Class Updates

Some changes coming to classes, mostly administrative in nature. The first being a price increase for travel classes. Starting January 2022 there will be a $100 dollar a person increase on travel classes to help offset flight and baggage costs. There will be no price change to classes taught at the regular NC location .

The other change is for PLS Classes. If it is a location that warrants flying, you will have to be able to supply your own Rescue Randy training dummy. It’s a big part of the training curriculum and without one I would feel like it wouldn’t be the same course. There is also a safety issue involved. I will be explaining more in a follow on post about the PLS course specifically.

Slow response

I apologize if I’ve been slow to respond to any emails or posts on the brushbeater forum. I’m currently on a MUCH needed vacation on the western side of our great nation visiting family I haven’t seen in over 6 years. I am still working on getting the Stuck Pig Medical IFAK put together with NAR. I’ll hopefully have one waiting for me when I get home. Once I get one in hand, expect a full video review and a post here. I am trying to avoid pre-orders for them. But if you are really wanting enough of them, email me AFTER I GET THE VIDEO REVIEW UP, and we’ll see what we can work out. Shit costs money, and money doesn’t grow on trees. But these will be something I will be offering at any NC class I teach. If there is enough interest I will have them available for purchase online. But again, be patient. I’m just one guy doing all of this. I can only do so much at one time, and there are only so many hours in one day.

I hope everyone is doing well and God Bless all of you.

Stuck Pig Medical IFAK’s and other news

I am now a distributor for NAR, M2 (the creator of the RMT), and ESSTAC currently. Part of all of this is I am putting together my own IFAK refill kit with NAR. This will be offered with and without the DST pouch by ESSTAC in person and eventually online for purchase. In the mean time, if there is something you want from any of the above companies, let me know and we can work out getting an order together.

AAR from the June 12-13 TC3 Course

Course Review shared from forum.Brushbeater.org if you aren’t there I recommend going there. It’s a great source of all kinds of information.

Anytime I enter the classroom and there are handouts, there is a pretty good chance the instructor is squared away and the class is going to be good. Anytime I see the instructor putting together handouts into student folders WITH sleeve inserts, I know it’s going to be a top-notch class! And this TCCC class hosted by NC Scout and taught by MechMedic surpassed my expectations. 

NC Scout
From the very first handshake with NC Scout, it was like I was talking with an old friend. When speaking with NC Scout, he made me feel like a peer, not a subordinate student. Not one single time over the entire weekend did he ever speak down to the class. When talking about radios, tactics or current events, it’s like he was passing information amongst friends. 

MechMedic
This guy knows his stuff! He came to the class prepared and ready to teach about a subject he is obviously passionate about. But I’ll warn you, he is a loud and energetic instructor! His eagerness to share knowledge spills out into the classroom and because of that…this class rocks! 

(For this TCCC class, NC Scout hosted the class while MechMedic taught the class.)

MechMedic brought a natural flow to the class and we didn’t bounce around from topic to topic. I don’t think he ever looked at an outline or syllabus when teaching, he’s just that good! 

Each day, he was the first to class and the last to leave, always being available to answer questions. He listened patiently to everyone tell their stories and let the students actually be a participant in the class. MechMedic displayed the wisdom to chase the appropriate rabbit trails and not interrupt the flow. But, he also didn’t let us drift too far away from the topic at hand. 

Basic overview
Day 1 – Classroom introductions. Basic explanation of terms and the theory behind TCCC. We worked though the through the MARCH acronym and spent time doing tourniquet applications, wound packing and treating casulaties. 

Day 2 – Complete and through review of Day 1. Then it was back to more hands-on practice by preparing for casualty evac on a SKED. We had a break for lunch and then did another in-depth review of the class before doing our practical exercise. 

Below are a few random thoughts about the class. 

– The facilities were great. Plenty of room in the classroom to get the job done. The classroom had enough tables and chairs for everyone, with plenty of space to have our handouts in front of us while taking notes. I never learn well when the classroom is too crowded and it’s obvious that the layout of the room was important to NC Scout and MechMedic. There was ample room for people to lay on the ground to act as casualties while working through the MARCH acronyms. There was a huge 4 foot by 8 foot marker board that MechMedic used and it was COVERED with notes and ideas. I really liked that there were NO PowerPoint presentations!

– Instructor. MechMedic was well prepared. The class started off like a conversation and not a lecture. It was quickly evident that MechMedic was very knowledgeable and seasoned with a variety of real-world experiences. His stories supported the training material and were relevant to the topic at hand. The real-world situations that were shared were for reinforcing knowledge, not for ego boosting. Too many times I’ve attended classes where the instructors used the students as a platform to boost their own ego…this was far from the case here at the Brushbeater school. 

– Hospitality. I can’t write enough about the gracious hospitality. Southern hospitality at its best. The conversations were engaging. The laughter was loud. The hosts were always helpful. The food was plentiful, hot and delicious. The BBQ was great, despite being from the swine family. 

– Hands-on (classroom) portion. MechMedic brought plenty of gear for each student to use during the hands-on portion. When it came to tourniquets, he passed around enough for all the students, he didn’t just hold one up and refer to it…he gave you one to hold in your hand while he discussed design, use and application. All the equipment we used was new, or like new and in top shape. He was deliberate in making sure the students had a large supply of gear to use during the class. 

– Hands-on (field exercise). On the last day, after lunch we did a practical and relevant field exercise. I don’t want to give away the scenario, but you better pay attention in class! During the filed exercise is when it all comes together. The scenario we encountered was well thought out and provided just the right amount of realism. The scenario wasn’t too extreme, and it wasn’t too simple, it was just right for this class. Everything explained in the class is needed to be put into use, under stress and in a very short amount of time. You better pay attention to everything in the class and don’t forget the simple basics!

– Gear recommendations. Over the two-day class, there were plenty of discussions about gear. MechMedic provided examples of what he carries/uses and explained why. I got the impression that MechMedic was not a gear snob…he carried what was proven to work. He explained the ins and outs of all the gear discussed and explained the pro/con of using alternatives. 

– There were questions, a lot of questions. At the end of each training section, MechMedic would stop and ask for questions. Any questions. About gear, techniques or philosophy of use. A few times, I heard MechMedic say, “I don’t know.” And I loved it. I like hearing honesty from an instructor. Now granted, the question was hypothetical or something radically extreme, but MechMedic simply acknowledged that the topic was out of his scope and he didn’t know the answer. He didn’t guess, fumble through a made-up answer or bluff his way out…he simply said, “I don’t know.”, and that takes a lot of professionalism. 

Cheers
Jessie

Washington State TC3 Class

I have nailed down a date with a very gracious host for a TC3 class in the Mount Vernon area. Dates are 18-19 September. Cost is $400. Contact me for sign up or questions at mechmedic@tutanota.com

With that being said if anyone wants to host a class local to them email me and we’ll see what we can work out.

IFAK refill kits

I’m a long way off from having a web based store of my own, so I’ll be posting sales like this whenever I come across them. These are all CoTCCC recommended supplies so no worries about anything janky. I’ll be picking one up soon to review as well.

https://wraithdefense.com/march-ifak-resupply/?fbclid=IwAR10ubfh3ERnFyq7RYHOrwRl_jIIsMCyvNs9L68JhulnXjNlz0zfKgmfuoA

Things are getting spicy. Make sure you have the medical supplies necessary for when it all pops off. If you need training we’ve got that covered as well. There a class set up in February. If you’re in the NC, VA, WVA areas and you have at least 10 people for a class, let me know and we can set something up as well.

Don’t be left bleeding out like a stuck pig.

TC3 Class November 7-8 and some other updates.

It’s been about a week since the last TC3 class. What an amazing class it was. I am constantly updating and improving my curriculum. The students we had ranged from little to no medical training, to some old military medical training, and even a Wilderness First Responder. Quite an age range of the students as well. It’s always heartening to see such impressive young people showing up to classes. From the young man that took charge during the first lane, to the young women who is the head of her church’s medical response team AND is quite the seamstress. I do expect to see some TTM nylon gear here soon. Maybe even hopefully a Stuck Pig Medical IFAK pouch. This was the first class with the TC3 handout. I have already come up with modifications for it and need to rework it. Hopefully I can find a better program than microsoft publisher to put it together on. If anyone has a suggestion then let me know. I also added a new section to the website. A resources section. I tried to put a few useful files and such on there, if you have any suggestions, I put a comments section on the bottom of the resources library, so go ahead and leave them in the comments on that page.

The fellowship Friday and Saturday night were my personal highlights of the class, and always are. Things are getting… weird. Training of ALL kinds is going to be A LOT more important in the next few years. I know I have some holes I need to plug (heh, wound packing puns) with classes. And most of them will be with NC Scout because I trust him and I know he puts out quality information. Expect to see me at a few of his classes and as a student, not an instructor. I am also in the process of putting together a one day trauma medical basics class. This class is more oriented towards church security teams, or anyone interested in learning the absolute basics of trauma care. Also in the pipeline is a 3 or 4 day class. It will more closely resemble a CLS class for anyone who know what that is. But I am trying to do more than just the 2 day TC3 class. Speaking of, we already have the next TC3 class on the training schedule. February 27-28. Sign up at https://brushbeater.wordpress.com/.

Onto a different not, I am working on branding. I am in need of someone that does graphic design for a logo. If you or someone you know does graphic design email me at mechmedic@tutanota.com. The logo would go on the web page here, on patches, shirts, class handouts, and anything else I decide to slap swag onto.

Hopefully I can get more posts on here in the future, I am trying to put more energy into all of this, but bear with me. Thank you again to those of you that came out to the class, it was a blast to teach all of you.

Don’t get left bleeding out like a stuck pig.