"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser" - John W. Gardner Twisted ankle or knee According to a study of search and rescue volunteers, soft tissue injuries are the most common thing that people need rescuing for. An injury to our upper extremity might be inconvenient but an injury to our lower body joints can have serious impact on our journe...

"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." – Samuel Johnson In part one we looked at navigating by what we can see in the sky. What if we are presented with a situation where there is no sun during the day and the moon and stars are not visible at night. There are still aids to navigation all around us. These aids require us t...

"There's nothing more gratifying than being able to depend on your own abilities." – Tom Ralston Whether we've slid off what was left of a road during a snowstorm or parted company with our equine "friend" on the trail, we're going to have to consider, at some point, how we're going to get back to civilization. Irrespective of how accomplished our ...

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." ― Benjamin Franklin Any time you're more than a few hours from advanced medical aid, an otherwise easily treatable injury can become significantly more problematic. When things happen off the beaten track, out of cellphone reception range, you need to have the knowledge, equipment and skill set to ...

"Water is the driving force in nature." ― Leonardo da Vinci As discussed in part 1's "Rule of 3's" water is vital to our survival and should be towards the top of our priority list. Do NOT wait until you are thirsty before you start looking for a water supply. The possible effects of taking that one little thirst quenching sip could severely impact...

"The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter and is about as ample at one season as at another. It is as well for cheerfulness as for warmth and dryness." — Henry David Thoreau In part 1 we looked at the rule of 3's and how it helped determine our priorities in a survival situation. Although during the warmer months we may...

"The most important factor in survival is neither intelligence nor strength but adaptability." — Charles Darwin Thinking back to part 1 and our rule of 3's, the importance of establishing a shelter, in anything but the most temperate of climates, is unchallenged. Pay attention to the site selection considerations from part 1 particularly if you ant...

Title: Basic M4 Carbine Course- Range 3 Type: Live Fire Range Time: 4 hours Venue: 25M Range Students: 12 Student Equipment: 1 X M4 Carbines per student 3 X 30 round M4 magazines per student 50 rounds ammunition per student 1 X Magazine Carrier Eye and hearing protection Marker pen/target patches Notebook and pen Instructor Equipment: Range Eq...

"We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome" - Isabel Allende This is part1 of a multi part series on basic survival. It is not intended to be the "one stop shop" for everyt...

Title: Basic M4 Carbine Course- Range 2 Type: Live Fire Range Time: 4 hours Venue: 25M Range Students: 12 Student Equipment:1 X M4 Carbines per student 3 X 30 round M4 magazines per student 50 rounds ammunition per student 1 X Magazine Carrier Eye and hearing protection Marker pen/target patches Notebook and pen Instructor Equipment: Range Equipmen...