The Wild World of TB!

So I got approached to post this article written by JT "Lonegunman" Rudolph. Seems like this might need to be said, but we shall see what others think of it. So here it is.

Being a cadet in the police academy, I belong to a lot of emailing lists, and get a buttload of press releases from companies that manufacture LE products, medical supplies, and stuff of that nature, to the stores that carry those products. I received a rather interesting one this afternoon, from an LE/EMS supply house. Apparently, there are a bunch of fake tourniquets floating around the market, which are not only here in the U.S., but are winding up overseas in the hands of our military personnel.

Yes, there are a lot of fakes and counterfeit products in the world, however, these being made for the airsoft/mil-sim market.

The company, Element Airsoft (http://www.world-element.com/), specializes in making cheap airsoft/mil-sim products, from sights, pistol accessories, AEG accessories, microphones, you name it. However, the item in question is this (Click here to see it), their Combat Application Tourniquet.

A group called the Coalition For Tactical Medicine released a safety alert in regards to these fake tourniquets, and posted a PDF comparison between the counterfeit and the authentic product (PDF Here) to highlight the minor differences between the real and the fake. These fake tourniquets aren't made to the proper specs, and when used, will break and fail to save the life of whoever it is being used on.

Now, you may be wondering why these fakes are winding up in the hands of servicemen abroad and being sold through other official channels. Simply put, as shown in the above PDF, Element Airsoft is using the same National Stock Number on their fakes that the real company (NARP, Inc) uses on theirs. If you punched in the NSN and ordered whatever popped up, it could be the real ones, it could be the fakes.

This is taking it way too fucking far. They were made for airsoft/mil-sim weekend warriors to poke in an IFAK or stick in an entry vest and look cool, however, it is having disastrous consequences. It isn't about looking cool anymore. There has already been one reported case of a fake tourniquet failing, resulting in a fatality, and until supplies can be checked, there may be even more.

One person lost their life, supplies will have to be rechecked all over the world, all in the name of playing dress up on the weekends. Whatever line there was, they just crossed it.