The Tactical and Practical Way of Life…
So, what is the tactical and practical way of life? It starts slowly as a philosophy then it grows into a code to live by, eventually if you stay focused it becomes a way of life and an expression of who you are. It is a legacy to the nobility of the independence of the warrior spirit located deep within us all. That’s what comes to mind for me when I think of living in a tactical and practical way. It’s about always maintaining situational awareness, using prior planning and putting backup systems in place. It’s about being prepared but never paranoid; acting without overreacting and always being able to take care of myself and my partner. I believe it’s important to have a philosophy or two to help guide your professional practice whatever it may be that you do for a living. Everyday situational awareness can be as simple as putting the cell phone away lifting your head up and paying attention to your environment on foot and definitely while driving.
My philosophy was shaped by the cultures of emergency medicine and the fire service with lots of input and influences from my many friends in law enforcement and the military. Actually, most people don’t realize how closely we work with law enforcement when we provide emergency medical services to the community. In a major city the police may respond on fifty percent or more of the calls to which you are dispatched. From traffic accidents, attempted suicides, to mass casualty incidents we have to have a deep appreciation and respect for everyone’s role on the public safety team.
Fortunately, many good police officers like to teach so they poured countless hours into my understanding of situational awareness, defensive tactics, de-escalation training, crisis negotiations, scene safety and of course proper gear selection. I can think of nothing that can jam up any operation quicker than having an unexpected equipment failure and no backup system in place. I’ve seen poorly made gear bags fail sending vital equipment to the floor rendering it inoperable, contaminating it or just making a big mess distracting everyone from the mission while we try to compensate.
That’s where OneTigris comes into play. I can feel the spirit of the designers and the makers when I lay hands on the gear. I can tell that each product I’ve worked with so far has been developed from a tactical and practical state of mind. This month I got a chance to work with the Matt Gear Roll and It’s lived up to my every expectation. On the ambulance, I used it as an intubation roll for advanced airway supplies. In my personal vehicle, I use it to keep a complete set of tools at the ready for unexpected situations and a good friend of mine keeps telling me it would make a great portable knife case for a traveling chef.
I have several thoughts for next month’s edition and I would really love to hear your feedback so I can focus on what our readers really want to talk about. Would you like to know more about how to stock a trauma kit for field use in an EDC Pouch or what personal gear to bring for a 72 hour call out so that you can keep your deployment tight and right and not leave vital gear behind? Leave me your feedback in the comments section and until next month stay safe and go out and make the world a better place. Thank you.
Credit: Joseph Brigandi, OneTigris LiFE Ambassador
(To be continued...)