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Members of the Georgia State Defense Force Army Medical Detachment used their one-day drill for February learning the "ins and outs" of moving the injured to and from an ambulance.

The training took place at the State Department of Defense complex in Atlanta.

More than 20 of the medics, many of them who work as civilian paramedics, firefighters and police officers, spent the day hauling volunteers who acted as patients in and out of a Fulton County Emergency Medical Service Ambulance.

While their colleagues were honing their emergency skills, another group of SDF officers and enlisted members received training on how to better reach out to their communities and tell the SDF story.

About 13 Defense Force volunteers participated in the Georgia National Guard’s Unit Public Affairs Representative Course held at the State Department of Defense complex in Atlanta. Soldiers of the 124th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment provided instruction.

UPAR training teaches soldiers how to establish a rapport with the civilian media in their area. They also learn how to:

• Write a variety of military news releases about events that happen with their units.
• Take photographs of soldiers in action, as well as photograph ceremonies that take place within their commands.
• How to present information about events and soldiers to the civilian media for inclusion in area news publications and for airing on are radio and television stations.

Getting the word out about the accomplishments of individual soldiers and their units promotes the State Defense Force and its reason for existing, along with assisting the organization in its recruiting efforts.

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