Dark Angel Medical DARK (Direct Action Response Training) TacMed type course.
I attended the DARK course in Longmont CO on 13-14 August. The class was taught by the owner and founder, Kerry Davis. The class was sold out.
Kerry is an RN and was a USAF Flight Medic, ER Medic, and Officer Training School Instructor. He previously worked with MagPul Dynamics and currently works with the SiG Sauer Academy as well as under the Dark Angel umbrella.
Kerry is passionate about ensuring people have basic emergency lifesaving skills and tools. His passion carries through into the class room and this helps make him a very good instructor.
I always have instructor dread on the first day of class. So many people either read the PowerPoint to you or spend the whole class telling you how cool and operator they are.
Not so with Kerry; he is very humble, knowledgeable, and knows how to get his point across to students. He has an engaging style, a wicked sense of humor (great obscure film references), and allows good interaction between students. Like all good instructors, he offers a way, or several ways, not ‘his way” to do things.
Learning occurred.
Most of the class were shooters. One was taking the class for the third time (it’s all about the fundamentals). There was a deputy sheriff, two couples from WY, and an ER surgeon. With the exception of the deputy and me, I suspect everyone was on their own dime.
I selected this class initially because his IFAK is compact and adheres to the KISS principle. Many IFAKs are trying to be a mobile trauma surgery. This takes up too much room on the vest and makes it slower to find what you need. His kit has the basics to “stop the dying” right now. Further reading of positive AARs prior to attending solidified my decision.
The Dark Angel med kit and training are useful across the spectrum of activities, not just applicable to shooting. These skills will help stop the dying in any trauma situation, MVA, GSW, or if your kid runs his arm through a glass door and severs an artery.
The first 1.5 days were lecture interspersed with demos of equipment and TQ self-application practice. The last half of TD2 was role play with partners.
It occurred to me a few years ago that we’ve got this training thing the wrong way round. We probably first need this class, then a trip to Gunsite or a class with a good traveling instructor. I’m glad we’re starting to realize that these skills are just as important as skill-at-arms.
Kerry currently has 51 documented saves with his training/med kits. He’s doing good work with this training.
I HIGHLY recommend this class.
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Originally Posted by voodoo_man
