Good Training

 

I have some experience with this topic, and with being right. The proof came this week.

Preserving HIPPA and general confidentiality, suffice it to note that Some Unnamed Agency in SoCal was doing high-speed low-drag range training, during which, despite all good intentions to the contrary, bullet fragments went uprange at a high rate of speed instead of down range. And into people.

Bad ju-ju.

Did training end?

O no it did not! It simply transitioned from Weapons training to Casualty treatment and transportation training.

Bad news? Multiple GSW casualties.

Good news? All, thank a merciful deity, walking wounded, minor injuries, and discharged home same day.

Adopting The Other Ryan's trusty AAR format, we proceed with the particulars.

The Good

Pretty much everything.

Immediate training halt. All weapons safed/secured for patients and medical personnel. Multiple victims, swarmed by multiple TCCC-trained doods, treated and properly field-bandaged within half a minute.

OIC not only knew who/where it was, but made immediate telephone contact with nearest trauma ER, and spoke with on-duty MICN. Given somewhat extended transport time, and relatively minor nature of wounds, all victims transported Code 3 by black and whites to said trauma center, and probably well in excess of the speed of anything but a Lifeflight helicopter (which would have been ridiculous levels of overkill in this instance). All victims seen by MD within less than 30 minutes of initial incident. Which borders on best-case time, as the training range in question is 20+ minutes' travel time away on a good day at normal speed.)

Better still, had it been necessary, agency OIC was prepared to send escort unit to meet EMS and guide them to victims, had their direct contact number on speed dial, and knew the designated Lifeflight/EMS helo LZ, had the injuries been more serious. Quickest route out was well-briefed, and all units and patients arrived at ER in convoy.

The Bad

Not much. Multiple trained medics, but no designated medic per se. Fog of war also led to confusion on number of casualties. One turned out to be two, which turned out to be three. Oops. Adrenaline and small fragments will do that; minor initial wounds are easy to miss when you're young, healthy, and amped up.

Were I consulted, I'd suggest permanent or ad hoc Battle/Training Buddy Checks: everyone is paired up at initial briefing, and once there's an incident, each person checks himself, then his buddy. Designated medic(s) check each other, then triage, assess, and treat all ID'ed as wounded, and report level of injury. That's about the only thing they didn't do that they should have done, or something like.

The Ugly

Nothing. We should all be so lucky. And if you prepare in advance for just this type of thing like their OIC did, you too can be similarly "lucky".

Luck is the residue of diligent preparation.

BLUF:

If you shoot (including hunting*) regularly, at least one entire annual practice session should be a full casualty rehearsal, so that when it's real, you don't cock it up. Because if you do, you'll beat yourself up for years afterwards with coulda/woulda/shouldas, and it's too late to be wise then, and just jacks up your stress, blood pressure, and ulcers.

If you shoot in a group, it should be a group thing. Including updating medical info kept either by the group, or on each individual's person: blood type, last tetanus vax, medical history, allergies, surgeries, meds, doctors, and who to call (or not), and how to do that. And full hands-on practice victim treatment, including packaging for transport/transfer. (Which includes safety and security of all operable weapons - guns, knives, grenades, etc.!! - on both patients and all responders.)

And "MEDICAL" should be one of the briefed contigencies gone over at the beginning of any training/shoot day, even if it's just to say "The plan is the laminated card on top of the group first aid kit; the nearest ERs and EMS numbers are on the back of the same card."

If you shoot solo, you should use it to go through your IFAK/Oh Shit GSW/trauma kit, and update location info, emergency contact and transport/evac plans (P-A-C-E:Primary,Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) for the nearest EMS and ER locations. If you don't have that many, you're doing it wrong.

Train like you fight, so you fight like you trained. "Winging it" is not a plan.

*(That would include leaving a route plan/hike plan with a relative, friend, ranger, or under the visor on your vehicle - or all of the above - in case you go down in BFEgypt, and can't hobble back to the vehicle, so folks will know where to start the search.)