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Advance Team in Ukraine

The advance team returned to Ukraine on Jan. 18 and the plan is for them to stay for a few months and return on April 23rd.

Since returning to Ukraine, the Team has continued to help deliver medical supplies and food to high risk areas on the front lines of the war in Eastern Ukraine.

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Advance Team in Ukraine:

Ukraine Uncharted

The first official deployment for Chazak Rescue saw the advance team traveling to Ukraine in August. The Team first invested a few weeks in Kyiv where they conducted technical and medical rescue training for 30+ Ukrainian first responders. One such training they oversaw was Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC), a much-needed course in Kyiv where there was a severe shortage of medical trainers.

What is Deadwood Outfitters?

Since the inception of Chazak Rescue, there has been a consistent need for a dedicated training facility that offers remote, rugged, and high altitude terrain for intensive cadet training. God has provided! In early 2022, Chazak’s board of directors made the decision to purchase Deadwood Outfitters, a licensed guide for hunting and wilderness adventures based in central Idaho. You may have noticed the beautifully-rugged landscapes featured

Update on the Ukraine Deployment

Much has happened since our last post! The Advance Team had the opportunity to deploy to Ukraine. Beginning in Kyiv, they traveled through several regions of Ukraine doing technical and medical rescue training. One such training they oversaw was Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC), a much-needed course in Kyiv where there is a severe shortage of medical trainers.

Just like that, the cadets are completing their final training segment for their first year with Chazak. It’s been a wild first year of training, learning, growing, stretching, and hard work.

The cadets are currently in their sixth week of training at Deadwood Outfitters, our newly purchased training facility in Cascade, ID. With its remote and rugged location, it’s the ideal location for the intensive seven-week segment that makes up 1.5.

In an effort to keep cadets connected with their home communities, during year one of training, cadets complete a six-month home study.

Currently, the team has just three weeks left of home study before heading west for their next segment of training.

Here’s a glimpse into things they’ve touched on during their time at home.

Studying from Home

1.4 training is currently underway! Phase 1.4 consists of both home study and group training for the cadets.

Home study is included in an effort to help each individual stay in contact with their home community and church. As individuals, we can make a big difference in the international setting. However, we can make an even bigger difference when we have the connections and support of the people around us.

a night in winter training

There’s been plenty happening in the Chazak world. Training, planning, studying, and sometimes just plain hard work are all a part of what’s going down at Chazak this Spring.

The Advance Team is currently in their final stage of training. They have completed the training they do together as a team, and now each member will invest in a deeper level of training in one respective area. This stage is considered individual specialization.

Individual Specialization

While everyone within the team is trained to operate as a team in water, ropes, medical, communications, and IC within the rescue world, each member of the team is also specializing in one particular area. This person will then function as the team leader in that specialization when the need arises. This Spring, the team is getting their certifications and interning in their respective fields.

For the Advance Team, this looks like Ryan Esh taking further training in Water rescue, Jen Kauffman in Medical, Mindy Snyder in Communications & Incident Command, and Ethan Royal in Ropes.

This phase of training for the Advance Team will run from roughly March through May, and possibly into June.

These months are looking a little different for each team member, with internships and trainings at different levels and stages.

So what does this look like?

For Jen in medical training, it looks like being on the home stretch of a four Week WEMT class with SOLO in Conway, New Hampshire.

The first few weeks were focused on Wilderness Medicine, and how to care for someone in a backcountry setting or a setting where immediate evacuation is not an option. The third and fourth weeks have been a lot more intense for her, with a ton of information to digest and so little time.

Training in Conway, New Hampshire

A typical day for Jen

My average day starts at 5:00, I normally head up to the main building to grab coffee, and a light breakfast before I hit the books. I study for about two hours and then get a second breakfast at 7:00 before class starts.

The class is as interactive as possible, and we have been having so much fun. Our instructors have us laughing constantly, and have us get up and do practice assessments and other things, to break up the monotony of sitting in class all day.

We usually end class around 5:00, and one of the instructors will give us a 60 question practice test on the topic/topics we have covered that day. Two nights a week, we have night class from 6:00–7:00. I normally try to eat a lighter dinner so I can head out for a short run, before I shower, and study some more for the rest of the evening.

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After finishing, she has three more classes scheduled for her medical specialization training. ADLS, PHTLS, and a Tactical Lifesaver course.

She’s looking forward to practicing her newly acquired skills in the next few months via internship on a local ambulance.

Jen completing specialized medical training.

I never saw myself in the medical field, but, other than stressing about testing, I have been having a lot of fun, learning how to deliver babies and build bomber splits.

Prayers appreciated as I continue to dive into the medical world and learn to care for people’s physical needs well.

DEPLOYMENT

A crucial aspect for the Advance Team is actually deploying on the field, responding to crises, war zones, and natural disasters. With the recent upheaval in Ukraine, the Advance team responded in the beginning of March.

With Jen busy with medical training, the rest of the members of the Advance team were deployed to L’viv, Ukraine where they worked to build connections with other organizations, and sift through information. They made contacts for a number of orphans that needed to be evacuated and worked to make the connections and plans they needed to help those orphans. With public transportation crowded and sporadic in places, transportation was a big problem with reported fuel shortages and low availability. As in any war zone, conditions were (and are) in a constant state of flux which continues to add an extra layer of complexity.

They then moved from L’viv to a town named Rivne where they were able to establish connections. For their base, they were able to use a new home for elderly people where only a few people were currently living.

The organization they were with in Ukraine began doing evacuation runs. They would go towards Kiev and other places where they had contacts of people who wanted to be evacuated, pick people up, bring them back to the base for a night (usually) and then take them to the Polish border.

Building connections and evacuating people in Ukraine

Three of the team members are currently back here in the States. But the work in Ukraine continues under PCCR. If you would like to know more, check out PCCR’s Facebook page for regular updates.

Pray with us:

• For the Advance Team’s continued strength and focus as well as guidance in scheduling trainings and internships
• For health and strength for the cadets
• For the right people to fill current staff needs

As always, thanks for being here and joining with us as together, we work to fulfill the Great Commission.

Read More

And just like that, another year is wrapped up! 2021 was a year of firsts for us. The Advance Team launched, the first cadet team made their debut, there were segments of training and multiple deployments. Truth be told, 2021 held lots of hard work and many successful firsts, for which we are grateful!

Over Christmas, the Cadets and members of the Advance Team were scattered in different directions enjoying a much-deserved Christmas break. Training resumed again on January 3rd.

October found our cadet teams on their second deployment: half the team in Uganda, the other half in Greece. They reported a challenging, stretching, and fulfilling time.

Greece

Five cadets made up the team in Greece. While there, they worked mostly in a refugee camp under i58 while also completing several projects outside of camp.

Inside the refugee camp, the cadets served refugees from 35

It happened!

After months of planning and working, the very first Chazak cadet team launched on September 3! During their first segment of training, they traveled to northern Maine for eight days of canoeing and hiking. Their trip included sharing life stories while learning and practicing basic wilderness survival skills. As you can imagine, they encountered lots of sore feet and aching muscles along the way. Already, these cadets are being stretched and challenged.