You’ve probably heard all these sayings about preparation:
An ounce of preparation is better than a pound of cure.
Sweat during training, it saves blood on the battlefield.
Prepare for the worst, expect the best.
By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail.
The best preparation for tomorrow is by doing your best today.
There are knowns you can prepare for, like the arrival of a child, retirement, a future vacation, an incoming storm, a competition or The Marathon. Each of these have their own particular and unique maxim and variables. Knowing what to prepare for means you can take the appropriate actions to ensure success.
You can also prepare for specific situations even though they may have an unknown event time or maybe they never happen.
Such as having to call 9-1-1 or having to draw your conceal carry pistol to protect and preserve life.
This week, the good Lord put me in the position to call 9-1-1 and help someone. I was prepared, in large part because I knew that Low Flying Pilots Eat Tacos and Salsa Makes Nacho’s Nasty.
What the hell do Pilots and Nachos have to do with being prepared?
9-lines. Really it only takes the first 5, but knowing all 9 really helps.
There are 9-lines of communication that have saved lives on battlefields across the globe.
Providing first aid is the foremost and most effective act at saving a life. This has been learned the hard way by the U.S. Army in combat. After learning how to stand at attention and do pushups, the next thing the Army started teaching me was that Really Big Boobs Should Fit Both Hands and what actions to take if they do.
We’ll get into that more later, until then let’s get back to these Low Flying Pilots and Nachos.
In addition to evaluating a casualty and providing life saving first-aid, it was my duty to know how to summon “Dustoff”. The Air Medevac, via Helicopter, that would swoop in with highly trained pilots and flight medics and make way to the nearest field hospital. It is the equivalent of calling 9-1-1 in a combat zone.
The MEDEVAC requires specific information to ensure the pilots and flight medics arrive safely and prepared. Thus we give a specified set of lines of communications.
Location: Of the injured Soldier.
Frequency: The internal secure frequency that the requesting element is using.
Patients by Precedence: List the patients by most severe to least severe.
Equipment: Is there any special equipment (medical or extraction) required.
Patients by Type: Are the patients in a litter or can they walk.
Security: What is the security posture at the Pickup Zone (PZ).
Markings: How will the PZ be marked for the pilots to see.
Nationality of Patients: U.S. Soldiers, Coalition Forces, Enemy Forces, etc.
NBC: Any contaminants, Nuclear, Biological or Chemical present on site.
I can still recite these lines without even thinking. That’s the thing about training, it makes you prepared.
The days of calling a 9-line medevac are behind me. However I remain prepared to call 9-1-1.
An Orange Rain Coat.
You don’t see many people with a bright orange rain jacket. The color is usually reserved to hunters, hoping to be seen from a distance and not be mistaken as a deer or other large animal for harvesting. The blaze orange rain jacket is meant to be seen.
That’s exactly why I bought it.
To be seen. While walking through parking lot, or crossing a field or having to walk from a broken down car.
On this day, the orange rain coat would provide protection from the rain while I called 9-1-1 and alert other drivers to my location.
I was returning from the grocery store around 2pm, just before the height of the storms, when I saw a wrecker truck in my lane, parked and facing against traffic next to an overturned Jeep in the roadside ditch.
My initial thought was that the truck was there to recover the Jeep, although it was weird he did not have his yellow hazard lights on.
That was the first indication that something was amiss. I started assessing the situation, what resources were available and what could be done. My mental checklist ticked off in rapid succession. I have a first aid kit in my Jeep with a tourniquet along with a blanket and fire extinguisher although no fire was present. The commercial flatbed truck certainly had a first aid kit available and there were houses nearby that would have something to make a splint if needed or apply more pressure bandages if needed. The wrecker truck was already blocking traffic and the threat of other vehicles causing more damage was minimal.
I saw the driver jump from his vehicle and immediately down to the Jeep! I put on my hazard lights and stopped just off the road, ensuring I myself wouldn’t roll into the ditch. I hopped out and ran down to the overturned Jeep whilst the truck driver was opening the drivers door.
“Is anyone hurt?”
“No, I don’t think so” replied the truck driver.
“Has anyone called 9-1-1?”
“I just got here, It just happened. I don’t think so”
I grabbed my phone and called 9-1-1, ensuring to remain calm while simultaneously identifying a street sign, house number on a mailbox, the sign of a housing area and a description of the wrecker truck blocking traffic.
“9-1-1, What’s your emergency?"
At that point, other drivers were stopped and hopping out to provide help. A few men helped the young woman extract herself from the vehicle. A woman took to her side, providing comforting words and a welcoming hug. While talking to the operator she asked all the questions in almost similar sequence to the 9-line stated above. In short order the local Fire Department was on scene and properly assessing the situation and in just seconds an ambulance arrived to provide a proper evaluation and aid. Luckily the young woman appeared fine.
How did I know the young woman appeared fine?
It all comes down to knowing that Really Big Boobs Should Fit Both Hands.
How to evaluate a casualty 101.
Responsiveness, Bleeding, Breathing, Shock, Fractures, Burns and Head Injuries.
You just got to love the Army, especially the Field Artillery Branch I was raised in, with 100% males, most of us under the age of 25. The acronym was a perfect fit.
I’ll never forget it. It’s stuck in my grey matter like bubble gum in hair.
Sure enough, the 9-1-1 operator asked me a series of questions that fulfilled all of the pertinent information that would be associated with RBBSFBH.
I was prepared for this situation. Why? Because of training, knowledge and a love of my fellow man that if they were in trouble, I’d be an asset and not a liability. In this case, everything was fine, except a shaken up young woman and some damage to the Jeep, but nothing that either couldn’t overcome.
Prepared for life.
The demands of life can be heavy and not just physically. They can be mentally stressful and emotional burdensome and most likely all three at once. I firmly believe that a strong body will only have a positive effect in helping with the mental and emotional toll of simply being an adult. It evens things out and reduces the oscillation of feelings through good and bad times.
I could write an entire series on preparation and the steps one could take to be as prepared as possible.
Such things as every American Citizen should have a Pistol, Shotgun and Rifle with sufficient training and ammunition to protect yourself and your loved ones. Being prepared for storms with food, water, generators, lights and fuel and more.
In this Long Run of life, it helps to be prepared.
It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
Being prepared for storms, especially hurricanes here in North Carolina is essential. My level of preparation provides comfort and security to my family. It reduces anxiety and allows the family to sleep peacefully at night. While my son was in middle school, there was a bad Hurricane set to hit our region and the teachers were discussing preparedness. My son came home, wound up tight and worried. He wanted to know if we’d make it through the storm because the teacher seemed worried. I let him know, all is well.
Here’s a glimpse into my storm preparation for my family. We have what we need to survive more than a month, but in our society, it’s clear things will break down in less than a week if services are not restored. Regardless, here is my preparation:
Food, Water, Generators (x3), Fuel/Oil, Extension Cords, Space Heaters, Window A/C units, Extension Cords, Flashlights, Batteries, Medicine, Emergency Radios, 2-way Radios, Chainsaw, 4x4 vehicle w/ground clearance, tow ropes, firearms, toilet paper, new roof on the house, first starting material, propane grills, camping stoves, candles, matches and fire extinguishers.
As a runner, I have no less than 5 headlamps. It’s a thing. We’re prepared.
Tough Training leads to Proper Preparation.
Training for the Marathon is rigorous. Training for life takes discipline and effort. Only when you are tested will you know if you are prepared. Sometimes those tests happen with a crack of lightning and your electricity is out for 3 days. Sometimes that test is known, such as racing in a Marathon and the training needed to be prepared is tough, relentless and requires discipline and effort.
“The best preparation for tomorrow is by doing your best today.”