Tactical Medicine (TC3): As we have mastered it and what it is actually
A Life Survival / / December 19, 2019
I recently was able to attend the session on tactical medicine TC3 (or TCCC - Tactical Combat Casualty Care). In a nutshell, the TC3 - this provision first aid in combat. According to statistics, nearly dying from bleeding 60% all the wounded, more 33% deaths occur in breathing problems and chest injuries. A person can "escape" for 2 minutes, so it is very important to be able to do a quick tourniquet and stop bleeding even under fire.
Practice shows that even a person who is well versed in matters of first aid, somehow quickly lost when around thundering explosions and shots. Tactical medicine not only takes into account the extreme conditions in which first aid is provided, but also makes a separate emphasis on evacuation the wounded out of the fire.
At the beginning of the training I could only tentatively apply a tourniquet and bandage to do what I had learned on the eve of one-militarist, that I did not seem quite so "green".
Before the course I was not myself. I do not like extreme situations
When you need to make decisions quickly. I do not like when I cry, and even a real gun gives me mixed feelings of interest and fear. I was scared that I will not have time, I will not grasp and will be messy. Somewhere it was so, but the reality turned out to be all the same interesting.At the beginning of the class instructors gathered all the participants - about a dozen people - and held a short briefing. Every now and then "flew" from a nearby landfill fraction, so we had to immediately put on ballistic glasses.
Theoretical part
1. There are three types of zones for the paramedic on the battlefield: red (the most dangerous), yellow (around the corner), green (safe).
Red Zone - this is where the shooting itself. If the wounded were in the red zone, it does not make the dressing, but carried out the initial examination of the whole body for bullet wounds and put harnesses. This is followed by evacuation to the yellow zone.
Yellow Zone - this is the area where there is no active clashes underway. Roughly speaking, it is a zone "around the corner" or "behind cover." It hosts a secondary inspection of the wounded: human bandage, harness impaired preparing further transportation in the green zone.
Green Zone - is the place where the evacuation of the wounded and ends paramedic area of responsibility - more wounded will engage doctors in field hospitals.
2. No matter where on the arm wound, a tourniquet is applied as high as possible. The same goes for the leg injury.
3. Properly imposed on the arm tourniquet is tangible hand pain at the site of compression. Correct use of a tourniquet on the leg does not allow to stand on this leg and also cause pain and discomfort.
4. In the red zone except that the applied bundles. Ligation littered languages, cleansing the respiratory canal and all the rest - this is for the yellow zone. And even if it seems that you can not apply a tourniquet, and grab and drag a wounded soldier of the mound or in the shelter of this idea better to give at any moment might open a new enemy firing position, which will be on your "work", and you will be stuck on an hour or two.
5. Bandages for dressings come in 4 "and 6". Preference is better to give a 6-inch, because they, unlike the 4-inch allow wrap the severed limb, such as a brush.
6. Any harnesses - disposable. This applies both to the rubber of the Soviet and modern Israeli and American.
7. Each fighter must be at least two tow: one for itself and one for companion. When there is a first aid to a wounded soldier, always the first used his own harness. For this reason, in order to know where to look at Komrad harness, it makes sense to standardize location of first-aid kits and their contents for all of a platoon of soldiers.
8. Before the evacuation of fighters from the red zone if he is unconscious, is first to take it all firearms. There have been cases when a shell-shocked soldier suddenly came to himself, and does not understand the situation, began to shoot in the heat around.
9. Armor must always remain on the evacuees fighter. If the vest with the fighter flew, it makes sense to put it down on a fighter - it will give extra protection in case of stray bullets and shrapnel.
10. First aid itself when wounded neck - artery clamping arm. Fortunately, the vessels leading to the head, are duplicated, so the neck is also possible to apply a bandage. But, so as not to strangle himself, dressing should be done through the far arm.
11. Prioritization stop bleeding is somewhat similar to repair leaking pipes: harness (block blood) → ligation (close up the hole) → release the harness (if the blood is not flowing).
At first we were in the quiet "academic" conditions apply tourniquets currently in the hands and feet. By the way, today the best harnesses, bandages, and other tools for first aid on the battlefield produced in Israel and the United States. The advantage of modern bundles that they can be applied with one hand, that is, for example, to himself.
In the open form
Modern harness folded
After a brief theoretical introduction and a practical part with a tourniquet and dressings we started to carry out all these manipulations are already lying on the speed. After that instructors threw several "wounded" by a car, and next threw a smoke bomb that we trained to inspect the victims and provide them with first aid in cramped conditions with limited visibility. Not a pleasant feeling when acrid smoke shuts his eyes and choking, burning throat and nostrils.
Then we learned to evacuate - both with his bare hands, and with the help of special tools such as folding or stretcher frame and webbing with carabiner and rope. Even then, each of us felt how difficult it alone to drag a man in full gear for at least 20 meters. In addition to single ways of evacuation, we practiced evacuation together, the three of us, four of us. And even when you have four people, a stretcher with a 100-pound fighter - it is very easy.
Exam
The most "delicious" was laid up in the end. We were divided into two groups of six, and I was the commander of one of them (which frankly did not want to). Our task was a rapid response to the changing picture of conditional fight and mining practice all that we have learned over the training period.
We moved the two groups outside the green zone, and then it began: the explosions of grenades (with plastic pellets, which are scattered in all directions, for greater realism), smoke bombs, screams, blood (food coloring + syrup). At one point, we ran up the instructors poured someone with blood, and the situation is completely changed: it was necessary to examine the wounded, provide first aid and evacuate.
Initially, it was a lot of Laje, for example, we are only at the third attempt managed to evacuate the heaviest of our fighters - two previous attempts to thread the straps under it to lift anything failed. It has not been put defense and cover band. Constant explosions stun grenades prevented to concentrate, and then laid the ears. I was frankly not the topic of how to organize and cover the evacuation, so in fact the salvation of our unit tucked our most experienced fighter.
distance in 600 meters (Back and forth) on bumpy roads and around obstacles taken 1:00 43 minutes (!)Or 6 meters per minute. The first time I tried to run in full gear - with 8-pound bulletproof vest, helmet 1.5-pound and 3.5-pound machine. I must say that this is really a hell of a lesson, especially if you need to haul a stretcher or wounded, but still running, and this without the weight of ammunition and with no real flow to the nerve combat situation.
After the first hour, when we got to the staging area and began conducting a planned inspection of the wounded, it took me to make remarkable efforts to spit saliva thickened by dehydration. It is in those moments begin any way remotely understand fighter word one of the teams that managed to break out: "The last three days we have not had any food or water."
With regard to physical preparation, for me a real discovery was the fact that not only jogging unitedBut deadlift - our all. After an hour of active operations in the evacuation zone it becomes difficult to even hold a normal smooth machine on the line of fire. A constant lifting and lowering exhaust the wounded so badly that any lifting of arms from the ground or the contraction of the wounded from the stretcher to the ground turns into a serious test for the back muscles. So, I feel that running and deadlift - a Masthev for any fighter.
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