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I had an 911 dispatcher in my LTC class once. I asked her, best case scenario, how long it takes for the call to come in, get all the details, and send the first dispatch out. She responded, 2 minutes. After that it is driving time to the scene and getting to the victim. Assuming the officer is a mile away and he can drive 60 mph (1 mile a minute) we're up to three minutes. Then he has to assess and take whatever action he must take. Four minutes minimum.

I tell my students, and anyone else that will listen, that if the stars align and the angels descend you have to hold on for 4 minutes. In reality it will probably be at least twice as long. I tell them to try to stay alive and keep everyone else alive for 15 minutes. If you can survive 15 minutes then things are probably going to turn out better than not, even if the situation is not over. 15 minutes gives the Calvary enough time to get there and to effect a response. Even out in the country where I live, 15 minutes would cover most instances.

Granted I want them to try to survive as long as possible but the 15 minute time frame gives them something to strive towards, knowing help is coming. That is why I promote firearms training (including the option of evading) and Stop the Bleed training. Additional first aid is great but anything other keeping blood inside of the body and air moving is going to be tough in a dynamic situation.

Granted, all situations will be different but the students start understanding what it takes to be prepared and hang on.