Survival Gear and Preparation...

[busdriver]

Some other stoof to add to what Stearmann said, keep in mind as a helo guy I've got a bit more room to keep crap.

Binos (I keep mine on my vest/armor), nothing big or fancy, small and compact is the way to go.

Some way to secure yourself to a rotary wing aircraft's outside.
-I fly with a rigger's belt and a daisy chain with a carabiner, allows me to clip into whatever. Useful if you need to ride out on a Kiowa's skids or an Apache stub wing

You need to be able to get to your medical gear with EITHER hand, not just your non-killing hand. Mainly your tourniquet, if you get an arm blown off, the other one needs to be able to stop the bleeding. If you're a helo guy it's easy to rubber band a CAT tourniquet to your body armor in the middle of your chest.

 

[HeloBubba]

Likely should have always worn dry suits out of NUW but I wasn't about to bring that horror show up

Even in relatively warm water (high-50's, low-60's, like it is off the coast of SoCal most of the year) it doesn't take long to lose dexterity in your hands and to get hypothermic.

50-60 degree water is still BALLS cold, and I believe in the "should" range for cold-weather gear.

As alluded to in these posts, isn't there an SOP that states when to don some manner of cold-water protective gear? I remember in the RAG and Fleet briefing rooms, a big circle around the reported ocean temp. When it dipped below 60 degrees, it was mandatory wet suit/dry suit (your choice) time. Neither of which is comfortable when worn under a bag...

 

[BACONATOR]

As alluded to in these posts, isn't there an SOP that states when to don some manner of cold-water protective gear? I remember in the RAG and Fleet briefing rooms, a big circle around the reported ocean temp. When it dipped below 60 degrees, it was mandatory wet suit/dry suit (your choice) time. Neither of which is comfortable when worn under a bag...

I can't recall the exact numbers, but for example I think it may be a shall under 50 (OPNAV) and 50-60 is should, but many SOPs make it a shall.

 

[Cron]

In my recent deployment to Uganda, I took along a water purifier that worked to perfection. It is the Steri-Pen Classic. I got it at Bass-Pro and have found others on eBay. I loaded mine with Lithium batteries and treated ALL the water I drank on deployment and it worked to perfection. I shit you not!
I am so impressed with them, I bought 2 more for the home huirricane kit. The classic is a bit heavy and bulky, size/weight about like a bottle of Tabasco sauce but I'll make damned sure it goes with me on every trip in the future. If you don't have good water to drink you'll be in deep shit before long.
My unit will purify about 600 gallons before i need to replace anything. Ample for a survival situation. Cost less than $75
Rocky

Speaking of water purification, I've been hearing amazing things about these products (and particularly the bottle) for some time now:

http://www.lifesaversystems.com/

 

[exhelodrvr]

As alluded to in these posts, isn't there an SOP that states when to don some manner of cold-water protective gear? I remember in the RAG and Fleet briefing rooms, a big circle around the reported ocean temp. When it dipped below 60 degrees, it was mandatory wet suit/dry suit (your choice) time. Neither of which is comfortable when worn under a bag...

It's been awhile, but from what I recall, 50-60 was optional depending on how far off shore, time of day, and whether or not you were "single helo" ops. (The reasoning being based on how long until someone would be able to pick you up.)

 

[Pags]

It's been awhile, but from what I recall, 50-60 was optional depending on how far off shore, time of day, and whether or not you were "single helo" ops. (The reasoning being based on how long until someone would be able to pick you up.)

Water below 50 or air below 32 (wind chill corrected) dry suits are mando per 3710. Between 50-60 it's up to CO's to determine based on water temp and maximum possible rescue time.

 

[HeloBubba]

OK. So the water temp under 60 thing had to have been a Squadron SOP in my day. I never liked flying with a wet suit on underneath the bag. I felt spring-loaded.

 

[exhelodrvr]

OK. So the water temp under 60 thing had to have been a Squadron SOP in my day. I never liked flying with a wet suit on underneath the bag. I felt spring-loaded.

Yeah, but you could release 8 hours of farts into the ready room at one time!

 

[Swanee]

It will still cause serious damage if it comes into contact with anything that isnt the wound... Like eyes. Hense why you do not want to open it with your teeth like you see in the movies.

Quick-clot also has a tendency to send small clots to the heart... not a good day. You are also only supposed to use it on extremities.

The general consensus wrt quick clot at TBS is that it is a useful last resort tool that has a few limited applications; it isn't the wonderful thing that it is claimed to be. I also know many people who say they sure as hell don't want anyone to use it on them no matter what.

 

[Flash]

As alluded to in these posts, isn't there an SOP that states when to don some manner of cold-water protective gear? I remember in the RAG and Fleet briefing rooms, a big circle around the reported ocean temp. When it dipped below 60 degrees, it was mandatory wet suit/dry suit (your choice) time. Neither of which is comfortable when worn under a bag...

With all the ops I did out of Whidbey the only time I ever wore a dry suit was flying out of Misawa in the dead of winter. Common sense usually prevailed when you wore it.

And yes, I hated wearing the dry suit, I felt like the little brother in A Christmas Story walking out to the plane.

 

[Clux4]

A tampon works wonders. It will plug a 7.62 round quite well. Tampon with super-glue will replace the sacs of quick-clot you have stored up.

 

[OldNavy]

My first MO in VT-27 carried several of those tiny airline booze bottles in his SV-2B. He claimed that they were good for treating shock/calming down or for their antiseptic properties.

Then we noticed that the bottles were always different kinds of booze when we 90 day'ed his vest.

Good guy. He routinely sprang for pizza and a keg every couple of months on our "working weekends"

 

[Pags]

With all the ops I did out of Whidbey the only time I ever wore a dry suit was flying out of Misawa in the dead of winter. Common sense usually prevailed when you wore it.

Different story out Norfolk. The worst was when it would be early in the spring yet unseasonably warm. You'd end up wearing a drysuit when it was 70+ air temp and the water temp was still below 50. Ugh.

Last helo that went down around Norfolk was a 53. One of the crewmembers was wearing a drysuit with no liner underneath. Damn near froze to death (but he was dry).

 

[MasterBates]

Drysuit without liner is just marginally better than no drysuit.

 

[skidkid]

And yet perfectly legal per OPNAV.