Quote:
Originally Posted by Calrngr
Just my .02cents.
I (and most of the medics in my Company) run with an M9 bag & the TT First Responder Bag.
|
Are you wearing the TT FRB around the waist or strapped on top of the M9? I'd be interested to hear more about this setup and what you are packing in each bag.
I had 5 of them, they just showed up at one point
. I was a bit dissapointed, even after packing them a few ways (*extremely* small cubes, very mission specific, perhaps iso 2-4 guys). If you were to carry the TSSI M9 for general purpose (which it was never designed for), it'd be a terrible choice. You'd need A) the guys you're supporting to carry a fat ass IFAK and you purely carry ADVANCED tactical field care items in the M9 B) another bag or pouches on it C) medevac overhead D) the truck right outside with your serious kit in it. Even then, it's not for most. Without overloading yourself, the larger your bag is the more you can handle the full spectrum of pre-hospital treatment. For me the common sense test is "why not just carry my eagle A-III?"
From smallest to largest my aidbags are; the TT FRB for a 1st line bag (also clips to the top or back of an assault pack), the TSSI M4 small but surprisingly roomy (can be worn on the hips, fastex'ed or shoulder strapped, even dropped in a large assault pack like the Eagle Airborne Large), the TT M5/Eagle A-III Medical (clipped to the top of a ruck), and the Blackhawk STOMP2/LBT Training & Coverage (platform bag).
I feel that I can get done 90% of what anyone asks me to do with the Eagle A-III medical, depending how I pack it. I keep it loaded on the heavy side, if I feel like it's too heavy it takes all of 5 minutes to lighten it up. I take things out in multiples. I.e., ace and gauze come out in pairs, a TQ for every 2 ace/gauze but never less than 3, I would drop 1 of the hespan kits, et al. You can take a bag like the eagle, pack it with the same packing list as the M9, cinch it down and voila, almost as small. But at the same time you can go big with it.
I make it a rule to wear the TT FRB as often as I can, even when in vehicles (just takes some getting used to). I like the piece of mind that I will always have the basics on my body, to buy time for the cax until evacuation or I can get to my more capable bags.
All in all I look at my bag like a list of capabilities. Whatever capability I don't have I am relying on evacuation to treat. The capability I don't have best not kill my cax (or cause irreversible death) within however long it takes to get them evacuated. Before the mission you should have your PACE. E. g., Primary - Air Medeva,c Alternate - Air Casevac, Contigency - Ground Casevac, Emergency Ground Medevac. A then you tack a worst case scenario time to each option. After that I do a quick review of my "capabilities" to see if what I'm carrying supports all those things in addition to the medical threat, enemy weapons, METT-TC, et al.
No hijack intended. I know I'm preaching to the choir. Just my .02.
Dan