The three major TacMed courses are NAEMT ( National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians), ALERRT (Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training), and NTOA (National Tactical Officers Association). They each have different focus and their curriculums target different groups . 

The history of TacMed started with NAEMT’s Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) for our military. For injuries sustained in combat, devised by research conducted by the Hartford group and widely deployed in combat. It was discover that peripheral injuries and massive hemorrhage stabilized by tourniquets, for the most part were survivable. 

The tactics of TacMed, are an integral part of military doctrine, so in the the curriculum, they are essentially omitted. This curriculum was brought to the civilian world, renamed TECC (Tactical Emergency Casualty Care), but Tactics were not reintroduced in the curriculum. The target audience of TECC is some medical certification such as Paramedic or EMT. There is a shortened version, named TECC-LEO, but again no tactics.Yes the concepts of ”Hot, Warm, and Cold” zones are taught, but the most important command and control for the transition from ”Hot to Warm” is not. In an Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Incident, with “Minutes Matter” to rapidly transition from the ”Hot to Warm” zones, to establish secure islands, secure corridors, and to allow Fire/EMS into the crisis site with their advanced skills and tools for evacuation is omitted. With “Minutes Matter” research shows this is the critical factor to save the most amount of lives.

ALERRT and NTOA with their Active Shooter and Rescue Task Force courses bifurcate their courses and have different courses for Law Enforcement and Fire/EMS. They solve the “Tactics Problem” for Law Enforcement and teach the methods that allow Fire/EMS into the crisis site. They minimize the Medical part, but for Law Enforcement, they are already task overloaded. As for Fire/EMA, they “Bring in the Experts” with their advanced medical skills and tools for evacuation (stretchers) to evacuate victims to a higher level of care.

So understand who your target audience is when signing up are creating a curriculum for your organization, or choosing what program you will attend.