IDF combat soldiers receive advanced first aid kits

The Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) combat soldiers, on brigade training bases across Israel, have received new advanced first aid kits, as part of the Medical Corps’ Protect My Brother program of upgrades.

Intended to provide each combat soldier with superior personal protection in a simple and effective way, the kits include advanced arterial pressure tourniquets, ergonomic earplugs, modern safety goggles and durable bandages.

IDF chief medical officer brigadier general Itzik Kreiss said, "The number of casualties from war to war is on a downward trend, and also the total fatalities out of those wounded, but our aim is to arrive at a single-digit percentage."

"Stopping bleeding on the battlefield is one way to achieve this, and we will emphasize the importance of the kit among the fighters."

Bleeding has been the cause of about 80% of deaths in first aid scenarios.

The new kit includes a key arterial pressure tourniquet component known as the combat application tourniquet (CAT), which helps in stopping bleeding.

A total of 43,000 pairs of US-manufactured protective goggles have also been purchased for the soldiers and a broader procurement is being planned to shape in June 2013.

The Medical Equipment Center head lieutenant colonel Yaakov Mendelovich said, "The goggles will be distributed in the kits that arrive at basic training bases and will be transferred to each recruit."