Dark Angel Medical's Direct Action Response Training (D.A.R.T.)

Another class I was lucky enough to have gifted to me from GunDude Drew was Dark Angel's Direct Action Response Training. I had been coveting this class for years. You all know my passion for getting TQ training to the masses, but the class I teach (Advanced Bleeding Control through American Safety and Health Institute) is like kindergarten compared to the grad school-level education that Dark Angel offers.

The Dark Angel curriculum is fast-paced, but very well laid out and easy to follow. Though I've spent 30+ years working in the medical field, fifteen of that teaching in the medical field, I still learned a lot, and honed my skills. Back in 1989, I took my EMT-B course. It was a semester-long course, so about sixteen weeks, and I learned the basics of life-saving. In 16 hours with Dark Angel, I learned the same. Now, we didn't learn how to auscultate blood pressures in Dark Angel's course, but we learned the nitty-gritty of saving lives. I loved every damn second of class.

Our instructor, Ross, was funny and knowledgeable as he lead us through the basic anatomy and physiology of the body and its responses to trauma. Not one boring second, and everything he had to say was immediately applicable to the subject at hand. I had talked GunDude Mez into taking it with me, and as my rocket scientist friend, he has a basic knowledge of the body and how it functions, but not nearly the same background as I. Because the curriculum is laid out so well, and Ross was so informative, Mez was able to follow along pretty easily and pick up on some pretty tough topics.

This was not your basic Stop the Bleed class, it was, as I mentioned earlier, the grad school version that took us from the body's alarm responses to safety and situational awareness to assessment and treatment of various injuries including: bumps and bruises, fractures, blast injuries, gun shot wounds, blunt force trauma. Like I said, it was essentially a basic EMT** course taught in sixteen hours. 

We spent enough time doing hands-on activities that we all became comfortable with using the equipment provided. It's one thing to hear about how to use a piece of equipment, but completely different to actually use said equipment.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was having so much fun in class that I didn't think to take any pictures. I will say, though, if you're on the fence about dishing out the money to take this class, just do it. It's amazing and you'll learn so much. In fact, I believe I'll budget for it and take it a second or third time.

**My words, not theirs. Don't want anyone getting in trouble for false advertising.