popular logistics

I’ve been using the AllMedHi-Viz Rescue Vest for a few weeks. Happy to recommend it - worth every penny - although for CERT and other purposes I’d like to see a lower bulk price. For the record, we weren’t given a review sample - and regard this as money well spent. And I intend to assemble a bulk purchase soon. Here are some images.

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It’s great - I’ve worn it every time I’ve been to the park with Lucy and Zoe before dawn, and my guess is that it exceeds ANSI Class III visibility requirements. (AllMed doesn’t make the claim - and for the moment, I’m saying again - it’s a guess). We’ll try to measure visibility soon.

And it has the feel of something well-made and well-designed - very sturdy but not at all uncomfortable.

And it’s got enough pockets that, by itself, it could function as a go-bag or jump bag with the “A” gear - the absolute essentials. We’re going to figure out how much we can stuff in the pockets.

Responders should, of course, add ID - name, units, etc. - but I’d urge anyone doing it to use Reflexite letters - what makes this vest unique is the combination of conspicuity and load carrying ability - i.e., pockets - don’t make it any less reflective if at all possible.

Product page here.

From “Weaving Batteries into Clothes,” by Kevin Bullis, in TechnologyReview.com:

A novel machine that makes nanostructured fibers could be the key to a new generation of military uniforms that take on active functions such as generating and storing energy.

The fibers can be made of up to three different materials, arranged in regular, nanoscale patterns visible in cross section. The machine, manufactured by Hills, of West Melbourne, FL, is one of only two in the world capable of producing such fibers, says Stephen Fossey, a researcher at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center, in Natick, MA. The machine is scheduled to be delivered early next year to the Natick facility, where it will serve as the centerpiece of a program geared to making multifunctional uniforms.

Among the machine’s many potential uses is assembling fibers that act as rechargeable batteries. Angela Belcher, a professor of biological engineering and materials science and engineering at MIT, says that some of the sample structures the device has made could be useful for combining positive and negative battery electrodes and electrolytes into individual threads. Such threads could be woven into uniforms and paired with threads that act as fuel cells or photovoltaics.

The machine was featured last week as part of a workshop on wearable power held at the United States Army Research Laboratory, outside of Washington, DC. The workshop was part of a major push to develop better alternatives to today’s batteries as foot soldiers come to depend more on electronic devices, from night-vision goggles and laser range finders to advanced radios and networked computers. Today, a typical platoon requires almost 900 batteries of up to seven different types for a five-day mission, says Charlene Mello, a member of the macromolecular-science team at the Natick soldier center. Besides being cumbersome to manage and carry, the batteries don’t last very long, which could put soldiers in the position of having to change them in the middle of a fight.

What’s needed are ways to store energy in less space and relieve soldiers of logistical burdens so that they can concentrate on their jobs, says Dave Schimmel, a project manager at the Natick facility who works with experimental technologies that are close to being tested in the field.

Via Danger Room.

ALLMED , based in Russellville, Missouri, sells a range of EMS - and a few products designed in-house. One of these is their high-visibility vest, pictured below:

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We’ve seen a lot of reflective vests; they usually don’t have any pockets; and the reverse - high-utility, load-bearing, lots of pockets - but in olive drab, black, or camo. This has both, and it’s reasonably priced at $55.

Catalog page here.

We’ve had an order in for one since they first placed it in their catalogue, and I understand the first batch is due shortly from the manufacturer.

With ID information (unit, name, etc.) on the back - this might be an ideal purchase for CERT or other teams.

We’d like to see the rest of  - here’s Paglen’s description:

Military culture is filled with a totemic visual language consisting of symbols and insignia that signify everything from various unit and command affiliations to significant events, and noteworthy programs. A typical uniform will sport patches identifying its wearer’s job, program affiliation, achievements and place within the military hierarchy. These markers of identity and program heraldry begin to create a peculiar symbolic regime when they depict one’s affiliation with what defense-industry insiders call the “black world” – the world of classified programs, projects, and places, whose outlines, even existence, are deeply-held secrets. Nonetheless, the Pentagon’s “black world” is replete with the rich symbolic language that characterizes other, less obscure, military activities.

Paglen’s onto something. In our (limited) experience of this culture - some of this culture actually has some humor - in the choice of cover names, for instance, which are inside jokes. (We have a couple in mind that we think are pretty clever, but are hard-pressed to think of one we can discuss publicly and responsibly). This doesn’t, of course, detract in the slightest from the coolness of what Paglen has done;

Via Trevor Paglen.

CERT teams all over the country are acquiring safety vests, often at generous prices, and generally in green, with a CERT logo. Here are a couple of examples: R&B , DMS, and Wholesale First Aid Supply and GSS. What these garments have in common - excessive price aside, is that they’re forest green, and employ little, if any conspicuity (reflective) materials. The green CERT vests  don’t, for instance, remotely comply with the ANSI Class III standard: visible, 360 degrees at 1,000 (I think, in fact, the rule calls for 1,250 feet), in low-light, poor-visibility. That’s about as much time as a driver, driving 30 miles an hour, would have to stop if he or she noticed the person at 1,250 feet. (That is, a driving, in a crisis, foulweather, at thirty miles an hour, has about thirty seconds to stop).

Some of these vendors do sell ANSI-III compliant vests, at reasonable prices. But few of them have any pockets at all - those that do have very few pockets. None seem adjustable so as to be usable in cold weather (over many other layers) or hot to be worn over summer clothing, and comply with the ANSI visibility standard, and be useful for securely carrying the gear which CERT or SAR team members should and will have: radios, batteries, food, hand tools, etc.

There’s the way in which the forest green vest constitute bad advice: in a chaotic situation - why would we be assuming that amidst a power failure or flood, CERT members aren’t going to be walking around, running messages, and even directing traffic.

Apart from the direct virtues of wearing vests: (visibility and the consequent reduction of accidents, carrying tools, and in some cases, of course, flotation and insulation) they’re also useful for keeping track of team members - they’re also useful for inspiring confidence in the public in an emergency. Since CERT teams are often self-financed, the vest may be the only “uniform” component. They should also convey confidence and functionality because - as generals have known for hundreds, if not thousands of years - the “uniform,” whatever that is, can be a recruitment tool (”I want to wear one of those”) or an obstacle to recruitment (”This CERT thing’s a great idea, but I really don’t want to wear that, especially if anyone I know is anywhere around”), especially among younger prospects. (I’m a member of a CERT in which the average age of members is in my view, somewhat higher than one would like. Put another way, we’re not turning away lots of 20- and 30- somethings who spend a lot of time in the gym.

So wouldn’t we prefer that CERT members will have, train in, and, in emergencies, wear highly visible, ANSI compliant, sturdy, flattering cargo-carrying vests. And affordable - did I mention that?

At the other end of the market are well-designed and manufactured SAR vests, like the Robert Rutter vest now manufactured by CMC rescue. This vest commands the dramatic sum of $369. It’s my understanding that CMC’s own manufactured gear is excellent. Price saide, however, wouldn’t it make more sense for search-and-rescue workers to wear vests (generally the outermost garment) in a color other than black and olive drab? We’re considering the possibility of purchasing these and adding reflexite or other prismatic  reflective panels - but the price - in excess of the cost of a new 16-channel 5-watt radio - seems very high.

The search for an optimal CERT vest continues. Popular Logistics would like to hear from any of you that might help us, and our other readers, who are responsible for procurement for CERT’s, SAR,s and similar groups.