Rowe Combat Emergency Kit.

<XMP><BODY></xmp> Rowe Combat Emergency Kit.

Rowe Combat Emergency Kit.

        Named in honour of Lt. Nick Rowe, but can also be taken to stand for "Rescue Orientated Wilderness Equipment". While many of the items in this kit would be useful when evading an enemy, you are unlikely to get it past a search if you are captured, so I don't regard it as an Escape and Evasion (E&E) kit and am wary of using the term SERE.
        Hence it is referred to as a "Survival, Emergency" or ROWE kit.

        Likelihood of use. The ROWE kit is most likely to be needed when a soldier is isolated from his unit or supply chain. Usually the contents of the Soldier's webbing should sustain him for several days. Webbing (LBE) will probably supply a poncho, knife or bayonet, food and water. Often there will be a metal canteen cup and a Natick stove, and the Soldier will probably have a lighter on his person.
        The ROWE kit comes into use if the unit or individual is cut off for a longer time. It is also used if the webbing is lost or damaged and the Soldier cannot acquire items from his comrades or fallen friend or foe. "Survival kit" is everything you have with you or available in your surroundings, not just something in a tin or pouch.

        An important consideration is that the kit should be with the Soldier.
         Webbing and jackets are often removed, even in an area where combat is likely. These are therefore not good places to store the ROWE kit. It is my feeling that the Soldier should either carry the kit in the thigh pocket of his BDUs or one or more pouches attached to his trouser belt.

        The closest thing that I know of to the ROWE kit is the British Army's Survival tin. This has been used by Soldiers in active service for several decades. Rather than try to re-invent the wheel I've based my proposed ROWE kit on the contents of such a tin, but have addressed what I see as several shortcomings of the Survival tin.

ROWE kit contents

Shelter Space blanket and at least one clear plastic trash bag.
Fire. Butane lighter, Matches, Candle, Flint and steel, Magnifying Glass. Cotton wool for tinder.
Water. Water sterilizing tablets, Condom and/or Latex gloves as water container.
Food, Hunting and Fishing. Fishhooks and Line, Snare Wire.
Cooking Equipment. Sheet of Aluminum Foil.
Medical. Pain reliever, Intestinal sedative, Antibiotic, Antihistamine, Anti-malaria tablets, Butterfly Sutures, Plasters (Band-Aids), Alcohol wipes.
Tools. Wire saw, Scalpel blades, Piece of sharpened hacksaw blade (may also be striker for flint).
Navigation. Button Compass.
Signaling. Heliograph.
Light.. Red LED torch –eg Photon II
Books and writing material.. Pencil, laminated orange cards printed with SERE information.
Rope and Cordage.. Fishing line, spool of dental floss.
Repairs. Sewing kit, several yards of tape rolled up.
Specialist items. Potassium permanganate.
Packs. Pouch, plastic bags.

Assembling a Kit.
Survival tins are available from several sources, and these can be used to supply most of the contents of the ROWE kit.

British Survival Tin

Another Survival Tin

Discard the bottom of the tin. It is too small to boil a decent amount of drinking water and adds unnecessary weight and bulk. Keep the lid, this is your heliograph. Drill a sighting hole in the lid, and another in a corner to attach a lanyard. Add a laminated card with Morse on as a memory aid for when under stress. You can remove some of the rim and sharpen it as a cutting edge, but cover these areas with tape before packing.
Take the cotton wool, put it all in a sealable bag and pour molten vaselene over it. This is your tinder.
Take the hooks and attach each to a length of line, ending in a loop at the other end. Now is the time to tie these knots, not when you are tired and hungry and have cold fingers. You may like to increase the quantity of hooks and line in the kit

To the kit add:-

A small butane disposable lighter
A red LED light. In a tactical situation tasks such as travelling or gathering wood will need to be done at night. An IR strobe such as the Budd Light has been suggested, or better still a Code Strobe. The latter is more likely to be carried in the general kit.
Spool of dental floss:- remove the plastic outer container.
A couple of square feet of turkey foil. Fold this to slightly smaller than the lid.
You may wish to add a piece of sharpened hacksaw blade to the kit if it lacks a knife. Wrap a short section with tape to act as a handle. If laid diagonally across the lid then a blade of 15cm loa can be accommodated. A notch can be ground on the back to act as a barb if this is used as a harpoon. Cutting edge should be taped over before packing. Also tape over the blade of the flint and steel.
Arrange all of the items on the lid, flat as you can and wrap in clingfilm/saran wrap. Place in a freezer bag and place this in the pouch of your choice. You can reinforce the seams of the bag with tape to strengthen it for water carrying.
To this kit add a packed space blanket, clear basha sheet and trash bag. The lack of provision for immediate shelter/weather protections is one of the biggest shortcomings of the traditional survival tin. Addition of these items rectifies this. These are placed in another plastic bag. Add a few elastic bands if you wish.
Mark all drug containers with use and dosage and a run-out date when they should be replaced.
Scalpel blades and the sewing needles should be magnetized before packing.
Tape used should be yellow for the production of fishing floats.
All sharp edges or points that could damage other items should be taped over
A large size latex surgical glove can hold about 750mls of water and is therefore an alternative to condoms for water carrying. A pair of gloves can protect the hands in cold weather. Ideally these gloves should be in a sterile wrapping. If made from condom grade rubber they would probably hold even more water.

The above kit is just a prototype or kit that you can build yourself. Rather than being wrapped up in clingfilm the issue item would probably come as three packages, probably vacuum packed. One would contain the shelter kit, one all the medical items and the third everything else. This allows the medical items to be easily replaced when they pass their "use by" date, which is printed on the pack.

By the Author of the Scrapboard : Blog of the Books.
	Attack, Avoid, Survive: Essential Principles of Self Defence Available in Handy A5 and US Trade Formats. A5 Edition. US Trade Edition. New Global Edition Epub Global Edition Video Webpage
	Survival Weapons: Optimizing Your Arsenal
	Crash Combat Fourth Edition Epub edition Fourth Edition.
	Anatopismo: An Underrealm Novella
	Hell-Ay: Angel Town

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