The AEC Crest
The Austere Emergency Care crest
The Austere Emergency Care (AEC) program was begun by discussions with some of the founders of the Committee for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (C-TECC). In much the same way that TECC grew from the US military’s development of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), the AEC initiative is based on the military, and specifically the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Prolonged Field Care (PFC) initiative. The base design of the AEC crest was intentionally modeled after the TECC crest.
The AEC crest
The sword is a reminder of the military roots. The downward-facing display represents defensive operations or risk reduction. The shield is also a defensive icon and the unique star of life in the middle represents a partially broken medical chain or austere conditions.
The crossed ice axe and paddle represent manual maneuver and evacuation that may be utilized in active evacuation or movement in austere conditions. The hexagon offsets the corners of the star of life and accentuate the seal.
The SMS compass
The parent company’s symbol, Specialized Medical Standards, has a compass icon with an overlying arrow heard pointing to true north. The arrowhead gives homage to the SOF roots of this initiative and the compass is the traditional method of finding direction manually in austere conditions.