This highly focused course addresses the unique challenges faced by armed personnel (such as security officers or tactical teams) who are the first on the scene of a life-threatening, often violent, incident. The priority is to transition safely from a threat management role to a casualty care role.

 

Major Topics Covered

• The M.O.V.E. Framework for Responders

  • Manage the scene (security and threat).

  • Observe and assess (threat identification).

  • Validate the casualty's immediate need.

  • Execute the plan (safe movement and medical care).

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• Threat Identification and Scene Safety

  • Hot, Warm, and Cold Zones: Understanding and defining these tactical areas of risk.

  • Procedures for Making a Scene Cold (clearing the threat before rendering aid).

  • Conducting a Risk vs. Benefit Analysis—determining if the risk to the responder is justified by the potential benefit to the casualty.

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• Tactical Casualty Movement

  • Techniques for Emergency and Non-Emergency Casualty Drags and Carries (e.g., blanket drag, one-person carry).

  • Moving an injured person out of the Hot Zone to a point of relative safety (Warm Zone) to begin treatment.

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• Trauma Assessment and Bleeding Control

  • Rapid Primary Survey and identifying immediately life-threatening injuries (massive hemorrhage, airway, respiration).

  • Advanced techniques for controlling Massive Bleeding using:

    • Tourniquets (selection, placement, and time stamping).

    • Hemostatic Dressings and Wound Packing for junctional or non-compressible bleeding.

    • Pressure bandages and wound care.

  • Recognizing and treating signs of Shock.

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• Airway and Respiration Management

  • Basic techniques for establishing and maintaining an open Airway (e.g., jaw thrust, recovery position).

  • Recognizing tension pneumothorax and other life-threatening chest injuries (though advanced treatment is typically outside the AFAR scope, the ability to recognize is crucial).

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• Documentation and Handover

  • Procedures for completing an Incident and Casualty Report accurately.

  • Providing an effective and clear Handover to Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

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By the end of this course

the learner will be able to perform a rapid threat assessment, transition safely into a care provider role, prioritize the control of massive hemorrhage, and sustain the life of a casualty until professional medical help can take over.