Hostile Environment Awareness Training & First Aid
The Hostile Environment Awareness Training & First Aid (HEATFA) course combines hostile-environment awareness with practical first aid skills, preparing participants to recognise and respond to threats while operating safely in the field. It equips non-security professionals deploying into unstable, remote, or high-risk locations with the situational judgement to avoid harm and the practical medical skills to act decisively when an incident does occur.
Who This Course Is For
HEATFA is designed for personnel who work in high-risk environments without a dedicated security detail, including:
- NGO and humanitarian staff
- Media and press professionals
- UN and international agency personnel
Course Modules
- Personal risk assessment — identifying and evaluating the threats specific to a deployment.
- Situational awareness — reading an environment and recognising indicators of danger early.
- Travel security — moving safely by road, air, and on foot in unstable regions.
- Kidnap and hostage awareness — prevention, response, and survival principles.
- Basic field first aid — managing trauma, bleeding, and medical emergencies with limited resources.
- Crisis communications — reporting incidents and coordinating with support during an emergency.
- Scenario exercises — applying the above under realistic, pressured conditions.