AAR: Dark Angel Medical

hogarth

Member
Hi all,

I posted this on a local (MD) forum to which I belong back on Nov 12, 2013. Not as specific as some of my AARs, but hopefully you'll get something out of it:

Months ago, I posted on several forums asking if anyone had heard of Dark Angel Medical, their, reputation, etc. The consensus was "good stuff".

I took their 2 day class in Chantilly, VA this weekend. Wow! Eye opening and boy did I learn a lot. Kerry Davis is the founder and pretty much sole instructor, and he brings a LOT to the table. Professional, funny as hell, nice, and full of knowledge. Everyone got a thick binder with all of the powerpoints, photos, diagrams, etc. Everyone got a CAT TQ to practice with, and from time to time he would stop lecturing and just say "weak handed, get you TQ on your left leg, starting NOW" and then time us. Several videos we saw showed how a squirter might give you as little as 15 seconds before you pass out. By the end of class, we were putting a TQ on a partner IN TOTAL DARKNESS IN 20 SECONDS OR LESS.

The class convered everything from knife and gunshot wounds to insect and snake bites, hypothermia, heat exhaustion and stroke, shock, etc. The coverage was a lot wider than I anticipated. We learned how to splint breaks, move casualties, apply pressure dressings, pack wounds, apply occlusive dressings, fashion improvised tourniquets, etc., and not just the theory but got to practice each. We even got to practice inserting a nasal airway tube.

To top it off, everyone gets, as part of the registration fee, their own D.A.R.K. blow out kit, which contains everything we practiced with in a molle pouch of your color choice.

In short, I would highly recommend this class. Kerry frequently does the course at the Sig Academy in NH, which carries some other name like "Bullets and Bandages" or the like, and includes a 3rd day with live fire and simunitions.

This class would fill a big gap in the repertoire of most recreational shooters. If you train to put holes in people, you should train how to plug holes in people as well. Do you dry fire your gun? Do you dry fire your tourniquet?
 
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