When was the last time you learned to stop a serious bleed? If you're like most people, especially  outside of the tactical enthusiast community, that answer is probably a deafening, "Never."  At some point, everyone has probably heard the basics such as direct pressure, and knows that bandages & tourniquets are things. However, there's a significant difference between knowing that a thing exists and actually knowing how to use it in a real emergency.A while back, I talked to Doc Larsen of One Shepherd about building a minimum capable skillset for prepared citizens. As we got into the conversation, the very first thing that he thought everyone should learn was first aid.His reasoning was sound. We are all far more likely to have use first aid skills in an emergency than we are shooting skills. That might look like an accident in the kitchen, a car crash, natural disaster, or a camping trip gone wrong. None of those immediately require care under fire, but you still have the opportunity to save someone's life.https://youtu.be/pZVzFRsfT4MStart Here More recently, I established the Everyday Marksman gear acquisition hierarchy. The point was establishing a general order of purchase for equipment. Along with that came several suggestions for training. In that lowest level of the pyramid, I mentioned a basic first aid kit and training to go along with it. My suggestion was starting with a Stop the Bleed Course, offered all over the country. That course is enough to teach anyone the bare basics and point them in the right direction of equipment they should also keep on hand. But, then what comes next? To me, the next obvious answer is diving into Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC). Many training organizations around the country offer Combat Lifesaver courses to civilians as well as law enforcement and military. As an additional suggestion, I also think it's worthwhile to look into various Wilderness First Aid courses, as they have an emphasis on treatment when emergency medical care isn't immediately available. You'll find that this also informs different set of medical equipment beyond what's in the typical "blowout kit." So What Goes in the First Aid Kit? Let's divide first aid for prepared civilians into two categories. The first is the most severe, and that includes traumatic injury like gunshots, impalement, massive hemorrhage, or other items we typically think of as "tactical first aid." This is what most of us build our IFAKs around. Since I'm not an expert here, I talked to my friend Justin of Swift Silent Deadly. He's a former special operations member with a variety of skills, and currently spends time working as an emergency medical technician. He boiled down the bare essentials to only a few items: * Tourniquet(s) * Chest seals * Hemostatic agent * Compression bandage (optional, but good to have) In his words, the general sequence of events looks something like this: If it's bleed on an extremity, then put a tourniquet on it. Bleeds from the body cavity, such as the chest or torso, get a "sticker" (aka chest seals), and junctional wounds like the armpit or hip get packed with hemostatic agent. To this minimalist kit, I would also add a pair of nitrile gloves. This minimalist kit, not including the TQ, should fit in even the smallest first aid pouches. If you have a bit more room, though, there are a few more items that are helpful to have: * Trauma dressing (if not already in kit)