HOW TO ESCAPE RESTRAINTS
Rope, Tape
• Cutting method: Search for any object with an edge, such as a piece of broken glass or a vase shard that smashed during the initial assault. Secretly attempt to get this into your bound hands.
• Friction method: If left out of view of your attackers, you might have time to escape bondage using friction. For example, you can make a friction saw with shoelaces by looping each end, running the length over your restraints, and placing a foot in each loop. Bicycle your feet, causing the laces to cut through the rope or tape from the friction they create.
• Burning method: Use matches or a lighter to actually melt through the restraint.
• Wiggle method: With the exception of metal handcuffs, many restraints have a certain degree of elasticity. It will greatly improve your ability to use this technique if you take a deep breath and expand your chest and upper body while you are being bound. Once you exhale, you will already have a little slack, making it easier to get free. Attempt to use constant movement to establish enough slack to get out.
Flex Cuffs
Flex cuffs are increasingly popular with both law enforcement and hostage takers due to their strength and low cost. These plastic ties are usually more durable than rope or duct tape, but you could escape using:
• The shim method: Find an object to wedge into the latch. Flex cuffs have small plastic teeth that can be worn or broken. If you can get a shim into the tie slot, it could be possible to prevent the one-way catch from activating and allow you to pull one end free.
• Break: Flex cuffs can also snap if jammed against something hard enough. If there is nothing to strike against, escape flex cuffs by using your own chest as a ramming board. This will hurt but is often effective: Try to stretch your arms out directly in front of you, then, in a powerful motion, drive your arms back toward your chest. Keep doing this until the band lock latch is breached.
Handcuffs
Handcuffs work using a very basic one-way locking mechanism. The arm of the cuffs has a series of teeth on it known as a ratchet. As the ratchet travels through the pawl, or the locking pin, it allows the arm to tighten, but the pawl will not allow the arm to loosen due to the one-way nature of the teeth.
The best way to defeat handcuffs is by using a handcuff key you have stashed on your body. I always carry a plastic one taped to the underside of my watch. If, however, you don’t have a spare key, there are two other methods for removing handcuffs.
• The bobby-pin method: Remove the plastic from the tip of a standard bobby pin, place the pin an eighth of an inch deep into the handcuff keyhole, and make a 90-degree bend at the end of the bobby pin. Then take the bobby pin and place it directly into the keyhole about an eighth of an inch deep. Rotate the bobby pin so the bent end pushes the spring-loaded pawl down far enough so that the teeth on the ratchet clear the pawl, allowing the arm to swing open.
• The shim method: Take a bobby pin with plastic tip removed or another, thinner piece of metal, and place this in the slot just below the ratchet arm. Shim the space between the teeth of the ratchet and the catch of the pawl so the one-way lock is defeated, allowing the arm to swing open.
ONCE YOU’RE FREE OF RESTRAINTS
Now that you are free, don’t squander this small opportunity. If you escape your restraints, keep a cool head and act as if you are still in your restraints. You have the advantage of not being in the condition in which the invaders think you are. Fighting may not be wise; however, the attackers may let their guards down once you appear to be restrained.
If you can keep your wits, you can increase your options for survival by waiting for the right moment to act. You must seize this chance because there might not be another. Now that you are free and have gathered intelligence about the group, you can assess if this is a robbery or if the attackers intend to turn this into a tiger kidnapping. In either case, time is running out, and you must take the one opportunity you have to escape.
Remember, the base goal at this point is not to attempt to free everyone but to get at least one of you out of the house. If someone in the household can escape and call for help, the home invaders will have lost their advantage. If you have the chance, it may be difficult to leave your loved ones behind. But remember, if you can get to a phone, this entire ordeal will be over in a few minutes. Nevertheless, seek an opportunity to create a diversion to allow the member who is freed of binding to make an escape. Set off a car alarm triggered from your keyless remote, or feign illness, or call out to the captors. If you are fleeing, you will have only a moment to go undiscovered; create barricades between you and the intruders as you go. Jumping or dropping from a height may be your only option for escape.
You won’t want to leave anyone behind, but doing so could save everyone. To some, running away from your family in crisis is distasteful, especially to men or women with children. However, the alternative could be far worse. And don’t ever follow an intruder once they leave your home. Leave that to the police.
HURRICANE AND TORNADO
Put your hat out the window of a car doing 75 mph and it gets flung backward. At 110 to 150 mph, it would be nearly impossible to hold on to it. Wind, rain, and the flooding caused by hurricanes make for a life-threatening natural disaster that must be taken seriously. When a storm system has sustained winds at speeds of 74 miles per hour or greater, it’s classified as a hurricane. As natural occurrences, hurricanes form from storm clouds that gather en masse over large, warm bodies of water, and depending on various other environmental factors, begin to circulate. Wind speed will determine the storm’s potential hazard, which is measured in categories: Category 1 has winds from 74 to 95 mph; a “Cat 5” has maximum sustained wind speeds of at least 157 mph.
A hurricane’s concentrated pressure and barometric fluctuations are what cause the most serious structural damage. Even if you are sheltered in an adequate dwelling, the pressure can literally cause an improperly braced house, for example, to implode. In addition, those who don’t take this powerful force of nature seriously greatly increase their chance of being killed by blowing debris. Deadly floods can also be part of the aftermath of a hurricane.
The Galveston, Texas, hurricane of September 8, 1900, claimed the highest death toll of any hurricane in U.S. history, with more than 8,000 fatalities due to flooding. More recently, the nation’s third-worst storm occurred on August 29, 2005, when Category 5 hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast from Biloxi, Mississippi, to New Orleans, killing more Americans than any other single natural disaster in more than fifty years. The storm surge broke a five-hundred-foot section of levee that kept the below-sea-level areas of New Orleans dry, flooding the historic streets with up to twenty feet of surging water and causing 1,400 deaths.
Preparation, Preparation, Preparation
Hurricane forecasting has improved tremendously since the turn of the last century, when the folks of Galveston had no clue as to what was heading their way on that fateful day. A hurricane is one natural disaster for which we are given plenty of time to prepare and/or evacuate. I can think of no greater example of how easily you can increase your odds of survival than by taking the time to do a serious preparation checklist and being ready for the worst.
The parallels between a nasty hurricane and combat are unlimited. Survival often comes down to knowing when to hold your position and when to move. You must decide when to fight, when to make a planned evacuation, and when to bunker in. Once the winds blow, the chances of dying from flying debris are great. As in combat, surviving a hurricane requires having the right gear and supplies to keep you alive. Preparation and rehearsal are keys to success in surviving this natural disaster.
Home Prep
Sheltering in a dwelling unprepared can be lethal. Use the following checklist to prepare your home.
Cover all openings. Use hurricane shutters with clearly marked windstorm ratings, or precut and predrilled plywood, and use permanent fasteners to attach
them to the walls.
Make sure the straps that attach the roof to the wall plate of your house are properly nailed. If a house has a gable-end roof (looks like there’s a triangle at one corner), then use two-by-four cross-bracing to reinforce these parts for the horizontal force the gable ends will bear. The uplift force of hurricanes frequently blows entire roofs off homes.
Tie down or remove exterior lawn furniture, etc.
Survey for overhanging trees and trim. Remove trees that are within falling distance of your roof.
Know how to turn off electricity and gas.
Pets are not allowed in most emergency shelters, so make sure you have a plan for them.
Equipment
Be prepared for a short-term lack of power and water. Make a checklist of essentials, and each year check that emergency supplies are functioning.
ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES
• Medications for yourself and family members for at least a week.
• A good first-aid kit to treat cuts, abrasions, and other general illnesses or injuries.
• Water: Fill bathtubs and stock up on water jugs. The rule is to have at least one gallon of water per person per day. Bathtub water can be used for hygiene, and bottled water for drinking. Water-purification supplies, such as chlorine or bleach, can also make long-standing bathwater or even pool water drinkable.
• A stockpile of nonperishable foods that can be eaten without cooking.
• An emergency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radio, or any radio with plenty of extra batteries.
• Cell phones that are fully charged.
• Valuable documents and emergency contact numbers stored in sealable plastic bags.
• Cash. ATMs could be down and banks may be closed for some time.
• Sleeping bags ready and a well-stocked safe room.
• Ample flashlights and chemlights.
VEHICLE
Get the car filled with gas.
Make sure windshield wipers are new.
Check spare tire and jacking equipment.
Have a map showing several evacuation routes.
When to Evacuate
People are naturally reluctant to leave their homes. Hurricane paths and strengths, as mentioned, are followed and forecast well in advance. However, since the predicted path of a hurricane has a two-hundred-mile (plus or minus) margin of error, it is not certain exactly where a hurricane will make landfall, which leads many to merely hope for the best. If you do decide to leave, then make the assessment early—the rule of thumb in such scenarios is always the sooner, the better. Understand that in an evacuation there are going to be thousands of scared people all trying to flee. Traffic jams will be inevitable, and you may see the very worst in people because of the stress of the situation. Stay focused and relaxed. This is an excellent opportunity to utilize combat breathing.
FEMA offers these guidelines to help you decide when to evacuate:
• Listen to weather broadcasts and evacuate if directed by authorities to do so.
• Evacuate if you live on the coast, in a floodplain, near a river, or near an inland waterway.
• Evacuate if you live in a mobile home or temporary structure.
• Evacuate if you live in a high-rise building.
• Evacuate if you feel you are in danger.
When planning your evacuation route during the hurricane-preparation phase, know the routes firsthand. Look for what are called “blue lines” on highway maps, or less-traveled roads, and know how to circumvent likely traffic jams. Use in-car navigation systems that monitor traffic to look for alternate routes. If you live in a hurricane area, drive the route during nonemergency situations. When people flee, panic sets in, and tempers and frustrations rise. The obvious route may not be the best one. Get to the highest ground you can and away from the coast and other waterways.
Make sure you have an out-of-town emergency point of contact that anyone in your family can call in case you are separated.
Holding Your Position
If you were unable to evacuate and are going to have to stay put, set up base in an interior room on a lower floor, preferably without windows or external walls. In a two-story house, consider what heavy furniture is located in the room above. You can further bunker in by positioning yourself under a heavy table and using mattresses and blankets to block the open sides.
Caught Outside
If you find yourself threatened by a hurricane when you are outside, you should abandon your vehicle if you’re in one, and find shelter immediately. If no structure is available, lie flat on the ground, seek out a ditch, or hunker down behind a rock outcropping. Change to the other side of the rock formation after the eye passes, as the wind will then be blowing in the opposite direction. Look above and stay away from poles or trees that could be uprooted. Your greatest danger is being struck by flying debris, so stay as low to the ground as possible. Use the low or slightly raised crawling technique, making your way from cover to cover until you find suitable shelter. Once there, try to find something you can use to offer additional cover or cushioning from blowing debris.
It’s Not Over Yet
If all goes quiet, don’t assume the hurricane is gone. You may be in the eye of the storm, which makes for a deceptive and eerie calm. But depending on the size of the storm system, this sudden reprieve may last only a few minutes before the violent winds return, blowing from the opposite direction. In a 2004 Florida hurricane, a woman went out during the false calm to search for her lost cat and was killed by a flying water heater when the winds picked up. When the winds finally do subside, a “scene size-up” is required. The landscape will have changed. One totally avoidable cause of death that occurs after a hurricane is downed power lines, often submerged in puddles. Do not walk through standing water.
Tornado Survival
More deaths occur each year from tornadoes than from hurricanes. Tornadoes form rapidly, and the warning time is considerably shorter. Home preparation is the same as for hurricanes, but often there will be insufficient time to fortify windows.
• A designated safe room is the best option. Choose one in a basement, far from exterior windows and doors. Also, pick a place that does not have heavy furniture on the floor above.
• If living in a tornado-prone area, have a battery-operated National Weather Service radio. The radio will issue warnings when tornadoes are in your area. These extra minutes of warning are often a matter of life and death.
• Practice and rehearse with your family what to do in the event of a tornado, including how to move to your safe room in the event of a power failure.
• If outdoors, seek low areas, such as a ditch or gully, and lie flat.
• If you are in a vehicle, get out of it if you see low areas nearby and take refuge there. If nothing is in sight, stay inside the car and keep your seat belt snug, hunker down in the seat, and brace your hands on the steering wheel.
JAIL
Your chances of being incarcerated at some point in your life are higher than you might realize. And by the nature of how one ends up being arrested, it usually means that you weren’t planning or ready for it to happen.
This section is not intended to help the hardened criminal or repeat offender ease their time behind bars. It is for someone who is going to jail for the first time: Maybe you had one drink too many at dinner; you were in the wrong place at the wrong time; someone made an inappropriate remark to your wife or girlfriend, husband or boyfriend; or perhaps you had a simple misunderstanding with the entire staff of a Northern California bar, as in my case. At any rate, you are about to be locked up due to a minor, though regrettable, mistake. Knowing some survival tips could not only lessen your troubles but, in the worst case, may prevent you from injury and death. Whether it’s for a day or a month, jail is definitely not a fun-filled environment, and any number of SEAL survival techniques will be useful to you.
What Kind of Jail Is This?
There is
a huge difference from one county jail to another. If you were taken to New York City’s main jail complex, Rikers Island, you would be among twelve thousand inmates. This jail holds a wide range of offenders, from those jumping a subway turnstile to mass murderers (“Son of Sam” spent time there). You will be among a mixed inmate population, including anyone who couldn’t post bail at the local precinct lockup, those serving a sentence of one year or less, and those waiting for a transfer to a larger prison, having been convicted of a serious crime. Given this, you could be exposed to a lot of violence. On the other hand, if you were fortunate enough to get sent to jail in Palm Springs County, California, their facility is noted for less violent behavior; inmates describe their stay there as being locked up in a very strict boarding school. In any regard, during the first days in jail, inmates are generally not separated by the nature of their crime. If you’re there for a warrant issued when you didn’t show up to court to pay a motor vehicle fine, for example, you could find yourself sitting in jail next to a gang member or a rapist.
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