Not entirely true regarding the tourniquet - it's time dependent. If you can get to help in a few hours, the limb can possibly be saved (ischemia times greater than about 4-6 hours tend to greatly reduce this chance). That's why it's important to note the time the tourniquet was placed.

As to suturing wounds - easy enough skill to learn, but it takes a while to get good at it & to develop the clinical judgement to know when to close & when not to. In a field environment, my opinion is to clean the wound as best as possible (cleanest water you have available - the solution to pollution is dilution <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ), apply the cleanest dressing you can, and get to help. Most wounds, even big ones, don't necessarily need sutures to heal - sutures do a few things: speed healing time by holding tissues in approximation, improve cosmetic outcome, and contain maintain anatomical integrity (in the case of tendons/fascia/etc... The risk of infection is pretty high in a contaminated wound, which includes essentially all of wounds acquired in the boonies.

Good luck, stay safe!

Sam