1st aid kit on steriods: USMC Life Saving Kit

[Bob Hudson]

When this came my way I wasn't sure what I had. I had thought it was for corpsman, but the contents - while numerous and impressive - did not have a lot of what a corpsman would use.

 

Today I finally got an understanding of it from a young Marine: this is the Combat Life Saving Kit carried by a squad member who has undergone special special Combat Life Saver training. It goes beyond the traditional first aid training and allows Marines to provided some advanced medical help while assisting a corpsman or where a corpsman might not be available. I was going to call it "advanced first aid," but from what I have read, the CLS training and kit goes beyond first aid.

 

It appears that CLS training predates these large CLS kits carried in the Combat Trauma Bag, but I haven't found any specific date for introduction of these kits. They are heavy - i think this one weighed in at over 7 pounds - and the Marines who carry these also have their normal load to hump as well.

 

I did not completely unpack this as it could be a pain to get it all back in (the much smaller Marine Individual First Aid Kit is also a bugger to repack, stuffed as it was with contents).

 

 

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

--

 

 

 

[Bob Hudson]

---