Wonder What’s in Santa’s Go Kit?

Season’s Greetings! From all of us here at EMSI, we wish you and yours the happiest of holidays.

Traveling the world in one evening takes a lot of preparation. Not just the logistics of delivering toys to boy and girls, but accomplishing the element of preparedness to ensure that the mission can be completed. Late deliveries are not an option.

As any experienced and prepared incident responder knows, maintaining a comprehensive Go Kit is crucial in responding quickly and effectively to an emergency. Although toy delivery is not an emergency, the preparedness necessary to ensure success year after year is very similar. With that in mind, EMSI recently spoke with an elf off the record to learn what Santa Claus carries in his Go Kit.

The first item in Santa’s kit is to pack a couple sets of clothes for his trip, to include a long sleeve shirt for those chilly climates. This is key to ensuring that he can quickly change in the event he gets wet or excessively dirty from chimney soot. Packing a spare set of shoes or boots is a godsend if your feet get wet. Additionally, a blanket or sleeping bag are packed for extra warmth.

Next is sustenance. Traveling can work up an appetite, and there may not be a spot available to grab something when you’re famous like Santa. So in his kit, Santa likes to pack bottled water, some dried fruit and nuts, and perhaps some canned carrots for the reindeer. These emergency rations are for the rare case that the sleigh breaks down and cookies, milk, and carrots are not readily accessible.

Speaking of the sleigh, much like your car, maintenance is critical to ensuring it’s up to its task of circling the globe in one evening. The elves spend hours ensuring that it’s up to speed and well maintained. The last thing we need is a broken reindeer harness or snow runner to slow Santa’s worldwide schedule.

Checklists make life easier. Much like the checklists found in EMSI job aids, Santa and his elves have checklists to ensure everything gets done. The one you are likely most familiar with is his naughty and nice list. Without this list, it would seem impossible to remember who’s been good and who has not.

Another piece that’s crucial is to establish an accountability process, so the elves and Mrs. Claus know where and when Santa should be and can investigate if he’s not where he’s supposed to be. Fortunately, NORAD has developed a tracker for everyone to follow Santa’s movement, so the elves can cross reference his intended schedule against the actual speed over ground to determine if Santa is on track. You can follow Santa’s travels at www.noradsanta.org.

There are a few other items that the elf recommended adding to your checklist and go bag. Things like a weather radio, backup power for Santa’s electronics (cell, GPS), a Rite in the Rain pad and pens to jot notes, and a flashlight. And, no one likes to talk about it, but an empty bucket functions as an emergency toilet in case all those cookies and milk don’t sit right in that jolly old elf’s belly.

Hopefully, Santa’s list has inspired you to start your own Go Kit. The time to start thinking of what you need to deploy is not when it’s time to deploy. Talk with your peers, review your after-action reports, and start assembling your own Go Kit, so you know what you need when the time comes. Need help building a Go Kit for your organization?  Contact an IMT Gear specialist for assistance. Our team understands your needs and is dedicated to serving you.

We wish you all the best in 2019 and hope to hear from you in the coming year!

EMSI is a service-disabled veteran owned, minority business enterprise (MBE) that supports a broad range of clients. To learn more about EMSI and how we can help your organization’s response preparedness, please visit www.emsics.com.