I would carry two QuickClot ACS ( Advanced Clotting Sponge), for sucking chest wounds since, an active shooter or terrorist attack is always probable.
Coffee Break: Montana Trout Stream
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Coffee Break:
Tim_tom
Everyday where/how? It’s simple to carry a small zippered pouch with 2 of each: TQ, Olaes bandages, chest seals and quick clot gauze in your brief case/pack or in your glove box. If you are talking about on-person a SWAT TQ is pocket friendly and low profile. It can be used for both pressure dressing and TQ applications.
I really like the Hyfin chest seals. They are vented, low profile, come in a 2 pack with a piece of gauze so you can wipe off enough blood so the seal can stick. The 2 pack is nice because there’s usually an entrance and an exit wound.
I bought a couple of Swat T tourniquets for myself, and haven’t put them on a patient. But I’m not sure about the stretchy-ness of them for an actual tourniquet. I really like the Israeli bandages for a direct pressure dressing. Haven’t gotten to put one of those on a patient, either.
I did cut the shit out of myself last fall (11 stitches) and was like “Oh shit, let me see how this Quic Clot stuff works.” I didn’t think it worked well, but at the time I didn’t know that you have to hold it on for 3 minutes. Now, if you were using it on a puncture wound, that means you would have to pack it in there, with your fingers, and hold pressure on there for 3 minutes with your fingers in a hole in the patient’s abdomen, groin, wherever. They’re not going to like that. Here’s whats really counter-intuitive: if that doesn’t stop the bleed, you pull that bandage out, and put in a fresh quit-clot bandage. That way you’re putting fresh clotting chemical on the wound.
Just passing on some tidbits of information.
Great info guys, thanks. I have a RATS tourniquet on the way, but I had no idea that there was such a thing as quick clot gauze! The thing I’m most likely to witness is an RTC, or at worst a stabbing, so I feel like I should be ok. Hopefully I won’t ever need it, but, you know…
Motivation Monday: (1) From Hard to Kill Fitness and a few words from me.
Life is too short to run with anyone who doesn’t push you closer to greatness.
Like Colonel Beckwith said, "I’d rather go down the river with seven studs than with a hundred shit heads.
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Motivational Monday (2):
“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
I despise a lot of things in this world, but, personally, I despise being average. I have fought against this my entire life. I have no special abilities that allowed me to compete with some physical advantage. The only thing I was blessed with was a desire to win at all costs and through a lot of mistakes, I have finally learned the secret to being above average: HARD WORK.
Too many times I have seen gifted individuals just throw their opportunities away because they were too lazy or too stupid to do the work. You whine about not being able to compete because of “poor genetics”, then attend the Wounded Warrior Games or the Children’s Special Olympics. If you don’t come away feeling like a little bitch, then you truly are a lost cause. You want something in life, you want to win? You want to accomplish the goals you established? Work Hard.
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Thought for the day: Tuesday Tactics
If you are an LEO, put yourself in this officer’s shoes and think about how you would react.
Could you be calm enough under pressure to return accurate fire?
Have you trained with your service weapon until it’s a part of you?
Are you confident enough to make the shot?
Are you mentally strong and focused?
Can you handle the aftermath: Media? Department Brass? IA Investigation? DA’s Office?
If you answered, “I don’t know” to any of the questions, you have some soul searching and training to do.
If you are a civilian, put yourself in his place. Visualize a road rage incident gone badly and the driver has blocked you in. He emerges with a gun and your 3 year old daughter is in the back seat.
What are you going to do?
Will you do anything to protect your child? How? With what? Bad language and fingernails? Are you going to get out of the vehicle and Kung Fu / Wushu him to death?
Visualize this: You pull into your drive way from shopping and a vehicle suddenly pulls in behind you and the suspect leaps out the car, brandishing a gun and screaming to open the door to your house. Home Invasion? Rape?
What will you do?
Just because you are not LEO, doesn’t mean you will not ever become a target. Think about your life, where are you most venerable? Realize the weakness and then change it.
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The way that man moved (even before he was shot), he was on something. I’d guess drunk.
After he’s shot in the first engagement he just attempts to mosey away and wonder aimlessly toward the pawn shop. Didn’t take cover or run, just strolled almost. Weird man.
That 180 degree turn he did looking for the officer, I’ve seen drunks do that trying to talk to someone.
The guy walking down the sidewalk didn’t get clear enough of the situation, he stood and watched. Gtfo of firefights.
In a sense I think the only honest answer to most of those questions is “I don’t know,” until you’ve been there, done that.
I burn 3-400 live rounds a week and at least twice that with a laser simulator in my service weapon. I practice mag changes, off cover shooting, movement drills, carbine-pistol transitions, stoppages etc. I probably train with service pistol and an AR trainer carbine 8-10 hrs/wk on my own time, own dime.
Will that be enough when the wolf shows up at the door for real? I don’t know. But I expect he’ll know he was in a fight. How will I feel if/when it comes down to me or the other guy and I, God willing, I go home and he doesn’t? I don’t know.
All I can say for sure is that I’m more ready than I was yesterday but not as ready as I plan to be tomorrow.
Well said, That is the attitude it takes to survive.
Posted is a shooting from 4 years ago that I have used in training before. IMO, its a classic and even a rookie would know the shit is about to hit the fan. Listen to the verbal commands, study the perp’s stance and body mechanics. BTW, the perp had children in the back seat of his vehicle. He was hit by by the officer and crashed his vehicle about a mile from the scene.
I have a hard time watching videos like that. I know they are instructive and I’ve had to watch them for training purposes, but there is something about the idea of seeing someone alone like that in a violent confrontation, with no back up, no friends, possibly finding himself dying alone at the side of the road. It would have to be an overwhelming sense of loneliness and for that to be the last thing you feel before dying is not how the good guys should go out.
Question for you guys in LE. What possible hope does a felon have of killing an officer at a traffic stop and then escaping justice? There are cameras in almost all cruisers and they call in the plate when they pull you over.
If you draw down on a cop at a traffic stop there’s a zero percent chance of you not winding up dead/maimed/in jail that same day. Why would any street wise criminal do that?
Most drug dealers I’ve met had no weapons or product on them. They store it elsewhere and if they get searched they’re clean.
Just hard to fathom the level of stupid in that video… with kids in the car no less.
I lived in the ghetto. Worked in two others. It’s not that hard to fathom stupidity like that.
You brought up a very salient point that really emphasizes one of the main differences between Military and Law Enforcement. Since I have worked on both sides of the street, I can say from my personal experience, that unless you are killed immediately during an operation, you will (almost always) have a team member, medic, or buddy with you. You will not die alone, someone will be with you, telling you that you will be OK, that you are not dying, whether you are or not. I remember being by the side of someone and the medic was telling him about the current NFL play offs, while ¾ of his chest was blown away. He died in about 3 minutes, but, that medic never let him feel that way.
On the other hand, cops usually die alone, especially troopers, deputies, and cops assigned to rural areas. Like the Oregon trooper, State Police or State Patrols operate alone, so, like that trooper, if he was killed, he died alone. Unless things have changed, I am not aware of any state organization that operates two man units. Any cop that operates a one man unit, has to come to terms with that issue.
Since January 2018, around 8 cops are being killed per month. IMO, killing a cop doesn’t mean anything anymore, because, not only do you gain “internet fame” , but, the public in general does not give a fuck. . So what if a cop dies? Doesn’t effect me in any way, “hey don’t they just beat on people and kill only Black men?”
Hey, let’s march for the destruction of the 2A, but, not say anything about the epidemic of cop killings. Research the trial of the asshole in California who was convicted of killing two cops and then was laughing at the families who were in the courtroom. I need to stop.
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Tactical Thursday: Some practical advise on Situational Awareness from Pat McNamara
Get Your Head Outta Your Ass! Situational Awareness with Pat McNamara
Look where you want to go. Don’t look where you don’t want to go. Whether it’s a date with someone you desire or an exciting new job opportunity, attitude and intestinal fortitude are necessary ingredients for the stew of life.
Intuition is a gift that we humans are born with. We can exercise this function and make it stronger—just like we do with our muscles. Intuition works best when we register what we’ve sensed and then put our five other senses aside. Intuition is our sixth sense, but it’s often stifled by our over dependence on the sensations available from the material world. When we tap into our intuition, decisions that seemed difficult to make suddenly gain more clarity.
Basically, every step we take toward having complete power over our lives is one step away from being a victim, where we have none. Nowadays, we are so connected, plugged in, that we are disconnected. Our situational awareness is nearly nonexistent. We are basically fat, dumb and happy button-pushers. We are comfortable, flaccid, gelatinous and complacent.
As human beings, we were born with natural defense mechanisms. We must give the mind permission to allow these mechanisms to work automatically like they have before. We humans have been here a long time, and though we are no longer hunting mammoths and dodging saber-toothed tigers, danger still lurks around the corners
Our primal survival instinct is mobility, and mobility equals survivability. Many of us have relinquished our primal survival instincts and are stuck in a 45-degree-syndrome world, with our heads bent 45 degrees toward our smartphones.
Too often I find myself on an airport people mover or rental car shuttle bus, and I am the only one looking around. Everyone else is completely oblivious to his or her surroundings. So, too often, I say to myself, “Well, looks like I’m in charge of security.”
T_ry to see things full spectrum. Perform a focal shift in your everyday life. Look around. Slow down before you park and take a look at the other vehicles in your proximity. See things close and then continue your scan further. Perform a 5- to a 25-meter scan. Slow down before you enter a building or other venue and take a look at others in your proximity. It’s OK. You were born to do this._
A successful assault happens with surprise, speed and violence of action. We can mitigate the surprise by being tuned in or situationally aware. If we take the element of surprise away from a predator, he or she will fear reprisal and forgo the attack.
Whether I am armed or unarmed and enter a venue, I do the same thing. I consider it a possible crisis site. I want to get a pretty good lay of the land. Exits, avenues of approach, choke points, intersections, safe areas, alternate routes, lines of drift—they’re all stored in my databank. I will give people a “once-over” and look for potential assets and liabilities. I will visualize chaos and picture complete bedlam with everyone running for the same exit.
If shit does hit the fan, running with the “sheeple” may not be the best course of action. Don’t be victimized by an ocean of people who have their heads up their asses. Lines of drift and likely avenues of approach may be part of a plan with a well-organized adversary who may use a ruse or diversion to send the herd in a desired direction.
Here’s a tip: Ditch the flip flops. Those are for the beach or the YMCA. You are no good to yourself or your loved ones if you can’t run your ass off. Mobility equals survivability.
These are simple tactics. Action versus reaction. If you are aware, you are acting. If you are switched off and have no situational awareness, you are one step behind and will at some point in time fall into a predator’s web and be caught reacting
There are times when you should question intuition. For instance, if it looks good, it may be a diversion. Diversionary tactics are as old as the day is long because they are effective. Explosions followed by fireballs and smoke will draw our attention like moth to a flame.
Here is a hypothetical situation: The elevator door opens, you take a step out and something grabs your attention to the right. You get sucked into staring at this while a predator closes in from the left. Crack to the head, lights out—your money and wallet are gone.
Next time you are drawn in unexpectedly, take a moment to look the other way. Even a snapshot in the other direction can be the determining factor in whether you become a victim or succeed in averting a bad situation. Don’t get sucked in by one of the oldest tactics in the book
It is our duty and responsibility to protect and serve. If you are a competent and trained gun handler, you should be carrying wherever the law permits and never go outside the parameters of that law. Don’t be a nugget. Just because your state allows “open carry” doesn’t mean you should. That is some amateur-hour bullshit.
Take the proper classes, get the proper training and be an asset to your community instead of a liability. Just because you have a gun does not mean that you are armed. The mind is the final weapon. All else is supplemental.
Everyday schmucks with their heads up their asses are myopic. They couldn’t spot a psycho with a shotgun if it were hanging a foot below his trench coat. So it is our job to protect and serve. Don’t be one of the zombies constantly in the “white” according to Jeff Cooper’s color code. If you find yourself there, say, “Pop.” That’s the sound it makes when you pull your head out of your ass.
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Most of these guys aren’t thinking that far ahead, and as Idaho alludes to, killing a cop is a ticket to fame in the circles these guys move in.
I remember seeing an article recently about a cop killer in CA celebrating his conviction. These are the times we live in…