New Years Plans For Defense

I hope that all of you had a good Christmas and a fun New Year. With the new year comes looking back but more importantly, looking forward. Most people start the new year off with trying to set goals and resolutions to become better in the upcoming year. I have done this and have hope for a chance to change and to improve. May I suggest goals for your preparation and defense? One of the goals I have is to improve my skills in the area of preparation. I come from a generation where using a tourniquet during a medical emergency was a “last resort.” We have been at war for 20 years now and we’ve learned some medical realities. One is that a tourniquet can save lives. So one of the skills I want to learn this quarter is how to effectively use a tourniquet. My goals are in a few areas. Spiritual, emotional/mental, Physical, preparedness/defense, and matrimonial. If you think that is too much pick the two or three most important of these and work on them. In the area of preparation I would suggest maybe taking inventory of your food/water, medical, and other preparation supplies. Write it down and put it in your computer. If you can assess where you are in your program, you can see where you would like to improve. If you have done very little, try to prioritize what you think is the most important. I would suggest working on water first. With water all you need to do is figure out where to store it, in what containers, and how to treat it. Water is pretty plentiful in this country and there are many ways to store it. It’s pretty easy. Next I would work on food storage. Then I would concentrate on medical. All of these have skills attached. In defense you might assess your home security. You may want to work on individual security in the form of self-defense. I have obviously chosen guns as personal and home protection. I don’t put all my eggs in one basket. I have trained and acquired equipment in other forms of defense and weapons. I think for the purpose of this article I will focus on defense. But I feel a well rounded preparation plan should be in place. Security and defense go hand in hand. Doing a security assessment on your home and property is a great idea to start off or to improve your plans. The same goes for defense. If you have small children talking about “stranger danger” or how to call for help if needed may need to be taught or reviewed. We have an “important phone numbers” that were near our phones when we had hard lines in our home. We still have those numbers posted in the same place as we always have so that everyone will know where it is. With cell phones, no one knows phone numbers anymore. I’ve also made small lists of these numbers to carry in my wallet if I ever need it. Without my phone I’m lost so I need a few back ups. I try to not rely on technology so much but it’s hard when it does so much. Evacuation (bug out) plans are a good idea too. Where will you meet if you have to leave and you’re not all together? Short term, where will you meet in case of fire? Do you have a place to go? Defensively, do you have any idea of the training you would like for you and your family this year? Taking a shooting course or martial arts, or even a class on how to use pepper spray would be good to plan for during the coming year. Reviewing what you have in place is always good at least once a year. Re-evaluating your ammo storage and plans you have for practice through-out the year would be good. Looking at your defensive skills and thinking about how you would like to improve or other things you’d like to learn is also benefit. One of the problems with preparing for defense is that we are taught our entire lives that we should not defend ourselves. When I played basketball as a youth I was taught to not retaliate if someone throws an elbow. If you do, you are usually the one called for a foul. As children we’re taught if we fight back we’ll both be expelled. Even the government teaches “Run, Hide, Fight” when it comes to an active shooter. Fight being the last resort. You Mother probably even taught you, “Violence never solved anything!” These are all true things but under the right conditions, defend yourself. I’m not saying fight instead of giving up your wallet, but sometimes more than the wallet is demanded. I subscribe to General Mattis’s saying “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.” When you get people to understand that there is such a thing as prosocial violence, that it is perfectly OK and they have a right to do it, then violence becomes a useful tool. Having a defensive mindset is most of the way to defense. Plan this year to learn what a defensive mindset is and how to develop one. Prepare for your own defense and make plans to improve and progress. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn

Resolution: 90 Day Food Storage

Maybe part of your New Year's resolutions is to get your food storage! Let me say at the beginning of this that I believe everyone should be familiar with, and have the desire to attain, grains in their food storage. I think grain is the best food storage item to store because of its longevity if stored correctly, and because of its versatility and nutritional value. But I also recognize that most people don’t have the time or desire to learn about and how to use grain. It does take time to learn how to use well. I believe grain should be the backbone of a food storage program. But having said that, grain is not included in this list because it is not a common food. Beans. 20 pounds. There are many kinds of beans out there but the most popular is clearly the Pinto bean. Beans are nutritious, keep you full, and with a variety of seasoning, very tasty! They are available all over North America, usually in great abundance. Beans can be tricky to use especially as they get older. But between soaking and a pressure cooker, they are easy to use. They are usually very affordable too. Rice 20 pounds Rice is a staple of most of the world. We are fortunate to have a lot of rice in this country. There is white rice that has a longer shelf-life, but brown rice has greater nutritional value. Canned Vegetables 20 Cans Tomatoes, beans, peas, corn, even spinach are a few of what can be found. Buy what you eat. Canned Fruit 20 cans Everything from fruit cocktail to peaches and pears. There are many varieties, like veggies, so you can choose what you like. Fruit can give you a sweet variety. Canned Meat 20 cans There are a lot of canned meats out there. Salmon and tuna, chicken and beef. Even bacon. Even SPAM is considered a meat. So there are many possibilities. Beef, chicken, and turkey stews can be included in this. Oats 4 pounds Oats are very nutritious and filling. Perhaps your Mom was right! Peanut Butter 2 Large jars Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein, with plenty of calories for energy and sustenance. Peanut butter doesn’t have a real long term shelf life but it is excellent for emergency food storage on a one-year timeline. Make sure you rotate this item. Powdered Fruit Drink 2 Large cans Many of these drinks have sugar that in a regular situation you may want to avoid, but as long as the drink has vitamin C, it will do its job. Powdered Milk 5 pounds Powdered milk has a bad reputation as tasting terrible. I can attest to this. But in the last several years powdered milk has improved immensely. Milk is a great source of protein and calcium. Salt 5 pounds Salt is very important in our diet as well as enhancing many foods. Pasta 10 pounds Pasta is an easy meal to fix and a familiar comfort food. Spaghetti Sauce 10 jars This is something that enhances pasta and other dishes. It’s something most of us are used to. Honey and Jam/Jelly 2 pounds of honey, 2 large jars of jam We need some sweetness when we’re going through a difficult time. Sugar works but these items are better for you. Pancake Mix 10 pounds This stores well and only requires water to make. It is easy to use and a comfort food. Soup or Broth 20 cans Soup is pretty affordable. Soup can be eaten as a meal or can be used with rice or pasta. It’s versatile. Cooking Oil 1 Large Container Every diet should have some fat. Peanut butter is a fat but oil can be used in many ways. I like olive oil but there are many oils on the market for cooking. It adds flavor and gives other ways to cook like frying. Spices This items changes everything. A meal can be changed just by adding or changing spices. Garlic, chili peppers, other peppers, onion powder, Italian spices, sage, oregano, and cinnamon are just a sampling of some of the spices that can transform your cooking. Choose the ones that you use the most. Hard Candy 2 Big bags This is one item that can really make an unbearable situation much easier to get through. It’s also good if you have kids to help them feel a little more normal in a bad situation. I think this list is complete enough for the average person. But as you learn about cooking and baking, you will learn what you prefer in foods as far as ease of preparation, and personal preference, you’ll know how to form your program. I highly encourage working on a 90 day supply of food, with plans to increase that to a longer term years supply. These are difficult and trying times that I don’t think will change very soon. Acquiring a food storage will give you peace of mind you can not have from anything else. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn

Take A Look At Your Home Security

I seem paranoid. I have what is called “hyper vigilance” which seems to others like paranoia. The difference is that paranoia is a fear, vigilance is being ready. We live in difficult times. I never agreed with what the character Colonel Jessup did in the movie “A Few Good Men”, but I agree with his speech. He said: “You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? …I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know -- that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall -- you need me on that wall. We use words like "honor," "code," "loyalty." We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather that you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post.” We do live in a “world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.” Sometimes those walls are the walls of our homes. Sometimes they may be the walls of our business or school. I obviously have no problem with defending with guns, but there are many other ways to defend and guard. Determining the threats around you may not be comfortable, but it’s necessary. Doing a “threat assessment” would be a great advantage. Actually we do this all the time. We hear about burglaries in the neighborhood and we ensure things are locked and secured. By doing an assessment we can cover every threat, perceived and real. With crime and terrorist activity, businesses, homes, schools, airports and almost every place that can be victim to violence. You can mitigate, and sometimes eliminate, these threats with preparation. A threat assessment is the practice of determining the seriousness of potential events, the likelihood of their occurrence, and how to handle them. The basics of a threat assessment are: Evaluate all threats manmade, and natural, that are likely to happen. Make a list of these threats. Look at the current security, or lack of, that is in place now See what needs to be done to change the risk Re-evaluate after changes have been made Examples of threats: Burglary, active shooter, terrorist attacks, several kinds of natural disasters, home invasions, civil unrest, etc. Some things to look for: Vegetation obscuring criminals or terrorists. Unlit areas. Things left unsecure. Doors or windows needing more fortification or strengthening. Windows needing curtains or blinds. Alarms or cameras needed. There are many small things a home owner can do. Such as a nail sticking out of the door into a drilled hole in the door jamb. This is for doors with the hinges on the outside. This way if the hinge pins are removed, the door can’t be pulled out of the jamb. Doing a risk assessment and thinking like a criminal can help you to see vulnerabilities in the security of your home or business. I did this at a school once and they did not appreciate it even though I was right. I noticed the changes I recommended slowly happened anyway and I just chuckled. Don’t be vulnerable. Do a risk assessment on your home and make whatever changes are needed to be safe and secure. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn

Who Was That Masked Man? Update Mask Info

This another update on my original “Masks Research” from July 15, 2020 The ambiguity continues. I guess I’ll never get a definitive scientific answer. Everyone says “Masks save lives!” They can’t tell me how many lives. They can’t tell me much of anything concrete, but they seem to know. It’s an inspired guess. These are just snipits from this article: “Face Masks: What the Data Say” By Lynn Peeples from “Nature” Research Journal 06 October, 2020 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02801-8 “Face masks are the ubiquitous symbol of a pandemic that has sickened 35 million people and killed more than 1 million. In hospitals and other health-care facilities, the use of medical-grade masks clearly cuts down transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But for the variety of masks in use by the public, the data are messy, disparate and often hastily assembled.” “You don’t have to do much math to say this is obviously a good idea,” says Jeremy Howard, a research scientist at the University of San Francisco in California, who is part of a team that reviewed the evidence for wearing face masks in a preprint article that has been widely circulated6. But such studies do rely on assumptions that mask mandates are being enforced and that people are wearing them correctly. Furthermore, mask use often coincides with other changes, such as limits on gatherings. As restrictions lift, further observational studies might begin to separate the impact of masks from those of other interventions, suggests Grabowski. “It will become easier to see what is doing what,” she says.” “The idea that exposure to more virus results in a worse infection makes “absolute sense”, says Paul Digard, a virologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK, who was not involved in the research. “It’s another argument for masks.”” “Even well-fitting N95 respirators fall slightly short of their 95% rating in real-world use, actually filtering out around 90% of incoming aerosols down to 0.3 µm. And, according to unpublished research, N95 masks that don’t have exhalation valves — which expel unfiltered exhaled air — block a similar proportion of outgoing aerosols. Much less is known about surgical and cloth masks, says Kevin Fennelly, a pulmonologist at the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.” “Benn worked with Danish engineers at her university to test their two-layered cloth mask design using the same criteria as for medical-grade ventilators. They found that their mask blocked only 11–19% of aerosols down to the 0.3 µm mark, according to Benn. But because most transmission is probably occurring through particles of at least 1 µm, according to Marr and Jimenez, the actual difference in effectiveness between N95 and other masks might not be huge.” ““There’s a lot of information out there, but it’s confusing to put all the lines of evidence together,” says Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. “When it comes down to it, we still don’t know a lot.”” My guess is, they will not know how masks work for a long time. In the meantime, I’ll wear it when I have to. “Across the United States, mask use has held steady around 50% since late July. This is a substantial increase from the 20% usage seen in March and April, according to data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle (see go.nature.com/30n6kxv). The institute’s models also predicted that, as of 23 September, increasing US mask use to 95% — a level observed in Singapore and some other countries — could save nearly 100,000 lives in the period up to 1 January 2021.” As usual, the “scientific” wording of “could save nearly 100,000 lives” is what is used to justify masks. Well, I could make nearly 100,000 dollars this year! Or not. “Masks work, but they are not infallible. And, therefore, keep your distance.” So, even now, 3 months later from my original article, we don’t know much more. I still maintain that this is people control. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn Update of “Masks Research” July 15, 2020 Another study on masks. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449 “At this time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any type of surgical mask specifically for protection against the coronavirus, but these masks may provide some protection when N95 masks are not available. (Bold type added) A cloth mask is intended to trap droplets that are released when the wearer talks, coughs or sneezes. Asking everyone to wear cloth masks can help reduce the spread of the virus by people who have COVID-19 but don't realize it. Cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus when they are widely used by people in public settings. And countries that required face masks, testing, isolation and social distancing early in the pandemic have successfully slowed the spread of the virus.” What it comes down to is you’re screwed with an N95 mask worn properly. They just can’t bring themselves to get off these vague words. I guess they don’t want to be legally libel to say “masks will protect you.” Also, they know that they don’t protect you. Another thing that I’ve noticed is that just about every study talks about “proper wear” of a mask. They usually talk about not touching the mask. How often have you seen anyone anywhere do that? So they are vague about protection if the mask is worn properly, what would they say about the reality of masks not being worn properly? That masks do very little. But let’s keep pushing that narrative. Here is the final definitive word from the CDC dated 27 AUG 2020 “Masks may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others. Masks are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings.” (Bold type added) Nothing has changed since I first posted this article on 15 JUL 2020. All the “new” studies and the CDC could not change the verbiage to be a little more definite? This should concern all Americans. Not only that, I feel too many people only wear a mask. All the other advice is glossed over. I also feel most people don’t wear their mask properly. So how much protection are the American people truly getting? Not much. 94% of those who are positive for COVID-19 live. “For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned.” So other problems were the cause of death, but the patient was positive for COVID-19. That’s 6% of 182,000 actually died from COVID-19. The reporting procedure is messed up. There may be more, or even less. I don’t know if the error would be 10,000 in either direction but I would say not. This is the Influenza information, even with a vaccine. “CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.” I’m not trying to compare diseases but it does seem that this thing is not such a devastating disease as they want us to believe. It is certainly not something to warrant giving up our rights! I understand a store being paranoid and not wanting to be libel for spreading sickness, but a mask is not going to do it! Walmart has produce just sitting out where people touch it and breathe near it. What about all the handles on frozen foods? I know store try to clean, but I don’t see them following each person around and cleaning up behind them. Yet these masks are saving us. Extreme false sense of security. Security that is not needed. Original article from July 2020 Please hear me out. What I’m going to say here is wildly unpopular. Some think it’s downright dangerous. But I’ve come to the conclusion that wearing a mask is a complete, and total, waste of time! I’m not sure why the medical world is heaping this silly practice upon the world. I’m not a healthcare worker, nor do I have an education in medicine. Because of this, I had to really get in there and study this out as best I could. I’ve come to the conclusion that we are being duped. Masks do little to nothing. Not having a background in medicine and not being familiar with medical terms and phraseology made it difficult for me to understand and read these studies and analysis. So I had to really read these things. My conclusions may not be the same as yours. I originally only wanted to know how much, in percentage numbers, cloth masks helped the wearer or those around the wearer. I was thinking I would find 30% or even 20%. What I actually found was 0.02%, which to me is next to nothing. Here is my research: (I read the articles thoroughly but also looked at some, but not all, of the footnotes, resources, and supplemental material for these articles.) https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/masks-dont-work-review-science-relevant-covid-19-social-policy-0 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31142-9/fulltext https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/cloth-masks-are-useless-against-covid-19 https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health/cloth-masks-given-ok-do-they-work https://www.nap.edu/read/25776/chapter/1 “Cloth face coverings may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others” “A cloth face covering may not protect the wearer, but it may keep the wearer from spreading the virus to others.” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html This is the definitive conclusion that the CDC has come up with? You “may” be, and “most likely” will be safe with masks. How less sure can you be? “Cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings.” If your mechanic described your fixed brakes in this way would you drive the vehicle? I think it’s criminal to put people’s lives in danger by telling them something will protect them when it won’t. Too bad no one will account for it. I love the 90’s series “The X Files”. It just fed my appetite for conspiracy. But as I watch the mess that has unfolded in this country I feel like I’m living an X files episode. Between COVID-19 and the racial divide in this country I get the feeling there is more afoot than bad timing. I’m not saying this virus does not exist but I think there are sinister hands involved in it. The race angle is constantly used for those with an agenda. I’m also not saying bigotry and racism does not exist. As long as there are humans on this earth there will be racism. Be very careful about what you accept. If the mainstream media is pushing something then be very careful. They usually ignore facts and quote each other. Research this mask thing yourself. See what you think. I just saw another “study” that had to do with 2 cosmetology workers. I don’t think this was actually a scientific study, but it fit the “mask up” narrative just fine. Beware of where you get your information and what that info is based on. This article is not about masks but about COVID-19 deaths. https://www.technocracy.news/cdc-confirms-extremely-low-covid-19-death-rate/?fbclid=IwAR2obGmDzyss5ueBPbC1lpqPGLDng-HD0dRm5yxOhQuVeB0rqk5_1y5qsx0 A quote from a Star Trek character comes to mind. “Spock, I’ve found that evil usually triumphs… unless good is very, very careful” Dr. Leonard McCoy, Star Trek Be very careful out there my friends. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn

Training Differences

There is a difference between training once a year, and training daily or weekly. I had someone tell me that they didn’t need to practice. Every time they went shooting, they were very accurate. I balked at the idea. They swore up and down that they were good even though they have not picked up a gun in several months. I had them meet me at the range to “prove” it. We met on an outdoor range in the middle of the day. The weather was nice and there was even a little breeze. Beautiful day to shoot. I watched as my friend shot, and hit pretty well, with plenty of time from a modified weaver stance. I told him “Good shooting! Now what if someone was shooting back at you? What if an attacker was running at you with a bat? Or a knife? Or a gun? What if it were overcast, or raining, or night? What if you just got wounded in your shooting hand and had to shoot one handed? What if there was rain in your eyes? Or blood? What if you are being chased and have run 2 blocks? What if your gun malfunctioned? Or your ammo? What if you had to shoot and move? What if you had to shoot from behind a car? Or a building? What if your wife was with you? What if your children were with you?” He just stared at me. I then said “Defensive shooting is rarely like shooting at a range. You must put yourself in many positions to cover many situations. When I was in combat we were being shot at constantly. We always shot from cover. But even being in a fighting position I found that I shot in many ways from many angles. Then in a patrol situation, that all changes.” Learning to shoot from many positions and 6 to 10 feet is realistic training. I shoot generally from 15 feet to 5. Most of my training is focused on about 5 feet. Richard Mann put together a great collection of drills for this purpose. This is from Gun Digest April 10, 2019 https://gundigest.com/more/how-to/firearm-training/6-defensive-handgun-drills-to-master I went out and put these drills to the test and found that they are very much like my own training regime that I’ve been shooting for years. The drills are: Single Head Shots drill The Double-tap Drill The failure Drill The reload Drill The Forty-five Drill Adrenalin Dump The Shadowland Drill Single Head Shots Drill- This is pretty simple. The target is about 2.5 inch circle. One shot from the holster. Distance is about 5 yards (15 feet). Par for it is 2 seconds. Double-tap Drill-This drill is also 5 yards. Target is a 5 inch circle 2 shots from the holster. A quick 2 shots in center-of-mass. Whether its called double-tap, controlled pairs, or hammers, this is quick force downrange. Par for this is 2 seconds. Failure Drill-2 targets 2.5 and 5 inch. 3 Shots from the holster at 5 yards. The idea is to deliver 2 shots center of mass, and then 1 head shot for insurance. Par for this drill is 3 seconds Reload Drill-This is often overlooked in training. I’m here to tell you, in the thick of the battle, you will not know how many rounds you’ve used. There is a horrible sinking feeling when you get a “click” rather than a “boom”. Place two 5 inch targets next to each other 10 feet apart. 4 Shots from the holster. Draw and do a double tap on the first target, then do a mag change. Double tap the second target. Par for this drill is 6 seconds. Forty-five Drill Adrenalin Dump-5 yards, 5 inch circle, 5 shots. The drill is called 45 because it is 4 elements of 5. Place a target 5 yards away and fire 5 shots in a 5 inch circle is less than 5 seconds. You’ll be surprised how hard this is. Par is 5 seconds or less. Shadowland Drill-This drill ties them all together. 3 targets 5 feet apart 5 yards away. 15 total shots at 2.5 and 5 inch circles. The single head-shot on the right target, the double tap on the left target, and the Failure drill on the center target. That’s 6 shots. Now go back to the right target and do 2 shots at center-of-mass, reload, then 2 shots on the left target. Then do the 45 drill on the center target. Do this with no misses in 10 seconds or less and you’re a champion. A former police officer and serviceman with the U.S. Army, Richard A. Mann is one of the most well-respected firearms authorities writing on the subject today. He serves as contributing editor for several magazines, including NRA’s American Rifleman and Shooting Illustrated, Varmint Hunter, and Combat Handgunner, and is the editor for Gun Digest’s Cartridges of the World 13th Edition. Thank you Richard for this very practical and simple program. Richard says this is not training, training is when you learn new skills. This is practice. It was refreshing to me and I would recommend it. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn

Tourniquets Can Save Lives

Many years ago in a far off land I was caught in a battle. My friend next to me got hit by a bullet. I did all I could do to stop the bleeding in his neck when the medic took over. He too worked on him but was unsuccessful. I’ve lost my Mom to old age and my Dad to a blood clot, but watching my friend die and not being able to do anything gave me more loss and grief than my own family passing away. Don’t put yourself in a position where you will have that kind of grief. Learn first aid skills one of them being how to use a tourniquet. When I was learning first aid as a Boy Scout, tourniquets were discouraged. As we learned from the war in Iraq, tourniquets save lives. Here are the basics of how to use a tourniquet. I am not a health professional. Take medical training to give you the proper skills. Step 1: Make sure your surroundings are safe, and keep yourself safe by wearing gloves. Depending on the situation, you need to make sure you have the freedom to treat someone without becoming a victim yourself. Nitrile gloves are pretty common, especially with this COVID 19 virus outbreak. Keep a few pair in your vehicle and in your kits. Step 2: Expose the open wound. My son, an EMT, says there is a saying in emergency medicine: “A happy trauma patient is a naked trauma patient.” You just don’t know what’s wrong with them if you can’t see it. Remove the clothing over the injury. Nothing fancy to it: tear the pant leg or shirtsleeve out of your way. If their clothes are too tough to rip by hand, carefully start the cut with scissors or a knife. Step 3: Apply firm, direct pressure to the wound site. Use gauze, or whatever may be available, directly on the wound. If there is no gauze, use a towel or washcloth or a rag torn from a shirt. Try to avoid having to use this homemade dressing unless it’s an emergency situation. Non-sterile bandages can cause further unnecessary infection. Keep in mind that if you’re a long distance from a hospital or facility, it is better to contain the wound with only a few germs than leave it exposed to all germs. If the pressure does not stop the bleeding, and the dressing becomes soaked with blood, you will need to apply a tourniquet. Much of what you think you know about bleeding control may be based on outdated knowledge. For decades, standard emergency medical services (EMS) controlled bleeding using a series of six steps. The tourniquet was used only in a last ditch effort to stop bleeding. The aversion to the tourniquet was based on the belief that by completely stopping blood flow to a limb, tissue around the limb would start to die, which would result in the patient having to undergo amputation. Unfortunately, by following traditional bleeding control steps and leaving tourniquets as a procedure of last resort, people lost more blood, and even their lives, than was necessary. Unlike civilian EMS, military medicine practices have long called for tourniquet application much earlier in the treatment for blood loss. Recent research in military hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown that, contrary to popular belief, using a tourniquet doesn’t guarantee limb amputation or even nerve loss. Many civilian EMS teachers and practitioners are starting to encourage tourniquet use much sooner. Necrosis of muscle tissue doesn’t onset until after 2 hours without blood flow, and can even last 5-8 hours without consequences resulting in amputation; so you can keep the tourniquet on for a while. You want to get the victim help as soon as possible. Now with that FYI under your belt, let’s move on to choosing and applying that tourniquet. Step 4: Choose a tourniquet. In today’s military, all soldiers are issued tourniquets to accompany their armor and weapons, and every soldier is trained and proficient at applying his tourniquet, even one-handed, on their own arm. The common tourniquet used by the army, the combat action tourniquet (CAT tourniquet), is made for single-handed application; they run around $30 and aren’t practical for a civilian to carry around in his pocket every day. Luckily you don’t need a dedicated tourniquet to save a life. Look around you, there are tourniquets everywhere. Are you wearing a belt? Tourniquet! Have laces on your shoes? Tourniquet! Long sleeve shirt, bicycle inner tube, backpack strap, or a female observer’s brassiere? All tourniquets! You can fashion this lifesaving device out of anything your mind can conceive as a tourniquet. (You might consider rope or a survival bracelet first if you have them handy.) In order to tighten your tourniquet, you’ll also need a torsion device. This can be anything long and stick-like. If you’re in the woods I recommend using, well, a stick. If there are absolutely no sticks or stick-like objects around you, then close your knife’s blade, or put the sheath on it, and give it up for a good cause. It’s now your torsion device. For me I carry a hank of paracord and a tactical pen. Those two items will work. Step 5: Apply the tourniquet. First, so we’re all on the same page: Tourniquets are ONLY applied on limbs! , here are the steps of applying a tourniquet: Step 6: Assess for shock. So you’ve saved this person from bleeding out with a handy-dandy tourniquet. They’re not home free yet. Make sure they’re still breathing. Seems obvious, but if you fail to do so you’ve wasted a tourniquet. You’ve probably heard the adage: Look, listen, and feel! Put your ear near their mouth and listen and feel for breathing while looking at their chest to make sure it rises and falls. If it doesn’t, make it. Here is where you apply CPR. After you’ve made sure your patient is indeed still breathing, check for signs of shock. If you’ve placed a tourniquet on the patient, it’s very likely they’ll suffer hypovolemic shock. Don’t freak out, it’s a big sounding word, but it basically means: “too little volume.” They’ve just given up a lot of blood volume, so it’s kind of a given, though not a guarantee. Signs of hypovolemic shock include: • Cool, clammy skin (moist, cool, and pale skin) • Cyanosis (big word, but it means blue skin) • Weakness • Confusion • Rapid breathing • Unconsciousness To treat shock, first lay the patient down flat on his back. You may have once learned to elevate their feet, dismiss this practice! Research has shown this can cause pooling of blood in the organs and brain and other damage. Next cover the person to keep them warm: employ blankets, coats, and clothes, whatever you can offer, just keep them warm! (That old hypothermia technique of huddling for heat can come in handy here too.) Step 7: If 911 has not been called yet, make sure it has happened or tell someone specifically to do so now. If rescue workers cannot get to you where you are, or there is no phone service, never leave the victim alone to look for help, grab them and go. Be prepared to do the fireman’s carry. There are also many ways to improvise a litter that you can drag if you have the time and the means. I’ve seen a tourniquet save a leg and two other guys arms, along with saving their lives. I’ve had the distinct opportunity of applying this technique in an emergency situation and can tell you it does work. It is a simple thing but like CPR, should be practiced. Semper Paratus Check 6 Burn