Frag Out! Magazine

While applying bands, one should remember about a safe time of constricting them on the limb. According to the researches, in the real-life situa- tion, where an evacuation time is very prolonged, it is – UP TO TWO HOURS! Therefore a skill to change a constricting band to a constricting dress- ing, unpacking a wound or using (as a last resort) hemostatic measures. I recommend to keep in readiness in each personal kit a marker (a perma- nent one), which can be used to write down a time of using a constricting band, as well as to record any other important information (e.g. "T" letter writ- ten on the head means "a constricting band put on", "M" letter – morphine was administered). when SelectinG the eqUiPment In this article I will allow myself to describe sev- eral the most common combat tourniquets which have been widely available on the market for about 10 years. There are included both in the personal medical packag- es of soldiers leaving for foreign mis- sions, and are stored as an unchange- able stock in the case of outbreak of war. Each originally "manufactured" constricting band has its advantages and disadvantages. I will list a few of them referring to each of described models. Probably the most popular (and, for sure, the oldest) combat tourniquet is North American Rescue C-A-T or CAT (Combat Application Tourniquet). Its design is simple (a strap, a compressing windlass, a locking element, a piece of the Velcro hook and loop), enables practically intuitive application, also on oneself (self- rescue). It consists of stitched wide straps, and a narrower one between them. One of the wider band is stitched around with the Velcro tape. By the narrower band is interlaced through a composite compressing windlass, and the entire thing is placed on the plastic basis on which there is also a buckle (a windlass lock) and a white strap to secure a twisted and secured windlass. One can find a "TIME" marking on this strap what should recall about recording a time of putting on a constricting band because the most probably the last element which we will perform after putting a tactical tourniquet, is securing a windlass in the locking device with this strap. I remind you that the CAT is prepared in the way in which a strap is interlaced by one (external) hole in the plastic ladder. It allows for a problem-free pulling a strap in the bucket on your own shoulder. If we are to deal with a wound of TCCC

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