The Executive's FAK

[doc Russia]

FAK stands for first aid kit, btw.
So, I was attending the TTPO conference this year and saw a package put out by combat medical systems which was basically a SWAT-T and combat gauze vacuum packed into a slim little packet.
This was kind of the last piece of the puzzle for me regarding something I had thought about earlier.
At one point in time, it occurred to me that medics and doctors may need some sort of low-profile medical kit. For instance, you may be working an executive security detail, and so you may not want a backpack full of medical gear, but you will want something.

Well, I just kind of put one together to fit the bill. It includes the following all put into a small aloksak:

Decompression needle ($15 @https://store.combatmedicalsystems.com/ ... oDart.aspx)
Scalpel
SWAT-T ($8.50@https://store.combatmedicalsystems.com/ ... iquet.aspx)
Combat Gauze ($44.80@ https://store.combatmedicalsystems.com/ ... omers.aspx)
A few safety pins
one pair of tightly packed gloves
5-6 band-aids
2 alcohol swabs
2 tablets ibuprofen
2 tablet aspirin
2 tablets benadryl
1 packet neosporin

I link Combat medical systems because they are the vendor I was speaking with when this came together in my mind.
For those of you who are not trained, I would just drop the needle and the scalpel, and you are pretty good to go.

This was originally envisioned as the FAK that medically trained security personnel would carry on covert and discreet details. Think bodyguards, secret service and stuff like that.

However, as I play with it more, I think it is actually far more useful.

What this becomes then, is a "back pocket FAK." It does fit into my jeans pockets, either front or back. I am wondering whether I should add petroleum jelly dressings and/or a Nasal pharyngeal airway(NPA). I am thinking that I will, but it is going to be a tight fit for the NPA. Still, it should fit. It will not quite fit into a single mag pouoch, but will comfortably fit into a double mag pouch, even if it's short height makes it sink in a little deep into it.
So, if you want a light, portable, and versatile FAK, this would be my recommendation. You can easily stow it in a range bag, pocket, purse, glove box, or double mag pouch. It is waterproof, relatively crush proof, and can be used for a whole lot of stuff. Also, because it is resealable, you can use the stuff, and then restock it. Also, it's pretty cheap; you can get the whole thing for under $100. The one thing it does not have is a dedicated tourniquet. The SWAT-T can be used as such, but I am not going to lie to you; a SOFT-TW is *much* better as a tourniquet since you can deploy it faster and more definitively.

Anyway, I just wanted to throw this out there because I bet there are a lot of people on this board who could see where such a kit would come in handy. I also want to see what people think about them.

[308Mike]

This is EXCELLENT information and should be included as part of our Wiki. I haven't as yet contributed to the Wiki, but if someone else who's done it many times wants to publish it, I say, "The more the merrier!!"

I have a first aid kit, but it needs to be renewed and updated, and I GREATLY APPRECIATE any and all medical information you provide!!!

THANKS Doc!!!

[Kommander]

At work I carry a SWAT-T, combat gauze, and 6" Izzy in a pouch on my belt with more first aid stuff in my bag in the truck. I developed this belt kit after a co-worker at work was shot, one bullet missing the femoral by less than an inch. Rescue Essentials and others have recently developed some small, inexpensive "Blow Out" kits. The Wound Packing Kit in particular combines an excellent price with solid and easy to use items. I highly recommend RE and more importantly people who know a hell of allot more about this stuff than I do have recommended RE. At the Tuscon shooting, police with kits such as these were instrumental in saving a number of lives. For less than $20 I can't imagine going to a range or anywhere else where gunshot wounds a possible without one of these kits.

[JAG2955]

Doc, why no battle dressing, or anything to cover the packed combat gauze?

[blackeagle603]

Nice idea. I'd substitute polysporin is all.

I developed a reaction to it over the years -- my dermatologist told me that's fairly common and to just keep polysporin around instead.

[Kommander]

Doc, why no battle dressing, or anything to cover the packed combat gauze?

NOTE: I AM NOT A TRAINED PHYSICIAN/PARAMEDIC/EMT. I have had some medical training though and extensively researched this stuff the best I could. If you die because you tried to use a tourniquet on a head wound its not my fault.

The SWAT-T can act as a compression device once the gauze is in place. However if the SWAT-T is compressing the wound it can't be used as a tourniquet. The idea is probably just to keep things as low profile as possible. This stuff can get real bulky real fast.

[JAG2955]

Ah, gotcha. I'm not familiar with the SWAT-T, but now that you mention it, that makes sense. I guess if you'd have several bodyguards, you'd probably have enough SWAT-Ts to go around.

If it were me, I'd be willing to give up the extra space for a new generation SOF-T (which I REALLY want to get my hands on-no friction screw this time), and a 4" Israeli battle dressing. That probably wouldn't fit in a front pocket, but it might fit in a large back or cargo pocket.

[Combat Controller]

Thanks Doc! Good piece of kit you developed there. I think I'll build a few.

[doc Russia]

Doc, why no battle dressing, or anything to cover the packed combat gauze?

Because the idea behind this design was to keep the package as small as possible while still having a fairly broad spectrum of applications. There is inevitably a trade-off between what you can do, and the relative bulk and weight of the package. I had considered adding an Oales bandage, or izzy, but the bulk was deemed to be too much since it would almost double the volume, and if you need bandaging materials, you tear off a piece of the patient's shirt, and pack it on top of the combat gauze. When you have enough packing, you then wrap the SWAT-T around that for pressure, and you will have a quite effective bandage.

Remember, this FAK is not *THE* WAY. it is only *A* way. I tasked my brain with a problem (What would be the ideal FAK for someone working executive protection, which would require a discreet size?) applied the knowledge, training and experience which I have garnered over the past few years, and this is what my brain sh*t out. I am sure the secret service has something WAAAAAY better, and this is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it's what I came up with. I just thought that I would throw it out there as an option if people were interested in what I thought would make a good, small IFAK.

[doc Russia]

Thanks Doc! Good piece of kit you developed there. I think I'll build a few.

The kit I built you is far superior in every measure except for one; convenience.
I carried this kit around in the thigh pocket of my 5.11 trousers all day, even while doing some light combatives, and I forgot that I had it. Apparently, there was an unexpected benefit with the aloksak; the surface is not a slick plastic, and will grip on items. So, when it is in a fabric pocket, it doesn't slide around.
It's also the kind of thing where you could stash them around (glove compartment, kitchen, shop, and one for walking around), and be fairly well covered. Also, if you have a group, and everybody carries one, you have the resources to treat a couple of pretty grievously injured individuals. In fact, while this has the wrong dimensions for it, the overall volume is just about what was in the old military general issue First aid kits.

You could certainly take this, throw it into a bag with a couple of Oales, an Izzy, and a tourniquet, and have a pretty damned good kit. But then, you could also add an occlusive dressing, tape, a spare set of gloves, small light, marker a couple of ET tubes, a bougie, laryngoscope, Iv start kit, bag of saline, and be an even better kit. Of course, at some point, all of that stuff is not going to fit in a pocket, and if you carry it even further, eventually, all of that stuff is not going to fit in a cargo van.

In the end, you can put whatever you want or don't want into the kit. I have no patent on it, and I really don't care. Do with it what you will.

But, the more I think about it, the more I think that this is perhaps the most versatile, yet convenient medical kit I have put together.