LMS Defense ran a one-day Defensive Medicine class at Shooter’s World in Phoenix in May 2008, at a reduced rate, with all proceeds going to support Cavalry Arms. The goal was a few critical procedures to keep yourself, family or friends alive until emergency help arrives.
Course overview
- School: LMS Defense
- Instructors: John “Chappy” Chapman and Yancey Harrington, both with real-world experience behind what they teach
- Location: Shooter’s World classroom, Phoenix, Arizona
- Format: One day, about 10 a.m. into the afternoon, working through breaks without a lunch stop
- Students: Paired up, many of whom had trained together at earlier classes
What was covered
- The big picture: an outline of care from injury to the hospital.
- Sterile gauze: how and why to apply dressings correctly. Treating a wound is more than pressing on it.
- Compression bandages: how the brands are packaged, how to open them correctly, and when and how to apply them. The H bandage was the preferred choice at the time.
- Self-aid: techniques for treating yourself when nobody else can. Wrapping a bandage around your own arm is much harder than it sounds, even without pain or blood.
- Tourniquets: why and how to stow and deploy them, practiced repeatedly on yourself and a partner. A tourniquet is a last resort, but a necessary one after a shooting. No tourniquet is perfect, so carrying two different types covers more situations.
- Junk gear: a demonstration of why some products on the market do not belong in a medical kit. That alone was worth the price of the class.
- Scenarios: students cleared the tables and worked through scenarios on the floor, treating themselves and partners while lying flat behind simulated cover.
- After treatment: assessing a patient for more wounds while staying aware of the situation.
Observations
- Training with the exact gear you plan to carry is critical; every brand opens and applies differently.
- Applying aid at a table is nothing like applying it on the ground under stress.
- Nobody left thinking they were a paramedic, but every student could use the medical gear they carry.
Takeaways
- Anyone who carries a gun should carry, and know how to use, a tourniquet and a pressure dressing.
- Practice self-aid with each hand, sitting and lying down.
- LMS Defense also offered a full two-day Defensive Medical course for deeper training.
Originally published on After Action.net on May 13, 2008. Rebuilt from the archived report; the original photos were not preserved. See every class in the Training Log, or share your own training experience.
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