TECC Authors

The TECC author team developed the TECC course materials for students and instructors and are available to provide advice and guidance to TECC faculty.

Expand all

TECC Authors

Alexander L. Eastman, MD, MPH, FACS, FAEMS, PHTLS Medical Director

Medical Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland SecurityLieutenant and Chief Medical Officer, Dallas Police Department

Dr. Alexander Eastman serves as the Senior Medical Officer at the United States Department of Homeland Security. Responsible for protecting the United States from all threats foreign and domestic, his responsibilities are headquartered in the new Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office. There he works in the coordination/provision of operational medicine across DHS components as well as countering threats to the U.S. worldwide and is a Title 19 Cross Designated LEO with Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

A graduate with distinction of the George Washington University School of Medicine, he completed his general surgery and two fellowships at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School/Parkland Memorial Hospital. He is board-certified in General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Medical Services and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from The University of Texas Health Science Center--Houston. Dr. Eastman is the former Chief of the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland Memorial Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and is still a practicing trauma surgeon. His research interests include the prehospital care of the injured, application of stress inoculation/mitigation techniques to surgical training, novel methods of hemostasis, cost effective wound care and the interface between medicine, law enforcement and public health and he continues to be a practicing trauma / acute care surgeon.

In addition to the above, Dr. Eastman remains an active Dallas Police Department lieutenant and is currently assigned to their SWAT unit and as the Department’s lead medical officer. He is actively involved in national planning for law enforcement medical support through The USDOJ’s Officer Safety and Wellness Group, the Committee on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, and The Hartford Consensus Working Group. He serves as the Medical Director for the Major Cities Chiefs Association and is a Special Deputy United States Marshal, assigned as a Task Force Officer to the Fugitive Task Force in the Northern District of Texas.

Dr. Eastman was recently awarded the Dallas Police Department Medal of Valor for actions taken during the July 7, 2016 police ambush and has been previously honored as an Outstanding Young Alumni (2014) from The University of Texas at Austin, the Joe C. Jones Reserve Officer of the Year (2013) and Officer of the Year (2014) from the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Police Association.
David Flory, BS, Paramedic

Chief David Flory is a 37-year veteran of law enforcement, having served in two different police agencies. Chief Flory spent 31 years at the Bedford, Texas, Police Department, a large suburb in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex where he worked in all assignments to include: Patrol, K9, Narcotics, Investigations, Training and Administration. He also served for over 20 combined years as a SWAT team member, team leader and unit commander. David spent the last 12 years in Bedford as Police Chief. Flory retired in 2011 from Texas law enforcement to accept the position of Police Chief in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he served until retiring in 2015. He then worked as a Senior Research Associate for the Institute for intergovernmental Research where he facilitates and instructs in the BJA VALOR officer Safety Training Program.

David also has an extensive background in tactical paramedicine and is certified as a Nationally Registered Paramedic/TPC. Over the past 40 years, Flory has worked as a Paramedic for a variety of EMS systems. He currently works part time for LifeNet EMS. Flory serves as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) consultant and occasional speaker for the International Association of Chiefs of Police's (IACP) Physician Section and has served as an SME for the Board of Critical Care Transport Paramedic Certification, where he assisted in designing and authoring the National certification exam for all civilian and military tactical/combat medics.

David is one of the original curriculum designers and SME’s for the Bureau of Justice Assistances’ (BJA) VALOR Program which focuses on training police officers on current officer safety/survival trends and techniques. Flory travels extensively for the BJA, TTPOA and ALERRT where he instructs police officers around the U.S. on TCCC/TECC Casualty Care and Rescue Tactics techniques and mass casualty (active shooter) mitigation. He has extensively researched the benefits of casualty care training in both the military and civilian arena and has been a featured writer on the subject in both the Police Chief Magazine and the TTPOA’s Command Magazine.

David has his Bachelor’s of Science degree from Texas Wesleyan University, is a graduate of the 186^th session of the FBI National Academy, and a graduate of the FBI LEEDS Program. Flory lives in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, with his wife, Dale.
Donald C. Heath, Jr., NR-P, TP-C,

Donald (Don) Heath is a Master Deputy Sheriff/Paramedic employed by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Tavares, Florida. He is assigned to Emergency Management Bureau, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), and Training. Don's 36-year decorated public safety career includes past assignments as a Tactical Flight Observer/Paramedic (TFO/P) with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office; Fire Fighter/Paramedic with the Orange County Fire Rescue Department; and Fire Fighter First Class/EMT with the City of Raleigh Fire Department.

Don is a General Instructor, and High Liability Instructor certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC). He currently serves as a Member of the International Board for Specialty Certifications (IBSC) Tactical Paramedic - Certified (TP-C) Job Analysis Working Group, and TP-C Law Enforcement Liaison Subcommittee; Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) Editor and Peer Reviewer for the Journal of Special Operations Medicine (JSOM); Member of the Board of Directors for the National TEMS Council; Member of the TEMS Committee for the National Tactical Officers Association(NTOA); and Vice-President (Civilian) of the Board of Directors for the Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA).
Michael J. Hunter, NREMTP

Michael J. Hunter, a veteran of EMS for more than 36 years, serves as Deputy Chief EMS for Worcester EMS (WEMS) at UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) University Campus in Worcester, Mass., where he has worked for more than 25 years. Michael also functions as a tactical paramedic (TP-C #77) for WEMS and is assigned to the Massachusetts State Police STOP Team medical support group.

Michael began his career as an on-call firefighter and emergency medical technician. He graduated from The Vermont Paramedic Training Program in 1984 and has spent most of his paramedic career in hospital-based EMS programs.

He has served on the Massachusetts Committee of Trauma’s Trauma Registry Sub-Committee and is an active member of the UMMHC Emergency Medicine/Trauma Committee. He is active in regional disaster planning, sits on the Central Mass EMS Corporation’s Board of Directors and a is member of the Regional Medical Services Committee. Michael was a founding member of the WEMS Honor Guard.

Michael has long been a member of NAEMT and has been active in PHTLS since the late 1980s. He served as a member of the PHTLS Committee, as the North American PHTLS Coordinator, and was an active member of the PHTLS International Faculty. He also is a charter member of the International Association of EMS Chiefs, a professional member of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the Special Operations Medical Association.
Bill Justice, NREMT-P

Bill Justice is the Associate Director at the University of Oklahoma Department of Emergency Medicine, Center for Pre-hospital and Disaster Medicine. He is also a member of the U.S Marshals Task Force. Bill is a frequent educator at regional, national and international conferences. His user-friendly approach to emergency management topics provides a relaxed and interactive atmosphere for all participants. His background has spanned a 40-year career in fire-rescue, EMS and law enforcement.

Bill is an NAEMT Regional Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) course coordinator, American Heart Association Regional Faculty, and a Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) operator/instructor for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department and US Marshals Task Force. He continues to assist local, state and federal law enforcement and military agencies with education and response operations.
Richard A. Nydam, Paramedic

Richard A. Nydam, a veteran of EMS for more than 36 years, serves as Training and Education Specialist, EMS for Worcester EMS (WEMS) at UMass Memorial Medical Center. He also functions as a tactical paramedic for WEMS and is assigned to the Massachusetts State Police STOP Team medical support group. Richard is Adjunct Faculty and Clinical Coordinator for the Quinsigamond Community College Paramedic Program in Worcester, MA. He also serves on the college’s paramedic program advisory board.

Richard started his career as a volunteer firefighter and EMT before moving into EMS as a full-time career. He is a graduate of the first paramedic class of Quinsigamond Community College Paramedic Program in 1988. He is certified as an AHA CPR, ACLS and PALS instructor. He also has had close affiliation to NAEMT for over a decade and has been certified as an instructor for TCCC, TECC, PHTLS, AMLS, EPC and EMS Safety. Richard has worked as a technical consultant and subject matter expert for several photo and video shoots for Jones and Bartlett Learning, including the NAEMT Instructor videos, videos for AMLS 2nd edition, PHTLS 8th edition, and several EMT, AEMT and Paramedic textbooks.
Julie Chase, MSEd, FAWM, TP-C

Julie Chase is Chair of the NAEMT Prehospital Trauma (PHT) Committee and a Tactical Medicine Instructor in Berryville, Va. Julie has worked in a variety of public and private venues as a fire fighter, paramedic, educator and administrator. She has taught EMT and EMS-related subjects in several countries, has assisted with remote clinics and emergency services overseas and is a National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) Response Team member. For the past several years, Julie has worked for a Federal agency as an operational and tactical medicine instructor and has served as a curriculum developer, contributing author, and reviewer for publication and accreditation organizations.

Julie holds a Master of Science in Postsecondary and Adult Education from Capella University; a Bachelor of Science in Paramedicine from Central Washington University; and an Associate's in Applied Arts and Sciences in Fire Science from Walla Walla Community College.