If you are a gun owner, concealed carry permit holder, or armed professional, you’ve probably spent countless hours on the shooting range practicing to take a life if forced into that situation. How much time have you spent learning and practicing to save a life?
Think about it, you are a hundred times more likely to be involved in a traumatic injury situation than a deadly force encounter requiring a gun. Even if you win your gunfight you or someone you care about may still be severely injured. Good guys can and do bleed.
If you are intelligent and mature enough to carry a firearm for personal protection you should certainly have the capacity to perform ‘stop-gap’ live-saving steps to keep someone alive until the professionals show up.
One big positive that has come out of the current Global War on Terror has been the close examination of battlefield medicine, specifically regarding buddy-aid and self-aid. Troops preparing for combat overseas are taught TCCC (Tactical Combat Casualty Care). The TCCC course teaches them how to apply effective stop-gap medical treatment to keep their fellow troops alive while awaiting professional medical care. Beyond the Band-Aid is a course based on the TCCC program that any gun carrier or person concerned with their safety should consider.
Preventable Death from Life-Threatening Injury
When we are talking about “preventable death” from life-threatening injuries we are discussing injuries that will kill the victim in a matter of minutes but can be treated on the street. These injuries fall into three major categories: Arterial bleeding from the extremities, Choking (loss of airway) and Tension Pneumothorax. Beyond the Band-Aid addresses all three forms of preventable death and teaches the participants about the readily available gear to treat them and how to do it safely and effectively.
The Program
Beyond the Band-Aid is a program offered by Student of the Gun University and it is part of the fall semester training offered this year. A Beyond the Band-Aid course is scheduled for November 1st and 2nd 2012 near Jackson, Ohio. Persons interested should go to http://www.studentofthegun.com/university for details and sign up information. Student of the Gun Instructors will also come to your area. If you are interested in hosting a course go to http://studentofthegun.com/host-a-course.html
