DÉFENSE ZONE
First aid is a field as broad as it is complex. It can be perceived in different ways depending on your job, where you live and your experience of certain extreme or dangerous situations.
In this feature, we cover two main topics: first aid in hostile environments and in hostile zones. The first depends on a human environment that is potentially dangerous because of the presence of belligerents and/or a heightened risk of indirect fire, bombing or terrorist attacks.
The hostile zone, for its part, means exposure to an extreme climate or geography that is potentially dangerous to humans, either through the action of the environment itself or through the difficulty of being rescued. The desert, the mountains, the jungle or even a very large forest can prevent specialist services from intervening within a very short time, and therefore call for an immediate ability to treat a casualty.
Everyone is concerned
For service personnel on operations, or for security and rescue forces during an emergency or crisis such as a terrorist attack, first aid is one of the basic principles to master in order to be able to carry on with their action. But today this knowledge deserves to be shared with a wider public. The growth of outdoor activities, but also the real risk of facing a deteriorating situation in your work environment, a road accident and, more exceptionally, a terrorist attack, requires at the very least a knowledge of basic first aid.
However, most specialists campaign for citizens to have “basic” equipment so that they can deal with these situations and become first responders.
In all these respects, equipment, training, practising first aid and using specific kit are not intended to treat the person, but to stabilise them and keep them alive until they are evacuated and taken over by health specialists. In a hostile zone, it is also a matter of protecting yourself, not only to avoid being wounded yourself, but also to remain able to help the casualty or casualties.
A vital part of your kit
Many readers of this magazine are called upon to intervene or operate in these particular environments, where a wound can quickly have multiplied effects if it is not treated in the first few minutes. Isolation in the field, extreme weather conditions or a hostile environment call for rapid and appropriate care.
As with your weapons and your bivouac or combat gear, the first aid kit is a vital part of your kit. In your pack or on your combat vest, having a minimum of specific equipment is the indispensable basis for dealing with potentially risky situations encountered in the field. Without claiming to be exhaustive, this feature aims to prepare you, equip you and suggest the best training options. Like other items of your kit, first aid equipment is prepared in advance, because the day you are faced with a situation requiring your intervention, you will not get a second chance.
You can read the rest in Issue 2 of Défense Zone via this link
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To go further, listen to our podcast with Claude Brunet, head of the training course “Secourisme en milieu hostile” (First aid in hostile environments) via this link or by clicking directly on the image.
