The above photo is a representation of what a modern day wilderness scout might carry if he upgraded from the 18th-century tools of the trade, while still keeping the old school heritage alive. Sometime around 1757, during the French and Indian War in North America, Major Robert Rogers wrote a set of guidelines for his Rangers to […]
SERE
Improved Pelican Case Special Forces Survival Kit
During the course of my career as a Green Beret, I was issued many things, some I was made to turn back in to the Army and others I was allowed to keep. My Pelican 1020 Survival kit was one of the items I was allowed to keep: originally intended to keep a soldier alive […]
Winter Survival: Surviving a plunge through the ice
The crash through the ice was surprising. The chest constricting cold hit you immediately as the water flowed over your Gore-Tex soaking your insulating layers. With extreme perseverance and strength, you manage to pull yourself onto the bank of the stream, you lay on the bank for a moment as the water begins to freeze […]
Procuring water in a cold environment: Tips from a Military Survival Instructor
People worry about dying of dehydration in the desert and rarely think about dying of thirst when surrounded by frozen water. However getting water efficiently is paramount in an arctic/winter setting. As you dehydrate in the cold your blood becomes thicker and the circulation rate slows leaving you incredibly vulnerable to cold injuries such as […]
Electric Survivor Filter Pro X | Portable, Powerful Purity
Water: a basic necessity for survival, but often enough treated as an afterthought. When heading out camping, most usually grab a gallon of it in a jug and go. What happens when you need more? You can drink from a stream, never-minding the pine needles and floaties, and pray that you don’t get crippling diarrhea. […]
A Former DEVGRU Member Reveals Skills to Escape an Abduction
Clint Emerson, the author of 100 Deadly Skills, covers skills you can employ to escape a kidnapping or abduction. These obviously require you putting in the time up front to learn the skills and become proficient with them. Hopefully, you will never have to use them. Skill #1 – Hide escape tools on your body (handcuff […]
Combat Survival and RECCE Chest Rig Setup
I’m not a fan of having equipment on my belt line. It impedes movement, gets in the way during awkward shooting positions or when getting into observation spots. As a SERE instructor for the military I have quite a bit of minimal gear that I need to carry in order to fulfill my job effectively. […]
Loadout Room photo of the day | Confidence gained through SERE combat survival training
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, WA, UNITED STATES S-V-80-A combat survival students gather water from a stream June 13, 2015, in the Colville National Forest, Wash. To prevent water-borne illness from occurring, the students learned to add iodine tablets or bleach to purify the gathered water. The students also learned that leaving a bottle of water […]
The Urban Escape and Evasion Bag – Getaway Clean
I’ve been researching the idea of Escape and Evasion. There is a lot of information out there for traditional battlefield Escape and Evasion. Outside of military members that’s not super useful to us. With the realization that the majority of us live in an Urban Environment I wanted to specifically take a few looks at […]
Crate Club | Prisoner of War Hero
I walked to the road and turned myself in officially becoming War Criminal 53. My new home would be a concrete box a little smaller than a dog’s travel kennel. I would crap and piss in a small tin can, luckily there wouldn’t be much of that because I was about to be starved and […]