Coraopolis, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Air National Guardsmen participated in a National Association of Emergency Medical Technician (NAEMT) Tactical Combat Casualty Care for Medical Personnel (TCCC) course at the Marine Corps Reserve Center Aug. 19, 2020, in North Versailles, Pennsylvania.
Conducting this training was necessary for 171st Air Refueling Wing guardsmen to meet the requirements of the USAF Surgeon General. This class held nine guardsmen from the 171st and one member from the 111th Attack Wing.
TCCC was created by the U.S. Department of Defense to teach evidence-based, life-saving techniques and strategies for providing the best trauma care on the battlefield. It is divided into three different sections. The first section is care under fire. This discusses the need for the responder to safely arrive at the patient. The medical provider could be under direct fire and need to return fire or take cover. The responder should check for and attempt to treat life-threatening external wounds if feasible, such as apply a limb-tourniquet or apply an instant clotting agent. Finally, providers must establish an airway so that the patient can breathe.
The second section of TCCC is tactical field care. The responder must establish a security perimeter by removing the patient from immediate life-threatening danger. Then, the responder will conduct a thorough search for injuries and attempt to stabilize the patient.
The final section is tactical evacuation care. The medical provider will establish an evacuation point to remove the patient from the combat zone.
This training will provide service members with a better understanding of providing immediate life-saving medical attention to service members wounded in combat and even non-combatants like civilians who may have been caught in the line of fire. TCCC will replace the existing immediate care program "Self-Aid Buddy Care.” SABC was a course utilized by the USAF to provide basic life support and limb-saving techniques to help wounded or injured personnel in medical emergencies. TCCC will encompass all of the DoD by providing four tiers of training dependent on the service member's role. Tier one is for all service members, tier two for combat lifesavers, tier three combat medics and hospital corpsmen and tier four is for combat paramedics or medical providers.