Anyone do SHTF MEDICAL TRAINING anymore?

[Rmplstlskn]

It was back in the early 90's when I had my last TRAINING (3 days) in Emergency Medical Training, so needless to say, PRAY you never have to be treated by me in a SHTF scenario... It was a Bo Gritz SPIKE Medical class in central Florida. I have several good books on the subject, yet I confess I rarely devote the time to re-read them, let alone study them. Mainly because what I read doesn't really visualize in my mind, unlike doing it hands-on in a training class.

I know some places have WILDERNESS Emergency Medical training, but all of them seem to focus on initial trauma care but expect one to soon go to a hospital for further care. This is good, as that is what one has to deal with FIRST, but the longer term care and treatment is missing.

So who does REAL SHTF medical training now days? Less taking EMT courses...

Maybe that is the only option out there now days without traveling to a class...

Any favorite YouTube Medical videos? Maybe we should start a list here so that others can watch them and download them for their video library...

Rmpl

[1Admin]

Our last Tactical Lifesaver class was a few years back, the instructor has pulled a couple tours and it's hard to schedule dates.

We are looking at starting up another series of Survival Medicine courses again as we did in the 90's. More than likely it will be set up as we have done in the past- 4-5 separate weekend classes, each one building on the last.

The idea is to take someone with NO medical training and by the end have them doing some paramedic level skills such as advanced airway management, IV therapy, etc. All geared towards the SURVIVALIST. I.e, not a "put a band aid on and rush them to the hospital" type course. Our focus in these courses was always "YOU are the only care provider available right now."

Other than that, Med Corps does an 2 day class once or twice a year in Ohio. I've never attended but I've met Chuck a couple times and he's a top notch guy. The wife and I did attend a Field Dentistry class by their staff dentist and it rocked! I have a short review of it on the dental thread.

[RangerRick]

I too have not been to one of these in a few years. I do have some good CD's of a corpman putting on a 3 day training. If we could find someone loca tol Sandpoint ID, Maybe we can clean them up and send them out for free to groups to copy and send on.
I think I would ask permission from this medic if I can find him, but then again at this stage od Americas life,we are not making money,we are trying to keep ourselves alive for the future. NO PRICE TAG ON THAT.
RangerRick

[Fido]

Why not take an EMT class? The classes in our area are offered by community colleges and are usually only one semester. You will gain a very strong base of knowledge to build your skills off of. Plus, a job skill that is relatively recession proof.

[Rmplstlskn]

Why not take an EMT class? The classes in our area are offered by community colleges and are usually only one semester. You will gain a very strong base of knowledge to build your skills off of. Plus, a job skill that is relatively recession proof.

I just checked our local CC... The classes are in the day and are 7 college credits at $120 per credit hour, less books, etc...

I'd have to quit my day job and pay $840, then go back to college at age 44... and get a night job to provide income.

Traveling to a JRH or MedCorp class seems like a bargain now...

Rmpl

[Bearman202]

I just wanted to toss this out there. I work ocassionally at the local medical school, pretending to be a patient. They tell me what illness/injury to have, I have it, and the new docs get to practice on me. One of the recent scenerios was a mass-casualty exercise, in which a large number of people were injured, and they had people from each of the training programs come and deal with us. During the exercise, I noted that a lot of the new docs didn't seem at all comfortable doing what they were doing, so I asked the Intern that was in charge of it exactly how much emergency medical training they were getting. He told me that, depending on the track they were on, most of them got NONE. Zip, nada, zilch. No emergency medical training at all. When I got my EMT certificate too many years ago, we did it in ONE semester. I worked in a hospital long enough to get my national certification, and a little more, then I moved. I was astounded that they don't give the basics of emergency medicine to every doctor in training. Something to keep in mind in the case of an accident? Personally, rather than asking, "Is there a doctor in the house?" I would be more inclined to ask for a nurse. Chances are they've had more training.

[justanothergunnut]

It was back in the early 90's when I had my last TRAINING (3 days) in Emergency Medical Training, so needless to say, PRAY you never have to be treated by me in a SHTF scenario... It was a Bo Gritz SPIKE Medical class in central Florida. ..

Rmpl

hah I remember Bo's spike training spike... thats when I woke up to the realities of our fragile world.. man that seems like a long time ago

[Rmplstlskn]

hah I remember Bo's spike training spike... thats when I woke up to the realities of our fragile world.. man that seems like a long time ago

Don't it? Makes me feel old... And it is a shame that Bo Gritz, with personal and business decisions he has made, allowed himself to become irrelevant. All that head knowledge and tradecraft wisdom soon to be lost (he's up in age now days)... I really liked the guy and his knowledge of "stuff" amazed me...

Many years ago we discussed an offer I had made him to convert all his VHS SPIKE tapes to digital format and then to DVD so as to better market the SPIKE info and get it out to a "newer generation", and all I wanted in return was for him to send me a full set of all SPIKE VHS tapes so I could convert them and the rights to market them on the internet where I bought them at a fair wholesale price... He balked at that and said he was going to try to get his son to do it... Well, 2011 is here and how many SPIKE DVD's do you see available? I lost a lot of respect for him that day...

Rmpl

[1Admin]

Don't feel bad Rmpl- I too like Gritz for a while. A lot of people hung off his every word like a damn demigod. I remember one time in Jax him telling the sheep that "after this session" they would have to raise the price of a certain medical kit cause they were "only making one dollar" off the kit. "Now we aren't in this to make money" he would say (one minute with his wife said that was BS), "but we have to cover expenses and..." So of course the sheep almost stampede to this kit that Gritz was marketing- OOPS DID I SAY THAT? I meant Unicef was in the gear business giving away stuff... Anyways, I went and looked at the kit. Same exact kit same exact markings/manufacturer that I was familiar with. Looked at the price $30+ dollars. Knowing that at the time (early 90's) with me only buying 4-6 of them at a time not the quantity Gritz would be buying them in, that I could make $15.+ bucks off his already too high $30+ dollar price I knew it was BS. One customer I used to see at shows that literally would have jumped in front of a bullet for Gritz was standing nearby. He says "oh yeah I'm gonna have to get a couple of these kits, he's giving them away."

Not one to keep quiet in the presence of extreme BS I say "that utter BS, I'm paying $15. for those buying them onesey twosey, I guarantee you he's paying about $10. a piece in quantity for them."

From the look on the Gritz worshipper's face, I thought I was fixing to get into a fist fight!

His reply- "If Bo said he's only making a dollar on them, then he's only making a dollar on them!"

I laughed at him and said "OK brother, no problem."

The little training events were a joke. $200. for the day in the early 90's. Most decent schools aren't even at $200. a day now for real training. It was divided into 4 little 2 hour blocks of "training."

Some key things I remember from this-

"You only need to stock 100 rounds of ammunition cause after that you'll have time to get more via reloading or battlefield recovery." (Bo sold simple reloading setups)

"When the mark of the beast happens and you need a doctor, if you have some gold coins you'll be able to get one of our pilots to fly you to Almost Heaven and one of our docs will treat you." (A ridiculous statement to even make, but after the "your FRN's will be completely worthless next year (would have been 94)" speech you heard Friday night, most sheep were ready to line up and talk to Bo's gold guy that always came with him to get out of those "worthless FRN's". Ditto on lining up to buy overpriced crap that Bo was "only making a dollar on" at the "company store."

The glass bottle IV's during the fluids class reminded me of a scene from M.A.S.H. Even at 19 I had given a few IV's to live people by that time and realized using a butterfly cath and going in ALONGSIDE the vein and then turning in, wasn't the best technique to teach people- however if you wanted to cycle a boatload of people through a training arm quickly thinking they actually learned something, it was a good plan for Gritz crew.

They did "weapons" training one time in Jax which amount to a Ruger MKII of the variation wherein it had the feel of .45 grips. This was class 17 or so of that rotation- they did them all around the country. The weapons were filfthy and you couldn't use anything you brought, so they jammed like mad. Part of a move to cover basic drill I ditched a mag on the ground. I was told that you "never ever in any circumstance throw a magazine on the ground." Hearing this after training with a real MACV SOG guy for 5 years was enough for me.

A customer of mine would later sum up Gritz in the best statement I've ever heard regarding him- he said

"Robert, I get this feeling that one day, guys like you and me are going to be behind a barbed wire fence. And guys like Gritz are going to be on the other side of that fence."

[Rmplstlskn]

Yeah, I remember some of those speals. He was quite the salesman... But in his credit, he was the only one I knew about that was doing any training on a open invite basis, besides yourself. I was only able to attend one, when it came close to me, in Ocala, the SPIKE Medical, held at a horse farm. And I must have been lucky, because our training, for only two days, was pretty good. Even killed an old horse for us to use in training, then inflicting different wounds (gun shot, arrow, large cut, etc...) to give some realism to the wound, less blood everywhere in real life...

He did have his marketing down smooth... I liked him (at the time), but I clearly saw the marketing hype and BS... His wife (now former) was nice though. Seemed like a good woman, but he screwed that up it seems...

I wonder if "Almost Heaven" is still a kind of covenant community? Big push on that with McLamb... I bet most feel cheated that their "savior and protector" bailed on them and lives in Nevada...

Was McAlvaney his gold guy? I still chuckle at the little booth Don took potential "clients" into...

Those were good times and wierd times... I wonder if the "Survival Expo" thing could ever come back from the dead and be as profitable as it was back in the 80's and 90's...

Rmpl

[Lowdown3]

No, wasn't McAlvany. Was some fat guy from Phoenix. If I saw his name I'd remember it. Had a limp IIRC. Seems like Gritz tried to blame the problems at Almost Heaven on him.- Jerry Guilespie? Maybe, don't quote me on that. I remember just a decade or so ago someone brought up the "Almost Heaven" scam and one of the Gritz'ites defended him saying it was all Gillespies fault that the thing fell apart, contracts weren't honored, roads in and promises made never kept, etc.

When I saw Gritz with Jack McLamb's wife after the first wife took off with his money (cash I'm sure) and Gritz "shot" himself with the dud round for attention, that was enough for me. Jack McLamb was touted as being his right hand man, best friend, etc. Then Gritz is with his wife???

Bet these newer folks never knew their was "reality TV" drama like part of the movement huh? ;)

[Rmplstlskn]

Damn, I didn't know some of that stuff... Like I said, SAD... Wasted potential and he either knows it or is dillusional and believes his own justifications...

So anyways, any word on medical training anywhere?

Rmpl

[Solarguy54]

Our last Tactical Lifesaver class was a few years back, the instructor has pulled a couple tours and it's hard to schedule dates.

We are looking at starting up another series of Survival Medicine courses again as we did in the 90's. More than likely it will be set up as we have done in the pastprovider available right now." d.

So, any update on this? 4 of us in Arizona would like to take this training.

[AGreyMan]

There are a few places that I have seen.

Lowdown mentioned his own class and Chuck Fenwick's Medical Corps Medical Response in Hostile Environments

There is the Western Rifle Shooters WRSA Grid down Medical

A little on the parochial side, but there is Equip International's Missionary Medical Intensive

Dr. Keith Brown has Global Medical Rescue Services and a selection of outback medicine classes

And finally Midwest Disaster Medical's Austere Medic course.

I have been to Chuck Fenwick's class, and Missionary Medical Intensive, and I have heard good things about the Austere Medic class.

Good luck. Most folks have 30 days worth of food, but 3 minutes worth of first aid.


Stay Safe,
AGreyMan

[Rmplstlskn]

Thanks for the links and insight AGreyMan...

Rmpl