Medical Rucksack recommendation

Capellanus · Post by **Capellanus** » May 10th, 2007, 10:21 am

I am not sure if this question or topic has been discussed yet (if so, give me the correct azimuth).

I am in the market of buying a medical rucksack that can be used in the theater of operations to store common packing list items, medical supplies and chaplain supplies. The only one that I found that may work for this is the Falcon Harness NSN 6545-01-532-1747. The only thing I have right now is a Large ALIC ruck with a M-5 bag and a M-17 for backup.

RTO · Post by **RTO** » May 10th, 2007, 11:45 am

Last issue (or two ago) of "Ranger Joes" had a fairly good medical ruck. I don't have it in front of me, but it may be on their website.

Capellanus · Post by **Capellanus** » May 10th, 2007, 1:17 pm

Thanks Rangers

I have a lot to choose from.

91W · Post by **91W** » May 10th, 2007, 2:05 pm

+1 on the S.T.O.M.P. II. I carried it in theater for the time I was there and it worked as a great all purpose bag. I had room for supplies for two major traumas, Narcs., and extra essentials of clothing, ammo, etc. All in all it was an OK bag and is in my vehicle now as a first responder bag. It has held up to three years of moderate abuse and use. As far as price however I was disapointed in the quality for the price. Just my $.02 Ranger Capellanus.

Sleepy Doc · Post by **Sleepy Doc** » May 28th, 2007, 11:43 am

depending upon how much meducal supplies you are going to have and what level of care you are going to provide should drive your choices. if your need one bag for light ops, the london bridge is hard to beat (I think they call it a Para-Rescue bag..) I wasn't a big fan of the Blackhawk, but it is very capable.

I don't know if they still market it, but SKEDCO made a bag 9now called sked-pak 1) that could carry small oxygen cylinders and had a built in jump harness (Designed by one of the 3rd Batt PA's..) great for long ops where you will be more stationary, or if you have a lot of ACLS equipment to carry.

Mebbe I'm old school, but my favorite setup was a large ruck for personal gear, and a well worn M-5. Great setup and very flexible for long and short ops.

ChipOnShoulder · Post by **ChipOnShoulder** » June 6th, 2007, 8:50 pm

I like a medical pack that is modular with different removable portions/pouches packed so I can toss them to other EMTs/first responders if there are multiple casualties. I am a big fan of the Molle medical pack that was given to me by the Batt. Senior medic in 2000/01 for this reason. Most of the training was great but had little to do with what I was doing later on. (See Below)

In the desert on contract, the medic is generally a gunner first on most small convoys and movements. On some gigs the medic is also the heavy gunner in the rear. Becasue of this, I had had to downsize considerably(2nd contract) with just the basics packed in bleeder/basic airway kits in small German shaving kit bags that I had left over from the Army. The rest of the assault pack was filled with extra magazines, grenades we were not supposed to have, water, GPS, Big eyes, batteries, Nods, etc...

Bleeder kits and touniquets were stored in the vehicles as well, in easy reach for self/buddy aid while "getting off the X" after an IED/SAF ambush. I generally packed to EMTB - EMTI standards sans any equipment that would be impossible to use on such a small unit scale (8-12 operators + clients). Subtract the drivers for three vehicles, then do the math on available guns. Any casualties past 1 or two would have been a real bitch on the operator end.

If you are a medic with the sole job of medical duties, the more medical gear/bigger the bag, the better. If you have multiple roles, you need to pack gear accordingly. As an example, it was not uncommon on my first contract to have medical gear with 150+ rounds of extra PKM ammo on top of it + extra commo shit +........just extra!

*As an extra*--

I am also a firm believer in everyone being proficient in most skills up to a moderate scale with an expertise in at least one skill. This is because of high attrition in the contract world either due to termination, resignation, WIA or KIA. There are no readily available replacements and often they come within 3-4 weeks. 1 week for job notification, 1 week for selection/vetting, 1 week notification of deployment, 1 week (sometimes less with luck) for travel.

I am assuming that you are out the military so I would recomend the multiple bag approach. If you are using it for your vehicle at home, a medium sized dedicated bag is probably the best. Sleepy Doc's suggested london bridge is pretty good. M5's were good but they have the tendancy to burst open at inconvenient times (Trust me on this one)

Sleepy Doc · Post by **Sleepy Doc** » June 7th, 2007, 10:27 pm

Doc Cook wrote:M5's were good but they have the tendancy to burst open at inconvenient times

Thats cuz we had those old-ass, crusty motherfucking hand me down bags that ALL had busted zippers. The ones with a nylon zipper held up pretty good... Hey man, call me sentimental

Silverback · Post by **Silverback** » June 7th, 2007, 10:42 pm

The most important equipment a Chaplain has are his ears.