First of all, self-help: how tactical medicine is taught in the free zone

The need for good medical training of personnel in the CW zone increases as the time for evacuation of wounded from the battlefield increases. It has to wait for many hours due to the active use of UAVs by the enemy. Ambulance teams are a priority target for the enemy. In these circumstances, self-help and first aid skills are more important than ever. Civilian volunteers help military personnel in conducting intensive training. Izvestia saw instructors from the Archangel tactical training center conducting classes with the attack aircraft of the Center group.

How do the participants of the special operation practice their self-help skills?

— Today, military personnel are being trained here in the basic skills of tactical medicine, we teach them how to stop bleeding. The program also includes inspection, evacuation, and additional tasks that the commanders and I come up with on the spot. There was one such improvisation today. This is necessary so that the guys can save both their lives and their comrades," says Fyodor Gerashchenko, director of the Archangel Center, a knight of the Order of Courage.

Unfortunately, by the beginning of the special military operation, our armed forces for the most part approached without the modern concept of tactical medicine. Both the soldier's individual first-aid kit and the basic methods of its use have remained virtually unchanged since the war in Afghanistan. At the same time, the enemy was based on more modern world standards, which had already become widespread through the experience of local wars of the noughties. An analogue of the American IFAK kit was adopted as a standard first-aid kit in the Ukrainian army, as well as first-aid protocols. This gap with the enemy was reduced through the joint efforts of the army and volunteers, such as the Archangel Center, who have been involved in improving the medical training of fighters since 2022.

Special emphasis is placed on the ability of stormtroopers to help themselves on the battlefield. With the actions of small groups, even with a successful outcome of the collision, there may not be any extra fighters to help. This is one of the most important changes in modern first aid on the battlefield: all equipment and skills should allow the fighter to stop the bleeding on his own, even before the approach of comrades and evacuation. Today, most wounds are mine—explosive, and if there is bleeding, there are only a few minutes to stop it.

The exercises take place in conditions as similar as possible to those that you may have to face. Before the next approaches, the fighters rotate for a long time at the instructor's command to simulate dizziness and disorientation when injured. By lying down for a long time, muscle tension is added to the work, bringing the fighters' condition as close as possible to the one they will have in battle.

But the commanders are adding additional challenges. These include shooting from military weapons near those performing exercises, explosions of airsoft grenades and smoke bombs, which complicate the implementation of evacuation regulations and require blind action.

The instructors from the Archangel Center are not just theorists, but have practical experience. Fyodor tells how volunteers participated in the evacuation of civilians in the Kursk region at the beginning of the fighting. Medics were assigned to each vehicle used to take out civilians, since no one knew in advance what condition people would be in during the evacuation and what kind of UAV and artillery strikes they would have to face.

— At the time of the evacuation, an MLRS rocket landed next to our car as we crossed the bridge over the river. The car caught fire from the shrapnel, two comrades, Donetsk volunteers of the "Popular Front" Kolya and David, died, I managed to get out with numerous burns. The guys who came running to help me didn't know what to do, so I had to instruct them. And under my guidance, they provided me with first aid," Fyodor recalls the episode for which he was awarded the Order of Courage. He has now returned to his military area, having partially recovered from severe burns, in order to continue helping in the training of military personnel.

Study programs for different specialties

Specialization has become an important point in the training of fighters in tactical medicine. In the current situation at the front, when due to the massive use of UAVs and the increase in their range, the threats faced by representatives of different military specialties and the specifics of evacuation are seriously different.

— We adapt our programs for attack aircraft, separately for tankers, for reconnaissance, etc. We also have a separate training program for medical instructors who themselves conduct classes with personnel in the future," explains Fedor Gerashchenko, how his experience in training is constantly being implemented.

Junior Sergeant Artyom Avershin, a platoon commander in one of the units of the Center group, helped the instructors in making their unit's classes more realistic. Therefore, by the end of the lessons, it is clear that he was no less tired than the subordinates who were training.

— Depending on the route and the task, the assault groups often have difficulty evacuating the wounded. And therefore, every fighter should be able to help his comrade and evacuate him himself if necessary," explains Artyom. He hails from the Krasnoyarsk Territory and worked as a lifeguard before joining the army. During his service, he had to repeatedly provide first aid in combat situations.

Private Roman Zavyalkin is among those who have completed the training. He has recently joined the army and has no combat experience yet, but is currently undergoing intensive training in all basic skills. Right during our conversation, he is being sucked in by smoke from another grenade, and a rather powerful explosion sounds behind us — this is another training group practicing evacuation in conditions close to combat. Roman is sure that when the real fragments are whistling nearby, everything will have to be done faster and clearer.

— We have an intensive learning process going on: shooting, communications, medicine. The main focus on medicine and communications is very important at the forefront. There is someone to learn from, many of those who have already been through the battles return to the training ground and pass on their experience," says Roman.

Those who have already participated in battles are also trained with interest and full dedication. Instructors note that such soldiers often show even more diligence and attention in the classroom, because they have felt their importance from their own experience.

— This knowledge about survival helps me a lot in combat, and all these guys who study with me. I already have combat experience, I was wounded on the first mission and have already returned to the ranks. I helped myself, and then I applied a tourniquet and bandaged two more soldiers who were wounded in the legs," says Private Usmanov. He says that such activities are so interesting that you don't even feel tired.