The most important survival skill that every soldier has
We use and hear the word “survival” quite a bit, but I’m not sure that we always think of it in its truest sense – surviving a life-threatening situation. I think we tend to use it more casually, as in, “I survived my final exams,” or “Glad to see you survived the last cut at work,” or “Hope I survive my mother-in-law’s visit this weekend.”
To really get a sense of what survival is all about, I think we need to look to the U.S. military, which trains its soldiers in that exact exercise. Our big choice of the day sometimes might be which energy bar to consume, while a soldier stuck behind enemy lines might be desperately trying to find drinkable water before starting to experience the effects of dehydration. And just as important as dealing with the physical aspects of survival are the mental and emotional components. How someone handles the stress that results in fear, anger, frustration, depression, loneliness, boredom or guilt will go a long way to determining whether that person survives.
I’ve discovered a link to very detailed U.S. Army survival manual. As you can imagine, it’s pretty long, so you may want to check out the Table of Contents to determine the sections you really want to focus on. But if you have time, I’d recommend reading the entire manual because it includes a lot of great training material.
The authors talk about many important components of survival, including developing a survival pattern that enables one to defeat the enemies of survival. They focus on the essential elements including food, water, shelter, fire, first aid and signals, then spell out information about survival kits, survival medicine, water and food procurement, fire craft, plants, animals, weapons, tools, equipment, camouflage and much more.
This manual is very comprehensive, but are there any other thoughts about survival that you’d like to share? How important do you think the mental aspect of survival is? Do you have any survival techniques that are not included in the manual? Let me know your thoughts.
God is so Great.
im excited to read about this..
I think the most important piece of survival advice I”ve ever heard was, “When confronted with a situation and your life is on the line, do SOMETHING. It may be wrong, but do SOMETHING”. It beats just giving up, doing nothing, and becoming a victim.
To Answer your question about how important it is to have the “survival mentality” during any crisis, let me just say that you will in no way survive without some level of a proper mindset in a crisis. In my opinion it is ranked right up there with your skills set as the 2 most valuable things you can take with you anywhere. The reason I place skills above food and water and gear, is because things happen and you can lose all those things, but as long as you have your memory, and experience ( coming from practical practice), you can survive .
Thanks for the opportunity to share, and I love the articles… Keep em coming!
You have it together. Practice as much as you can. After thing happen is too late.
I believe it was Ernie Pyle, A journalist who covered the Pacific in WWII along with the G.I’s, who said, “There were no atheists in the Foxhole. Give God his due and he will do amazing things. I always wondered what do atheists ask for in a tight spot…”Devil Help Me!”….”Satin Help Me!!”
Good work Frank…..keep it up please
Although i do believe god can be a very helpful ally during a survival situation. Your comments really irritate me as I have served with both atheist wickens and Christians of all dominations. Atheists don’t ask for satin to help them in fact asking that would not make them atheists. Think before we speak
Do you realy know what an atheist is????? I don’t think so.
Frank,
I am a former U.S. Soldier and have held a 31B30 MOS for over 15 years. After surviving not only Desert and Jungle, I was also stationed in Alaska and have seen my share extreme conditions, not to mention, I have also survived multiple combat tours around the globe. The manual that you have talked about is very comprehensive and has a lot of great guides, however, it cannot take the place of practical experience. I say this due to being raised in Montana, hunting trapping and surviving in some of the roughest country in the world.
Todays military isn’t as durable as some may think. Only job specific soldiers are taught to survive on the scale that the manual holds. I.e.; As a squad leader, I was charged with overseeing 12 soldiers or three fire teams. In my time, I was given everything from troubled youth to outright warriors. However, even the high speed low drag soldiers were ill trained for survival combat. Our military only spends enough time anymore to make the soldier aware of military courtesy and shuffle them through boot camp and AIT. Most of these soldiers couldn’t survive a night alone in any terrain, so it became my job to harden them so that they could. Practical experience of survival is learned and unfortunately most of the soldiers have never had to experience that. They were kids from large cities and had some street smarts, but no true survival skills. You could see the horror in most of their faces when we did training on the range or in the field. What was second nature for me, was extremely alien to them. The most that you could expect from any one of them was the experience of an occasional family camping trip in their youth. In most cases, I would give the majority of them only a 30% chance of survival on their own, and even less if they were involved in a firefight.
The best that anyone could do, is take a course on survival, read the books and above all, get the experience that is needed to do so. Limit your pack and take only the items that work for you. Pay for lessons to become a better tactician and make the commitment to purchase quality tools and supplies that are tried and proven in all settings, and above all, practice, practice, practice. The definition of survivalist is one that prepares for the worst, yet hopes for the best. These skills are not everyone’s cup of tea. You will have to do things that one has never even conceived, and if you are not trained, you may well be only a casualty or worse yet a burden to the rest of your party. Don’t get caught without the training and supplies to keep you and possibly your family alive. And if SERE (Survival, evasion, Resistance and escape are not your thing, think long term, hardened shelters and stockpiles to stay in place and live luxuriously.
Daniel,
Well said! As another retired combat vet, it is so very important to actually take the responsibility to read what fits your situation (what you may not know about) and practice, practice, practice. Your family depends on it. Whether it be tornado, power out or whatever. A true soldier sees all this differently obviously, but anyone can protect their family and care for them with a little preparation.
Hello Frank……I so enjoy reading your emails! they are packed with good information. But ; anyway I wanted to ask a question. I have been stock piling canned and other “non perishable” foods , Brita water filters and PLENTY of bottled water! The canned and non perishables all have expiration or “use before” dates on them my question is this could a family eat that food that had expired if it has never been opened? Thanx Frank in advance for your answer.
Thanks for the compliments! Most folks keep their emergency food in their use rotation. Use the canned tomatoes from your stash to make your spaghetti sauce and replace out the can with the one you just bought. That said, canned food is often good past its expiration date. It may lose some nutrients, but so long as the can is unrusted and the food looks good, it probably is.
Also watch the cans for dents.
Is there any way you can share the link for the survivle guide you read?
Of course, Steve, it’s right up there in the article in RED. just click it.
Sadly, Like Steve I. I looked at the article 3 times NOTHING in RED in the article. I would like to check out the Survival Manual also…to see what has changed since I did the bit back in the early 70’s.
Thanks.
Weird. The words “US Army Survival Manual” should be in red and clickable.
I’ve discovered a link to very detailed U.S. Army survival manual. it’s right under the photo of the truck . Just clicked on it…
Hi, I am new this site. I am not in the militery, but I do know morse code. I also know, how to help a neighbor out, a few years ago, there were these guys in suits watching my neighbors house, they look like gorillas like bodyguards, they train, they were watching for a week, they would get out of the car and walk around my neighbors house, I seen on there suits nsa members, they spoke russian. I have a guy I work with, he speaks russian.I had to trucks back then, so what I did, I drove around the block, and then as gutsy as I did, I pulled in my neighbors driveway and sat in the truck for a minute, the guys followed me all over the place, I took them out in the country, playing country music really loud like dancing them in circles on country roads, then all of a sudden, on guy with tinted windows came out of nowhere, with no plates and tried to run me off the road. Then they took off. And I didn’t see them again. But just this past september-november. A group of two came back, looking around my neighboors yard. My old neighbor I think was a marine or navy guy. And I was protecting his mom. She don’t live there anymore. But there was lady with a baby, and someone tried breaking into the windows, and I seen those guys going thru the backyard again, I Didn’t report it, but the girl did. I would think, they would get to know who lives there. I didn’t say a word to her. I kept slient. She moved.. I tried to let the past neighbor know that someone was trailing him. He didn’t get my message, I guess. I am like a knight of the round table, who spread ashes, to set traps the trails. Figure of speech. Happy new year to all military!
Lucky For Me I’ve Had This Training. However, I Have Found Positive Thinking, Flexible Planing And Thinking Of The Foreseeable Future Have Been The Most Effective.
most of the information from the military concerning survival is precise and informative and valuable , although some is designed to maintain Chane of command . when doing time in Vietnam was taught by a very old Vietnamese man that the major portion of surviving a critical and threatening context is awareness of external parameters and control of internal emotions . when one can focus there energies and use there emotions as energy producers , they can deal with almost any situation.
when i think of survival, i try to put myself with the Marines on Guadalcanal in 42. if i can do half of what they did when the shtf i might have a chance Semper Fi my friends
Thanks for the manual. Long time since I have “had” to read it. Basic Training 1973.
It is tried and true source of information. Re: the other post about attitude. Ya’ll are right.
Don’t every give up. Laying down and giving in is not an option if you want to get out alive.
Keep an attitude of “I can do this and will survive” and remember your training. Do every thing you can to survive. Giving up doesn’t work for me. I’m too hard headed.
I enjoyed this Army Survival Manual. Thank you for sharing Frank. I have seen the nicest of people turn into mean monsters when they are hungry and thirsty. Driving through a city of millions last week made me realize how helpless most will be in a national disaster situation where there is no government handy to aid them. People will be standing in the streets crying “Where is the HELP???” After about three days of that, and no help arrives, most civility will diminish. The cities will not be safe. Many people will not want to leave their “stuff”. The smart ones will leave the cities immediately and get away from the mass. I will take my chances with the bear out there in the woods. Attitude is indeed important. One complainer can bring down the spirits of a whole group. Give the complainer poison oak clean up duty. They need the humbling spiritual experience of it.
What and how Crystel said was almost exactly what Gen. Patton taught … knowing most soldiers are going to be somewhat religious … it is important to mix and match the psychology of what is wanted to be performed. We also know American founding fathers did not go into detail about blind luck or coincidences … but rather a force they call “providence”, when miraculous events turned the battles. So the “God/god” aspect of war can be traced back long before Islam … the Israelite built a religion and government based on the supposed control of their G-d/God/god thousands of years before Christianity or even Islam. If it be that a comfort of a belief in a ghost/spirit/god helps people to cope with and even excel in their predicament … who has the right to take that away from them? If they tried to defame a ghost/spirit/god belief in the middle of a disaster … what would be the purpose … and how much extra chaos could it cause? A wise man utilizes what he can … when he can.
Memorizing Psalm 91 has gotten many through the horrors of battle. Some people are offended when this is brought up using the rationale that what cannot be seen does not exist…like angels. But those who believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that Christians are co-heirs with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit within, then when Jesus told the disciples, “Greater things than these shall ye do” definitely would not hurt to confess the Word that will set the angels to make good on the Word before every battle in my estimation.
my friend, psalm 91 is excellent. I say it myself almost every day. Also Psalm 103,along with Isaiah 54 with emphasis saying verses 16 &17. Out loud is better. Take care, be well keep saying what you want, not what you don’t want. The Word is meant to be used. God Bless
My neighbor plays the war games on the internet … not because he enjoys it, but because he knows many of the players are ex-military and some with higher training. He gets his sons to watch and learn about what they may have to confront in the future. We should keep our enemies closer.
I am a 27year retired vet, evaluated, taught and attended all those courses at many different locations and have found that I can always learn more.
I think if you want something not to
Happen prepare for it the best you
can . I done and have most of the
things I need to survive I hope I
I never need them if I do the supplies
I have and PMA will get me and my
family through. Preparedness is
the Key no matter how small even a
little beats a blank. Thanks for sharing
looking forward to your next post Peace
I responded to a post some time ago about water access (storage, filtration, etc.) with this same idea. The military has been doing this for a long time, and many soldiers live this way for days on end. If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t have written so many books and guides on the subject. Pay attention folks!
One more thing, the subject of spiritual thought or PMA: This is a key aspect of survival, any good guide worth the paper it’s printed on will tell you that. Of all things, your mental attitude will get your through even when technology or techniques or even that cool-guy knife you bought have failed. Do not discount the importance of attitude, whatever that is for you as a person and learn how to encourage yourself in dire situations. It will make the difference between success and failure.
Crystel’s comment below is exactly what Taliban suicide bombers are taught. No thanks!
I do not believe there is any such thing as ghosts, spirits, etc., so “spiritual” is not where it’s at. You can pray to your imaginary friend all day, but it will usually answer your prayers with the silent instruction, “God helps those who help themselves.”
Everything I have studied about “survival” points to MENTAL ATTITUDE as the single most important determiner of success. Survivors are very, very STUBBORN people who won’t give up. Not ever.
Everything else is just technology, and while that can be useful, it is not as important as mental attitude. One cheap and simple 19th century technology you can acquire is morse code. With that, you can always get a text message through somehow: by tapping on the wall***, covert tapping while holding hands, flashlight, car horn, flag waving, eye blinking, etc.
*** When tapping on the wall, add a final tap at the end of each character to differentiate between a final dah or a final dit. This is much more efficient at ordinary text than Vietnam wall tapping code.
“God helps those who help themselves.” A quote by Benjamin Franklin mistakenly believed to be from the Bible.
Don’t disregard the spiritual aspects of survival. People who are spiritually prepared KNOW that they are only a small part of a much bigger picture. They know their circumstance is in God’s hands and He IS in control. This takes a lot of pressure off us as humans.. Without that strong spiritual connection – you can melt down trying to manage contingencies which are out of your hands. Just focus on what you CAN do & let GOD take care of the rest.
To me the essence of survival is “Be Prepared” Both mentaly and physically.
Thanks for the link to the Military Survival Manual as by reading that you can “Be More Prepared”