If you’ve ever said “We’ll just set up a walking blood bank when we need it,” this episode will make you rethink everything. Dennis and Andrew Fisher drop straight fire on how to actually build, stock, train, and run a real walking blood bank on a FOB, Firebase, or any austere base — not just theory, but the exact steps special operators and conventional medics are using right now to save lives when the next mass casualty hits.

No fluff. No “somebody else will handle it.” Just battle-tested, practical guidance on turning your team (and the units around you) into a living blood bank that can deliver fresh whole blood in under 30 minutes.

Key Takeaways You Can Use Tomorrow

• Pre-type every donor (especially O’s) and keep the roster with key leaders and medics — Medpros + secondary confirmation beats dog tags every time.
• Distribute kits across the team so one casualty doesn’t wipe out all your supplies.
• Practice full collections with non-medics — they can (and will) be your force multipliers.
• Have donor questionnaires filled out in advance for anyone outside your unit; do Eldon cards in calm conditions, never under fire.
• Plan for 20–30 minutes from alert to transfusion — that window dictates how long you have to bridge with other resuscitation tools.
• Principles over perfection: good stick + patent line + practiced team beats fancy equipment every single time.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Welcome & Why Most Walking Blood Banks Stay TheoreticalThe dangerous gap between “we have a plan” and actually practicing it.
• 02:30 – Preferred Blood & ABO Typing Your Entire ForceLow-titer O whole blood, Medpros screening, lab vs. Eldon cards, and why you double-type.
• 08:45 – Eldon Cards: When They Work (and When They Don’t)Calm pre-mission testing vs. chaos — real talk on reliability.
• 13:20 – Supplies & Logistics: Bags, Kits, Refrigeration & Cold ChainFenwal vs. Terumo, how many kits to order, and smart storage hacks.
• 19:10 – Point-of-Injury Kits & Load DistributionWhat medics carry, what teammates carry under plates, and spreading risk.
• 24:40 – IV Technique, Saline Locks & Point-of-Care TestingWhy 18-gauge + PRN adapter wins, donor screening, and host-nation considerations.
• 31:15 – Donor Questionnaires & Pre-ScreeningWhen to use them, multilingual options, and why you do this before the fight.
• 35:50 – Selling It to Commanders & Multi-Unit CoordinationRisk-benefit talk that actually works: mutual support, 100+ years of history, and 10,000+ units transfused.
• 41:20 – Real Timelines: 20–30 Minutes from Call to TransfusionTraining goals, the 15-minute bag-fill rule, and why practice beats classroom speed.
• 47:30 – Closing Principles & Final ThoughtsForce multiplication, non-medics stepping up, and adapting under pressure.

Whether you’re ODA, Ranger, conventional, or just preparing for the next deployment — this is the episode that turns “we should do a walking blood bank” into “here’s exactly how we’re doing it.”

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“Nothing gets easier in flight.”That single line from today’s guest says it all. Dennis is joined by Rich — SOF medic and flight medicine veteran — for a no-fluff masterclass on preparing patients for rotary-wing, ground, or even submarine evacuation. From rotor wash nightmares to 48-hour critical care handovers, this episode is pure gold for medics who want their patients to survive the bird, not just board it.

Whether you’re a ground medic with 30 seconds to hand off or a flight crew managing vents at altitude, these lessons will tighten your game, cut preventable errors, and keep aircraft off the deck longer than they need to be.

KEY TAKEAWAYS YOU CAN USE TOMORROW

• Accurate MIST saves airframes and lives — over-triage or fake intel has real consequences.
• Document what the flight medic can’t see (drugs, last dose/time, hidden injuries).
• Get access and secure everything on the ground — nothing magically gets easier at 500 feet and 120 knots.
• Stage 5–10 minutes early when possible. Headspace + rehearsed handover beats chaos every time.
• Redundancy is king in prolonged/critical care handovers: bring backups to the backups.
• Trend vitals and nursing care — clean the patient, position them, prevent DVT, manage contamination.
• Know your receiving asset — a vented patient handed to someone who’s never touched one is now your problem again.
• Balance speed vs. life-saving interventions — don’t skip a finger thoracostomy just because the bird is 30 seconds out.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 – Welcome back to the PFC Podcast
• 00:06 – Introducing Rich: soft medic & flight medicine expert
• 01:44 – The brutal environment of rotary-wing medicine (lost senses, airspace surveillance, cable chaos)
• 04:08 – Classic ground-medic mistakes (and how to stop making them)
• 06:24 – Why accurate MIST actually matters (and how bad intel wastes lives & airframes)
• 09:05 – The moped-vs-gunfight story every medic needs to hear
• 13:55 – Standard aircraft loadout + what “special equipment” really means
• 17:39 – Bare-minimum documentation when rotors are inbound (what to write in 30 seconds)
• 20:02 – Handover acronyms that actually work (MIST vs. CIT-D + physical pointing trick)
• 22:28 – Trust but verify: how flight medics reassess once the patient is aboard
• 24:28 – Why ground access & securing lines is non-negotiable
• 26:45 – Staging early, litter drills, and not racing to the rotor wash
• 30:40 – Prolonged field care → critical care transport handovers
• 31:30 – Is the patient ever “too unstable” to fly? (battlefield reality check)
• 34:41 – Prepping the patient like you’re handing off an ICU bed
• 37:08 – Self-evac gear philosophy: treat the patient as if nothing was done yet
• 41:32 – Pain management in the air — when to bump vs. load long-acting
• 44:31 – Monitoring in flight (what still works when your senses are gone)
• 46:58 – Over-optimizing for transport: trending, nursing care, contamination control
• 49:25 – Know who you’re handing off to (and why it matters for the truck ride)
• 49:58 – Outro & resources

For more content go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.prolongedfieldcare.org

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