Scouter Tom,<br><br>Sounds like you've been there, a few time. I don't carry sutures because I am not trained on their use. I do carry butterfly sutures for those times when you can't necessarily get to "professional" help, or when I'm dealing with a stubburn casualty (I don't need a doctor, that's not muscle tissue, just give me a band-aid). <br><br>I don't carry IV stuff in my vehicle for 2 reasons. 1, it's hard for me to get ahold of the equipment. Lines and needles are easy, bags are hard and they expire. And 2, liability. If I had the equipment, and a serious casualty who I was not related to, I would be tempted to use the equip/training. Then I would promptly get sued. When I have my CLS bag at home, around my family, that's a different story. I wouldn't even hesitate. No liability.<br><br>Anyway, the SAM splint is great. I highly recommend it. Don't be cheap either, get the big one. They can be used for everything from C-spine injuries to hip fractures, from leg breaks to finger splints. All you need to do, if you've never used one before is get it, then play with it till you know everything about it. The main thing to remember is to crease or bend it in order to make it rigid. Then you can splint any body part.<br><br>Regarding kids versus military, my civilian job is as an educational assistant in a Special Ed classroom. Even with the first aid class that every employee is required to take, no one seems to retain any of that information. Plus the school nurses are now on an on-call basis. They have 3 schools they have to attend. They are never, ever there when you need them. <br><br>Have a good one. Hope this is of interest.<br><br>