Fieldcraft, Survival, and Security

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Signaling for Help

Sometimes (perhaps more often than not) in a survival situation you will want to signal for help. You want others find you and rescuers to come to your aid. There are several ways to signal for help, and if you are going to venture into the wilderness you should be sure to have some type of emergency signal available.

In cases where you believe that there will be an air search, find an open area and lay out ground to air signals. Ground to air signals are simple geometric figures intended for use by personnel with a downed aircraft to signal other aircraft as to their condition and needs.

These signals can be laid out with any material that contrasts with the surrounding ground cover.

VS17/GVX Signal Panel Markers are designed to be highly visible from the air, and can be used to mark your location. The orange side of the panel is easiest to see from the air. Flashing (opening and closing the panel rapidly) is easier to spot than the static panel. The signal panel can also be tied to a long stick and waved like a flag to attract attention.

A Cyalume ChemLight tied to a cord and swung in a circle makes a visible signal at night.

A signal mirror is an essential item that allows you to signal for help whenever the sun is up.

Search and rescue won’t always have access to aircraft, and even when aircraft are available to aid in the search, rescuers will have to make their way to you over ground in many cases. A signal whistle helps rescuers locate you, and can be heard at a distance of a few hundred meters, or perhaps even a couple of kilometers depending on terrain. I personally like the Fox Sonik Blast whistle, but any loud whistle will serve the same purpose.

The military surplus 26.5mm Flare Pistol is a good signal device, although perhaps a bit bulky for carrying on a day hike. Still with daytime smoke, and nighttime flare signals, the flare pistol is something worth considering.

It is interesting to note that inserts / adapters can be purchased for the 26.5mm Flare Pistol to allow it to fire .22LR, .38 Special, and 410 shotgun shells. Neither the flare pistol nor the adapters are by themselves considered firearms, so they can often be shipped right to your door. There is also a 12-gauge adapter for the 26.5mm flare pistol, but this is intended for use with 12-gauge flares. 12-gauge shotgun shells cannot be safely fired using these adapters.

If the flare pistol is too large and bulky to carry with you, you can always opt for smaller pen flares. These flares are much smaller than the 26.5mm flares, and thus produce a smaller signal, but they can still be useful to attract the attention of rescuers. Many different types of flares are available from companies like Orion Signals.

Although designed as a roadside emergency signal, emergency disc lights are small and light enough to be included as a signal in most packs. Visible at night for several kilometers, and lasting several hours on a single set of batteries these lights can continue to signal for help throughout the night while you get some rest.

You can also set up a fire to be used as a signal. During the day, you want a fire that produces a lot of smoke, and at night you want a large bright flame that can be seen from a distance. Survival Russia has a good YouTube video on how to build a signal fire.

If you find that you must signal for help, using more than one type of signal improves your chances of being found. Sweeping the horizon with your signal mirror throughout the day, using your whistle to attract the attention of rescuers in the area, having a signal fire prepared, and having ground to air signals laid out during the day all work to make your location more visible to others. Of course, no signal is of any value if nobody sees or hears it. Therefore, if you are going into a remote or wilderness area, make sure that you let someone know where you plan to be, and when they should expect your return. If you have not returned or made contact be a specific time, a search and rescue team should be sent out to find you.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Psychology of Survival

The Office of Aerospace Medicine, Civil Aerospace Medical Institute has published some comments on the Psychology of Survival'. I have reproduced those comments below. Understanding how a survival situation can affect your state of mind, and how your state of mind can affect your ability to survive is an important topic, that is too often overlooked in preparedness planning.

When preparing for a potential survival situation you must first admit to yourself that it can happen. Once you have taken this first step, you can then start preparing for an event that will hopefully never occur.

Preparing for an event that may never occur is not always easy. However, if you take the time to prepare yourself both mentally and physically, your chances of survival will increase dramatically. Having the right frame of mind and being able to think productively are critical. Having knowledge of the intended use of gear, or the ability to improvise using gear, increases confidence and ultimately your chances of survival.

Being suddenly introduced to a new and threatening environment can be a very traumatic experience. Your ability to handle this change will depend heavily on your mental state. A person who thinks randomly and/or irrationally will act in the same manner.

Whatever affects the mind will in turn, affect the body. This is the principal behind the whole-body concept. A continuous, nagging injury can take away from a positive mental attitude. Try to remember that pain is the body's way of telling you something is wrong. Treat the injury that causes the pain.

For the body and mind to function normally, it must have food and water. Water is essential to survival. Life expectancy without water, in extreme conditions, is three days. Even when you are mildly dehydrated, mental skills decrease. When you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

When dealing with hunger, it is important to remember that the average person can survive 30 days without food. Human beings are creatures of habit. We have established our eating schedule over many years (breakfast: 6 - 8 a.m., lunch: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., dinner: 5 - 8 p.m.). During a survival episode, when these established times are upon you, the body is expecting to be fed. The expectation can be overwhelming. Try to keep your mind off food by doing the things necessary to aid in your survival.

Fatigue exist in two forms: physical fatigue and mental fatigue. Each form of fatigue will hasten the onset of the other (whole body concept). Physical fatigue stems from overexertion. The best remedy is prevention. Pace yourself and take frequent rest breaks. Mental fatigue is caused by the stress placed upon the mind. One remedy for this is to routinely take your mind off your situation. The best remedy for fatigue is rest and sleep. If you are fatigued, the best thing to do is sleep. When sleeping, the muscles relax and the body unwinds. Also, it is believed that during sleep the mind releases useless information and resets your biological clock. Sleep may be difficult in this new environment, however, if sleep is put off even for a day, you will become fatigued.

Psychologically, this is potentially the biggest obstacle that you as a survivor will have to overcome. You, or anyone in your group, who are suffering from depression will experience long periods of sadness or negative feelings. If you let depression progress it can create feelings of fear, guilt, and helplessness. This may lead to a loss of interest in the basic needs for life. Depression usually occurs after a person has fulfilled their basic needs, and when there is plenty of "down" time. Keep your mind busy with productive thoughts, such as signaling or improving your shelter.

There are many reactions to stress, and they will vary from person to person. Fear, anxiety, panic, boredom and helplessness are all common emotions experienced in a survival situation. If you don’t keep your emotions under control they can dramatically reduce your chances for survival.

Fear and anxiety are naturally occurring emotions. Anxiety is simply fear at the subconscious level and is described as a feeling of uneasiness. In this state, a person is worried about what might happen instead of what is happening. If anxiety is not dealt with, it can cause panic. Panic is an irrational state of mind and is counter-productive to a survival situation.

Fear is at the conscious level. You know what frightens you. Fear, left undealt with, may turn into panic. You must be in control of your fear. To control fear, you must learn to recognize it. Fear produces symptoms, both physiological and psychological. It is important to remember that the symptoms stem from the body going into the "fight or flight" mode.

In any survival situation, there are priorities. These priorities are established based on how long a human can survive without each item. The list below is based on the "Rule of Three's":

Air (3 minutes)

Shelter (3 hours)

Rest (30 hours)

Water (3 days)

Food (30 days)

Where does the "will to survive" fit in? What is the "will to survive?" It has been described as hope, determination, goals and/or a positive mental attitude. The opinions will be as varied as the people making them will. One thing is certain: without a "will to survive", your chances of surviving are greatly diminished. The "will to survive" is commonly referred to as a desire to live despite seemingly insurmountable mental and (or) physical obstacles. In many cases, you will provide the necessary equipment for survival. Training for a survival situation will come from courses, experience, and research. However, equipment and training are not always enough to ensure your survival. You must also have a will to survive.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Midland Micro Mobile GMRS and the Operator G1 System

When the official communication infrastructure fails, the best and most effective means of alternate communication is amateur radio, such as that promoted by the International Amateur Radio Union. However, not everyone needs this level of communication, and many are unwilling to put in the time and effort to study for and pass the licensing exams.

For those who don’t want to become amateur radio operators; the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) can be an excellent communications system for survival and remote area operations. When most people think of GMRS radios, hand-held "walkie-talkie" radios come to mind. These hand-held radios can provide local area communication for a distance of a couple of kilometers. The advertised communication range for these radios of 20 - 30+ miles is the best that is possible under perfect conditions. You should not plan on being able to establish effective communication with hand-held GMRS radios at distances greater than a couple of kilometers; and you should not rely on communications ranges that you have not personally tested. Many companies make GMRS hand-held radios, and you can expect to get the same basic performance from radios made by each of the major manufactures. My personal choice for GMRS hand-held radios is the Midland GXT1000VP4, but you can choose any brand that has the style and features you prefer and get the same basic communication capability as the Midland GXT1000VP4.

The major weakness with hand-held GMRS radios is the non-detachable antennas. With 5 watts of transmitting power and a good antenna raised a few meters above the ground you would have good area communications for your bug-out camp, or for working in a remote area beyond the range of cell-phones. Thankfully Midland has comes out with a series of radios that allow you to do just that.

The Midland Micro Mobile GMRS radios, available with 5, 15, and 40 watts transmit power, and using an external antenna that can be raised five meters or so above the ground, make your GMRS radio a truly effective communication tool. For survival use, the 5 watt MXT105 radio can be paired with the Operator G1 by Hardened Power Systems making a self-contained communication system that has been specifically designed for survival use.

The Operator G1 is designed to be used with the MXT105 (and the previous MXT100), but for larger radios, such as the MXT400, you can buy other power boxes from Hardened Power Systems.

The Midland MXT105 and MXT115 both come with an external antenna. The MXT400 does not include any antenna, but for all three radios I recommend adding a top quality GMRS antenna such as those made by DPD Productions.

For survival use the MXT105 combined with the Operator G1 power system will likely meet all of your communication needs that can be met by GMRS radio. Remember that the purpose of GMRS radio is to give you local communications capabilities. Having a radio that will transmit from Vladivostok to Moscow has its place, but probably not so much in a wilderness survival situation. Keeping the radio transmit power low keeps your signals from being easily intercepted, thus revealing that you are in the area, and possibly giving away the location of your bug-out camp.

If you have a need for the 40 watts MXT400 in your bug-out camp, you have a need for amateur radio. That being said, the MXT400 is an excellent choice for mounting in your vehicle, or even for setting up as a GMRS base station in your home.

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Armoring Your Doors and Windows

My house is my fortress. And fortresses should be equipped with strong doors.

The doors on many homes offer very little protection against forced entry. A determined intruder can easily kick in the door and enter your home in a matter of seconds. You can however improve the security of your home by reinforcing your doors and windows.

The exterior doors to your home should be solid hardwood or metal. In Russia, many homes have a steel security door in addition to the main door to the home. (What’s Behind the Russian Steel Door Culture?) These security doors are important and should be installed on your home, but it is also important to reinforce the primary door to your home as well.

The first step in securing the door to your home is to be sure that it is equipped with a strong deadbolt lock, with a bolt with at least a one-inch throw (the length that the bolt extends from the lock into the door frame). The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Builders Hardware Manufactures Association (BHMA) subject all locks and components to attacks by hammers, saws, wrenches and other tools. They then grade the locks according to their ability to withstand attack: Grade 1 (best and toughest), Grade 2 or Grade 3. Most locks you find in home centers and hardware stores are Grade 2 or 3. Some Grade 2 locks may list Grade 1 components on the package, but that doesn’t give the lock a Grade 1 rating. Grade 2 is still an OK lock for residential use, but a Grade 1 lock will increase the security of your doors at little increase in overall price.

A good lock to be effective must be strongly mounted to the door and the bolt must extend into a reinforced frame. A product called ‘Door Armor’ (formerly EZ Armor) lets you reinforce your door, making it very difficult to kick-in. A video showing the effectiveness of Door Armor can be seen here on YouTube.

Once you have reinforced your doors, consider the security of your windows. Any windows within reach of your doors should be reinforced, as should any picture windows, sliding glass doors, or windows that are located where a burglar might break them to gain entry to your home. Installing 8 Mil Window Security Film will keep your windows from being easily broken. A video showing the effectiveness of Window Security Film can be seen here on YouTube.

Neither Door Armor nor Window Security Film is particularly expensive, and as we have seen these products will substantially increase the strength of your doors and windows, and thus the security of your home.

Choosing a Knife for the Field

A knife, it is often said, is the most important tool you can have in the field. But, what knife should you carry? What knife will do everything that you might need? Unfortunately, there is no single knife that will do all things equally well (if there was, then everyone would carry that knife). However, there are knives or combinations of knives that will do most things quite well. So, what makes a good knife for the field?

A good field knife must be able to cut and carve, but also chop, hack, and pry. The blade must be easy to sharpen, made of hard-enough steel to hold a keen edge, but not so hard that the edge is likely to chip during heavy use. The blade must be long enough to allow performing chopping tasks and battoning, but not so long that it becomes cumbersome - to me this means a blade between 13 cm - 23 cm (5 - 9 inches). A shorter blade is not well-suited for chopping tasks, and a longer blade is difficult to use for finer cutting tasks.

In the field, I recommend carrying both a strong fixed-blade knife, as well as a multi-tool, such as the Leatherman Wave or a Victorinox "Swiss Army" knife (such as the Huntsman II). My current carry knife for the field is the "Smoke Jumper" made by the American company TOPS Knives. (I also like the Cold Steel SRK, and the Gerber LMF-II) I have a Leatherman in a pouch on my belt, and the Victorinox Huntsman II is always in my pocket. With these three tools, I have been able to accomplish every knife related task I have faced in the field.

So, what’s the best knife for the field? It’s the knife that you have with you! So always carry a knife. But, the knife that you choose to carry is going to depend upon your personal preferences, skills, and anticipated uses.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

YouTube Survival & Preparedness Channels

When I am not in the woods, I enjoy watching videos about survival and preparedness. Here are some of the YouTube survival and preparedness channels that I thought were interesting. There are, no doubt, other great channels and I will update this list as I find other channels I enjoy.

So, choose a channel or two and have a view. You’re almost certain to learn something new.

Survival Caching

Caching is the process of hiding equipment or materials in a secure storage place with the view to future recovery for operational use. Caching considerations that are vital to the success of the caching operation may be done in a variety of operational situations. For example, cached supplies can meet the emergency needs of personnel who may be barred from their normal supply sources by sudden developments or who may need travel documents and extra funds for quick escape. Caching can help solve the supply problems of long-term operations conducted far from a secure base. Survival caching is used to support movement through an area, escape and evasion in an area, or to extend the amount of time one can remain at a bug-out camp without the need for resupply or outside contact.

A survival cache to support escape and evasion contains basic survival kit items and assumes that you have been forced to flee with minimal or no personal survival gear with you. Survival Lilly, in her video "Planting A Survival Cache - Bug Out Survival", demonstrates this type of cache. If you were forced to flee into a wilderness area with nothing, having a cache like this could save your life.

Survival caches to support movement through an area are based on the assumption that you have personal survival gear with you. The movement cache allows you to replenish items (like food and water) that you use up while moving through an area. Movement caches are hidden along a planned route, and spaced at intervals to replace items as they are depleted.

Long-term caches are intended to support living and working in an area over an extended period of time. A long-term cache might be two to three weeks of food cached near your bug-out camp, thus allowing you to remain in your camp longer than would be possible with just the food carried in your pack when you arrive. Long-term caches can also be used to protect items against theft or seizure by an oppressive government (such as hiding firearms and ammunition, or communications equipment).

Regardless of the type or purpose of your cache, there are important considerations to ensure that your items will be available when you need them. First is to ensure that items are packed in a way to protect them from moisture, temperature, insects, rodents, and foraging animals. Make sure that things in your cache are wrapped and packaged in such a way so that if one thing breaks or leaks it does not ruin everything else in the cache. Remember that heat and humidity can cause some types of food in your cache to quickly spoil. Freezing temperatures can cause liquids to expand as they freeze and burst their containers. If animals can smell the food in your cache they may dig it up, and insects and rodents my burrow into your cache is the outer container is not properly sealed.

I have found that the MTM Survivor Ammo Can is an excellent choice for containing small survival caches. For larger caches, waterproof containers like those made by Pelican and Plano are good choices.

Next you must be sure that other people are unlike to discover your cache. If you place a cache at the edge of a roadway, and later that road is widened your cache will either be discovered or destroyed. A cache placed along a popular hiking trail may be accidentally discovered by others hiking along the trail. Even in fairly remote areas, such as in your bug-out location, it is best not to put your cache in your camp itself. If you arrive at your bug-out camp and find that it has been occupied by others you lose both your cache and camp, if they are in the same place. Put your cache a kilometer of so away from your bug-out camp, and once you have occupied your camp you can recover your cache and bring the supplies to camp.

Finally, you must be able to locate your cache and gain access to it when needed. Your cache must be hidden in a place that you can be guaranteed of finding again. If you have a GPS you can record the coordinates of your cache, but don’t rely solely on the GPS to find it again. You might not have your GPS when you need your cache. When you record your cache location, mark the location as an azimuth and distance from a fixed permanent object, such as a large boulder. Since you are emplacing your own survival caches, you will likely remember their location once you are back in the area, but remember that things may look somewhat different six months to a year later. Make sure that your cache is placed near an easily identifiable permanent item.

Be sure that you will be able to recover your cache when you need it. A cache buried in the ground on a warm summer afternoon will not be so easy to dig up during the winter when the ground has frozen and lies under a meter or two of snow. Even if you don’t have to worry about deep snow and frozen ground, will you be able to dig up your cache if you don’t have a shovel with you when recovering your cache?

Once you have recovered your cache, you will need a way to transport the gear you have stored in it. This is particularly important in a survival cache where you may not have any survival items with you upon reaching your cache. I like to include a small inexpensive rucksack in my survival caches. This allows me to recover the cache, place the items into the rucksack and move quickly out of the area. The old Soviet canvas rucksacks that can be picked up for just a couple hundred rubles is an excellent choice for including in your survival cache.

Which cache method to use depends on the situation. It is therefore unsound to lay down any general rules, with one exception. Planners should always think in terms of suitability, for example, the method most suitable for each cache, considering its specific purpose; the actual situation in the particular locality; and the changes that may occur if someone else gains control of the area where your cache is located.

A more detailed discussion of caching can be found in the American Army publication Special Forces Caching Techniques.