered an entire clone army of soldiers from his DNA. He could go toe to toe with Jedi Knights and survive (for the most part), although his clones didn't seem to be able to shoot that straight. He's handy to have around to serve as every member of the squad in case you lose someone.
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• Pvt. First Class Jenette Vasquez from Aliens: Vasquez was tougher than every man on her squad in Aliens, proving that she could trade bullets with the best of them. She lugged around a giant M56 Smart Gun, and she wasn't afraid to get down, dirty, and up close with a pistol. Plus, women in uniform who kick as much ass as she does are just hot.
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• Colonial Fleet Ensign Samuel Anders from Battlestar Galactica: As a former star Pyramid player for the Caprica Buccaneers, Anders has the moves and the stamina to pull off flanking maneuvers and keep going when the going gets tough. He's also just found out he's a Cylon, and I'm sure that means he has other capabilities as well. Of course, he might murder you in your sleep too.
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• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart from Doctor Who: As the leader of U.N.I.T. (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), he's used to handling strange situations and issuing commands under pressure. From his dealings with the Doctor, he's also used to seeing a lot of really strange shit, so he'd be cool and calm while time-traveling wraiths try to invade. Also, he probably makes a darn good cup of tea.

• Thanks to Finite_Elephant for suggesting this triviagasm. Got other ideas? Let us have 'em!