RE Factor Tactical’s Trauma Tape has been a hot product for them. The initial release of Trauma Tape was covered here but since that time, RE Factor Tactical has released a blog post that dives deeper into the features, function, and background of the product.
Read more about Trauma Tape: RE Factor Tactical Blog
My family and I live in a sparsely populated area of a sparsely populated state. Sometimes it can feel like we are completely isolated from the big city problems that we left behind years ago but, every once in a while, something comes along to remind us that no one is ever completed insulated from the types of situations that prepared people prepare for.
You probably have various plans for your family like we do. If “A” happens, we do “B”. If “X” happens, we do “Y”. You might even drill those plans on occasion like a fire drill. But what happens when something you didn’t specifically plan for happens? Well, the good news is that some planning – any planning at all really – can help even when something that you could never foresee happens.
Trouble can always find you… even here.
I will shorten this story significantly so I don’t lose you in the third paragraph. It is a much longer story that I may share sometime as there were a ton of lessons learned for our family. For now, I will start at the middle of my lunch break a few weeks ago when we received a text message from our county alert system telling people to stay away from the road we live on and to report anyone suspicious. This road is very long and we live on the very beginning of it. We wondered where on our road the emergency might be happening but I guess I didn’t think enough of it to take immediate action.
I finished eating lunch while thinking about the text message and resolved that I would find out more after lunch. I put on my coat, started to head out the door and that is when I noticed that there were sheriff squad cars, lots of squad cars, parked at the end of our driveway. The police emergency which was clearly a man hunt wasn’t just on our road, it was happening on our property.
I turned back inside and began the process of notifying our other family that lived on the property of this while also rallying my own family. My wife and I began the process of securing our home – retrieving a firearm for the adults who were not already armed and double checking every window and door lock. This, we found, made our young daughters quite nervous as they didn’t fully understand what was happening but knew it was at least a little serious. So, we also started to give them tasks like taking their coats off their hooks and staging them in case we needed exit quickly, putting on socks, then boots, and similar tasks to take their minds off what was happening because by this time, they were fully aware of police presence.
If you think about it, most of your short term plans for your family’s safety require similar actions. The stimulus that begins the plan may be wildly different but the course of action set in place by that stimulus is likely to be similar across many situations.
The actions that I described above were planned ahead of time though not necessarily because we thought there would be a manhunt on our property. We never considered that could happen and it likely never will happen again. The actions we took really had more in common with plans for a quick moving wild fire (which is a major issue in our part of the world) than it did with any plans we might have for an intruder. We essentially needed to shelter in place with the knowledge that we may need to leave immediately. So, while the event of a man hunt on our property wasn’t necessarily planned for specifically, we were able to draw from other plans to deal with the issue.
Here are some lessons on planning that we drew from this in hindsight:
As I said, the above is an extremely short version of the story. It did end well with the suspect being found 20 feet up a tree down in our woods. There was 16-18″ of snow on the ground at the time so the sheriff’s department was able to track him effectively and the tense part of the situation only lasted about 2 hours.
I’m glad that we had some plans in place even if they weren’t specifically for a man hunt on our property.
BMK Ventures is offering 20% off their already discounted prices on Para-X Treatment Tubes. These tubes contain proven components and are designed with versatile packaging so they can be stored in small spaces or repackaged in a pouch you provide. They have both the IFAK and Bleeder versions on sale. Use code “STB20%” at checkout to save.
There are a number of universal axe sheaths/masks on the market but many of them leave a lot to be desired. They often fit poorly which is dangerous with a sharp axe or they are difficult to install/remove which is also dangerous with a sharp axe.
Sagewood Gear’s Universal Axe Sheath is different. It is not as universal as some axe masks since it is actually available in sizes for many common axe bits. The various available sizes, coupled with the unique adjustable paracord retention strap and closure allow the end user to fine tune the fit to their specific axe.
The Universal Axe Sheath is made from 9-10oz Wickett and Craig Leather. The paracord retention strap can be protected from wear with a piece of included heat shrink wrap.
5col Survival Supply is developing a survival kit designed specifically to fit the Hill People Gear Kit Bag. The kit features quality components from Solkoa Survival Systems, Aquamira, UCO, and more. Given the versatile load carrying capability of the Kit Bag and it’s ability to stay with the wearer even when they have to drop their pack, I am surprised there hasn’t been other similar kits developed.
Stay tuned for additional details.
