On a separate subject - THREE CHEERS to the country of Israel and the group of Israeli's who responded to the Haiti disaster very quickly. It sounds very much like the Israeli's were one of the first effective response teams on the scene. No doubt the conditions they encountered were extremely ugly. That was an outstanding job by them!!! I hope someone from that group will come and post some firsthand observations on this forum.

other Pete

Boiling is about the best way to be sure of potable water. You make an excellent point about the difficulty of bringing in the more usual proprietary fuel sources available in the developed world. This would incline me to bring in one (or more) alcohol stoves or the raw materials from which they could be fabricated. Alcohol comes in many different varieties, such as booze, and can usually be made to work. Also bring in the basics for fabrication of a hobo stove (big tin can originally containing food). Then you can burn local materials much more efficiently. Anything other than air or boat transport, and I would try very hard to include my beloved and dependable Pocket Rocket, obviously along with as many fuel canisters as I could include.

One of the reasons I really like boiling as a means of purification is a trip I took to China with a group of cavers some years ago. We would up deep in rural areas. Our food was prepared by local chefs and the potable water came from boiling. I never saw the source of the water we drank, but I am pretty sure it was a local irrigation ditch. We were a group of twelve, in country for a month. Number of intestinal upsets in the group - none, nada, zip. Boil away, I say.

From the news reports I have read the Israeli team was the first to have setup a fully functioning field hospital in a soccer field; a sterile environment complete with xray machines and other medical equipment capable of supporting various operating room scenarios. Seems like the Israelis were well-prepared to have such an environment setup so quickly.

Thanks for the clarification, Jerry. I got a bit confused as you first asked "What would you carry for a personal kit" and then went on to mention your kits so I wasn't really clear what you were asking for. Now I am.

Teslinhiker, watch your @$$ and come back safe.

Other Pete, I think Jerry is asking about just the personal survival equipment. The other medical equipment you speak of to help the victims will come as part of the groups equipment. On cutting your survival gear and leaving most of it behind, that is purely a personal choice (that is why they call them PERSONAL survival kits isn't it? ). My list may seem long to you but Jerry asked our opinion and I gave mine. My list (and others too I'm sure) is long because I don't know the destination and don't know for certain what I could improvise from available local materials. I would venture a guess that local materials are being used up by the victims and won't be available for use by anyone else. What good am I to the victims if I have to use some of their resources to improvise what I left behind anyway? My apologies if this sounds sterner than I intended it. Just wanted you to know where I and maybe others are coming from. Clean water will certainly be a concern but will Jerry's friend really have the time to boil water? I am thinking about an article I read about a 9 11 responder who was a medical person as well. IIRC, by the time he was relieved (almost 18 hours later) he was so exhausted he went to a rest station where he quaffed a bottle of water and collapsed into a bed. Imagine if someone told him before he could drink that water he had to boil it first. I have no personal experience in a scenario like this but I would imagine they will be relying on other sources of water, possibly cases of bottled water or water from a central purifying station. I'm not saying that is what they should be doing but in all likelihood what they will be doing. They are there for their medical expertise and personally I would rather have them triaging or treating patients rather than taking time to boil a drink of water. You are still correct but the reality of the situation will lead to less than optimal water purification by individuals.

Kudos to the Israelis. I had not heard about that.