by Jon E. Lewis
10 Tie one end of a rope to a canteen and the other end to the raft. This will help you in towing the raft.
When launching or landing either type of raft take care not to puncture or tear it by dragging it on the ground. Let the raft lie on the water for a few minutes to ensure that it floats before you start to cross the river or stream. If the river is too deep to ford, push the raft in front of you while swimming.
Log raft
This will carry both you and your equipment if you are unable to cross in any other way; if you have an axe and a knife you can build it without rope. A suitable raft for three men would be 3.5m (12 ft) long and (2m) 6 ft wide. You can use dry, dead standing trees for logs, but spruce trees that are found in polar and sub-polar regions make the best log rafts.
1 Build the raft on two skid logs placed so that they slope downwards to the bank. Smooth the logs with an axe so that the raft logs lie evenly on them.
2 Cut four off-set inverted notches, one in the top and bottom of both ends of each log. Make the notches broader at the base than at the outer edge of the log.
3 To bind the raft together, drive through each notch a three-sided wooden crosspiece about 30 cm longer than the width of the raft. Connect all the notches on one side of the raft before connecting those on the other.
CROSSING ON A RAFT
A deep and fast-moving river can be crossed several times using a pendulum action at a bend in the river; this is necessary when several men have to cross. However, remember the following.
1 The raft must be canted in the direction of the current.
2 The rope from the anchor point must be 7–8 times as long as the width of the river.
3 The attachment of the rope to the raft must be adjustable to change the cant of the raft so that it can return to the starting bank.
4 Lash the overhanging ends of the two crosspieces together at each end of the raft to give it additional strength. When the raft enters the water, the crosspieces swell binding the logs together tightly.
5 If the crosspieces fit too loosely, wedge them with thin pieces of dried wood. These swell when wet, tightening and strengthening the crosspieces.
Flash floods
Beware of rapidly-increased water flows. Flash floods are a common feature in the tropics and can arrive suddenly many miles from any apparent storm. Try to cross steadily but quickly. Heat loss will be substantial and you could quickly become weak. Once out on the other bank, take your clothes off and wring out as much water as possible. Change into dry kit if you can. Otherwise, put your wet clothing back on – it will soon dry out as your body warms up.
Rapids
Crossing a deep, swift river or rapids is not as dangerous as it looks. If you are swimming across, swim with the current-never fight it – and try to keep your body horizontal to the water. This will reduce the danger of being pulled under.
In fast, shallow rapids, travel on your back, feet first; use your hands as fins alongside your hips to add buoyancy and to fend off submerged rocks. Keep your feet up to avoid getting them bruised or caught by rocks.
In deep rapids, travel on your front, head first; angle towards the shore whenever you can. Breathe between wave troughs. Be careful of backwater eddies and converging currents as they often contain dangerous swirls.
Other water obstacles
You may also face bogs, quagmire, muskeg or quicksand. DO NOT try to walk across; trying to lift your feet while standing upright will make you sink deeper. If you are unable to bypass them, you may be able to bridge them using logs, branches or foliage.
Another way to cross is to lie face downwards with your arms spread and swim or pull your way across. Be sure to keep your body horizontal.
In swamps, the areas that have vegetation are usually firm enough to support your weight and you should be able to crawl or pull your way through miles of swamp or bog. In open mud or water areas without vegetation, you can swim.
ROPEWORK
Whether you are rigging a camouflage net or tensioning a rope across a chasm, your success or failure – maybe your life – will at some stage depend upon your or a mate’s ability to tie a secure knot. How many times have you seen a tangle of cordage, jammed knots, ropes unravelling at their ends? These are the signs of dangerous and sloppy rope-handling. Although you will not be in constant contact with ropes, an understanding of rope and knots is a fundamental requirement of the professional soldier.
Assuming you have no specialist equipment available, how do you learn to work efficiently and safely with rope?
TEACHING YOURSELF KNOTS
There is no substitute for practice. You will find learning easier if you use two two-metre lengths of 5-mm climbing accessory cord, ideally of different colours. You haven’t learned a knot until you can consistently tie it behind your back; in a combat situation you may have to tie a life-saving knot, quickly in the dark, and possibly under water, for example while crossing a river.
Basic rope terminology
Handling cordage
Nothing is more frustrating than having to constantly untangle rope or string when you need it in a hurry. Get into the habit of always coiling and hanking rope correctly.
Hanking and coiling
Hanking is the term used to describe the correct method of gathering short lengths of small cordage such as paracord. Wind the cord around the thumb and little finger of one hand in a figure-of-eight fashion, leaving about a metre to spare. Take the coils off your hand and wrap them with the spare length, finishing off with half a hitch or two pulled tight.
Long lengths of small cordage should be coiled. Coiling is the correct method of gathering rope. Correctly coiled rope should not contain kinks. Before coiling, make sure the working end of the rope (i.e. the end not in your hand) is unattached. As you take on the coils, twist the rope between your thumb and index finger so that perfect coils are formed, without twists or kinks. Once coiled, double back about a third of a metre of the fixed end, take off the last coil and wrap the coil tightly from the fixed end to the double-back. Pass the working end through the loop formed at the double-back, and pull on the fixed end to lock the whipping tight.
Types of rope
Choose your rope carefully. Each type of rope has its own characteristics and uses; the wrong choice of rope could easily prove fatal – for instance, you should never climb on hemp ropes. Wherever possible, familiarize yourself with the types and specification of the ropes available.
1 Hawser-laid ropes
These are the traditional type of rope, normally constructed from three strands. The advantage is that the rope can be easily inspected for wear and tear, but the disadvantage is that it tends to wear more easily than braided ropes, and unless correctly handled tends to kink. More importantly, it does not stretch to absorb the energy of a fall in climbing.
2 Braided ropes
Often referred to as Kernmantel, (Kern = Core; Mantel = Sheath), these ropes are almost totally made from man-made fibres. The core of the rope is the major load-bearing part, with the sheath acting as a protection from abrasion and other external hazards, and providing, in some cases, comfortable handling. The disadvantage is that it is impossible to detect progressive wear on the core of the rope. This type of rope has a limited safe lifespan if used for climbing: successive heavy falls will weaken it, so you must know a rope’s history before you use it.
Materials
The material the rope is made from is more significant than its method of construction. Rope can be made from natural or man-made fibres; the latter is the most common nowadays.
1 Natural fibres
Hemp, sisal, cotton etc. are rapidly being replaced by the man-made fibres. The disadvantages of natural ropes are numerous; when wet they lose 30 per cent of their strength and are heavy and difficult to handle; they are prone to mildew and vermin, and are uncomfortable to handle.
They do, however, have one great advantage over man-made fibres; when hot they do not melt, which makes
them the best choice in situations of high friction and fire emergencies. Seagoing vessels still have to have their ships’ ladders made from natural ropes, in case of fire. The time gained by having ropes that smoulder rather than melt is a significant safety feature, even though the ropes need replacing more frequently.
The other advantage of a natural rope is its tendency to “sing out” before it breaks – an audible warning that has so often saved Tarzan in the movies. Watch out: the acid from batteries will rot natural rope.
2 Man-made fibres
In most cases, these are stronger, more durable, lighter and cheaper than natural fibres. However, they are more slippery and require careful attention to knots. The cheapest man-made fibres available are polythene and polypropylene ropes: these are the very smooth orange and blue ropes often seen on lifebelts and building sites. These ropes float (hence their use on lifebelts), but are weak compared with the other man-made fibres. They also tend to suffer more from ultra-violet decay, most noticeable as a lightening and opaque change in their colour, which greatly reduces their strength.
Polyester or terylene is much stronger than polypropylene and is often used by sailors. This is also the material from which modern abseiling and caving ropes are made. Although fine for these specific activities this type of rope should never be used for climbing with, because it is pre-stretched. A fall taken on such a rope would break the climber’s back.
Nylon is the man-made fibre used for climbing ropes, due to its ability to absorb shock by stretching. If a climber falls, the force of the fall is taken gradually, thus cushioning the jolt.
Climbing ropes
Climbing ropes come in two main types; half ropes and single ropes. They are marked accordingly. Half ropes need to be used in pairs or doubled, whereas a single rope can be used on its own. Because climbing rope stretches it should not be used for towing or assault pioneering tasks.
Rope strength
To use the full strength of any rope, the load must be taken equally by all the fibres. This only happens when the rope is pulled in a straight line. When a rope is bent, for example over a cliff edge, the fibres on the inside, which severely weakens the strength of the rope. If an 11-mm climbing rope passes around a karabiner clip with a 5-mm diameter, the rope strength reduces to 70 per cent.
The strength of a rope depends on its weakest part. When you are constructing rope bridges, lifting weights or carrying out any other assault pioneering tasks, it makes sense to have a rough idea whether the system you have built is going to take the load.
The rule for the working strength of dry fibre ropes in hundredweights is given by its circumference in inches squared. So a safe working load for a new three-inch fibre rope is about 3 × 3 which is 9 hundredweight (500 kg).
Whenever a knot is tied in a rope, bends are introduced, causing weakness; some knots weaken rope more than others.
TRACKING
As a soldier, your knowledge of tracking will enhance your awareness, increase your ability to gather intelligence and sharpen your fieldcraft. If you are in command during extended border operation, a tracking capability will enable you to build an accurate map of the localized enemy movements without having to send out large numbers of patrols.
But for a survivor, tracking skill means food. If you’re close to civilisation, man-made obstacles such as fences and irrigation channels force game to pass through bottlenecks, making trapping easy. But in remote sparsely populated areas it is not so simple. You must be able to recognize the trails of local game and be capable of following them from their resting areas to their feeding areas, where trapping is easier.
Good trackers are rare. When they are needed for military purposes, commanders usually employ hunters from the local indigenous population. But this does not mean that Westerners cannot track; some of them are among the world’s best trackers. A tracker is a reader of “sign”. He takes a few faint pieces of information and, using the process of deduction and comparison with previous experience, puts the puzzle together.
Obstacles to trackers
The more experience the tracker has, the better able he is to do the job. But he must still beware the following:
1 Lack of confidence: Even the best trackers use intuition, and a tracker must know when to trust a hunch. With lives at stake, lack of confidence can cloud your ability to think straight. Experience is the only solution.
2 Bad weather: ‘Sign’ does not last for ever. Wind, rain and fresh snowfall will all obliterate it: many a trail has gone cold because the tracker has not paid enough attention to the weather forecast. With unfavourable weather imminent, short cuts may need to be taken to speed the “follow up”.
3 Non-track-conscious personnel: By the time trackers are called in to follow the trail, the clues at the proposed start have usually been destroyed by clumsy feet. If you are fortunate enough to work with a team that can recognize “sign” even though they cannot read it, you will have extra pairs of eyes to help you find the vital clues.
4 Unsympathetic commander: Tracking is a solitary business, requiring great concentration. A tracker must have the trust of the commander and must be able to trust his cover group. Tracking often seems to be painfully slow, but the tracker will be moving as fast as he can: never rush him. The more intelligence he has at his disposal the better, so tell him what is going on: your knowledge of enemy movement may make sense of an otherwise meaningless clue.
Try to allow the tracker time to impart a rudimentary knowledge of tracking to his cover group, and make sure the cover group are all patient men: the tracker has the challenge of the trail to hold his attention, but the cover and support group does not. If they make any noise it is the tracker who is at greatest risk.
Attributes of a tracker
Tracking is mainly a visual skill. Your eyesight, whether you wear glasses or not, must be 20/20. Short sighted people often seem to make good trackers once their eyesight is corrected.
A general ability to observe is not enough for tracking; you have to piece information together, like Sherlock Holmes. You must also be patient, persistent and constantly questioning your own theories, especially if you are “solo tracking”.
Very often, you will trail your target to within touching distance. To reduce risks, self defence and close-quarter battle skills are vital.
Although modern equipment plays an important role in the task of tracking, remember that it does not replace your tracking ability; it just makes life easier.
LEARNING TO TRACK
Tracking is not a particularly difficult skill to learn, but it needs dedication and much practice. Once you have learned the basic principles and techniques you can practise in your own time. If you want to reach a high standard, it will help if you have a team mate who can lay trails for you. Make sure you keep a log: this must include the duration of the track, the time of the day, the ground conditions and the level of difficulty.
Teaching yourself is not easy. The biggest mistake you can make is to “run before you can walk”: for at least your first 50 hours, follow simple trails, concentrating on accurately interpreting the “sign”. Then gradually increase the difficulty of the trails. When you have 100 hours under your belt, you should be following fairly difficult trails.
YOUR TRACKING KIT
You should not need any special equipment, but the following will simplify your task.
1 Notepad and pen: This is a very important part of any track pack; a detailed drawing of the track you are following can easily be photocopied and distributed to other trackers. While learning to track, make frequent drawings. This will force you to notice the fine details in any footprint, such as wear patterns and sole damage, which will enable you to pick it out again later.
2 Map and compass: These not only show you where you are; they will often enable you to guide in a strike force or tracking team to cut the trail of the target and eventually intercept. Take your eyes off the trail frequently and study the map, to try and unders
tand where your target might be heading. For example, if he is heading for a waterhole you may be able to insert a heliborne troop to ambush him.
3 Watch: An important tool. By acting out the target’s trail for a given distance, you will be able to work out his speed of travel.
4 Torch (Flashlight): This will enable you to control the light under difficult conditions and to track at night. The torch must be robust and ideally have a soft focus capability, which reduces the fatigue of “eye strain” during extended night tracking.
5 Tracking stick: This is a unique tracking aid developed by the trackers of the US Border Patrol. It looks similar to a lightweight walking stick. On the stick are two adjustable markers, which are used to measure the step interval and track length. When you have difficulties finding the next track you should find the next sign at the point of the stick.
6 Lolly (popsicle) sticks: These are used to mark each track, enabling you to see at a glance the track pattern.
7 Orange crepe paper: This can be used to mark a trail, or a particularly interesting aspect. Again, this is favoured by the US Border Patrol. If a tracking team comes across a forgotten marked trail it is difficult to confuse with a fresh trail as crepe paper fades quickly.
8 Mine tape: This can be used to mark the start of the trail and sets of track of great importance. Always remove mine tape at the completion of the follow up.
9 Magnifying glass: A very useful aid to tracking although you would not use it as constantly as Sherlock Holmes might!
10 Binoculars: The use of binoculars is not always possible, but they can sometimes be used to read tracks at a distance as well as for making visual contact with the target.
READING “SIGN”
The first skill of tracking is the most important one you will learn, becoming sign-conscious. There is no quick way to achieve this. As you go about your everyday business, try to notice footprints, tracks, fingerprints, hairs and other signs. As you walk along a pavement, look out for the elastic bands discarded by postmen.
