Military Clothing with Built-in Tourniquets.

[arnisador]

Company Makes Clothes for Warfare (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/25/AR2007122500820.html)



As an Army surgeon in the Middle East, Dr. Keith Rose watched a colleague bleed to death when a truck in his convoy was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Rose could not get his comrade a tourniquet, which could have helped control the bleeding on his wounded leg, and sat along the mangled wreckage and talked with him as he took his last breath.
[...]

Once he returned to the U.S., Rose approached BlackHawk, a provider of military and law enforcement gear, with an idea to create clothes with built-in tourniquets.


The system being tested for use in military uniforms, called Warrior Wear, has eight tourniquets _ two in each sleeve and pant leg.


Sounds like a great idea to me, if it works!

[scubamatt]

I'd like to see how they actually incorporate this into the clothing, without restricting circulation. If it works, thats a very cool idea.

Not to question the good doctor's story (which unfortunately sounds like marketing hype), but I find it difficult to picture a situation where a friend of mine is bleeding to death and I am unable to acquire/create a tourniquet. Possibly in the civilian world, at a beach or a nudist colony maybe, but not in a combat zone. In the Army, we were trained to use our belts, strips of cloth cut from clothing, the standard 'pressure dressing' worn on everyone's LBE, and even commo wire. Rather than sit patiently by your side and wait for you to die, I would slice off a pant leg (yours or mine) and apply it. Thats assuming neither of us are wearing a belt :lookaroun, or web gear, etc. You could use a T-Shirt, bootlaces, BDU blouse or trousers, a rucksack strap, rifle sling, and more.

Again, the idea sounds good, but I am suspicious of the 'backstory' behind the idea.