Students from across the southeast learn tactical emergency training

July 28, 2018

HENDERSON, Tenn. — Medical, tactical, and land navigation are just some of the skills a local organization strives to teach both law enforcement and civilians alike, which they say may come in handy when you need them the most.

“We specialize in firearms training, search and rescue, land navigation, wilderness skills, tactical and wilderness medicine,” said Alfred Felker, founder, director, and lead instructor at Strategic Self Reliance and Defense.

A group of people from across the southeast met in the woods of Henderson Saturday to learn a variety of important tactics and skills; skills organizers say most anyone can use.

“Especially people that work in the rural areas and their training budgets are kind of low; we’re trying to give them some free training and give them these skills to where they can be fully functional out to a week if needed,” Felker said.

Instructors set up a real life situation.

“The scenario they are facing today is we have a simulated three escaped inmates from the Chester County Detention Center,” said Johnny Sexton, CEO of T.M.E. Training Inc.

And by using what they learned, student set out to reach their goal of a safe capture.

“We’re bringing tactical emergency casualty care to a wilderness environment where it can be implemented into a fugitive manhunt situation,” Sexton said.

Not only did they learn land navigation and search and rescue, they also implemented medical exercises.

“Pace and assessment, hemorrhage control, sucking test wounds, open hemothorax, explosive injuries, gun shot wounds,” said Sexton.

Students I spoke with say everyone should expose themselves to these types of situations, in case of an emergency.

“You can never have enough training, and just the knowledge that I’ve gained today, I look forward to hopefully never having to use it but if I do, I have it to use,” said Danielle Cook from the Chester County Sheriff’s Department.