Tactical EMT Class

Luno

OG
Premium Member
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So, the https://contoms.chepinc.org/EMT-TRegistration.html is not worth anything. Not worth the money.

It is, if you can verify the need to attend, by the sponsoring agency, on agency letterhead... please see below... FYI, I'm still trying to get .mil to pay for me to attend... :D

Letter of Affiliation: Applicants must submit a signed and authorized letter of affiliation from their sponsoring agency on agency letterhead stating that the applicant works with the agency and has a legitimate need for this training based on that work. The letter of affiliation must be uploaded at the time of application.
 
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dank

Forum Probie
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I have been in a situation where we were not allowed to go into the "hot zone" because we did not have the training. We were told they would bring the people out to us. In a matter of life and death we should not have to wait for people to be brought to us.

"Indeed. Unless your job requires it of you. As others have said, any job where you are going to need to have these skills will train you to have these skills." Not necessarily, my department does not have the resources and my academy does not offer a class.
 

luke_31

Forum Asst. Chief
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If it's a hot zone there isn't much we would be doing other than pulling the people out to a safer area to treat them. The most that would be done in the hot zone is some bandaging to try and stop the bleeding and basic airway maneuvers to see if the patient can breathe on their own. The Closest EMS should really be on a scene is the warm zone, going into the hot zone doesn't do anyone any good, it's just adding to the potential body count. Most EMS agencies that are involved in situations like that will wait for the area to be deemed safe. Although now there is a push for EMS to get brought in faster to try and provide care for people down, they are still only going to the areas that have already had the primary search done, and the perpetrators are not suspected to be in. Even then they go in with LE who provide security and at any time can pull EMS out if the scene safety changes. Bottom line EMS isn't trained for providing treatment under hostile fire and shouldn't be. The amount of times that having EMS right on top of where the bullets are flying will make a difference isn't worth the overall risk. These situations really end up needing a trauma surgeon more than an EMS provider. If your set on getting this type of training the military is the primary place to get it. Police departments that have medics with their SWAT teams tend to have them as officers first and medics second. There are some EMS agencies that provide medics, but like others have said the agencies will provide the training needed and tend to use paramedics to provide the care.
 

irishboxer384

Forum Captain
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No offence, but wanting to attend a 4 day course just to be able to enter a contact situation is the worst idea possible.

Also cant imagine how that would even work- " you guys cant come in youre not trained"
"Hey i did my 4 day emt tacti-crap course though!"
 

Luno

OG
Premium Member
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I have been in a situation where we were not allowed to go into the "hot zone" because we did not have the training. We were told they would bring the people out to us. In a matter of life and death we should not have to wait for people to be brought to us.

And unfortunately, this is where the ignorance begins, I would recommend some TC3 long before anyone decides they should be a "tactical medic." Concern for the patients in their "life or death" crisis only lasts as long as I do not have a "life or death" crisis. There also seems to be a misunderstanding of the risks that bringing in an untrained bandaid slinger bring. Even the benefits to the team for a "trained" bandaid slinger don't out weigh the risk of bringing one. That being said, it isn't a terrible idea to have a team member trained on medical emergencies, but I'm pretty sure that I've posted about this before. On the other side, of all courses you decide bring up, it is the grand-daddy...
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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The system our FD and PD is looking at (last I heard) calls for only PD in the hot zone, with a "hunter" team(s) whose sole job is to find and neutralize the threat (at most tossing a TQ to casualties and telling them put it on, if that) while they move towards the suspect(s)) with Rescue teams (PD only) to grab casualties and pull them out. Plus Rescue Task Forces of mixed PD/FD operating in the warm zone to do limited treatment on casualties (basically control hemorrhaging) and pull them to the cold zone where triage/treatment is.
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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I have been in a situation where we were not allowed to go into the "hot zone" because we did not have the training. We were told they would bring the people out to us. In a matter of life and death we should not have to wait for people to be brought to us.

"Indeed. Unless your job requires it of you. As others have said, any job where you are going to need to have these skills will train you to have these skills." Not necessarily, my department does not have the resources and my academy does not offer a class.
If you don't have the ability to defend yourself you are just a liability to everyone else.
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
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Entering a hot zone without a weapon is like entering a HazMat hot zone with a N95. There is a very good chance it's going to end ugly.
 

MackTheKnife

BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
644
172
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What do you think a "tactical" emt class will do for you?
Private Military Contracting hires people to teach TCCC without having the NAEMT credential. An EMT with a Tactical course can get hired. That's one thing you can do with it.
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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Where I can see some guys who aren't trained or handle weapons with any sort of regularity not wanting to deal with one all of a sudden, especially when there's a team of cops providing security, that being said:
If you don't have the ability to defend yourself you are just a liability to everyone else.

Entering a hot zone without a weapon is like entering a HazMat hot zone with a N95. There is a very good chance it's going to end ugly.
I fully agree with both the above statements. I myself, even if surrounded by 4 SWAT officers in a warm zone that's been cleared...the fact that it's a warm zone means there's still a bad guy/gal with a gun with demonstrated intent to harm me that's not yet been caught...so therefore even with a level III+ hard plate carrier and ballistic helmet, I'd feel naked and vulnerable without a personal defense weapon. I'd be fine with a pistol, or even if they want to get all hooah tacti-cool and give me a SMG or carbine, I could work with that slung on my back (in a TCCC role with a dedicated security element in a civilian TEMS environment I'd feel better with just a pistol....put me in Afghanistan, give me a foxtrot-ing rifle). A bit of a moot point being that my position is single role EMT my FD would leave me parked in the cold zone and have the FF/Medics assigned to the rescue task forces...but I have a sneaking suspicion that if an active shooter scenario happened tomorrow most of our medics would not want to go into the warm zone leaving PD only rescue teams to haul casualties out to us (unless they called for an LAFD TEMS team).
 

irishboxer384

Forum Captain
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Private Military Contracting hires people to teach TCCC without having the NAEMT credential. An EMT with a Tactical course can get hired. That's one thing you can do with it.

and it doesnt mean i want to work with people with that 'qual'.
 

Handsome Robb

Youngin'
Premium Member
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I wonder how long before you get paramedics responding to active shooter scenes dressed in the same way as PD (I know what you're thinking 'but i don't see any cops in this photo only trees')

View attachment 1781

Our TEMS Team wears a very similar uniform to the SWAT Teams they operate with minus the weapon and the medic patches everywhere.

It's pretty rare for Tac Teams to use anything under Paramedics for the simple fact that crichs and needle decompressions aren't in the scope of EMTs.
 

irishboxer384

Forum Captain
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Our TEMS Team wears a very similar uniform to the SWAT Teams they operate with minus the weapon and the medic patches everywhere.

It's pretty rare for Tac Teams to use anything under Paramedics for the simple fact that crichs and needle decompressions aren't in the scope of EMTs.

A while back I went into a store to get some new clothing for an afghan project, only to find it had been all bought up by the local SWAT team, there is no requirement for cops to dress up in green, khaki or camo gear at all. If the idea is to make an entry in pure stealth, then let the military sf have the job.
 

STXmedic

Forum Burnout
Premium Member
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Our guys use green and khaki as their training gear. I might laugh if I saw them in camo, though... Especially on a call.
 

irishboxer384

Forum Captain
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Anything is cool for training, i just think it is easy for certain departments to forget they are there to be positively id'd as police...the universal color is blue generally, as opposed to being geared up like a paramilitary organisation.
 

MackTheKnife

BSN, RN-BC, EMT-P, TCRN, CEN
644
172
43
and it doesnt mean i want to work with people with that 'qual'.
I should have added that having EMT and a tactical certification alone will not get you hired. Prior experience is a necessity. I worked for a PMC teaching TCCC to SF, SEALS, and OGA' s with "only an EMT" qual. However, as a former Hospital Corpsman (Field Med), former EMT-P, and with tactical experience, I was hired. But I was hired with the EMT qual.
 
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