Page 160 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Fall 2015

The Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care:

Fall Update

David W. Callaway, MD; Reed Smith, MD;
Geoff Shapiro, EMT-P; Sean McKay, EMT-P; Richard Kamin, MD

he Committee extends its condolences to the citizens The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office
Tof Charleston, South Carolina, and the families of of Health Affairs (OHA) released a comprehensive
the victims of the 17 June 2015 terrorist attack on the document entitled “First Responder Guide for Im-
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Now, proving Survivability in Improvised Explosive Devices
perhaps more than at any other time in our lives, we and/or Active Shooter Incidents.” The full document
must battle the forces of ideological extremism, inter- can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/
nationally and domestically. We also extend our thanks publications/First%20Responder%20Guidance%20
to the thousands of law enforcement and medical first June%202015%20FINAL%202_0.pdf. This document
responders who, day in and day out, stand the line be- lays out a strong argument for TECC, integrated warm-
tween our communities and descent into chaos. zone operations (indirect threat care), and aggressive
interagency operational planning. As with all attempts
at creating a comprehensive document, there are some
General
limitations to the recommendations. However, DHS
The Chicago Police Department and Northwestern Uni- OHA is to be commended for laying out a framework
versity Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, hosted the 15–16 June that supports existing best practice efforts and empow-
2015 Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care ers local and regional assets to continue evolving their
(C-TECC) meeting. The Committee is grateful to the vot- response matrices.
ing members, invited guests, and subject matter experts
from around the country who braved the flash-flood The Interagency Board Update
conditions and the Black Hawks Stanley Cup victory to Sanctioned by the Attorney General of the United
attend another productive meeting. Complete minutes States, the InterAgency Board for Equipment Standard-
and the record of votes from the spring C-TECC will be ization and Interoperability (IAB) was founded by the
posted at www.c-tecc.org in the next several weeks. The Department of Defense’s Consequence Management
meeting focused on strengthening the core recommenda- Program Integration Office and the Department of
tions around the First Care Provider, Mental Health Re- Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Weap-
siliency, and innovative training modalities. ons of Mass Destruction Countermeasures on 13 Oc-
tober 1998. The mission of the IAB is to strengthen
the nation’s ability to prepare for and respond safely
New Guidance Documents and effectively to emergencies, disasters, and Chemi-
cal, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives
Department of Homeland Security, (CBRNE) incidents.
Office of Health Affairs
The IAB Health, Medical, and Responder Safety Sub-
“First responders should adopt, develop group released its June 2015 update recommending
training for, and operationalize the evidence- TECC training and proper individual first aid kits for law
based guidelines of TECC. Training should enforcement officers. The guidance provides high-level
be conducted in conjunction with EMS, fire, support for agencies working to implement all-hazard
law enforcement, and medical community TECC programs in their communities. Full recommenda-
personnel to improve interoperability during tions can be found at https://iab.gov/Uploads/Final%20
IED and/or active shooter events.” Law%20Enforcement%20TECC%20%20IFAK%20
— DHS Office of Health Affairs, 2015 White%20Paper.pdf

148