Cover vs. Concealment
Cover vs Concealment
Caleb Causey, Lone Star Medics
September 1, 2022
We discuss these two subjects in our medical courses because it is important when we’re talking about Scene Safety. The scene must be safe for you to render aid. Otherwise you’re just adding to the problem by getting injured yourself. By identifying proper “cover” or “concealment” you increase your survivability during certain scenarios or medical emergencies.
Interestingly enough, in our classes I’ll ask students for their definition of “cover” and “concealment.” About 75% of our students know what cover/concealment means. The other 25% are honest about not knowing and listen intently. Most of their definitions are similar and go something like, “Cover means something you can get behind that will stop bullets from passing through. It will protect you from bullets. Concealment means something you can hide behind so the bad guy can’t see you, but it won’t stop bullets.” Both sound pretty good. However, they are not thinking outside the box. Who said the threat was limited to only bullets? What about flying debris from severe weather like a tornado? What about shrapnel or objects picked up from pressure waves as a result of an explosion? What about oncoming traffic?
Some examples of Cover might be:
- thick concrete/brick walls or pillars
- concrete barriers you see on roads or freeways
- a Texas-sized oak tree
- depending on the angles, a book case full of books perhaps
- giant potted planters filled with dirt
Some examples of Concealment might be:
- a shower curtain
- a bed or mattress
- thin walls typically found in homes or buildings (think drywall)
- wooden privacy fence
Your medical scenario may not always be “tactical” in nature. Speaking of nature; being caught out in the open during severe weather while camping or even running back to your car in a large parking lot could become life-threatening. Who said Cover had to be along the horizontal plane? I remember the horrific storm in May of 1995 in Fort Worth, Texas. Hail the size of golf balls and baseballs crashed down on over 10,000 people who were out in the open during Mayfest (a fantastic art festival held in Ft. Worth each year.) Even those in their homes were not safe. The house we lived in at the time had several tall windows overlooking the backyard. Hail destroyed every window in our home; sending shards of glass flying throughout the house. Some roofs were ripped off due to the strong winds; leaving families unprotected from debris and continuous onslaught of hail. High winds or tornados can lift up almost any object and move it at dangerously high rates of speeds through the air. Heck, a pickup truck flying through the air doesn’t have to be moving fast through the air for it to be a problem, now that I think about it. Speaking of vehicles, that tiny electric car zooming by you going 70mph while you’re on the shoulder of the road rendering aid to another motorist can be problematic too. You might want to locate a solid piece of “cover” before you start helping, in case you need to seek immediate shelter fast. Oh, and there are several cases of criminals and terrorists using vehicles as weapons by driving into pedestrians as well.
Going back to me asking students to explain cover and concealment; while more than half of them may understand that Cover means stopping bullets they don’t think about Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) or explosions. They’ll argue the point that here in the US we don’t see IED’s like what our soldiers do overseas. But we have…
- April 19, 1995 Alfred Murrah Federal Building Oklahoma City, OK
- February 26, 1993 World Trade Center New York, NY
- September 11, 2001 World Trade Center New York, NY
- September 11, 2001 Pentagon Washington, D.C.
- September 11, 2001 Shanksville, PA
- April 15, 2013 Boston Marathon Boston, MA
- March 2-21, 2018 Austin Serial Bomber Austin, TX
- July 27, 1996 Centennial Olympic Park Atlanta, GA
… just to name a few.
So we don’t need to just think only about small arms fire (bullets), we need to also think about debris and shrapnel as well. I’m not going to go down the rabbit holes of energy dispersion or the details on blast waves or injuries. Some blasts can turn random stationary objects into lethal killers just by the pressure waves. The goal here is to get you thinking about identifying immediately available cover and concealment options throughout your day. You could even make it a game with your friends and family. Next time y’all go out to dinner together, pop quiz each other by discretely asking each other what cover or concealment is immediately available. Evaluate each other’s response time and quality of their choices. Our four-year-old gets a kick out of this game at family gatherings. Think of it like a game of “I Spy with My Little Eye.”
Being able to identify and differentiate between cover and concealment is a life skill and should be practiced by all members of your team or family. Not every situation requires protection from incoming rounds; danger may literally fall from the sky.
Drink Water,
-Caleb