Survival Preparation

What if you was stranded could you survive
What if you was stranded for weeks / months on end and all you had was yourself and a few small children ,no food no water and no help .
How would you survive ?
Can you hunt ?
Can you cook over a open flame (campfire) ?
Can you gather plants that are eatable and not poisonous ?
Can you build a shelter from the elements ?
Can you gather water and sterilize it ?

Flooding in Pakistan, Eathquakes in Haiti & China, Landslides, Global Warming..

Are these events all related, or is the media simply at its most powerful in history, bringing a world-wide feed of disastrous news?

Personally, I think it is a bit of both. I’m not alone in the feeling that the earth is “straining” under the weight of humans incessant need to mine, extract and then burn fossil fuels in order to sustain our energy requirements. I also believe there has not been a time in history when news travels so fast.

So where is this madness heading?

Sorry, I don’t have a solid answer on this one either. But what I can tell you is i’m in no way relying on someone else to take care of me when shit hits the fan in my part of the woods.

Hey there. I’m JoAnn and Vernon , and you’ve found my survival orientated website: Survival Skills.

I’m a keen survivalist, outdoors-man, recreational hunter and fisherman, and above all a prepared individual ready to survive if and when disaster strikes. I’ve built this site to help you learn more about disaster preparation, to ease the strain on the “public” systems should the dreaded occur, and to increase your and your families chances of surviving disaster, both natural and man made.

Some are interested in preparing up to a certain level. Most are not interested in preparing at all. The resources, financial and otherwise, you have available to you, as well as your priorities will set the limit to how thoroughly you wish to prepare for disaster. First comes knowledge, second understanding, and thirdly preparation.

I hope you can find the information on survival skills here, to spark your survival preparation.

Good luck!

Wilderness Survival is not a game, there is no reward challenges, and there is no immunity.How do you think you would fare in a survival situation? Could you build a shelter? Could you light a fire without matches? Could you forage for food and purify water? In real life you don’t have luxury items, you don’t get tarps and matches and camping supplies. In real life you may not have any tools except your own two hands. If you were stranded in the wilderness would you end up a survivor? take action and educate yourself on survival techniques. Nature is unforgiving and you must be prepared to fight to stay alive. The contents of this website are taken from actual US Army training manuals, this is the same material used to train the best army in the world. You will not find a more complete resource on Wilderness Survival. So prepare yourself because one day you may need it.

S -Size Up the Situation

If you are in a combat situation, find a place where you can conceal yourself from the enemy. Remember, security takes priority. Use your senses of hearing, smell, and sight to get a feel for the battlefield. What is the enemy doing? Advancing? Holding in place? Retreating? You will have to consider what is developing on the battlefield when you make your survival plan.

Size Up Your Surroundings

Determine the pattern of the area. Get a feel for what is going on around you. Every environment, whether forest, jungle, or desert, has a rhythm or pattern. This rhythm or pattern includes animal and bird noises and movements and insect sounds. It may also include enemy traffic and civilian movements.

Size Up Your Physical Condition

The pressure of the battle you were in or the trauma of being in a survival situation may have caused you to overlook wounds you received. Check your wounds and give yourself first aid. Take care to prevent further bodily harm. For instance, in any climate, drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration. If you are in a cold or wet climate, put on additional clothing to prevent hypothermia.

Size Up Your Equipment

Perhaps in the heat of battle, you lost or damaged some of your equipment. Check to see what equipment you have and what condition it is in.

Now that you have sized up your situation, surroundings, physical condition, and equipment, you are ready to make your survival plan. In doing so, keep in mind your basic physical needs–water, food, and shelter.
U -Use All Your Senses, Undue Haste Makes Waste

You may make a wrong move when you react quickly without thinking or planning. That move may result in your capture or death. Don’t move just for the sake of taking action. Consider all aspects of your situation (size up your situation) before you make a decision and a move. If you act in haste, you may forget or lose some of your equipment. In your haste you may also become disoriented so that you don’t know which way to go. Plan your moves. Be ready to move out quickly without endangering yourself if the enemy is near you. Use all your senses to evaluate the situation. Note sounds and smells. Be sensitive to temperature changes. Be observant.
R -Remember Where You Are

Spot your location on your map and relate it to the surrounding terrain. This is a basic principle that you must always follow. If there are other persons with you, make sure they also know their location. Always know who in your group, vehicle, or aircraft has a map and compass. If that person is killed, you will have to get the map and compass from him. Pay close attention to where you are and to where you are going. Do not rely on others in the group to keep track of the route. Constantly orient yourself. Always try to determine, as a minimum, how your location relates to–

The location of enemy units and controlled areas.

The location of friendly units and controlled areas.

The location of local water sources (especially important in the desert).

Areas that will provide good cover and concealment.

This information will allow you to make intelligent decisions when you are in a survival and evasion situation.
V -Vanquish Fear and Panic

The greatest enemies in a combat survival and evasion situation are fear and panic. If uncontrolled, they can destroy your ability to make an intelligent decision. They may cause you to react to your feelings and imagination rather than to your situation. They can drain your energy and thereby cause other negative emotions. Previous survival and evasion training and self-confidence will enable you to vanquish fear and panic.
I -Improvise

In the United States, we have items available for all our needs. Many of these items are cheap to replace when damaged. Our easy come, easy go, easy-to-replace culture makes it unnecessary for us to improvise. This inexperience in improvisation can be an enemy in a survival situation. Learn to improvise. Take a tool designed for a specific purpose and see how many other uses you can make of it.

Learn to use natural objects around you for different needs. An example is using a rock for a hammer. No matter how complete a survival kit you have with you, it will run out or wear out after a while. Your imagination must take over when your kit wears out.
V -Value Living

All of us were born kicking and fighting to live, but we have become used to the soft life. We have become creatures of comfort. We dislike inconveniences and discomforts. What happens when we are faced with a survival situation with its stresses, inconveniences, and discomforts? This is when the will to live- placing a high value on living-is vital. The experience and knowledge you have gained through life and your Army training will have a bearing on your will to live. Stubbornness, a refusal to give in to problems and obstacles that face you, will give you the mental and physical strength to endure.
A -Act Like the Natives

The natives and animals of a region have adapted to their environment. To get a feel of the area, watch how the people go about their daily routine. When and what do they eat? When, where, and how do they get their food? When and where do they go for water? What time do they usually go to bed and get up? These actions are important to you when you are trying to avoid capture.

Animal life in the area can also give you clues on how to survive. Animals also require food, water, and shelter. By watching them, you can find sources of water and food.

WARNING

Animals cannot serve as an absolute guide to what you can eat and drink. Many animals eat plants that are toxic to humans.

Keep in mind that the reaction of animals can reveal your presence to the enemy.

If in a friendly area, one way you can gain rapport with the natives is to show interest in their tools and how they get food and water. By studying the people, you learn to respect them, you often make valuable friends, and, most important, you learn how to adapt to their environment and increase your chances of survival.
L -Live by Your Wits, But for Now, Learn Basic Skills

Without training in basic skills for surviving and evading on the battlefield, your chances of living through a combat survival and evasion situation are slight.

Learn these basic skills now–not when you are headed for or are in the battle. How you decide to equip yourself before deployment will impact on whether or not you survive. You need to know about the environment to which you are going, and you must practice basic skills geared to that environment. For instance, if you are going to a desert, you need to know how to get water in the desert.

Practice basic survival skills during all training programs and exercises. Survival training reduces fear of the unknown and gives you self-confidence. It teaches you to live by your wits.

SURVIVAL PLANNING AND SURVIVAL KITS

Survival planning is nothing more than realizing something could happen that would put you in a survival situation and, with that in mind, taking steps to increase your chances of survival. Thus, survival planning means preparation.

Preparation means having survival items and knowing how to use them People who live in snow regions prepare their vehicles for poor road conditions. They put snow tires on their vehicles, add extra weight in the back for traction, and they carry a shovel, salt, and a blanket. Another example of preparation is finding the emergency exits on an aircraft when you board it for a flight. Preparation could also mean knowing your intended route of travel and familiarizing yourself with the area. Finally, emergency planning is essential.

IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING

Detailed prior planning is essential in potential survival situations. Including survival considerations in mission planning will enhance your chances of survival if an emergency occurs. For example, if your job re-quires that you work in a small, enclosed area that limits what you can carry on your person, plan where you can put your rucksack or your load-bearing equipment. Put it where it will not prevent you from getting out of the area quickly, yet where it is readily accessible.

One important aspect of prior planning is preventive medicine. Ensuring that you have no dental problems and that your immunizations are current will help you avoid potential dental or health problems. A dental problem in a survival situation will reduce your ability to cope with other problems that you face. Failure to keep your shots current may mean your body is not immune to diseases that are prevalent in the area.

Preparing and carrying a survival kit is as important as the considerations mentioned above. All Army aircraft normally have survival kits on board for the type area(s) over which they will fly. There are kits for over-water survival, for hot climate survival, and an aviator survival vest (see Appendix A for a description of these survival kits and their contents). If you are not an aviator, you will probably not have access to the survival vests or survival kits. However, if you know what these kits contain, it will help you to plan and to prepare your own survival kit.

Even the smallest survival kit, if properly prepared, is invaluable when faced with a survival problem. Before making your survival kit, however, consider your unit’s mission, the operational environment, and the equipment and vehicles assigned to your unit.
SURVIVAL KITS

The environment is the key to the types of items you will need in your survival kit. How much equipment you put in your kit depends on how you will carry the kit. A kit carried on your body will have to be smaller than one carried in a vehicle. Always layer your survival kit, keeping the most important items on your body. For example, your map and compass should always be on your body. Carry less important items on your load-bearing equipment. Place bulky items in the rucksack.

In preparing your survival kit, select items you can use for more than one purpose. If you have two items that will serve the same function, pick the one you can use for another function. Do not duplicate items, as this increases your kit’s size and weight.

Your survival kit need not be elaborate. You need only functional items that will meet your needs and a case to hold the items. For the case, you might want to use a Band-Aid box, a first aid case, an ammunition pouch, or another suitable case. This case should be–

Water repellent or waterproof.

Easy to carry or attach to your body.

Suitable to accept varisized components.

Durable.

In your survival kit, you should have–

First aid items.

Water purification tablets or drops.

Fire starting equipment.

Signaling items.

Food procurement items.

Shelter items.

Some examples of these items are–

Lighter, metal match, waterproof matches.

Snare wire.

Signaling mirror.

Wrist compass.

Fish and snare line.

Fishhooks.

Candle.

Small hand lens.

Oxytetracycline tablets (diarrhea or infection).

Water purification tablets.

Solar blanket.

Surgical blades.

Butterfly sutures.

Condoms for water storage.

Chap Stick.

Needle and thread.

Knife.

Include a weapon only if the situation so dictates. Read about and practice the survival techniques in this manual. Consider your unit’s mission and the environment in which your unit will operate. Then prepare your survival kit.

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