Who's had Survival training?

[Celt]

Something I would eventually love to do is to attend a school that teaches these techniques. Survival, and related techniques.

I've watched countless videos on people teaching different segments of these courses and there is value to watching and learning, especially if you watch the same stuff over and over and over. It will get imprinted into your mind if you watch it enough, although of course there's no replacement for actual physical practice.

Unfortunately I just don't have the time to go spend the time away from home to take a class like this but maybe when my kids get older I can.

I'm sure there are plenty of military guys on here that have been through this training and I love to hear about it.

 

[FCG LLC]

Some parts are classified bud.

 

[Celt]

Some parts are classified bud.

I wouldn't expect any less, nor would I want anyone to openly discuss anything of that nature. But anything that can be shared would be great. Growing up in the wilderness myself ive practiced many skills such as tracking and surviving.

 

[soylentBlue]

When the wife catches me trying to sneak a new rifle into the house I practice survival, escape, resistance, and evasion.

 

[fnfalguy]

First rule of SERE school...

Sorry, couldn't resist

 

[FCG LLC]

I wouldn't expect any less, nor would I want anyone to openly discuss anything of that nature. But anything that can be shared would be great. Growing up in the wilderness myself I've practiced many skills such as tracking and surviving. But Escape, resistance, and evasion are other great topics. Plus I think this would just be another good topic for discussion on the Forum.

Ok. Let us do this instead...I am going to assume you have never had a background clearance required to deal with government classified material.
FROM WHAT I KNOW OF WATCHING TV, people who currently have a security clearance are not supposed to speak of it out in the open. Now, the movies I watch are all from the 80s (First Blood, Apocalypse Now, etc), so maybe things have changed.

How about just a general discussion on surviving in the wild, along those lines you discussed, without talking specifically about "SERE".

I also saw in the movies that people with security clearances...are swimming in shitty waters if they read or disseminate materials they know or reasonably believe to be classified.

We wouldn't want to get any of those people here in deep shit - you know, like Hillary is in.

 

[Celt]

Good point fgc.. title editted so we can dicuss professional survival training.

 

[MilesTeg]

Went to SERE. It was by far the best class I ever attended. I don't know if it was because of my age or that I took it 13 years ago, but I feel like I didn't get my full potential from it. Another thing about the class was that I learned more about myself than I did about survival. Honestly it has shaped my adult life more than anything. It calmed me down and gave a situational awareness that I never dreamed of.

 

[Criticalt]

I grew up with parents that were very into primitive survival skills. We spent many vacations in the wilderness while our friends went to Disney and Myrtle Beach.
Studying wild edibles, making fires, trapping, building structures, finding snd purifying water....etc, were built inyo us kids from a young age.
Then the Army, yada, yada, yada.
We still use our skills all the time while horsebacking through NY and PA.

 

[Podmonkey]

I had some basic survival training in the Army. I volunteered for a weekend course that involved being in the woods with no more gear than could be carried upon my person. It was a pretty crappy way to spend a weekend but I wanted the promotion points. And to get away from the First Sargeant. Also got quite a lot of land nav training with grid maps and lensatic compasses, I was decent enough at it. Also routine basic first aid training, about equivalent to what a first aider would recieve, perhaps a bit beyond that.

 

[FCG LLC]

... I volunteered for a ...

What the .....?

I read what you wrote, with mild disbelief.

 

[Saltwater60]

I'd love to. I have a special forces tactic book and I'd like to get a few more books. At least then you have a reference. I know training and practicing is better than reading.

 

[Podmonkey]

What the .....?

I read what you wrote, with mild disbelief.

Hey, I had an angle. I always had an angle in my Army days, much tobthe chagrin of my superiors. Like I said I needed the promo points for my E5 so I could get the slot ahead of the resident bootlick corporal we had in the platoon. Also Top was on the warpath over an alcohol incident that week so I figured staying out of dodge was the prudent thing to do.

 

[Magnus]

I went camping a few times, that's about it. I would love to take an actual survival course too.

 

[meketrefe]

I did lot of this with training but also naturally by spending time with the people in the mountains
like shepherds, cowboys and mountain folks.
Keep in mind this is more mental that anything and you can do fun stuff over the weekend to test
individual skills and tactics.
Just the fact of sleeping outside and making a confortable bed of whatever you can find so you
don't have to sleep on a tent or under a tarp on top of rocks or hard soil.
So many things can be converted into backyard projects for the kids when they are still young.
Since I was 12-13 I remember sleeping outside in a makeshift shelter we built on the side of a
ravine and spend 3, 4 days at the time. The only thing is my mom used to bring us some food or send someone. For the rest we improvised. In the summer we washed in the river. No soap for a week, that was glory at 13! lol. eau-de-reek-o.!

 

[4excal]

I grew up with parents that were very into primitive survival skills.

My ancestors were very good at primitive living..hopefully It's in my blood when the time comes

 

[GOPerfect]

I had some really, really good training while on Active Duty. Some of the training was just pure excellent.

Two issues with it,

First, I did not take it as serious as I now wish I had. Times were different, I was young and took very little in life serious. I got a lot of the training, I only wish I had taken it more seriously.

Second, I was very young, I do not remember things as well as I should(or wish)

 

[Marine Cpl]

I had some really, really good training while on Active Duty. Some of the training was just pure excellent.

Two issues with it,

First, I did not take it as serious as I now wish I had. Times were different, I was young and took very little in life serious. I got a lot of the training, I only wish I had taken it more seriously.

Second, I was very young, I do not remember things as well as I should(or wish)

Me too. I have since forgotten a lot of stuff. I still have my basic hand and arm signals along with basic patrolling formations but the complex ones are all gone. I've also lost my booklet on formulas for how much explosives to use for certain things.

When you are 18 to 21, all you think about is getting out of the field by Friday so that you can drink and get plastered.

 

[FCG LLC]

For my "scouts" and wilderness people out there - what would you say is the one deadliest thing up here in the NE for those who venture out?

 

[MilesTeg]

For my "scouts" and wilderness people out there - what would you say is the one deadliest thing up here in the NE for those who venture out?

Exposure followed closely by water born illness. Both are simple to prevent you just need to be prepared by them.

 

[Criticalt]

100% agree.
Hypothermia and Hyperthermia are very dsngerous and much easier to get thsn most expect.
Then thirst, it can make you weak in the moment and a nice stream will look irresistible. Your body and mind will tell you to just drink. Here in the NE MOST stream water is pretty safe but its better to at least filter it with earth or preferably boil it.
Food can also hurt you. Just like thirst, hunger wil make your body and mind make rash decisions. Red berries always look delicious, but are almost always poisonous around here. Those berries that look like beautiful little grape bunches, people call them Foxberries...they are actually a species of Bearberry that are delicious.......then the nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and tinnitus. You will live, but youll be very uncomfortable for awhile.
Eat living things if you can.

 

[Robin]

Had the standard E and E that every infantryman gets, though it was at 'Tigerland' and pretty intense, if you got caught. Celt, a lot of the Army training manual's are available for sale and many are available as a PDF.
Robin

 

[4excal]

Exposure followed closely by water born illness. Both are simple to prevent you just need to be prepared by them.

Being separated from the group and then lost on your own.that will mess with a young boys head and then the poor decision making begins.

 

[Celt]

Had the standard E and E that every infantryman gets, though it was at 'Tigerland' and pretty intense, if you got caught. Celt, a lot of the Army training manual's are available for sale and many are available as a PDF.
Robin

I have several manuals both hard copy and on my phone in pdf. I really them from time to time. And again , my childhood was spent living in the wilderness, and my father and uncles taught me a lot and shared their military training experiences with me as well. But I've never had any formal training.

 

[MilesTeg]

Being separated from the group and then lost on your own.that will mess with a young boys head and then the poor decision making begins.

Yes it will that's how people accidently walk off of cliffs. They get confused or convince themselves of something and stop paying attention to reality. Also called tunnel vision or task fixation. It's an easy trap to fall in to and can be deadly. Always keep your head on a swivel and never know something 100% interpret the situation as it comes.

 

[Celt]

Something fun would be a nygf survival training weekend. It would be really hard for me to get the time away from the kids now, but when they are a bit older i could.

 

[MilesTeg]

Something fun would be a nygf survival training weekend. It would be really hard for me to get the time away from the kids now, but when they are a bit older i could.

I'm at the beginning of that stage I keep find less and less time to do anything. I'm not complaining at all it's just the reality of the matter.

 

[Phauxtoe]

I have done some Classes, but that was in the south west, there are some differences.
I have read up on it here in north east, and did a lot of hiking camping but that was many many years ago

 

[NirvanaFan]

Something fun would be a nygf survival training weekend. It would be really hard for me to get the time away from the kids now, but when they are a bit older i could.

Me and a few friends actually talked about doing this a few years ago. It wouldn't have been a "Let's go survive" trip, but it would have been a, "Everyone bring something, whether it's an object or demonstration, on something survival related." I'm definitely interested in something like this with this group of people.

 

[NirvanaFan]

For my "scouts" and wilderness people out there - what would you say is the one deadliest thing up here in the NE for those who venture out?

Without a doubt, it has to be exposure. I'd say that would be the case in most places though (maybe not coastal areas and parts of the SE). We have decently warm summers, but any time other than July and August, it can get cold. It snowed upwards of 3' in the Adirondacks on Memorial Day a few years back. In the summers, we'll see temperatures near 100. Add in humidity and just walking can give you heat exhaustion. A lot of people don't realize how cold it gets in the wilderness at night. Remember, it drops about 3.5°F every 1000' of elevation you gain (rough estimate). So, if it's projected to be a low of 65 at sea level, but you drive up a mountain to 2000' and then hike up another 1500' to camp, you're looking at temperatures of 52°. That's mighty cold if you're not prepared.