Rural Public Safety & Austere Medicine Training

Who We Are

Operational Medicine & Austere Support (O.M.A.S.) is a 501(c)(3) public benefit charity dedicated to advancing community resilience in underserved, rural, and austere environments. Through innovation, applied research, and analytical insight, we develop solutions that enhance preparedness, strengthen local capacity, and support the safety and security of the communities we serve.

Preparedness

Practical preparedness training, education, and planning for rural EMS, fire departments, volunteer responders, and the communities they serve — delivered at no cost to agencies or individuals who cannot afford it.

Development

Developing tools, technologies, and analytical products that strengthen response capability — alongside essential equipment and resources — for agencies and organizations with limited budgets.

Support

Surge capacity and mass incident support focused on responder sustainment, search and rescue, and evacuation readiness — providing personnel, resources, and operational assistance when agencies exceed their own capabilities.

ATLAS all-threat awareness map on a tablet showing a search and rescue mission being planned with live drone imagery

Community Impact

“Spring flooding in our subdivision off the James River used to mean last‑minute panic and random piles of sandbags. You showed our HOA how to stack them properly and even helped us use old tires as makeshift barriers where the water always cuts across the road. This year, we spent more time placing bags and less time bailing out living rooms.”

Dana Cole

Board Member

James River, South Dakota

Operational Support

“At a regional USAID compound in Nairobi, every bureau had its own version of an evacuation plan. You sat with the Emergency Action Committee and merged them into one coherent set of steps that actually aligns with State’s handbook. When we ran a shelter‑in‑place drill, nobody was flipping through binders trying to guess which version to follow.”

Carol Stein

Executive Officer

U.S. Government Facility (Nairobi, Kenya)

Operational Development

“Our youth sports complex outside Orlando was chaos any time a kid went down. You helped us mark field addresses, set one gate as the ambulance entrance, and decide who actually meets EMS. Now when something happens at Oak Ridge Park, a coach pops a gate, someone walks to the road, and parents get the same clear story instead of rumors.”

James "JT" Taylor

Volunteer Director

Orange County, Florida

Operational Preparedness

“Our embassy support site in Amman had a decent clinic but no consistent way of drilling non‑medical staff. You built a short, repeatable scenario package we now run every month—office fire, motor pool crash, minor blast at the outer gate. People are less jumpy because they’ve walked through it before, and after‑action notes don’t just vanish into the ether.”

Daniel Cho

Crisis Management Coordinator

U.S. Embassy Support Annex (Amman, Jordan)

Operational Preparedness

“We run a small metal factory outside Dayton—injuries are inevitable—and you didn’t hand us a 50‑page manual. You shifted a few first‑aid kits around, tightened up our 911 script, and made sure the front desk knew exactly what dispatch needed to hear. Our last two ambulance calls took minutes instead of half the shift standing around the phone giving directions.”

Mark Philips

Plant

Dayton, Ohio

Operational Preparedness

“In Djibouti, we had bits and pieces of medical guidance scattered across emails and SharePoint folders. You pulled it together into a single playbook for routine injuries, heat cases, and when to push for medevac. Nothing exotic—just clear thresholds and phone trees—which has cut down on the ‘should we call this in?’ debates on hot days.”

LCDR Amanda Blake

Medical Department Head

U.S. Joint Task Force Facility (Djibouti)

Operational Development

“Our community center in Obetz already had an AED on the wall, but nobody had thought seriously about overdoses. You helped us add naloxone right next to it, with simple instructions and a quick briefing for staff and league volunteers. We haven’t had to use it yet, but people know it’s there and it’s not treated like some taboo subject anymore.”

Mel Ross

Manager

Obetz, Ohio

Operational Preparedness

“At our compound outside Erbil, evacuations used to be ‘whoever seems in charge today.’ You sat down with our Regional Security Office and clinic lead and hammered out a short SOP for casualty collection, radio traffic, and handoff to the med team. Now new arrivals get a one‑pager on day one and stop reinventing the process every time something minor happens.”

Maj. Colin Reeves

Operations Supervisor

U.S. Government Site

Operational Development

“During a walkthrough of our little mountain church near Trust, you helped us turn loose ideas into an actual evacuation plan—who calls 911, who opens which doors, where folks wait if we have to clear the sanctuary. The next time we had a medical issue mid‑service, it felt like a routine instead of 200 people staring at each other.”

Rev. Thomas Romero

Pastor

Trust, North Carolina

Operational Preparedness

"Downrange at our compound, evacuations used to run on habit and whoever had ‘been here longest.’ You helped us turn that into a short, clear SOP—who calls it, who runs the collection point, how we brief the clinic. New people stop asking the same questions every rotation and just follow the drill."

Maj. D. Keller

Operations Supervisor

U.S. Government Site

Operational Development

"My husband has COPD and we live down a dark dirt road in a narrow draw outside Hot Springs—hard to reach even on a good night. You handed us a box of chem lights and a simple idea: one at the turnoff, one at the gate for the ambulance. First time I tried it during a flare‑up, the crew drove straight to the door instead of blowing past us three times."

Lisa Barrett

Property Owner

Madison County, North Carolina

Operational Support

“On our airfield in eastern Syria, we were good at treating blast and gunshot, less good at the boring stuff—tracking supplies, rotating meds, documenting near‑misses. You helped our med section put in a simple stock system and a short after‑action template that people will actually fill out. We’re already catching small problems before they turn into ‘how did we run out of that?’ on a bad night.”

SFC Tyler Grant

Senior Medic

U.S. Contingency Site (Syria)

Operational Development

“You sat through one of our drill nights in Tappahannock and pointed out a few simple fixes in how we hand patients off and restock our rigs. We didn’t overhaul the department, but our reports are cleaner and we’ve stopped wasting time arguing over who grabbed which bag.”

Jack T.

Training Officer

Virginia

Operational Preparedness

“At a Marine security detachment in the Sahel, our corpsman was solid but constantly rotating. You focused on what survives turnover: a clean aid‑station layout, labeled drawers, photos of how it should look, and a two‑page orientation for the next person. The last handover took hours instead of days because everyone knew what ‘right’ was supposed to be.”

GySgt Miguel Santos

Detachment Commander

Sahel, Africa

Operational Preparedness

“On our cow‑calf place between Huntsville and Madisonville, injured cattle used to mean hours of riding and guessing. You brought a small drone, showed us how to fly the fence lines after a storm, and helped us mark GPS points for our vet. We’ve already used it to find one lame cow in the brush instead of waiting until she turned up much worse.”

Burt McAdams

Ranch Foreman

Walker County, Texas

Operational Support

“Our mission has seen multiple drawdowns and ramp‑ups. You worked with the Emergency Action Committee med rep to map out what ‘minimum medical footprint’ actually looks like at each staffing level—what services stay, what gets cut, and how we communicate that to the country team. It’s made conversations about risk a lot more honest and a lot less hand‑wavy.”

Dr. Elaine Porter

Medical Unit Chief

United States

Operational Development

“At city hall in a little town on the Jim River, you sat down with our mayor, fire chief, and a couple of tired EMS folks and forced us to agree on what actually happens in a big storm—who orders sandbags, who opens the shelter, who talks to local radio. For once, the plan in the binder matches what people think they’re supposed to do.”

Heather Zimmerman

Emergency Manager

Hutchinson County, South Dakota

Operational Preparedness

“On a small forward site in the Horn of Africa, we used to lean on one overworked PA to remember everything. You helped us spread the load—clear on‑call rosters, a basic injury log, and simple guidance for when non‑medical leadership needs to wake the provider up. The PA still works hard, but fewer things fall through the cracks on nights and weekends.”

Site OIC

Horn of Africa, East Africa

Operational Support

Where We Serve

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SW Region

O.M.A.S. strengthens rural communities across the Southwest United States by delivering hands-on medical training, readiness support, and operational expertise where local resources are limited.

2022-Present
United States

people trained

homes protected

bleed kits deployed

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Caribbean

Provided humanitarian aid and critical medical support in response to a devastating natural disaster.

2010
Haiti

people trained

homes protected

bleed kits deployed

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Central Asia

Delivered critical COVID-19 response efforts, including medical evacuations, logistics support, and blood supply management for U.S. Embassy personnel.

2019-2021
Afghanistan

people trained

homes protected

bleed kits deployed

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Horn Of Africa

Collaborated with U.S. assets to develop medical evacuation protocols and facilitate surgical resuscitation efforts for injured U.S. personnel and host nation forces.