Field Logistics

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Field Logistics handbooks (pdf)

Food, Water, Shelter, Medical

The criteria for deployment includes the need for the disaster site to be logistically manageable and physically safe. That said, it is a disaster zone. 

To keep ourselves from becoming a liability to the other response teams:  
  • Water will be carried in modest amounts (five gallons). We will each have a personal quart or more at all times. We will also each have Puralytics Solar Bags and, of course, large scale clean water processing is integral to our mission.
  • Food will come in compact forms: meal bars, jerky, FishPeople entrees, dried fruit, nuts, etc. Boiling water will be logistically difficult, so popular backpacking options such as Mountain House and Backpacker’s Pantry are not recommended. Also, although we may be offered MREs by local military, Humanitarian Daily Rations by UN agencies and home cooked meals by local survivors, we cannot rely on these options. We will dine in hotels and restaurants in staging areas. Remember to get receipts if we don't pay for you. 
  • Shelter will be tents when we are not under a roof. Men  will share tents (2 per). Women will have individual tents unless they choose otherwise. A man may bring his own tent if he prefers not to share (and that's a common choice), though he should be prepared to lose it during the trip through damage. It is not a reimbursable expense.
  • Medical care is a constant concern, though fortunately rarely an issue. Many problems can be avoided by simple techniques such as handwashing, foot care and wearing reflective clothing. Prompt attention to splinters, blisters, scrapes and strains can prevent a small trauma from becoming a medical crisis.  

Power

We cannot complete our mission without reliable sources of energy. Generators will be left behind in the disaster zone to continue to supply power to water purification systems.

Our default will be a 2000 watt multi-fuel generator. Two of the best are the Honda EU2000i and the Yamaha EF2000iS (manual), which are used all over the world for emergency and remote power. Each is lightweight, reliable, quiet, efficient and adequate to any task we need to perform within the camp.

The Puralytics Shield System draws about 570 watts during water purification. The generators produce 2000 watts, so there will be more than enough left over for laptops, area LED lighting and recharging cellphones and tablets.

In many countries, including the US, generators are illegal for air transport, so purchasing near the disaster site may be necessary. Fuel provisioning can be difficult, so will also be testing out alternative sources—solar, microhydro, fuel cell, wind and long-term batteries (mostly metal-air)—during training and on deployments. We welcome new ideas. 

Our first stage high-volume biological-focused water purification system is all solar and battery powered. That stage removes viruses, bacteria, protozoa, ad fungi. Our second stage, which removes all biologicals plus organic chemicals (fuels, pesticides and fertilizers) plus metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic, is powered by the generator. 

Note: the breakdown of some biological and organic materials releases small amounts of elemental substances (like iron, calcium, flouride, and copper) contained within those materials as a result of the breakdown process. That is normal and benign. Just be aware you may see small increases of those elements in lab results.  

 

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