US Crow – by David BlackWhy do we have Aid and Litter teams? There is only one medic for every Platoon sized element. 4 squads with 2 fire teams per squad and 2 buddy teams per fire team. That is 1 or 2 (if you are lucky) medic/s or for 32+ people. My bag and treat 2-4 heavily wounded casualties.
Does anyone else see a problem here? If the medic goes down… If more than 4 people are heavily injured everyone is fucked. More than that I can’t carry everything. My fighting load weighs about 35 pounds. My aid bag weights another 35 pounds. So I am carrying 70 pounds. Read the Book “A Soldier’s Load and Mobility of a Nation” and you will see why that is a problem. Because that is not inclusive of survival or bugout gear. So as a Medic I need to distribute some of that load. Not only in terms of resources but of training and responsibility.
So when a medic conducts training you should keep an eye out for a couple of guys who excel at what you are laying down. They will be your Aid and Litter Teams. Now these are two man teams. So they also need to be strong as fuck. Because they need to be able to transport a causality by them selves.
According to the US Army an Aid & Litter Team does the following:
(1) Evaluate A Casualty
(2) Administer First Aid to a Nerve Agent Casualty Yeah we don’t have access to nerve agent antidotes. Nor do we have access to the equipment to conduct operations in an CBRNE environment.
(3) Perform Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation Airway Management
(4) Put on a Field or Pressure Dressing
(5) Prevent Shock
(6) Give First Aid for Burns, Heat Injuries, Frostbite
(7) Transport a Casualty using a Litter to Collection Points
(8) Transport a Casualty using a Two-Man Carry to Collection Points
(9) Perform Search, Recovery, Evacuation, and/or Burial of Remains
Now each of these topics deserve their own article and I don’t have the time to go into each point in detail. So what I am going to go over is what to put into a good Combat Life Saver Bag. Now a CLS bag needs to be about the size of a woman’s purse.
Here are some good CLS bags besides a woman’s purse.
Tactical Tailor First Responder Bag
Constructed of heavy duty Cordura nylon and features a double pull zipper closure. Available in ACU, OD, Black, MultiCam® Ranger Green and Coyote Brown.
5 11 Rush MOABMOAB stands for Mobile Operation Attachment Bag and with the new Tier System (included on the MOAB 10 and 6 and sold separately) can rapidly connect/disconnect to any of our RUSH series of packs, DC Roller and bags with web platform.
SO Tech Road Warrior BagKeeps essential grooming items organized, 2 Rows of MOLLE for additional pouches, Shock chord included, 5 Separate compartments: Main, Front Pocket, Internal Mesh Pocket, Lower, Accessory Pocket, and Rear Velcro Pocket, Female Velcro for ID or moral patches and more…
For carrying litters
Skedco Lifesaver Assault PackThis bag will carry a Collapsible Sked (SK-2310) and has pockets on the back that will hold everything from the M-3 bag with room to spare. The 4 side pockets can carry IV’s or other equipment. It can be strapped onto a standard ruck in the horizontal position or worn as a medic’s assault pack.
So 2-3 of the following:
Combat Tourniquets, Hemostatic Dressing, Emergency Trauma Bandage, Rolled Gauze, Chest Seals, 14Ga 3.25in Needle Decompression Catheters. 28Fr NPA’s
In addition to that the CLS kit should as a minimum include:
An eye shield, SAM splint, Ace Wrap, Coban wrap, Abdominal blast Dressing, 500 ml Hextend IV and IV Kit. 2 space blankets, burn jel dressings, Adult sized OPA,
What is additionally good to have is basic OTC medications, Extra Nitrile Gloves, Rescue Tools, Sunscreen, Patient Assessment Instruments and forms, such as thermometers. Sharpies,
Now as far as litters.
You can build your own long spine board out of plywood or use any of the deer dragging equipment. Humans and deer are roughly the same size and the need to transport them is roughly the same conditions. So stuff to think about.
Or if you have the money get a SKEDCO
http://www.skedco.com/Military/sked-rescue-stretchers/sk-245c
Now here are things a Medic SHOULD not delegate or have individual soldiers carry under ANY circumstances.
Drugs that are Class III or IV (i.e Morphine). Surgical Equipment, Advanced and Surgical Airways.
Everything you give to a joe… he or she will play with/use. So don’t give them anything dangerous or above their heads. Additionally you should not give them anything only you know how to use. If they get blown up and separated from you what good will it do? On the other hand keeping the IFAKs and CLS bags stocked ensure you don’t have to have everything and you can slim down what you have to carry as a medic.
Transmitting [1376]
http://uscrow.org/2014/02/04/special-teams-aid-and-litter-survival-training/