Good points, Trident, excellent overview of the traditional basics. (I'm teaching in your AO, this week, btw...)
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I'm not doctor, nor do I conduct medical training specifically. I do try to keep up with it, require that all my instructors have a tourniquet and quality compression bandages on their person when teaching CFS and contract in leading specialty instructors (D.A.M.N., Black Sheep, etc) for the medical information.
I think that the leading edge is to focus on bloodloss as the primary care focus, ie- as #1 on your list of priorities. Keep the blood in the body. If you can send someone else to call for help concurrently, all the better. This is what we recommend for people in a training environment.
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Peg leg,
Kits are not at all overrated. Especially simple kits. They give you ONE PLACE for the RIGHT THINGS. There is no reason to use old surgical tubing as a tourniquet or repurposed hygiene products to stop blood loss in 2010. We're all spending a lot of money and effort and time to have guns and ammo and get to the range... the extra $40 for simple supplies and a belt pack is worth it.
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As for this thread itself, I think the integrity that the instructor showed in sharing the story is a great thing. We had a student shoot himself in the leg (through his holster) at Valhalla many years ago and we tried to use the incident to educate (both from the lessons that the instructor on the range learned and the mechanics of what actually happened). Pretending that these accidents don't happen all the time is dangerous. Ignoring the need for a plan is dangerous. Skipping out on simple items and basic knowledge is dangerous.
-RJP