Seal Survival Guide

by Cade Courtley

  1. Use the previously discussed tactics of avoiding the bear and attempting to use a bear-repellent spray. However, these animals are larger and much more unpredictable than black bears.

  2. If the bear continues to come at you, immediately fall to the ground and cover your head and your neck with your hands. You also want to get into a fetal position to protect your stomach. Tuck your knees into your chin and don’t move a muscle.

  3. Then, even as nervous as you’ll likely be, play dead. For grizzlies, most attacks on humans are for the purpose of neutralizing a potential threat. If you seem as if you just died of fright, then chances are they will leave you alone. The bear may push at you or see if you move, but if you can remain dead calm during this assault, you may very well live to talk about it. When it comes to outrunning or wrestling a grizzly, your chances of winning are remote. It’s not fun, but the bear will often linger nearby for as much as twenty minutes. At this time, attempt to conceal your hyperventilation and control your body so you’re in a state of complete stillness.

  4. In the event that you must try to ward off an attacking brown bear, go for its nose or eyes. It will be difficult to avoid its powerful paws and sharp claws, but this is your only option. The bear’s nose and eyes are its most vulnerable points, and if you can inflict a blow to these areas, you could get a chance to flee.

  POLAR BEARS

  If you are in regions where polar bears roam, there is a limited chance of surviving a face-to-face encounter if you are unarmed. The best advice is to stay clear and avoid polar bears at all costs. If you play dead with a polar bear, it will eat you. Bear spray might work, and if it comes down to hand-to-hand combat, again go for the nose and eyes. However, if you try to outrun a polar bear on the ice, it will catch you quickly. A polar bear has sandpaper-like paws that make it proficient in running and not slipping on frozen surfaces.

  Mountain Lion Attacks

  The mountain lion, also known as puma or cougar, is the only long-tailed wildcat in North America. They live for upwards of twelve years and can weigh as much as 160 pounds. They are primarily nocturnal and secretive, and their diet is composed mostly of deer and elk. Your chances of seeing a mountain lion in the wild are slim, but you should always be aware of an animal that can leap upwards of eighteen vertical feet and feeds on meat. Do the following things to avoid a mountain lion attack:

  1. Travel in groups and make a lot of noise. Lions will go out of their way to avoid confrontation.

  2. If you do come upon a lion, face it and appear as large as possible by raising your arms or holding objects like an open coat.

  3. Give the lion an escape route. If necessary, throw rocks or tree limbs at it to move it along.

  4. Back away slowly but continue to face the lion. Don’t run, as this will only stimulate its chase response.

  5. If you are attacked, stay on your feet and fight. Lions have been known to retreat when their prey fights back.

  6. If a lion manages to attack and has you in its grip, strike and jam a stick or rock at its eyes and nose, which might loosen its hold and give you an opportunity to escape.

  One of the SEALs (who shall remain nameless) whom I had the honor of working with in my first platoon at SEAL Team Two was the victim of a wild-animal attack. Imagine this—the guy had spent the better part of twenty years in some of the most hostile places on the planet. He survived countless combat situations in addition to walking away from three—that’s right, three—helicopter crashes. And then, he almost got killed by a deer while jogging in Germany. He was on a forest trail when he came face-to-face with a huge antlered stag standing on its hind legs, with hooves up, ready to fight, as they do during mating season to protect their turf. WTF?

  AUTO ACCIDENT

  There are more than 200 million vehicles in the United States, many heading in any number of directions at this given moment, and all operated by individuals with varying degrees of alertness and skill. The chances of getting into a car accident at least once in your life are estimated to be more than 95 percent—essentially it’s not a matter of if but when you’ll be in an accident. Approximately 43,000 Americans are killed on our nation’s roadways every year, and another 100,000 become permanently disabled due to car accidents. So what is the single best thing you can do to increase your chances of walking away from an automobile accident?

  Wear Your Seat Belt

  Even if the death rate due to automobile accidents is so high, cars are actually much safer than ever before. For example, in the 1950s, when there were a third as many cars on the road, more than 32,000 car-related fatalities occurred each year. The retractable seat belt was invented in the 1940s and offered as an option on cars only during the 1950s. In the United States, auto manufacturers were not required to put them in all cars until 1968. It wasn’t until the nineties that most states passed laws requiring drivers to wear one.

  Most deaths from auto accidents result from injuries sustained when the body is slammed against the steering wheel, for example, or dashboard. Seat belts prevent death from internal injuries that happen when the car is stopped suddenly during an accident, and when the driver or passengers are subjected to impact.

  There are a number of seat belt designs, but all should be strapped low around your hips. Make sure the shoulder strap crosses over your chest diagonally and that it is as snug as you can have it while maintaining maneuverability.

  The work I did in Iraq involved a lot of high-speed driving. We rarely wore seat belts because the idea of having to quickly evacuate the car and getting caught up in the seat belt was a nightmare. Hell, with all of the gear we wore it was hard enough to get out as it was. But when I learned that the leading cause of injury in the crew I was working with was automobile-related accidents, I went against the “trapped” fear and started making my men strap in anytime the speed of the vehicle was over 35 mph. It paid off and saved lives.

  Other Safety Features and Precautions

  I absolutely love classic cars, but I now understand why traffic fatalities are at an all-time low. Many of these older cars had only lap belts, seats without head support, hard steering wheels with protruding steering columns, narrow pedals, and no air bags.

  Air bag technology was invented to protect astronauts when early spacecraft were designed to crash-land back to Earth. The first car air bag was invented in 1968 and installed in some government vehicles in 1973. Air bags became a standard-issue feature in cars in 1990, but not until 1999 were both cars and light trucks required to install both driver and passenger-side air bags. An air bag senses impact and sudden deceleration and inflates at a speed of 200 mph, as fast as a shell fired from a sawed-off shotgun. This millisecond in which an air bag is deployed has decreased the risk of dying during a front-end collision by 30 percent. Do not disable your air bag, and have its functionality checked periodically.

  Air Bag Precautions

  The early-model air bags were so strong that some actually caused decapitation if they malfunctioned. They are still powerful but are far more sensor-regulated. However, a small child in the passenger seat should be placed so that his or her seat is as far back as it can be from the dashboard. Because accidents aren’t planned and an air bag is deployed on impact, I recommend driving with your hands at the four o’clock and eight o’clock positions on the steering wheel, rather than the standard two and ten. This will provide a clear path for the bag to release without sending your arms and hands into your face. Do not place any object on top of the air bag enclosure, or you may end up eating it. Keep your head back against the headrest but loosen your shoulders.

  Newton’s Law

  An object in motion will stay in motion. This is why the addition of the chest belt and headrest have been so successful in reducing injuries and fatalities. The belt keeps your entire body firmly in the seat, while a properly adjusted headrest (middle of the headrest even with the middle of the back of your head) will eliminate whiplash. When you get in an accident and stop abruptly, t
hings like your head, books, cell phone, golf clubs, and such don’t realize this and keep moving. Anything loose lying about the car can become a deadly projectile and cause injury. For example, don’t keep a baseball bat in the area of the back window, or it will turn into a club upon impact and possibly kill you. Stow all stuff under the seat, or in the trunk, or in wheel-well areas.

  SEALs say: “Take care of your gear and it will take care of you.”

  Vehicle Maintenance

  The vehicle you get into every day is one important piece of “gear.” It’s actually amazing the abuse most vehicles go through and yet keep running despite our lack of regular maintenance. Make a checklist of items that need to be maintained and serviced on your vehicle, and follow it. You can greatly decrease the chances of an auto accident by simply maintaining your vehicle. Pay particular attention to the condition of your brakes and tires. The extra thousand miles you are trying to get out of your tires could mean the difference between avoiding an accident and being the cause of it.

  Common Sense Is Rarely Common

  You’ve heard the advice about driving defensively, but it’s no mere cliché. In some foreign countries there seem to be no traffic laws. People drive at crazy speeds, on the wrong side of the road, and think of traffic signs as only suggestions. Not to mention after spending the majority of your life driving on the right side of the road, it takes a lot of focus to tell your brain and muscles to drive and stay on the left side in countries where this is required. The death rates from car accidents in these countries are astronomically higher than in the United States. In America, many traffic signs were installed only after fatalities occurred at that site, so their presence is a warning to you to obey the rules. If it’s raining, you don’t need to go 60 mph just because the speed limit allows it. Adjust to environmental conditions—you don’t want to be among this year’s car causalities or become permanently handicapped due to your own carelessness.

  Focus

  The car is a powerful machine that can injure or kill. I couldn’t imagine texting or talking on my cell phone while I was cleaning my rifle, but nowadays people eat while driving, shave, put on their makeup—and even watch TV. In this wonderful age of electronics, there is a spike of accidents resulting from multitasking while driving, attributable primarily to distractions. Texting and e-mailing while you should be keeping your focus on the road are the latest causes of fatal car crashes.

  The Accident: Avoid and Minimize

  Again, driving is something that requires a high degree of situational awareness. Observe the road, looking for things that could end up causing an accident. Drive defensively from the moment you start your engine until you turn it off (see “Road Rage: Defensive and Evasive Driving,” page 266). As an avid motorcyclist, I am constantly trying to anticipate what the drivers around me will do next. Keep your head on a swivel. Watch for cars ahead, and look for pedestrians, trying to anticipate their next move. It’s recommended to keep two car lengths behind the vehicle ahead of you, which will provide enough time to brake and react to the unexpected. If you notice a distracted driver, stay extra clear. Also, many of the people driving rented moving trucks are inexperienced in handling these oversized vehicles and should be given a wide berth. If you see a car that has just parked, be prepared for the driver to fling open the door without looking. Be particularly watchful of kids playing on the sidewalk, for if they start to chase a ball, chances are they will not check for oncoming traffic.

  If all efforts have failed and a crash is imminent, maintain your composure. You must try to respond with decisive maneuvers, but you must do so as smoothly as possible.

  1. Brace your hands on the wheel in the four o’clock and eight o’clock positions to allow the air bag to deploy without being obstructed by your hands and arms. Put your head back against the headrest and relax your body.

  2. Try to slow your vehicle as much as possible, especially if you are veering toward a tree or a concrete barrier.

  • Braking: There are certain techniques to braking that are proven to keep maximum control. Primarily, if you slam the brakes, you will lose control. Antilock brakes have an antilock brake system (ABS) computer chip that regulates brake fluid and prevents the brakes from freezing up if pressed firmly. If your car lacks antilock brakes, then pumping the brake pedal will prevent lockup and allow you to retain control. Slammed brakes cause your car to skid, leaving you to lose control and making the result of the accident far more likely to be even less favorable.

  3. Use the front of your car. The way new cars are designed, hitting something head-on offers more protection than taking a blow from the side. The side panels of cars are usually less fortified.

  4. Steer smoothly. Just as you don’t want to jam the breaks, you don’t want to jerk the steering wheel quickly (even if driving at normal speeds). This will cause the vehicle to skid and oftentimes spin in the opposite direction.

  • If the car begins to skid, your instincts will falsely tell you to turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction. In fact, it’s best to turn the wheel toward the direction of the skid to regain control.

  5. Sometimes you may need to accelerate while you steer or weave out of range of an oncoming car to avoid an accident.

  Tire Blowouts

  If you are dealing with a blowout or get a flat while driving, do not slam on the brakes. Let off the gas and allow your car to gradually decelerate on its own while steering at a slight angle toward the shoulder of the road you are on.

  Postaccident

  After the accident, if you are conscious, you want to exit the vehicle quickly. However, assess the area in which the accident occurred. For example, you do not want to step out into oncoming traffic. If the air bag deployed, the interior of the car will be filled with talcum powder. When the air bags deploy, a small explosive charge ignites two chemicals that react to form the nitrogen that is used to fill the air bag. The smell of that chemical reaction is unfamiliar to most, and that, combined with the talcum powder filling the car’s interior, causes many people to think the car is on fire. That usually isn’t the case. If the car is truly on fire, the smoke will most likely be dark and oily. Remain calm and go into combat breathing. If you can leave the car, chances are your injuries are not life-threatening. Even if you find yourself trapped within the vehicle, you must still retain your wits; try to stay conscious by telling yourself that you can endure and that help will arrive shortly. No matter the pain, know that feeling anything is a good sign. You are alive.

  BIOCHEMICAL ATTACK

  In 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, a religious group released sarin, a deadly nerve gas, on several lines of the Tokyo metro during rush hour. Crowds fled packed subways, gagged, vomited, and collapsed on the streets during the chemical attack, which killed twelve people and caused thousands of severe injuries. The same group had used the nerve gas a year before. Sarin was released from trucks, targeting a neighborhood where judges lived who were about to pass a verdict in a real estate case that was not favorable to the sect. Eight died from that incident. For the Tokyo metro operation, small pouches of sarin were dropped and punctured by sharpened umbrella tips.

  The use of biological and chemical weapons is nothing new to warfare. In the 1300s, invading Tartars used a form of biotoxin when besieging cites. They gathered bodies infected with bubonic plague and catapulted the corpses over the walls of enemy fortresses. In 1972, an ecoterrorist group called RISE tried to disperse microbial pathogens using crop-dusting aircraft. Biological and chemical attacks use various toxic agents to cause massive casualties, and although they are often dispersed differently, survival methods for both scenarios are similar.

  Biological toxins are designed to spread pathogens that cause disease, while in chemical warfare liquids or gases are employed that are meant to cause the body to malfunction rapidly. In any regard, such attacks are considered highly probable to occur in the United States in the near future. As mentioned, disbursement methods vary, but experts agree
that in order for these biochemical agents to be effective and cause massive contamination, the agent must be something that is quickly absorbed by the skin or inhaled, or something ingested that lacks taste, color, or smell.

  Early Signs

  Here is another incident when situational awareness is of paramount importance. The earlier that biological toxins or chemical agents are detected, the better your odds of survival. As mentioned, in situational awareness exercises, you note variances against the baseline, or what is normal. To detect biochemical attacks, you need to pay attention to oddities or unusual things in the environment.

  Chemical agents will frequently give signs of exposure within minutes or hours. They are generally liquids, often aerosolized, and most have a unique odor and color. Biological agents usually have no odor or color and can be in either liquid or powder form.

  Biopathogens introduced into water supplies, for example, can take days to be noticed. For instance, when anthrax, often delivered in powder form, is used it generally takes two to five days before symptoms appear.

  Some examples of possible preattack warning signs:

  • Surfaces covered with an oily substance.