It would be no stretch of the imagination to accuse anyone involved in emergency medicine of being in one way or another, an adrenaline junky. In EMS, scene safety is of the utmost importance. When that scene goes from the ordinary to the extraordinary and the scene is not so safe, we step in. There is a small community of paramedics in Odessa who stretch the scene safety envelope even further than most and rely on that rush of adrenaline by providing medical support to the SWAT team. They are, The Odessa Tactical Medics.

In situations that a SWAT team may be utilized such as: high-risk search warrants, barricaded subjects, hostage situations and many others, police officers often have to rely on emergency care that Is staged at a safe location and delayed treatment until the scene be rendered “safe”. A location that is often blocks and sometimes miles away. Lets look at that from a police officers perspective. If you suffered a life threatening injury such as a bullet wound, how long do you want to wait for the "scene to be safe" before the EMTs are at your side? Tactical situations exist when there is a strong potential for lethal violence. It only makes sense to help insure the safety of those officers by having medical help close at hand.

Police, firemen and paramedics have much more in common than differences. We are all in public safety and we all want to work our shifts and go home safely. Many of us have families waiting to see us at the end of each shift, and many of us rely on the other discipline to "make the scene safe" so that the rest of us can apply our expertise to the situation. Odessa Tactical Medics are EMTs who have made the commitment to provide the officers that literally risk their lives to make the scene safe for us, with rapid and efficient medical support.

Odessa Tactical Medics are not police officers. We are all Paramedic/firefighters. We all have great respect for the police profession but don't want to be one. If something goes wrong, we need to think and act like a medic or else we have let the team down in our primary role. We need to have enough tactical training so that we are not a liability to the team or stupidly become a casualty ourselves, but our sole purpose is to make sure these officers go home after each callout or training session to see their families.

Tactical EMS does add to the risk factors for the EMTs, but working with police teams and training constantly with a tactical team to know the procedures, weapons, personalities and medical history of team members minimizes that risk. We don't make tactical decisions but we support the commander in their overall mission planning by being the medical conscience.

Operating on a SWAT team, as a medic is not something taught in any normal EMT class. The training is specialized and specific to the tactical needs of a SWAT team

As members of the Odessa Tactical Medics it is an honor to serve our officers. Each member of the Odessa Tactical Medics has selflessly and willingly committed himself to the additional training, personal sacrifice and risk in order to have the privilege to “Protect Those who Protect Us".