Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting

"TRAINING FOR CHAOS"

​​​Josh Betts   NREMT, WEMT, EMTF

INSTRUCTOR

Josh has been involved in wilderness search and rescue for over 15 years. He has worked as an instructor for more than 10 years teaching wilderness medicine, search and rescue, as well as mountain rescue. Josh has worked professionally in level-1 trauma centers, 911 EMS, Ski Patrol, National Park Service as well as 9-years in the US Air Force. Currently, Josh works as a Ranger for the Mohonk Preserve where he provides rescue services for the Gunks climbing area in the Hudson Valley area of NY. In their free time, Josh along with his wife Alexie enjoy traveling and are currently raising their new son Calder.

TESTIMONIALS

​​​Bill Boyd     NRP, EMPF

INSTRUCTOR

Bio to be added soon. 

​​​​Felipe Valle     NREMT, EMTF

INSTRUCTOR

Bio to be added soon. 

Jeff Kwiecien   NRP, FP-C, TP-C

LEAD INSTRUCTOR

Jeff Kwiecien is a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army National Guard. He is currently an active-duty guard member where he serves as the readiness NCO for a Combat Engineer Company and previously served as an Army Flight Medic and as a non-rated crew member flight instructor. Jeff has conducted and completed several deployments to Iraq as both a flight medic and ground combat medic. Jeff has also be a practicing paramedic for the last 20 years and currently works as a REMS Team Leader on the civilian side working major incidents all over the country.  Jeff is one of our SAR, wilderness medical, and tactical medicine instructors. He also assists with our curriculum development.

Past News

​14 Sep 2018 - Sergeant Rescue has been officially awarded the MAPC contract to provide a Law Enforcement TCCC course for 42 LEOs in the Boston Area. We are very humbled and excited to bring this great course to their area! 

As of 12:00am we have transitioned to a new registration medium. Everything should work smoother for your registrations. Please bare with us as we work out any possible unforeseen issues. 

22 Aug 2018 - Join us at the 2018 New York Tactical EMS Expo. Sgt Tartalone and the team will be presenting two fantastic training programs!

1. The RTF Model - The RTF Model course discusses the concepts of the Rescue Task force. Participants will be introduced to the basic tactics and will demonstrate some of the tactical challenges that are encountered when applying the rescue task force concept to active incidents. This course will also discuss the building blocks to implementing a rescue task force training program. As well as suggested minimum training requirements for implementation. During the course participants will also be able to engage in some basic scenarios were guided discussions and demonstration of the rescue task force concept in action. 

2. Aeromedevac Rescue and Considerations - Aeromedevac can be one of the easiest ways to transport a wounded team member, but it can also pose some significant challenges. This course will discuss some of the challenges of preparing a patient for evac, how to conduct an effective hand off, as well as some of the equipment that can be used to safely evacuate the casualty. The final portion of this training session we will discuss safety around aircraft, safe hoisting operations, patient packaging for hoist rescues, and selection of hoist locations. This mainly hands on course will expose the participant to some of the unique challenges of preparing a casualty for medevac in the tactical environment. 

Registration for the Expo will be opening soon! Hope some of you will make the trip to come and support us while taking part in some intense learning laboratories.

4 July 2018 - A lot has been happening! As of last month we received work through a working committee, that our team is a part of, that the NTOA has adopted and is fully implementing the Rescue Task Force Instructor Course that we assisted in writing. The first class will be in the State College Area of PA and several of our team will be in the first 20 in the country that will be able to teach this trainer development program. 

As of last week we have partnered with NASAR to bring you great Wilderness Medicine programs. Be on the look out for several new classes. We will be offering our WUMP that will be our first offering using the new NASAR program. Along with a NASAR credential you also will be given the opportunity to gain FAWM credits and you will also receive our SRTC Credential. You can also find us at several conferences around the country and possibly internationally. 

Keep your eyes to our page and our Facebook and Instagram! 

1 March 2018 - We have a lot of great things going on in 2018! We are booking out into August and beyond already. Currently we are looking for highly motivated and professional personnel to join our team as instructors for our newly established Wilderness Division. Check out the join our team tab for more information.
Please feel free to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on our current course offerings. If you wish to host a course reach out via the contact us tab to ask about sponsoring any of our training programs!

23 October 2017 - We have begun booking for the 2018 training year! Keep your eyes pealed! We have many new training offerings coming up and we look forward to bringing our world class trainings to you! As of this month we have added the National Association for Search and Rescue's training programs to our many course offerings! We are now able to bring the great training and certifications that NASAR offers to you! Take a few moments to check out our Training Programs page to see course descriptions. We are also in the process of getting next years offering of Wilderness First Aid and our first annual Wilderness First Responder / WEMT training program set up! Should have those courses settled here soon. We also have completed booking of our 2018 Paramedic Refresher! This years course will boast tons of hands on work shops and great lectures!  

24 May 2017 - The team has been very busy over the last few months. A lot of classes have been completed and a lot of new courses added. Our schedule is filling quickly and we are proud to be presenting at several state EMS conferences. Our Rescue Task Force Instructor course is soon to be completed in partnership with the NTOA. That should be ready to go this summer. We also have renewed a contract with the South Central Mountains Regional Task Force to provide 10 more Basic Rescue Task Force courses for them! We also will be holding a TEMS course this summer! Stay tuned for more!28 Feb 2017 - As of last weekend we have completed our second annual Paramedic Refresher. We handed out 8 NREMT Paramedic Refresher certificates, completed an amazing Difficult Airway Seminar program, and also our annual offerings of PHTLS and AMLS. Remember to join us at the Seven Mountains EMS Conference for our two educational seminars; The Lost Art of Splinting & The New Old Technology: Tourniquets. We also will have a booth on site with periodic hands on trainings and to answer any questions you may have! See you there!

25 Jan 2017 -  We are proud to be working in our community and in the amazing country! We would like to take a moment to thank our followers for taking part in our trainings and referring us to colleagues. We are very honored to exceed your expectations on a regular basis. We have added several new courses and are branching out in 2017. We are now offering in partnership with Bucks County Community College the Pennsylvania Rope Technician series. This fall we also will be offering several Mountain Rescue ropework seminar courses. Plans for Nepal and the first annual Wilderness & Expedition Medicine Trekking Symposium are set. We are just waiting on the CME approvals to come back! Registration for this amazing trip is now open. Space is limited to 10 participants! More info can be found on the link below. Don't forget to like us on facebook and to check back frequently! We plan on adding more courses yet in 2017!

10 Jan 2017 - Greetings! I hope you have been watching our facebook page. We are pretty terrible about posting news in both places. Our new years resolution however, is to get better at posting both here on the news and on our Facebook Page. That being said we have some new developments to share! We are in the final stages of planning our first Everest Base Camp trek. The Wilderness & Expedition Medicine Symposium is being planned for the 2018 climbing season. Participants will get some world class instruction in wilderness and expedition medicine, meet physicians working Everest ER, and also learn about high altitude aeromedical rescue from the Alpine Rescue Service. Keep posted for more information. Space will be limited to 12 participants. We also have some great Wilderness courses that still have space available! Be sure to register now to make sure you can get in! A lot of great things coming in 2017! Sergeant Rescue is now being represented on 3 continents, by 3 International renowned agencies, and has set the stage for more amazing courses! See you in class!

24 Aug 16 - So how many agencies can say that they are involved in designing and then implementing a high speed and in-depth training program for a major international agency? Well as of yesterday Sergeant Rescue can! We have been selected by multiple committees of the NTOA, National Tactical Officers Association, to design a train the trainer course for TEMS & Basic Rescue Task Force instructors!
This first roll out of this new program will be early next year! We also hope to have our Basic Rescue Task Force Course adopted as the standard training program for courses nationally! Great things happening! Keep tuned to our page and facebook page for more details and for all of our class offerings!

29 July 16 - We are sad to announce that due to low registrations we have chosen to cancel out TEMS course for this year. We will try to reschedule for next year at some point!
We also had an issue with the venue for our Managing Land Search Operations Course. Therefore, that class is also going to be rescheduled. Very sorry for any inconvenience. Those that have registered will receive a full refund.
On a more high note we are in the process of scheduling multiple Wilderness First Aid courses, two Wilderness First Responder Courses, and two Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professional Courses! Stay tuned to our page for class dates and registration information!

19 July 16 - Have a need to run a tabletop or functional exercise? Have a need to regionally or locally drill your faculty, staff, or agency? Search no further. Sergeant Rescue now has a FEMA Master Planner on staff! We are now able to help you utilize regional, state or national funding to organize functional drills, table tops, and exercises for your agencies! Just one more way Sergeant Rescue is able to provide realistic and effective training for you!

26 Mar 16 - Sergeant Rescue has changed the course name of one of our training programs. Our TECC Short Course is now called the Basic Rescue Task Force Training Course and we have graciously accepted a contract for 10 of these classes in the central Pennsylvania area.
We have also scheduled our first Tactical Emergency Medical Support course! This is the basic and advanced programs in a 5 days and with our agreement with Medic Up International we are able to bring this course to you at a rock bottom price!
We are looking to schedule a NREMT Basic refresher course here in the fall and are currently applying to be a BCCTPC recognized training site to be able to provide Tactical Paramedic prep and refreshers as well as Flight Paramedic Refresher programs and Critical Care Paramedic Refreshers.
Keep an eye to our page for unique and interesting training opportunities!

8 Apr 15 - After a successful trip and business meeting in Xi'an China the SRTC crew has been awarded a major consulting job to help establish a combat medicine, TEMS program, and also wilderness rescue programs and all of the associated curriculum to support this. We have also been asked to consult on the development of a training facility to support the same.

22 Jan 15 - New training opportunities are coming soon! Dates finalizing a AMLS course offering in State College will be posted soon! Also a Self Aid for the First Responder course! Teacher Tactical Lifesaver programs coming soon! Big things keep coming. Keep watching our page for training opportunities!

25 Dec 14 - Sergeant Rescue is now a recognized TECC instruction agency. We have been formally recognized by the Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care.

10 Dec 14 - Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting is now an approved NAEMT Training Site!!!! Currently able to offer Advanced Medical Life Support, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, and Law Enforcement First Response Tactical Casualty Care. Not bad for some Grunt Medics!! Look us up to schedule your training event!

Consulting Services 

Our consulting services are not just limited to providing training programs. We also can provide guidance for your tactical training programs; from developing and standing up a TEMS team, to evaluating the effectiveness of a current team. Our instructors have hosted and planned dozens of training classes and have the knowledge to help your team or organization be successful. We will work with you to design specific training or scenarios that will challenge your members to meet your training objectives! From basic concepts to technical rescue, wilderness search fundamentals and practices, all the way to advanced tactical medicine. We can help with it all! Feel free to contact us for more information.

Jeff Brytczuk    NRP, FP-C, TP-C

LEAD INSTRUCTOR

Jeff is a separated U.S. Marine who's day job is flying as a Flight Paramedic for the Geisinger Health System. He is an incredibly knowledgeable care provider. He serves as the Tactical Medical Team Leader for the Centre County Tactical Response Team. He is a TEMS certified paramedic and also will be serving as one of our CQB & Firearms instructors.

​​​Jeff Kalczynski      DO, FAWM

INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Kalczynski's interest in medicine blossomed during his college years where he began working as an EMT basic with the University of Delaware's collegiate EMS program, as well as multiple fire/ems companies in the area.  He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, commissioning in the Medical Corps of the US Navy during medical school.  He completed a categorical Emergency Medicine Internship at the Naval Medical Center San Diego in California.  Dr. Kalczynski is currently on an active duty deferral status to pursue continued residency training in Emergency Medicine at Morristown Medical Center.  He recently attained Fellowship status in the Academy of WIlderness Medicine (FAWM), and holds instructor certifications for AWLS, ACLS, BLS, ATLS, and PALS.  His passions include medical education, resuscitation, backpacking, and austere medicine. 

Tatiana Havryliuk    MD, FAWM, DIMM

INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Tatiana Havryliuk is an emergency physician at the  Brooklyn Hospital Center in Brooklyn, NY. She completed fellowships in wilderness medicine and emergency ultrasound, and is looking to bridge the two fields together. Tatiana spent two seasons working with the Himalayan Rescue Association in Nepal, one of them at Everest Base Camp. She is also a co-founder of Musa Masala, an organization dedicated to provide education to anyone venturing into the mountains.  She enjoys biking, hiking, mountaineering and is always looking for a new adventure in the mountains. Tatiana has worked on global health and research projects in Brazil and Mozambique and most recently spent three months volunteering at the Himalayan Rescue Association clinic in Manang Nepal and at Everest ER. Her interests include wilderness medicine education, altitude medicine, and global health. She is also a Fellow of Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM), AWLS instructor and holds a Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM).

​​​​Steven Thime     Paramedic

INSTRUCTOR

Steven started his fire service career in Illinois in 1996 before moving to Colorado in 2003. He has 27 years of experience as a structural firefighter, wildland and paramedic. His highest NWCG qualifications are Structure Protection Specialist and Division Group Supervisor and works throughout the U.S. for IMT's on All Hazards Risk assignments.

“Sergeant Rescue offers some of the most realistic training  I have even been a part of!                                                                 - J. Naleppa (Cranberry EMS)

 

“Having been a part of many a “tactical” training event, the sergeant rescue crew taught from a perspective of real experience. They made the training challenging and exciting at all times."                                                        

- Chief William Hess, (Pittsburgh, PA)

 

“Jason has  a very impressive teaching style. He has a way of making you work through the stress and learn the task at hand. Very impressed by his teams abilities!”                                                                                       - E. Tilton (NASAR)

"I wanted to let you know that my first call of the day after class was an atrial bleed that required quick clot and a tourniquet.  I was the only one out of 4 medics that knew how to use any of it correctly and effectively. The best part was that I was able to do it second nature thanks to you guys.  Thanks again!"
- Thomas Walk BS, NRP, FFII

"Fantastic course and I learned so much! Thank you for taking time to teach us more after hours! This needs taught to more law enforcement and your staff are fantastic instructors! Great course!"

- Trooper Holford, PA State Police

"The online learning you are doing is fantastic! It is entertaining and informative. Keep it up!" 

- Mike Likpa  NV EMT

"I have taken many courses and most of the instructors I have interacted with took a class and do not teach from a point of experience. Your team not only is knowledgeable in your subject matter, but also very experienced field providers. That is a rare mix!" 

- Brian Tooley KY SAR

​

MIKE JONES    PA-C

INSTRUCTOR

Mike Jones is a special operations tactics instructor and a medical trainer for Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting. Mike has recently become a Physician Assistant and was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment  where he served as a Special Operations Medic. Mike has had multiple combat tours to Iraq & Afghanistan. He will serve us here at SRTC as a tactical instructor, as one of our marksmanship instructors and also as one of our tactical medical trainers.

"Jason,

The weekend went great. The students that were in the TECC course had nothing but amazing things to say. They were all smiles after getting their butts kicked on Sunday. From what I gather, the amount and caliber of information that was provided was second to none. I will be doing a formal class debriefing this week with the people that attended. I don't expect any negative feedback but I will definitely let you know what they have to say.

This course and Sergeant Rescue came highly recommended and did not disappoint! Please make sure to express my gratitude to your team for coming out and providing at kick ass class!

Thank You"

- William Humes, Cranberry EMS

"Being prior military I didn't know what the team had to offer. I was way off the mark. Your team was exceptional. The training you provided was not only effective, but was driven home by practice and explanations from real world experience. The crew was very knowledgeable and  brought new perspective to what I already knew. Hope to attend many more of your classes and thank you for all that you do. "

-SSgt. Hinnebusch

"Great, Great Course! The BEST I have ever taken. Thank you for the opportunity to attend! If we could have added more time, your team's teaching and knowledge would have been worth every extra minute."

- Rich Notarianni, NREMT-P

"The instructors were top notch and very committed to the task of teaching!"

- Anonymous

"The Nepal expedition was a life changing and extremely exciting experience for me. I learned so much and absolutely enjoyed the team and learning all the knowledge I could from Jason and Croker. I highly recommend this expedition and journey. You wont regret it!

- Leslie Wills RN

​​Josh Fremberg     NRP, TP-C

INSTRUCTOR

Josh is an active paramedic with 14years of EMS experience. He is also a prior service Army. He works full time for Penn State University EMS as the Director of Training where he teaches the university's EMS training programs and manages the in house EMS training program. He also serves on the Centre County Tactical Response Team as a tactical medic. 

Want to Host a Course?

No Problem

Hosting one of our courses is as simple as an email request. We charge a nominal fee upfront to reserve the training date and then the course tuitions pay for the rest. We primarily are a traveling training organization. Meaning we like brining the training to you!  Send us an email for more information about hosting opportunities for any one or all of our classes!

​​​​Lauren Lane      NRP, EMPF

INSTRUCTOR

Bio to be added soon. 

​​​Bill Hess    NRP

INSTRUCTOR

Bill is a certified Paramedic with 53 years of EMS experience starting as a volunteer and becoming a career Paramedic working his way up to Chief of a busy suburban EMS system. He also holds certifications as an EMS instructor, Firefighter One, Rescue Technician, Hazardous Materials Technician. He is a member of the Pennsylvania EMS Strike Team and has been deployed to multiple disasters.

Ralph Jones   MD, FAWM

Instructor / Medical Director

Dr. Ralph "Croker" Jones has recently retired from the U.S. Navy where he served in multiple high level capacities. He has served as the medical director for multiple companies and has served over 30 years in the Navy. While serving he spent time with the special operations community and served as Director of Surgical Services for Operation Nobel Eagle over 9-11. Dr. Jones has seen multiple deployment to the middle east and served both as a surgeon for both ground and sea units. Winner of the Purple Heart while in Afghanistan. Dr. Jones is well versed in tactical and wilderness medicine and has attended multiple civilian and military schools to learn how to provide care in austere environments. Dr. Jones is a Wilderness Fellow and has completed the ISTM's Tactical Medical courses. He is an accomplished Surgeon and has spent many years establishing himself as a world known and well respected surgeon and educator in both the military and civilian sector.

Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting:

"Training For Chaos"

Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting has been founded by members of the U.S. military to bring these effective training techniques to our brothers and sisters that work as EMS professionals, firefighters, and law enforcement officers . We have a standing mission to provide or facilitate training for these communities, so that they can save themselves or be able to provide effective care when the chaos erupts. We also train the avid outdoorsman in safey and life saving medical techniques. We specialize in Tactical Medicine and Wilderness Medicine, two areas of the spectrum where the inevitable happens with predictable regularity! Only preparation and regular training can provide the possibility of success in any scenario. Our training courses are established to exceed and challenge industry standards, use evidence-based practices, highlight personal experiences, and provide the latest training in techniques availible. We pride ourselves on providing realistic training that challenges our students both mentally and physically! Our motto is Training For Chaos. Choose Sergeant Rescue to prepare you for the chaos today! Not when it strikes! 

Jeremy Keenan     EMTA, 68W

LEAD Instructor

Staff Sergeant Jeremy Keenan is a tactical medicine instructor for Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting. He is an accomplished combat medic in the U.S. Army National Guard where he has served 4 years as the senior medic for the Marksmanship Training Unit at Ft. Indiantown Gap. He specializes in tactical medicine and marksmanship. SSgt Keenan was deployed to the Baltics in support of Operation Sabre Strike as an Independent Duty Medic and earned a reputation for excellent care and ability as a Combat Medic and has since deployed to several different areas around the world a medical platoon sergeant. Jeremy also is a practicing Advanced EMT in civilian life working in a busy urban EMS system. 

Brandon Gregg    NREMT, RN

Instructor

Staff Sergeant Brandon Gregg is an instructor for Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting.  He has served in Iraq as a combat medic on a personal security detail and has provided care for an Infantry company where he earned the Army Combat Field Medical Badge. He has extensive training and curriculum development experience.  He has recently retired from the U.S. Army National Guard and has been a practicing EMS provider since 2003.  Brandon is currently a practicing RN. 

Jason Tartalone   NRP, FAWM, FEWM, WP-C, TP-C

CEO / Lead Instructor

Jason Tartalone is the founding member and owner of Sergeant Rescue Training & Consulting. He is a 12 year veteran of the U.S. Army where he served as a Combat Medic and Flight Paramedic. During his service and throughout his career has spent a considerable time in Afghanistan and other austere environments. Mr. Tartalone has been involved in wilderness search and rescue for the past 20 years and has been an active EMS provider for 17 years. Mr. Tartalone is a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness medicine and has completed a Fellowship of Wilderness and Extreme Medicine from WEM. During his fellowship he specialized in Mountain and Hight Altitude Medicine.  He is an accomplished EMS practitioner and educator. He is now a current NAEMT Affiliate faculty member, the Chairman of the National Association for Search & Rescue's (NASAR) Wilderness Curriculum Committee, a member of the NASAR Board of Directors, and he is also one of our lead NASAR Instructors and Evaluators.