Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
I would challenge you to put together your chest rig with the med gear you think you need, and your aid bag.
Then make a list of the common contents.
Jock up and have someone call off several items that you have to locate and take out of your chest gear. Run a stop watch on your time.
Then repeat the test for the same items in your aid bag/med ruck.
I suspect that the aid bag is a lot faster.
Your patients should appreciate this test.
TR
|
This is an awesome idea. I have to do some papers for school over the next few nights, but hopefully this weekend I will be able to try this and I will see about posting my results. I have managed to "tactically acquire" several different aidbags and I may even try it with different ones. One that I would like to see is the difference in an aidbag and a belt bag, like the TT FRB.
The thing that I could see skewing my times is that I am thinking it maybe faster for me to reach into my SAW pouch than it is to get my aidbag off. If my aidbag was open on the ground already by the patient I think that I would have much more and much better treatment options than what I can fit in a small vest pouch. In a side by side comparison of an open aidbag and a small med pouch I think that you would be right. I am wondering about the time difference in just taking it off and unzipping it though. Additionally, with what we are talking about there are many things that I can only treat out of my aidbag, as I have no intentions of trying to carry hextend, an IO device, a BVM, or anything like that on my vest. I generally stick fairly closely to the Ranger Medic Handbook guidelines for my chest stuff, which seem to be generally what the other medics are talking about- basic tactical trauma care.
Another aspect that I thought of was if "close up" time makes a big difference in the real world and if that should sway me towards the vest pouch rather than the aid bag.
As a caveat before I go any further, my only "combat experience" has been being a FOBIT and getting IDF and one of the convoys I was on the truck behind me got shot a few times. I did not even know that we had taken fire until after the convoy was over (I didn't have comms). I am by no means experienced or "high speed"- that is why I am trying to pick your brains as much as you will let me.
That being said, if we are doing a dismounted patrol or something and one of our guys gets hit- the first thing is fire superiority- shoot back. OK, fire has been suppressed, I run up to the guy, drag him behind a wall or something, throw a tourniquet on him if appropriate per his injuries- care under fire. I can work behind cover somewhat for a short period of time- putting a chest seal or dropping an NPA in if necessary, etc. I understand that I am not under active/accurate enemy fire and I am in a reasonably safe/covered position. I am not sure that I could call working behind a wall or something Tactical Field Care in the schoolhouse sense, but it is not the Care Under Fire in the sense that we are in an open field being shot at. However, we still may be wanting to get back to our trucks in a hurry, getting out of the area, etc. Would there be a distinct advantage in working out of a vest pouch like some of the members posting here are talking about over dropping my aidbag, unzipping it, getting what I need, and then zipping it and getting it back on? Am I way over-thinking this?
In keeping with the stopwatch idea and getting some semblance of real numbers, I may try doing a whole "basic treatment" type deal out of a vest pouch vs an aidbag and seeing if there is any difference. It would have to be something fairly basic, like putting on a TQ, inserting an NPA, and sealing a chest wound because that is about all the stuff I plan on carrying and about all others seem to carry. I know that I could use the practice. I am thinking "volunteering" the fiance to play the patient (and run the stop watch) and treating her like a wounded COB or something without an IFAK. Thoughts or criticisms?