ENCOURAGING ANGELS: Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) and Why You Need Training in It Now

An after action review of TC3 training at the  BrushBeater Training Facility

By Stan Szymanski

I signed up for Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) trading so I could be an asset to my family and my community in the event of a disaster or worse. TC3 teaches one how to deal with major blood loss in a casualty during a compressed time of study. In this course, over a period of two days.

This class is crucial to have for a designated person in your family or group to have in case of war, insurrection or if cat eating Port-Au-Prince irregulars make their way into your personal area of operation. During ‘normal times’, it also has applicability to things like chain saw or other yard machine injuries that are crucial to address correctly in a very timely manner.

The Brushbeater training facility is overseen by the indomitable NC Scout. Scout is a veteran NCO with deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan during the GWOT (Global War On Terror). He is also the force behind the alternative media juggernauts American Partisan and the Radio Contra podcast. There is no doubt in my mind that Scout was ‘born for such a time as this’. His vision to build an establishment to serve United States citizens who are earnestly and sincerely concerned for the welfare of their country, community and families enables provision of education of our countrymen with the skills needed to make a difference in the lives of civilians like myself.

Our TC3 class was taught by Craig of Stuck Pig Medical. Craig’s handle is ‘MechMedic’ because he is a mechanic and was a medic in the U. S. Marines.

Craig shared his knowledge on the subject of Tactical Combat Casualty Care with candor, excellence and just the right amount of medical humor. This is very important for the learning environment when 2 of the main goals are:

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• Stopping major blood loss

• An overall goal to stabilize the casualty in an austere environment in order to get them to a higher level of medical care

Craig shared with us that trauma is the leading cause of death in those under 44 years of age. So the likelihood of being presented with a trauma during each of our lifetimes is a very distinct possibility. As someone who has spent a large swath of my time in the presence of the disabled and special needs communities (who have a much higher incidence of needing medical intervention), I felt it was very important for me to receive this training.

Dealing with massive bleeding is an art that has to be performed quickly and efficiently as possible in order to have a favorable outcome.

There are multiple types of tourniquet applications to potentially administer to a profoundly bleeding casualty. There are very deliberate steps one must do in the packing of a wound that is producing serious blood loss. What if there is a hole in the chest of the casualty that is threatening their life? Craig instructed us on what can be done in the field to improve their ‘surviveability’ so we can get them to the next level of care.

Do you know the different ways to attend to hypo/hyperthermia in the filed (a problem when there is blood loss/ trauma)? Do you know how to identify if the fluid coming out of the ears or nose of the person is Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) or not? How do you, as a non-medical person communicate the status of the injured to the higher level of medical you are handing them off to? If you don’t know these things and want to potentially be a life saver in a bare-bones environment-I ask you to strongly consider training with MechMedic at the Brushbeater training center at your earliest convenience.

Training at Brushbeater is a rootsy endeavor. Go to rural North Carolina with your tent, sleeping bag, food, water and maybe a cigar or two. IMHO, prepare to meet some of the best people one could ever hope to meet and get to know.

After being at Brushbeater last weekend, I have some new friends and some new knowledge that I believe will take me a long way in the uncertain days ahead.

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Stan Szymanski (or Encouraging Angels) is not a medical doctor. This is not medical advice. In all matters pertaining to the health and care of a human being consult a medical doctor. This is not legal, financial or personal advice. Consult appropriate professionals in those fields for that type of advice.