At any given time, at least 10 percent of the U.S. population is either incarcerated or on probation. Of those incarcerated, 85 percent are repeat offenders. On average, more than 160 inmates are killed annually by other inmates and 6,000 are raped, and more than 2,000 corrections personnel are injured seriously enough to require medical attention.
Mental Preparation
Here is the payoff for your mental toughness training, because you are going to harden up now whether you like it or not. Remember, the anticipation of a frightening event is almost always worse than the reality. The media likes to hype up time behind bars, but be thankful and take comfort in the fact that you are going to an American jail and not a hellhole in a foreign country, or, for that matter, a POW camp in Vietnam. Once locked up, you want to shift into a “one day at a time” perspective, or better yet, one hour at a time. Tell yourself this will pass and your life will continue. If you will be there for more than a day, establish a routine and stick to it. If you must remain behind bars longer, remember that it takes about a week to adjust to any different environment. Keep the idea of mental toughness foremost in your mind, and you will endure.
Just Locked Up
Try to make friends with someone who knows what’s going on and follow their lead. Every jail is different. There may be little things that set inmates off. Find out as soon as possible what these things are so you can avoid them. Don’t spend time explaining why you committed your crime or why it’s not as bad as the crimes committed by those around you. This will only agitate other inmates.
THE WHAT-NOT-TO-DO-IN-JAIL CHECKLIST:
Don’t discuss your charges or your case. The less other inmates know about your reason for being there or your personal affairs, the better. Not to mention the use of snitches and scams that might have you looking at a much higher chance of conviction. Save it for your lawyer.
Don’t draw unwanted attention to yourself.
Don’t use inflammatory words, especially toward other inmates.
Don’t be a snitch. Jails house the worst of our society, so unless whatever goes down involves you directly, you need to look the other way. Never talk to a guard unless you feel you are in immediate danger—other inmates will be watching your every move.
Violence Behind Bars
It is highly probable that you will see violence during your time in a U.S. jail. Even at Rikers Island, which has more than eight thousand correctional staff guarding its twelve thousand inmates, prisoners are mostly supervised from afar. If you follow the rules and advice mentioned above, you can limit your chances of getting involved in a violent situation. In jail society, respect is huge, and your apparent confidence and attitude of mental toughness is the key to earning it. If you start crying or show weakness, be prepared to be taken advantage of. However, if someone threatens you, make sure they know that you are prepared to defend yourself. It’s the law of the jungle, where the weakest become prey, and in jail, being fearful and uncourageous will oftentimes attract more violence. Conversely, you don’t want to present yourself as a tough guy who needs to be taken down. Your “firepower” is the techniques you learned developing the SEAL mindset and practicing the defensive tactics we use. This is one secret weapon that adds to your confidence, but use it wisely, for the element of surprise will be effective only once.
A good friend and fellow SEAL was down in Mexico for a weekend getaway when he was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving. My friend is a big boy and was unlikely to get into any serious problems while waiting to get bailed out of the local jail. However, the policía didn’t wait for this to happen and decided to move him to another, larger facility farther south. My buddy didn’t realize that he would spend the next four days fighting for his life. He compared the experience to some sort of gladiator games, with the cops betting on how long the big American would last. After a final fight, after which his opponent was no longer moving, my friend was suddenly and without explanation set free. With two broken hands, a broken foot, a screwed-up knee, and a body full of bruises and cuts, he made it back to America. “Don’t fuck around in Mexico” is all he would say.
It may be useful to make some friends, because others might not be as likely to start a fight if you have people willing to stick up for you. However, even if you’d like to think it is not so, prejudice and racial division exist more in jails than in the outside world. If you are in a jail and frequently grouped with many inmates in large areas, you need to size up who is who and what gangs or groups are dominating. The reality is that you may need to consider aligning yourself with people of your own background. Understand, however, that by joining this group, you are also putting yourself at higher risk for violence. This is of greater importance if you have a longer sentence. If you are going to be in for only a short time, then by keeping to yourself and using mental toughness as your tool, you should fare well.
Be Good
Your goal in jail is to pass the time as quickly as possible, incident-free, and move on with your life. Almost all jails will reduce your sentence in what is known as “time off for good behavior.” Actually, it is difficult to lose this status. Los Angeles county jail inmates generally serve only 10 percent of the time to which they were sentenced. Just ask Paris Hilton. So unless you are fighting guards or get caught with drugs, your time should be reduced.
Once you find yourself in jail, remember:
• Don’t do anything illegal—unlike in the movies, all will not be forgiven when the authorities finally figure out you were innocent of the charge that got you arrested to begin with. You will only make things worse.
• Be good.
• Be a ghost.
Released
You made it—now stay out! Be part of the 15 percent who don’t return.
LIGHTNING
Lightning is the sniper of natural disasters. It strikes from a distance, it usually kills one at a time, and you never know when you are in its crosshairs. Its kill record is fairly impressive: It causes approximately 2,000 deaths per year. Right now, there are 1,800 thunderstorms happening somewhere on the planet, which produce more than 600,000 lightning strikes per day. One in four of the people who actually get hit by lightning die, but fortunately there are survival techniques to employ that will minimize your chances of becoming a target of these random shots fired from above.
Know the Enemy
As it is when sizing up any adversary, be it human or natural, acquiring “intelligence” on lightning’s means and methods is an essential part of planning and preparedness that always gives you an advantage. Scientifically, it is not completely certain how lightning forms in the atmosphere, but what is known is that it is a charged electrical current that is hotter than the surface of the sun. It travels at a speed of 3,700 miles per second, or at “lightning speed”; that’s faster than a bullet from an M4 assault rifle, which travels at 3,000 feet per second, or 30 feet per one-hundredth of a second. Lightning can strike as far as ten miles from where it’s raining; people have been killed by a bolt of lightning while standing in the sunshine. A lightning strike seeks to balance its either negative or positive electrical charge by seeking out an item below it, which could be a tree or a human. The idea is to make yourself insulated and not an attractive conduit or target.
Targets
Those who have been killed by lightning were usually taking cover under a tree or standing next to a telephone pole. Some were talking on their cell phones while leaning against a metal signpost, or walking on top of a metal sidewalk grate, or touching a metal fence. Lightning generally hits the tallest object within its general striking range, but it also seeks out metal and electrical conduits. People have been hit while inside their homes, washing dishes in a metal sink or talking on a corded, landline phone near a window. Unlike hurricanes or floods, which are prone to devastate particular areas, lightning is less discriminatory. While Rwanda, Africa, is the lightning capital of the world, and Florida is the state with most strike
s in the U.S., lightning occurs everywhere.
Lightning is the second-highest cause of death by natural disaster, behind floods. In Florida, for example, hurricanes account for 8 percent of weather-related fatalities; tornadoes account for 13 percent; while lightning-related deaths are at more than 53 percent.
The 30/30 Rule
Victims of lightning can be grouped into two categories: (1) those oblivious to their surroundings, who ignore the dangers of lightning and make no attempt to seek shelter in a storm, and (2) the truly unlucky. However, you can increase your “luck” by following some basic safety tips. There is truth to the well-known phrase “Where there is thunder, there’s lightning,” since lighting creates the sound of thunder by forming a sonic shock wave. Thunder is the warning shot fired across the bow; if you hear it, then you are close enough for lightning to hit you. When SEALs hear the crack of gunfire somewhere up ahead, we don’t ignore it; we pay closer attention. Do the same when hearing thunder.
The National Weather Service (NWS) tries to educate the public about the fact that alertness and quick action can save most from getting struck. The NWS’s 30/30 Rule urges you to measure and count what is called “flash-to-bang time.” If you see a flash of lightning, begin counting to thirty. If you don’t hear a thunderclap before you reach thirty, then make for shelter immediately. If do hear one before you reach thirty, you need to hit the ground where you are. A good way to estimate how far away lightning is from you is to count out the seconds from the time when you see the flash of lightning to when you hear thunder. For example, if you see lightning, begin to count, “One thousand one, one thousand two . . . ,” until you hear the boom. If you hear thunder on “two,” you can assume that the lightning struck the ground approximately two miles from where you are.
ACTION CHECKLIST
Seek shelter in a permanent structure and move to the interior. Neither a beach hut nor under a picnic table is safe.
If indoors, stay away from windows. Do not use electrical appliances or computers, or position yourself near plumbing or pipes.
If outdoors and no permanent structures are present, get inside a vehicle, but keep your hands and other body parts from touching any metal parts inside the car. The tires of the car somewhat insulate the vehicle, but the vehicle’s metal frame is still a conduit.
Do not stand near trees or tall objects.
Avoid touching fences, signposts, or any metal object.
Power down any cell phones and other portable electronic devices.
If caught outside, sit down and tuck your head between your legs. It is also important to insulate yourself from electrical currents transferring through the ground. Try to sit on a coat, blanket, or anything that limits your body’s direct contact with the ground.
If you are in an open field, then avoid this hunched position, as it will still leave you as the highest point. In that case, lie flat on the ground. If possible, try to stay in a slightly raised push-up position. If lightning does strike, it will then pass through your arms and into the ground, thus bypassing your heart and other vital organs.
Just as you watch the lightning flash and listen for thunder, SEAL snipers follow the same principle when using a rifle. As a sniper, you get an appreciation for the speed of sound and the speed of a bullet. You know it’s a great shot when the crack of a round explodes as you pull the trigger, then several seconds later you see the impact, or spray. The longer amount of time between sound and visual impact means the further the distance of the shot. A couple seconds in between is always cool.
LOST AT SEA
Things have gone from bad to worse, and you’ve been forced to abandon ship. (See also “Abandon Ship,” page 29.) At this point, you have already been through some traumatic experiences, made your threat assessment as to the seaworthiness of your vessel, and gotten off the X. Now you find yourself in the water and away from what was once the security of your ship. You must remember that you got to where you are because it was the best option to save your life. You pulled the trigger and survived a sinking ship, so now is not the time to panic. Even more, you must continue to focus on the varying conditions of your suddenly new situation, remain calm, and do what must be done next. As with most life-threatening scenarios, survival at sea is all about prioritization. And, as obvious as this may sound, your very first goal is to keep from drowning. You surely didn’t plan on being neck-deep in the water, but here you are, and now a new mission begins.
Survival Priorities
1. Staying afloat
2. Retaining heat
3. Avoiding sunstroke
4. Water
5. Food
6. Signaling
1. STAY AFLOAT!
You don’t have to be a world-class swimmer to survive even rough seas. In fact, you could be a nonswimmer and still keep yourself afloat. If you aren’t wearing a life vest, do everything in your power to locate one. If one is not available, find something that is floating and hold on.
Improvised flotation device
This is a great example of a drill that can be rehearsed during nonemergency situations, such as in a pool or while partaking in recreational swimming. This is one of the first drills taught to every new recruit in the Navy. If you have the mindset to endure, there are tools to prevent you from drowning, as long as you remain calm and think.
1. Pull off your pants and tie a knot at the end of each leg.
2. Close the zipper and button the pants at the waistband.
3. In a quick motion, while holding the pants at the waist, throw the pants over your head and dip down into the water. This action will fill the pant legs with air.
4. Keep the waist under the water. This will keep the air from escaping. Then creep up until a pant leg is under each arm. This will lift your head out of the water.
5. You do not want to tie off the waist to keep the air in the pants, as one might think necessary, but rather grasp the waistband while underwater with your hands to create the seal. Pants are not balloons, but they will hold air. You will need to repeat the above procedure as necessary, as the air trapped in the pant legs will diminish.
Survival float
If you aren’t able to locate or make a flotation device, don’t panic. This is where your physical toughness is going to pay off. Remember, you could be out here for a long time, so start conserving your energy now. Use a survival float position to help you do so.
1. Keep your face in the water and your arms and legs dangling; every time you need to take a breath, slowly lift your head out of the water while scissor-kicking once with your legs and pushing your arms together. Pushing your arms and hands together raises your body slightly above the waterline.
2. Then drop your head back facedown and relax your dangling body.
3. The key is to relax your body while getting into this position, which is sometimes referred to as a dead man’s float. The longer you are able to relax and conserve energy, the better your chance of enduring.
2. DON’T FREEZE
Your next priority is to fight off hypothermia. Even if you are in tropical waters as warm as 84 degrees, for example, your body’s core temperature will still drop one degree for every hour you remain submerged. It only takes your core temperature’s dropping two degrees for you to begin to feel the effects of hypothermia. Additionally, your body uses a lot of energy to keep warm. And if you have few or no supplies, your problem compounds.
HELP (Heat-Escape-Lessening Posture)
In addition to summoning the power of all the mental toughness you developed, you can use the HELP to fight against hypothermia. This is done by positioning your flotation device under you so it will lift as much of your upper body out of the water as possible. The less your body is submerged, the less effect the water will have on your core body temperature. If there are several people, then float together by tying yourselves to one another. This may not be any warmer, but there is strength in numbers.
3. DON’T MELT
You are out of the water but not out of danger. The next thing you need to think about is exposure to the sun and preventing heatstroke. (For information on treating heatstroke, see “Survival Medicine,” page 305.) The warm sun may feel good on your wet body and be a welcome sight after a long night, but twelve hours later the sun will become increasingly dangerous. Wet skin will burn, and the burned skin will peel away, leaving exposed blisters and absolute misery. You need to make a canopy to block the sun. Use sheets, towels, even trash bags—the brighter the better, to reflect the sun’s rays and for signaling. For example, white will contrast very well against the ocean waters, making your raft more visible to anyone searching for you.
4. GET WATER
The irony of your situation is that you are surrounded by millions of gallons of water, but you can’t drink it. You may want to, but don’t. Salt water will accelerate the dehydration process. Humans can live about three days without water. You must ration what you have and gather what you can. Do not drink any water the first twenty-four hours. You will be relatively fresh during this time, and withholding water from yourself will make your body go into a conservation mode to fight against the effects of dehydration.
Seal Survival Guide Page 19
