An insecticide may not immediately come to mind as a vital component of a survival kit, but for those serving in the military, it can be critical. When soldiers are deployed, an insecticide is a helpful addition to survival kits to keep their surroundings and food clear of damaging pests.
Since 1980, Tactical & Survival Specialties Inc. (TSSi) has provided high-quality equipment, like survival kits and medic bags, to military, emergency medical providers and law enforcement both in the United States and in foreign countries. Only the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force have personnel trained in the use of the kits; the Marine Corps receives support for these types of needs from Navy personnel. Among TSSi’s offerings is a field sanitation kit for U.S. Army companies that contains Demand CS insecticide from Syngenta Professional Pest Management and Victor snap traps from Woodstream.
Demand CS is an authorized pesticide by the Armed Forces Pest Management Board, and therefore approved for use within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It offers protection against more than 30 insects and provides three months of residual control — whether soldiers come into contact with bed bugs, mosquitoes or ticks in barracks, tents or buildings.
Tom Little, director of strategic accounts for TSSi, explains that Demand CS was researched and identified for inclusion in the kits in December 2014 because of its active ingredient, which was already authorized for use within the DOD.
Little explains that soldiers go to a formal preventive medicine school to be trained to use any form of pesticides. “The only ones authorized to handle these pesticides are graduates of this school,” he says. “These graduates, along with Environmental Science Officers (ESO), are assigned in support of a variety of military organizations. One ESO, for example, will often support a U.S. Army brigade — 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers — while preventive medicine-trained soldiers are often present within every company, which is usually comprised of between 150 and 300 soldiers as part of the brigade. The numbers for both of these generic organizations can vary greatly.”
In addition to the standard version, TSSi also provides custom Field Sanitation Kits, “wherein the customer can specify the exact components and quantities they need in order to fulfill
their unique requirements,” Little says.
“All of these items have been approved by the Armed Forces Pest Management Board for military use.” Custom kits are also available to civilians.
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