Survival and Emergency Preparedness

There are many things never discussed that are needed in a survival situation. Here are 3 of mine:

1. Gloves ... a cut on your hands can hamper everything you do and can get infected and they can help to keep your hands warm.

2. Safety glasses ... in many environments you can harm your eyes, think banging on something and a chip breaks off or if you need to walk in the night without a light in the woods.

3. Laxative ... yes, if you are in a survival situation; your diet will change, you may not drink enough water, being stuffed up can slow you down.

aerynsun wrote: ↑Fri Oct 30, 2020 12:06 pm 1. Gloves ... a cut on your hands can hamper everything you do and can get infected and they can help to keep your hands warm.

Fantastic thread!

I'd like to piggyback on some of your suggestions. Gloves are an excellent addition to a BOB, GHB or even EDC bag. The kevlar style would be my first choice. Quick story. Back in 2010 I was in my cruiser in the rear of the county jail near the intake sallyport. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time. There was an escape in progress out of one of the recreation yards. Very long story short, the escapee cleared two fences when I exited my cruiser and challenged him with my 45acp. He bolted for the last fence. I gave chase and as he reached the top of the last fence I yelled for him to stop or I'd open fire. He glanced back and we made eye contact. He also saw the muzzle of my Glock 21 pointed at him (I was about 10 feet from the fence and he was about 20 feet in the air at the top of the fence). My finger was on the trigger and I was just a hair away from shooting him. He surrendered. I had notified the jail personnel via radio but the cavalierly hadn't shown up yet. I ordered him to climb down which he did but he got tangled up in the razor wire on the way down (to the tune of 39 stitches). The Deputies from the jail came pouring out at that point to assist. One of them had a pair of kevlar gloves and that was very useful with getting him untangled from the razor wire. Side note, I was the first and only Deputy in the history of the Department to catch an escapee in the process of escaping. The guy was a convicted felon with a rap sheet about two feet long (all violent felonies) who had two previous successful escapes (one from a county jail and one from a state prison). He had just been sentenced to 30 years three days prior. He got an additional 10 years for the attempt. I got Deputy of the Year.

But the point is that yes, gloves can come in very useful in a variety of situations. Light enough to put into a side pocket.

aerynsun wrote: ↑Fri Oct 30, 2020 12:06 pm 2. Safety glasses ... in many environments you can harm your eyes, think banging on something and a chip breaks off or if you need to walk in the night without a light in the woods.

Yep, another great suggestion. Have to protect the eyes in every situation possible. And they are inexpensive enough to have several pairs available.

Wife and I were at Lowes this afternoon and I thought of this thread. Picked up an inexpensive pair of gloves that were non-abrasive, grippy and puncture resistant.

aerynsun wrote: ↑Fri Oct 30, 2020 12:06 pm There are many things never discussed that are needed in a survival situation. Here are 3 of mine:

1. Gloves ... a cut on your hands can hamper everything you do and can get infected and they can help to keep your hands warm.

2. Safety glasses ... in many environments you can harm your eyes, think banging on something and a chip breaks off or if you need to walk in the night without a light in the woods.

3. Laxative ... yes, if you are in a survival situation; your diet will change, you may not drink enough water, being stuffed up can slow you down.

1. Clipped on my main bag

2. Anyone on this board seen me WITHOUT sunglasses? I also have spare reading glasses in multiple spots. Seeing > shade.

3. Eat dirt, wood bark, anything It's fiber. Stopping diarrhea > go poo. I have Immodium.

Florescent orange surveyors tape. Also called flagging tape. This is very useful to have rolled up in the EDC sling bag, GHB or BOB. Can be used to leave a trail of 'bread crumbs' to assist SAR trying to locate you in the event of an emergency. Tied to a stationary object like a tree branch, sign, vehicle etc it provides contrasting color with the environment and it is light enough to blow in the wind for movement which can catch the eye of a rescuer.

It's light, small and inexpensive.

ooooh - that's a good thing to have.

Bob wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 5:52 pm ooooh - that's a good thing to have.

Something I'd like to do at the next SEP gathering is have one of us head out into the woods and 'get lost'. They would leave trail marks as they go just as if they were really lost and wanting SAR to find them. And then have the rest of the group be that SAR and go find them.

When Christian was young we went out to the woods and I showed him various ways to mark his trail with the intention of others locating him. Breaking branches in a certain direction, using orange surveyors tape, arrows indicating direction in the dirt or made of sticks etc.

That would be a good challenge for the group.

Three useful items most people forget.
1. US Army. 1st day. Sgt said we are going to the PX. Buy a small tube of vaseline. Why? If you are not used to walking or running and you suddenly have to perform, your checks will get raw. So on the great bugout or bugin 30 miles, your butt is going to have a problem.
2. A wash cloth. Living with the Ahka people in the Golden triangle, walking in Afghanistan. You have a wash cloth and a plastic bag in which to store it if you are unable to dry it.
3. A small pair of scissors. You will be shut down when you have a splinter, split finger nails, bad toe nails. It can be on a Swiss knife. 40 years ago, I had that discussion with the famous Ron Hood, self described survivalist who retracted his bio portion that he was SF. He wanted a wood saw. I wanted scissors. There are many choices. I have multiples of used Huntsman model that still are under $15. All of my Leatherman tools have scissors.

I would also suggest that you always have a small flashlight with you. Examples: Being in rural Mississippi at a dance and the power fails. I had my flashlight. South West plane is being repaired in the cabin during a stop. I have my flashlight and help the mechanic on the repair. Flashlight is a legal, unnoticed instant weapon. Knurled edges on front of flashlight.