SEAL Survival Guide: A Navy SEAL's Secrets to Surviving Any Disaster
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- Product Details
- About the Author
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- Table of Contents
“We never thought it would happen to us.” From random shootings to deadly wildfires to terrorist attacks, the reality is that modern life is unpredictable and dangerous. Don’t live in fear or rely on luck. Learn the SEAL mindset: Be prepared, feel confident, step up, and know exactly how to survive any life-threatening situation.
Former Navy SEAL and preeminent American survivalist Cade Courtley delivers step-by-step instructions anyone can master in this illustrated, user-friendly guide. You’ll learn to think like a SEAL and how to:
improvise weapons from everyday items * pack a go bag* escape mass-shootings * treat injuries at the scene* subdue a hijacker * survive extreme climates * travel safely abroad* defend against animal attacks * survive pandemic * and much more
Don’t be taken by surprise. Don’t be a target. Fight back, protect yourself, and beat the odds with the essential manual no one in the twenty-first century should be without.
BE A SURVIVOR, NOT A STATISTIC!
ISBN-13: 9781451690293
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: 12-04-2012
Pages: 368
Product Dimensions: 6.12(w) x 8.82(h) x 0.84(d)
Cade Courtley was born in Columbus, Ohio and raised in Boulder, Colorado. He spent most of his young adult life in the outdoors and upon graduation from the University of San Diego he was immediately commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy and began Navy SEAL training (BUD/S). After several intense tours as a Platoon Commander that had him operating around the world, Cade decided to leave the SEAL teams to pursue other challenges. He was the host of the Spike TV and Discovery Channel show Surviving Disaster and appears as a regular commentator on CNN and Fox News.
SEAL Survival Guide Read an Excerpt
EXPAND YOUR COMFORT ZONE
You know your current comfort zone, defined as the daily routine you do and the things that make you feel secure, content, and in control. However, most of our daily comfort-zone rituals will leave us unprepared to deal with even the smallest discomfort and will certainly render us incapable of handling an emergency or life-threatening challenge.
Challenge Your Limits and Daily Routines
Push the boundaries of your comfort zone at least once a day. There are so many opportunities to do this without attempting all at once to become an ultra-marathon runner, although this is a great goal. You must first expand your mind to the possibilities of doing certain things that you previously believed unachievable. Start with small steps and note progress by keeping track; make a list, and check off all the things you do each day to challenge yourself, both physically and mentally. Ultimately, by expanding your comfort zone you will increase both your physical and mental toughness, which are the keys to survival.
I believe that if you first focus on changing small things, you can begin the process of thinking differently, and ultimately achieve the goal of acquiring the SEAL mindset of survival, which will allow you to endure anything. You will quickly see that doing things differently makes you think differently. Observe your current routine and then start by doing simple things another way. For example, use the stairs instead of the elevator to take you up only a few floors. Climb at a reasonable pace and know that when you reach the top, you have just expanded your comfort zone. When in your car, don’t fight to get the space closest to the store, but purposely look for one that will make you walk. Force yourself to meet three new people and learn at least five things about them. If you have to balance your checkbook, leave the calculator in the desk and make your brain complete this task. Open up the contact list in your phone and memorize five numbers each day. You must seek out ways to expand both mind and body. Start paying attention to how you think about things. If you expand your comfort zone in this manner, you will be better able to do the rest. If you already exercise or jog, for example, increase your distance or speed. Run that extra mile, or run it a minute faster. Do that one additional push-up. Try holding your breath for a minute, and then try two. When in the shower, after scrubbing down with the warm water you usually prefer, finish the last thirty seconds with a blast of cold water. By pushing your physical limits, you are also forcing your brain to expand its comfort boundaries, thus gradually making yourself physically and mentally tougher.
Now that I am out of the Navy and getting older every day, I continue to push my comfort zone by engaging in activities I did when I was in SEAL team, including skydiving, shooting, climbing, and long swims. Instead of doing these things in preparation for a mission, I do them not only to maintain these very perishable skills, but also to keep my mind and body sharp—I still push the comfort zone and know that this will allow me to be every bit of the warrior I used to be.
Everyone’s comfort zone is different, so for some of us, expanding it means starting with drinking one less beer or forgoing dessert. Yet all of these little daily victories will bring us confidence later, especially when our lives depend on it. It’s so much easier to do nothing, and it seems natural not to bother, but I tell you: These first exercises are essential in changing your mindset and eventually can be the very things that will separate the survivors from the victims.
Here is a visualization I use: I like to imagine that pushing my comfort zone daily is similar to rolling a boulder up a hill. If I let it, the rock will always want to tumble back down, and I’ll have to start from the bottom again. Expanding the comfort zone on a daily basis will actually make it easier to get that boulder closer to the summit—and to our success or ultimate survival.
COMFORT ZONE CHECKLIST (all answers need to be yes):
Did I challenge myself today?
Did I do something positive that my mind initially didn’t want to do?
Did I do something positive that my body initially didn’t want to do?
Can I do more?
Introduction xiii Part 1 SEAL Mindset and Survival Psychology 1 Expand Your Comfort Zone 3 Increase Your Physical Toughness 5 Increase Your Mental Toughness 7 Mental Preparation 10 Emergency Conditioning Visualization Rehearsal Muscle Memory Create a Trigger Violence of Action Situational Awareness Composure Under Pressure Combat Breathing Checklists Use the Rule of Three 23 Long-Haul Survival 24 Part 2 Survival Scenarios 27 Abandon Ship 29 What to Do When Boarding a Ship or Boat What to Do When a Ship Is Taking On Water Abandoning Ship Mayday Going into the Water Active Shooter 37 Active-Shooter Incidents Police Response Time Situational Awareness: Exits, Cover, People Once a Shooting Begins 0 Reverse 911 Movement Techniques Bullet Penetration Decoys Moving as a Group Set an Ambush Encountering Law Enforcement Airplane Crash 58 Preflight Preparation Where to Sit Gathering Intelligence on Your Plane Situational Awareness on the Plane Impact Brace Positions Postimpact Finding the Best Exit What to Do Once You're Out Animal Attack 66 Dogs Black Bears Brown Bears Polar Bears Mountain Lions Auto Accident 77 Seat Belts Air Bags Other Safety Features and Precautions Avoiding and Minimizing Accidents Four O'clock and Eight O'clock Hand Positions Tire Blowouts Postaccident Actions Biochemical Attack 84 History Early Signs How to Protect Yourself and Escape Improvised Gas Mask Shelter In If You've Been Exposed Bomb 91 Car Bomb Situational Awareness Individual Precautions for Community Safety Structural Safety IED and Booby Trap Suicide Bombers If a Bomb Detonates Bridge Collapse 100 Crumbling Infrastructure Bracing for Impact How to Escape a Submerged Vehicle On the Surface Burglary and Robbery 106 Crime Facts Prevention Point of Entry Being a Good Neighbor Neighborhood Watches Exterior Lighting Doors and Locks Windows Interior Lighting Alarms Dogs When a Burglary Happens When a Robbery Happens Encountering the Invader Convenience Store and Bank Robberies Carjacking 119 Being Alert Typical Strategies Carjackers Use The Bump and Jump The Good Samaritan The Ruse The Trap Surprise Attack Prevention During a Carjacking When a Carjacking Becomes an Abduction Carjacked as a Passenger Locked in Your Trunk Earthquake 128 Secure the Compound If You Are Outdoors If You Are in a Vehicle If You Are Inside Drop, Cover, and Hold On Triangle of Life Aftermath Buried in Rubble Tapping Elevator Emergency 135 Situational Awareness Elevator Entrapment Free Fall Falling Through Ice 141 Going In Swimming Out Rolling Out Stop and Save It If You Are a Bystander Fighting 146 Prefight Commanding Presence 'Distance The Fight Protect Your Face Stay On Your Feet Hit Hard Vulnerable Points on the Body Punches Palm Strikes Feet Elbows Knees Chokeholds Thumb Drops If They Have a Knife or a Gun Final Note on Fighting Fire: Forests, Buildings, Homes 160 Situational Awareness: Know Your Risk Outdoor Fire Threats Preparation Checklists Building and House Fires Renters What to Do in a Fire Flash Flood, Flooding, and Tsunami 167 During a Flood Aftermath of a Flood Tsunami Know Your Location Animal Behaviors Foot Pursuit and Being Chased 171 Mindset Use Your Environment Gang Violence 174 Wrong Place, Wrong Time Distance and De-escalation Punch and Run: Fight and Flight Hijacking 178 Before You Board Settling Into Your Seat Observe Your Passengers Air Marshals Assess the Hijacker Charge! Improvised Weapons Explosives Search, Handle, Restrain The Outside World's Response Home Invasion 186 Tiger Kidnapping Prevention and Rehearsal Safe Rooms When Violence Comes SERE (Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape) How to Escape Restraints Alerting Others Hurricane and Tornado 199 Hurricane Preparation When to Evacuate Holding Your Position Caught Outside It's Not Over Yet Tornado Survival Jail 206 Jail Types and Stats Mental Preparation Just Locked Up What Not to Do Violence Behind Bars Be Good Lightning 211 Know the Enemy Targets The 30/30 Rule Action Checklist Lost at Sea 214 Survival Priorities Staying Afloat Retaining Heat Avoiding Sunstroke Getting Water Getting Food Signaling Raft Survival Sea-Induced Delusions The Long Haul Shark Attack Lost in the Desert 228 Survival Priorities Shade Finding Water Building a Solar Still Types of Shelters Walking Out Lost in the Frozen Mountains 235 Survival Priorities Finding Shelter Building a Quinze Starting and Maintaining a Fire Dry Clothing Getting Water Getting Food Trapping Lichen Moving and Navigation Improvised Compasses Nuclear Attack 245 How a Bomb Works EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) How to React Materials That Protect from Radiation Avoiding Radiation by Sheltering In Avoiding Radiation by Outrunning It Decontamination Pandemic 252 Methods of Transmission Preventing Infection Pandemic in Effect Disruption of Services Minimum Food Essentials Your Crew When You're the Sick One Sickroom Homemade Protective Gear Handling the Dead Riots and Stampedes 259 Awareness of Likelihood If You Are in a Riot If You Live in an Area Where Riots Are Occurring Stampedes Road Rage: Defensive and Evasive Driving 266 Letting Go of Anger on the Road Defensive Driving: Expect the Worst Evasive Driving Basic Techniques for a High-Speed Chase Advanced Techniques Y-Turas J-Turns Barricade Breaching Being Rammed Driver Down Search and Rescue 273 Step Up and Help! Gear Up Going In Marking Your Results Extracting Survivors Levers Cribbing and Shoring Stalker and Surveillance Detection 277 Stalking Stats If You Are Being Followed Change Your Routine Surveillance Detection Route Ambush Torture and Being Held Hostage 280 Torture's Many Forms Why Me? Accepting Your Situation Stress Management Time Thoughts of Escape Become the Gray Man Managing the Pain Give Something vs. Give Nothing Trouble in a Foreign Country 286 Before You Go Friendly Embassies Avoid Trouble In Trouble On the Run Part Three: Gear and Improvised Weapons 293 Gear 295 Go Bag Essentials Go Bag Advanced Firearms 298 Thoughts on Firearms What Weapon Is Best? Basic Firearm Operation and Safety Improvised Weapons 301 Part 4 Survival Medicine 305 Step Up and Help! 308 Casualty Assessment Get into Action Initial Assessment Triage Immediate Priorities for Treating the Injured 312 ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) Rescue Breathing CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) Stopping the Bleeding Dressing the Wound Tourniquets Protecting Wounds Fractures Dislocations Transporting the Injured Shock 329 Causes Prevention and Treatment Heat Injuries 331 Dehydration Heat Cramps Heat Exhaustion Heatstroke Cold Injuries 333 Hypothermia Frostbite Trench Foot Trench Foot 339 Choking 339 How to Help Someone Who's Choking If You Are Alone and Choking If the Victim Is Unconscious Burns 341 Burn Types Short-term Treatment Long-term Treatment Bites and Stings 343 Bees and Wasps Spiders and Scorpions Snakes Acknowledgments 345Table of Contents