Front line training for those protecting our rhinos

Safeguarding and protecting our diminishing rhino population from poachers is of utmost importance, but so is the safety of our rangers braving the battle from the front line.

This is why ER24 has, since 2016, collaborated with

Stop Rhino Poaching to offer Tactical First Aid

Courses for the rangers that work in high risk and hostile areas.

ER24 has, up to this point, trained more than 300 rangers and more courses are scheduled locally and internationally for the remainder of 2018.

Peter van der Spuy, ER24’s General Manager of Quality Assurance and Support Services, who has recently returned from one of these training courses, further explains ER24’s involvement.

“ER24 provides the speciality training (tactical first aid) to the rangers for emergency first aid in a hostile or high risk environment. The training is very flexible and is normally presented in the respective wildlife parks to keep the training relevant to the environments in which the tactical first aid will be utilised,” said Peter.

Training includes a classroom-based element as well as in-field realistic simulations and evaluations.

“The students cover all the required first aid requirements and have the additional tactical medical training incorporated into the scenarios. They also learn about emergency action drills, early activation, and communication skills for the request of appropriate resources,” said Peter.

The training is also specifically adapted for the rangers to best suit the first aid requirements they may have.

Peter explains further that, “many of the commercially available courses cater for the domestic standard requirement, whereas ER24 has the tactical component that is offered by the ER24 - ERT (Emergency Response Team) section, who specialise in the development and facilitation of speciality training where tactical medical training is required.”

The training has proven valuable as there have been a number of cases where rangers have been required to use their newly acquired skills in real-life incidents.

“The rangers have been involved in many incidents posttraining, and I can report that the outcome has been effective as a result of the training,” said Peter.

Further to the initial training, ER24 also assists the rangers in other aspects.

“There is a system for the provision of consumable stocks that are used in-field, from the tactical first aid kits that are issued to the rangers that have completed the training, all of the replacement stock is provided by Stop Rhino Poaching and controlled and managed by ER24 – ERT. We also have a few extended programs that we render assistance to Stop Rhino Poaching and the support of the orphaned rhinos,” said Peter.

ER24 proudly supports the fight against rhino poaching and we salute the brave rangers across South Africa.