GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Tactical Medics Group from Angleton, Texas, ran a Tactical Combat Casualty Care Course at the Consolidated Learning Center and building 3070 July 26 and 27.
The primary purpose of bringing the TCCC Course to Goodfellow is to prepare a combined emergency response team consisting of 17th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Department and 17th Security Forces Squadron in the event of a mass casualty incident.
During the first day, the course covered theories of emergency response, emergency team concepts and mass casualty medical care.
“This class has taught me a better grasp on tactical medical situation,” said Staff Sgt. Dakoda Riddle, 17th SFS kennel master “With being an [emergency service team] member anything can happen when we go in. This allows us to take care of our people there more immediately than waiting for medical personal to arrive.”
The training also provide hands-on medical skills stations, where students trained on simulated dry wounds and tissue wounds. On the second day, the students received the chance to practice what they had learned during an active shooter exercise.
“The scenarios are designed to be rigorous and to task each student to apply the knowledge, skills and abilities they have learned over the two day course,” said 17th CES Assistant Fire Chief of Operations, Allen Yates. “To achieve maximum effectiveness and realism during the exercise scenarios, TMG will be bringing in dedicated moulage artists and actors to role play as victims. Also, to add to the realism, SFS will use blank ammunition and TMG will employ simulated audible explosions and crowd noise. The training will culminate into one final mass casualty incident scenario at the very end of day two in which all students will participate at the same time.”
The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians accredited the TCCC Course and upon completion, each student received certification.
“Every one of these firefighters will receive a certificate that says that they are certified tactical combat causality care trained for the next four years,” said TMG Owner and President Terry Moore. “We tell our students if you were just an EMT or firefighter, every two years would be more appropriate because we do so much trauma training and EMS, but we don’t do enough active shooter training or mass casualty events. I think the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Course prepares them better.”