SABC training: preserving life, limb and eyesight

by By Staff Sgt. Amber E. N. Jacobs
18th Wing Public Affairs

3/31/2014 - KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Imagine you and a wingman are deployed and your base has undergone heavy rocket fire all day. As you finish up a post attack reconnaissance sweep you notice an Airman lying on the ground, bleeding -- what do you do?

Knowing how to perform Self-Aid and Buddy Care immediately after a traumatic event can literally be the difference between life and death in a combat situation.

"Self-Aid and Buddy Care is comparable to basic first aid care," said Master Sgt. Rikina Gunter, 18th Medical Group SABC advisor. "The goal is, after an attack, to be able to first treat yourself to some point, and then your wingman."

Air Force members get their first taste of SABC while in Basic Military Training. After graduating, Airmen continue hands-on training on everything from applying a tourniquet to learning proper bandaging techniques. Airmen are required to complete annual or pre-deployment training both online and in the classroom.

As part of the hands-on SABC training, Airmen go over the contents of an Individual First Aid Kit. SABC focuses on how to use the items from the kit to help individuals get a medical emergency under control until help arrives.

When Airmen deploy, one of the items available to them is an IFAK, Gunter said. Being familiar with the items in the kit and knowing how to properly use them is crucial when working in a remote location, especially when resources are scarce.

The hands-on portion of the training provides Airmen an opportunity to learn how to use items within the kit, such as bandages, nasopharyngeal airways and tourniquets.

"When we deploy, we only get so much in the IFAKs so Airmen will have to improvise," Gunter explained. "It's important to know the training. For example, they can use their uniform belt as a tourniquet, something that can tie and just hold the bleeding as long as it works and it is within the correct measurements."

SABC is a perishable skill, so Airmen have to take the classroom portion of the training every two years.

Tech. Sgt. Shawn Gilman, 18th Medical Operations Squadron NCO in charge of ambulance services, said, it is important that young Airmen receive the training regularly. It can be difficult for new Airmen to remember life-saving skills while trying to learn the Air Force and a new job. By continually practicing SABC training, the skills become second nature. So when an Airman is confronted with a medical emergency he or she is familiar with the techniques and can potentially save someone's life.

By continuously practicing SABC training, Airmen learn how to keep calm in an emergency situation.

"Remember that your IQ never goes up in an emergency situation, it only goes down," Gilman explained. "By doing your training ahead of time and really listening and paying attention, Self-Aid and Buddy Care is actually going to help you when you get into an emergency situation."

For more information about SABC, contact the 18th Medical Group Education and Training Center at 634-1994 or ask your squadron's SABC instructor.