Our kits are geared toward our own individual needs, or that of ourselves and a partner. Lets imagine we are on a hike in England. From what I have observed, the biggest concern is exposure to the elements. What would you do,or be able to provide, should you discover another hiker in distress? Food, warm fluids and some spare clothing ( mittens, dry socks watch caps at a minimum) might make the difference. We worry about social breakdowns and defending our supplies and preparations. I submit a prepared person has assumed a superior leadership role in helping others when able.

The ability to help others in distress is extremely important in preparing and equipping to survive as a community. If my psk / bob equipment and survival training helps me to live through a situation or social collapse or even short-term disruption then I may live through the situation only to find that what I return to is not worth the trip. I think that in this arena the training and knowledge is even more important than in the case of individual survival. Only in a true wilderness situation are you likely to find another individual in distress who doesn't also bring with them some equippement. Good knowledge on trauma first aid and other SAR technique combined with a macgyver approach to imporvisation can help an individual to utilize the resources that they have and help them to live another day. Accomplishing that type of aid for others will naturally place you in a position of leadership. Once in a position of leadership you will need knowledge and training of how to organize teams for larger goals and how to accomplish larger tasks. If you are trying to survive individually you probably won't need to know how to build a bridge. OTOH if you have a major quake and are totally cut off and someone needs to get out, some basic structural engineering will come in quite handy once you have a team of enough individuals to lift and position large beams or tree trunks. I am sure that there are other scenarios that will require squad level numbers of people and the training to know what to do with them.

Skills I would consider helpful in helping others

EMT Basic

Wilderness SAR

Structural evacuation and stabilization

Radio repair and use

Auto repair and maintenance

Basic log structures

Basic smelting and smithing

One more skill is the simple act of hugging each other <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> This skill is easily learned from grandparents <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

something that i have in my kit that you might want to consider,is a little container of salt.
good for:
-brushing teeth
-mouth rinse for cankers and the like
-eye wash saline( half teaspoon salt to 1 cup clean water)
-ingrown toenail fix(make a paste with salt,apply and put
bandage over,stings for a minute but works great)
-taken with water ,mildly diluted,can help relieve effects of heat exhaustion(cramps,headache,faintness,etc..)
-and for food!

Monkey,

Great idea thanks. Never thought of salt or salt depletion.

Mike

Thanks for the hug Dude!

I love Sam splints not becasue they are perfect for big injuries but becasue they are even better for small ones. A lot of injuries that are common among my friends while kayaking, camping and hiking are small parts related. Jamed/broken fingers and toes can be treated with improvised splints but there is nothing that can substitute for SAM splint and a pair of shears. You can create caddies for an injured part, you can make them into different shapes.



And you don't have to roll it either. Just bend it to the shape of something (canteen, bottom of the pack). I just take with me one small sheet that fits in the back/front of my canteen (U shape folded). So far I used it for a broken finger, toe and for a broken wrist.

Matt