Sir,
That was a great article on the revival of tourniquets. One very important point that the author briefly touched on is the ability of the wounded individual to apply the tourniquet without assistance.
The central tenant of it's use by our forces in the field today is that the wounded individual must be able to tend to his own 'blowout' while everyone else continues to engage and suppress the enemy. Otherwise the risk is that one wounded troop might multiply into more if the enemy gains fire superiority and/or individuals expose themselves to aid a wounded comrade.
Individuals who carry these devices as part of an individual first aid kit should practice applying it to arms/legs at varying heights while laying in awkward positions. - Greg L.
Mr. Rawles,
I have read your blog for several years and found some interesting concepts in the posts. A little about myself: I am a 34 year old former soldier. I spent seven years in army special operations including three years at 1/75th Ranger. I have worked on large cattle operations throughout the west since returning from Afghanistan after my last deployment and subsequent ETS. I have also been a lifelong "survivalist," or "prepper" to use the newest term du jour.
In regards to the recent post by Robert U, entitled "Tourniquets in Combat Medical Planning." It was a well-written overview of one aspect of the TC3 protocols. I would respectfully disagree with his conclusion however that "many of the advanced skills taught in TCCC are beyond application by the average person due to both the medical knowledge required and the materials used..."
That's nonsense. The TC3 protocols are being taught to 18 and 19 year old kids right out of high school. The average thirty-something "survivalist" can certainly wrap their head around those skills as well. Both the Care Under Phase and the Tactical Field Care phases should be implemented into any serious survivalists preparation training.
Not just the tourniquet, but the application of Israeli Battlefield Dressings, priMed gauze bandages, etc, HemCon agents like Quickclot and others, the use of a naso-pharyngeal airway, and others are relatively simple to teach and to learn. All are legal to use in most jurisdictions due to the fact that they all apply to the traditional "ABCs" of first-aid.
Even the use of needle decompression of tension pneumothorax is a simple skill set to teach and learn.
Any restrictions to the TC3 phases that would apply to the general survivalist would be as a result of legal restriction to access to narcotic analgesics and by-prescription anesthetics. - Cowpuncher
