Review: Combat Lifesaver Class – Bob

Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) is something anyone who wishes to be prepared and able to operate as a valuable team member in a tactical environment must have, and there is no better place to get it than at MVT. Max and Scott pulled from
their extensive combat experience, along with expertise from other people they know, to put together the curriculum for the new Combat Lifesaver (CLS) class.

Day one was classroom focused, while days two and three consisted of hands-on practical applications of MARCH and TC3 protocols. The classroom portion was engaging, and Max did an excellent job of explaining MARCH. Days 2 and 3 were
intense, and sometimes quite literally a trial by fire as the students had to perform basic tactical maneuvers while taking casualties from OPFOR fire. The students then had to deal with the casualties according to TC3 guidelines It was intense and let us just say
there is a reason why Max says the two most difficult things in combat are finding the enemy and extracting a casualty while under fire. The simulations were excellent and helped provide an idea of what taking care of a casualty on a battlefield is like. If you
have not trained for the moment when you take casualties, your training is lacking.

Having to move a casualty under fire is much harder than you think. Training at MVT will help prepare you to deal with casualties under fire.

As this was MVT’s first stand alone CLS class, there were some rough edges, but I have no doubt that Max and Scott will get those ironed out for the next iteration of the class.

Since Max and Scott had the students conducting tactical maneuvers during the force-on-force portions, it is probably wise to attend HEAT 1 or Squad Tactics before CLS to ensure you have the necessary tactical knowledge to maneuver with a team
before taking casualties. If you have that knowledge, this class is the perfect way for you to take your skills to the next level.
-Bob

(P.S. I am a member of the OPFOR team, but I was assigned to BLUEFOR for the duration of the class and thus saw everything from the student perspective rather than the OPFOR perspective.)