Kerry Davis (Pocket Doc)
As our good friend the Pocket Doc (Kerry Davis) always says, “The gun fight might be over, but the fight for your life may just be starting”. That statement cannot be any more true. Its important to realize that if you train to take a life, you should also train to save one. Kerry Davis of Dark Angel Medical, the producers of the D.A.R.K.(Direct Action Response Kit) has taught the SIG Sauer Academy’s Bullets and Bandages course for the past few years. Feeling strongly about teaching military, law enforcement, and civilians the importance of combat aid, Kerry has began to teach Dark Angel Medical LLC’s Tactical Aid Course.
The D.A.R.K. (Gen1)
Dark Angel Medical LLC’s Tactical Aid Course trains and instructs students in the use of the D.A.R.K.. The class fills a niche between military self-aid/buddy care training and civilian EMS training, and is geared towards those with little to no medical training or background. It provides the student with critical, need-to-know information, which can be utilized in a myriad of situations, and stresses the ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ principle, as well as our own principle of “Simplicity Under Stress”.
The course is two days in length with a total of 16 hours of classroom work to include slide presentations, videos, question-and-answer sessions and hands-on, practical skills application. Unlike the Bullets and Bandages class offered by SIG Sauer academy, students will see no range time. Instead, the focus will be strictly on how to deal with a combat causality.
There are no prerequisites for this class. A manual and all training aids will be provided. A D.A.R.K. will also be provided to each student as part of the tuition. Cost of the course (2 days instruction plus the D.A.R.K.—a $169.95 value) is $450.00 per person.
The course covers the following:
- Physiological and Psychological reactions to environmental stress
- The importance of having the proper Combat Mindset
- Basic Anatomy and Physiology of life-sustaining systems
- H, A, B, C’s—Hemorrhage, Airway, Breathing and Circulation
Breakdown and usage of Individual Med Kit components- Proper stowage and employment of the IMK
- Hands-on application of the IMK
- Basic and Advanced Airway management -treating and monitoring tension pneumothorax (familiarization with chest decompression), sucking chest wound and flail chest
- Airway adjunct device placement-Nasopharyngeal Airway
- Basic First Aid and Advanced wound care
- Application of bandages and hemostatic Agents
- Application of tourniquets
- Recognition and Treatment of various injuries (Gunshot, Laceration, Burn, Airway, Head, Orthopedic, Environmental)
- Recognition and treatment of hypovolemic (hemorrhagic) shock
- Moving and positioning victims with various injuries
- Response to active shooter situation
- Proper use of cover and cover vs. concealment
- Casualty recovery in an Active Shooter situation
- Mass casualty triage procedure
- Emergency Medical Dialect/Lingo (911 protocol, cooperation with LE, Fire and EMS and First Responders)
Hardware/Kit
- Note pad and pen/pencil/Sharpie
- Individual First Aid Kit—If you choose to. All training materials are provided.
- Clothing suited to strenuous type activity as well as being seasonally appropriate
- Appropriate foot wear
- Knee and Elbow pads (optional)
- Gloves (optional)
- An open mind
For more information about Dark Angel Medical’s Tactical Aid Course, and how to bring the course to your city, please visit Dark Angel’s website by clicking here.
