Let's talk about gear placement on the primary gear a bit as it relates to what we do.
I realize that this can fit in either the Equipment forum or the medical, so since this is medical related, let's put it here for now.
　

Something we should all consider if you maintain any kind of fighting load is where you should put your medical kit and what should be in it.
　
For most of us, we have at least one other person that may be around should SHTF. This is what I want to address.
　
Guys and Gals:
There is no reason you should have to carry a full on first aid/ trauma kit on your fighting gear.
Why?
　
Well, for starters, that takes up a lot of room that could be best utilized for something else.
I'm not saying that having a full blown kit is bad, far from it. It is my opinion based on experience, that the more extensive kit and supplies should be maintained within easy reach either at your BOL or in your BOV for easy access. This is to treat other injuries other than your own. You may even be the one doing the treating.
　
Your personal kit that stays on your loadout should be smaller and lighter. It is used for treating YOU. A blowout kit on your gear is for your use. Not your buddy, not your dog. As such, your buddy should also have one on their person, in a similar placement as yours clearly marked. This is what you use to treat injured comrades. If you have to use yours, so be it, but always try to use theirs first. You may need it later.
　
Here's an exmple:
My Blow Out Kit on my vest contains the following items:
1 Israeli Bandage
1 CAT Tourniqet
1 pair of EMT shears
1 pack of Quick Clot.
　
See.....small. Compact. Simple.
　
This combination can be used to treat most inuries related to *scuffles* you may get into.

If you need a bandaid, chances are you can wait until later, when you can pull it out of a larger kit. I have a full stocked STOMP medical bag just for this purpose.
　

Secondly, this kit should be located somewhere on the kit, where both hands can access it with ease. It does you absolutely no good if you can't reach it. Period. This is pretty common sense.
Life saving self-aid is almost always a very difficult thing to do, understandably. Frankly, if you're in a position where you can do more self aid than very simple things like applying a TK, then you're most likely not hurt enough for the delay between self aid and buddy aid to matter.

Ever tried to apply an Israeli Dressing with one hand in a real life situation? It's hard. Very hard. Pretty much impossible. You're better off using your mitt to hold pressure until someone else can get there and help you get it on correctly. Same with regular gauze. It doesn't really have an advantage over hand pressure in a self aid situation. The only thing that might be better would be something like Combat Gauze, or another similar hemostatic agent, and even that's iffy if you should waste your time trying to open it up (which would leave you bleeding without any interventions while you fumble with it).

I always teach people who ask me to do the following if they're hit:

1. Return fire if still you can.
2. Get to better cover.
3. Start holding pressure.
4. Call out that you're wounded.
5. If you can, put on a TK as tight as you can.
6. Keep breathing, shooting back, and wait for us to show up to help you. We'll be there.
7. Re-evaluate your condition periodically.

Again, if you're wounded so much that you can't get your IFAK on one side, then you're very likely wounded so much that you wouldn't be able to use anything in it if you could get to it, other than a TK.

If you can get your IFAK, good stuff, start fixing yourself and get back into the fight you malingerer.

Just a few thoughts.

Comments? Additions?