10 Emergency Survival Actions You Gotta Know!
There are commom tragedies that take the lives of the unaware innocent every day. Here are ’10 Emergency Survival Actions You Gotta Know!’ OK, let’s get started.
1) Chippewa Indian Protector Against Lightning
2) Hallet Crocodile Escape Technique
3) Counter Killer Electrocution Death Hold
4) Countering Killer Heat When In The Wilderness
5) How To Survive A Heart Attack When Alone–
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6) Emergency Smoke Inhalation Mask
7) Stopping Stinging Bees And Other Stinging Insects In Mid-Flight
8) Only Defense Against Close Quarter Slaughter Military Style
9) Killer Quicksand And How To Survive
10) Shallow Water Blackout
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Chippewa Protector Against Lightning: Hey listen. Of these ’10 Emergency Survival Actions You Gotta Know’ – getting struck by lightning could happen just about anywhere. So please read this segment, it’s backed by proven history and scientific data.
Those very savvy Chippewa Indians (also called Ojibwa) reigned from Michigan to north of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada.
The Legend of Winabojo and the Birch Tree has the birch tree as the protector against lightning. As the legend goes: “…a birch tree is never struck by lightning and people can safely stand under its branches during a storm.”
As you read these words right now there are approximately 2,000 active thunderstorms all over the world and in the past six seconds as you read this, 600 lightning strikes already hit the ground all over the world – that’s 100 lightning strikes per second 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year!!! Total approximate number of lightning strikes every year – 16,000,000! Mother Nature is raising a ruckus 24/7 isn’t she and you gotta be prepared and ready Anytime Anywhere!
Lightning reaches 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit which is 04-times hotter than the surface of the sun! And in the US alone it causes more than $2 billion in damages. It damages and destroys homes, businesses, and our natural resources. It also kills about 100 Americans & injures several hundred each year! Folks have been struck by lightning that were near metal, out in the open, in their houses, near or under tall trees,…
And speaking of trees, English folklore which may have some credible evidence behind it states that “Beware of the oak, it draws the stroke. Avoid an ash, it courts the flash. Creep under the thorn (Hawthorn tree), it will save you from harm.” Does this have any merit? Let me give you some historical data:
Lightning Strikes Stats
Year – 1898 Place – USA
Oak——————48 strikes
Pine—————–33 strikes
Spruce————–05 strikes
Beech—————01 strike
Year – 1920 Place – Germany
Oak—————-56 strikes
Ash—————-20 strikes
Pine—————04 strikes
Beech————-00 strikes
Year – 1935 Place – England
Oak—————-61 strikes
Elm—————-32 strikes
Ash—————-26 strikes
Poplar————-13 strikes
Scientist noted that tall trees, in an open area, bordering wooded areas or growing near streams are more likely to be hit by lightning.
In Europe forests with equal mixture of oak and Beecher trees, oak trees with their rough bark got hit 60-times more often than smooth bark Beecher trees!
Researchers state that staying away from rough bark trees like the ash, chestnut, elm, oak, pine… and taking cover under smooth bark trees like beech, birch, holly, hornbeam, maple… will decrease your chances of being hit by lightning. Birch trees may well be the protector against lightning. Those savvy Chippewa may have been on to something long ago well before modern science. Now let’s go to the next Chippewa survival trick.
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Hallet Crocodile Escape Technique: This next gentleman I’m going to talk about is just a plain ‘bad ass.’ Of the ’10 Emergency Survival Actions You Gotta Know’, Mr. Hallet proved it works.
One dark night on 24 October 1955, Congo explorer Jean-Pierre Hallet lost his arm while “Concussion Fishing” and found himself blown out his pirogues (dug out canoe) and in crocodile infested water. This scenario was sure death to 99.999% of most folks but not Hallet. Avoiding FEAR & PANIC (02 Greatest Enemies Of Survival), suffering from a missing hand and other multiple bleeding wounds, Hallet had the presence of mind to get out of the water and began swimming for all he was worth to the shore off in the distance.
Wildly scanning his surroundings, he saw multiple crocodiles closing on his bleeding body real quick. Still 100-feet from shore, with crocodiles very close, Hallet changed his horizontal posture in the water and went vertical (straight up & down) using a rapid 01-handed dog paddle. Swimming vertical in the water, crocodiles couldn’t bite into Hallet.
Their head, jaws, and mouth are positioned to bite down on horizontal or near horizontal objects in the water. A couple savage crocodile bites were attempted but no good, lucky for Hallet. Hallet dog-paddling 01-handed for all he was worth – swimming vertically he felt his feet hit the bottom and he went even faster in the water towards shore. Another crocodile took an attempted BIG BITE at his shoulder but couldn’t bite into Hallet. Hallet reached the shore scrambling out of the water. Hallet’s swimming technique saved his life.
Hallet was bleeding profusely from his missing hand and multiple wounds. Applying a tourniquet to his arm, Hallet walked a mile to his truck. He drove in reverse for 03-miles to the road and then dog-legged almost 200-miles to the nearest hospital. Arriving at the hospital hours later and near death, Hallet refused aid from nurses and doctors and walked under his own power to the emergency room where he collapsed on a stretcher and woke 02-days later. Hallet survived the impossible of impossible! Now you know a real life-saving technique to survive close contact with them “submarines with teeth.”
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Counter Killer Electrocution Death Hold: I had an electrician do some work in my house and he did a great job (17 January 2007). I asked him is it true from what I’ve seen on TV where somebody grabs some hot wires and it won’t let him go? He explained how electricity uses you to complete the circuit and yes – “it won’t let go of you” – YOU’RE DEAD. Being a survival teacher as I am – never say die, I distinctly asked him “Isn’t there anything you can do, anything to escape the electricity?”
He then tells me a story about a co-worker who mistakenly turned himself into a live circuit and it grabbed him and wouldn’t let go. His co-worker knowing death was seconds away did one thing to escape the killer electrocution hold – he dropped-kicked himself against the nearby wall with everything he had which broke the hold and at the same time propelled him away from the live wires and broke him from the electrocution hold! This technique launched him 08-feet across the room and slamming him to the floor, but none the less it saved his life. The electrician also went on to say that “If you see anybody held by electricity, don’t grab him cause now you’re held too. You have to kick the guy as hard as you can to propel him to break the hold from the live wires.” Now you know how to beat the Counter Killer Electrocution Death Hold!
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Checking For A Live Fence: I have to add this in here real quick. Say you come across a fence but don’t know if it’s electric. First of all, stay the hell away from it. But if you have to cross it and want to check to see if it’s carrying a live electric current and have nothing else like metal bars around you to throw at the fence, you can do the following.
Place your open hand palm up (NOT PALM DOWN), palm up and tap the fence. It it’s live, you’ll feel a tingle. And touching it palm up, it’s impossible to unintentionally grab hold of the fence – thus a DEATH GRIP.
I’m telling you this cause I myself had no choice and had to cross several fences and I had to insure they were not electric. And when they were, I just threw my gear and weapon over the fence and kinda jumped over the fences.
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Countering Killer Heat When In The Wilderness: One of the many wraths of Mother Nature and all She possesses are killer hot desert environments. If I said my sayings once I’ve said it a hundred times to my subscribers:
“We are all creatures of comfort. We are all FRAGILE creatures of comfort.”
“Mother Nature And All She Possesses Is Trying To Kill You A Hundred Different Ways. She’s Also Trying To Help You A Thousand Different Ways!”
All the following survival tragedies could have been prevented. In the beginning of this Survival Expert Blog under Wilderness Survival, I gave you the acronym PRSC. I urge you to take a re-look at PRSC and all the other civilanized military acronyms.
All these survival tragedies could have been prevented. Here, type these headlines into Google so you can read the survival stories yourself:
“Hikers Died Of Heat Exposure In Carlsbad Caverns National Park.”
“At Least 4 Hikers Died During Record Heat In Arizona.”
“2 Hikers Die From Exposure To Heat.”
“Hiker’s Dog Dies From Heat Exhaustion On Arizona Trail.”
“Mom Hiking With Kids In Grand Canyon Believe To Have Died From Heat Exhaustion.”
“Tourist Dies Hiking In Australia Outback Heat.”
“Couple Who Went Hiking In Triple-Digit Heat Found Dead In The Mojave Desert.”
“K-9 Officer Amigo Dies From Heat Exhaustion After Tracking Injured Hikers.”
“Husband Of Hiker Who Died In Grand Canyon Says Water Ran Out.”
OK, did you read all these survival tragedies? Now let’s look at how critters survive their killer hot environments.
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Critters Survive Killer Desert Temperatures: There are approximately 1,500 species of rodents in the world like beavers, capybara, chipmunks, hamsters, kangaroo mouse, kangaroo rat, mice, porcupines, rats, squirrels,…
And most of them have some ingenious ways to survive in their environments. The desert is absolutely unforgiving. The desert critters will kill you dead; the cold temperatures at night will send into hypothermia, and the baking heat temperatures literally bake you to death. How can YOU survive this unforgiving environment? First, AVOID it (PRSC) but if you can’t you a might want to copycat the desert critters who survive baking temperatures day after day.
Temperature studies on US western deserts have revealed some baking information:
• 06-feet high temperatures can reach 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 12-inches off the ground temperatures can increase to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 01-inch off the ground temperatures can reach a 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
• At ground level, the temperatures still increase to a killer 180-degrees Fahrenheit.
Here’s how many desert critters survive baking desert temperatures. They go underground. Look at the following data that could save your life based on the same temperature data above:
• 06-inches below the surface the temperature drops to 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 12-inches below the surface the temperature drops to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 18-inches below surface the temperature will drop to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 36-inches below surface the temperature will drop to a cool room temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit!
But wait! Digging should be during hours of limited visibility (after dusk) when temperatures are lower. Remember to LAZILY PACE YOURSELF and you only have to dig down to a lousy 03-feet so to reach a cool 70-degrees!!!!
Now you know about these killer daytime temperatures and how to counter them by copycatting desert critters that burrow underground to escape the heat!
Now let’s see what folks throughout the world and throughout history did to cool down their environments. Let’s start with India Air-Conditioning.
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India Air-Conditioning: Homes in India had a unique way to cool their homes. Wet grass mats were hung over doorway and window openings on the upwind side of the home. Throughout the night, the mats were kept moist with water by hand or a trickling water system built above the mats – something like perforated rain gutters. The warm winds vented through the wet grass mats cooling the air which entered the home from different apertures (doors, windows,…). This cooling technique worked so good, temperatures dropped as much as 30-degrees inside the home.
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Amish Air Conditioner: If you’re stuck indoors and have no A\C, consider using mint. Hang mint from the ceiling on hot humid days. The scented mint will spread its aroma, freshening the air, and giving the room a “scent of coolness.” It is said countries with hot climates use this same technique.
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Pioneer Air Conditioning: Air conditioning was simple. Build a home with a high ceiling and that high ceiling will draw the hot air upwards. Hot air always rises. The cooler air will be located at lower levels. If the high ceiling is ventilated, the hot air escapes out causing air to move upward, thus drawing continuous flowing cooler air into the room.
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Old West Air Conditioning: Yes, those savvy US Cavalry soldiers had an A/C application that actually cooled Officers quarters. The main ingredients were called ollas. An olla was a large clay jar that held water. Water in the ollas not only cooled but evaporated rapidly thus dropping the air temperature. Several ollas are hung inside and just outside the quarters to get the A/C effect.
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Old West Ramadas: Ramadas were also used to enhance the comfort of the soldier. A ramada is simply a lightweight, flat barricade made from weaved saplings and vegetation. Ramadas were used to block the burning sun that could literally fry a human in minutes.
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How To Survive A Heart Attack When Alone: The following is from the ‘The Ava Citizen’ – February 2018, Volume 25, Number 2. Submitted by Ms. Ann C. She stated “Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives.” So here’s the direct quote:
“Let’s say it’s 7:24 pm and you’re going home (alone of course) after an unusually hard day on the job. You’re really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to drag out into your arm and up in to your jaw. You are only about five km (03.1 miles) from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately, you don’t know if you’ll be able to make it that far.”
“You have been trained in CPR, but the guy who taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself. Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest. A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.”
“Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to the hospital. Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives.”
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Emergency Smoke Inhalation Mask: Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death from indoor fires. Approximately 50% to 80% of deaths from indoor fires are from smoke inhalation. Smoke inhalation includes exposure to hot gases from combustion. Smoke inhalation includes the burning of the respiratory system, thermal damage, and poisoning from carbon monoxide, cyanide and other combustion gases.
As you just read, smoke inhalation can be deadly real quick. One way to save your life and the lives under your care is apply an emergency mask to your face.
And that emergency mask is a wet cloth / wet paper or multiple wet cloths / wet papers. The damp cloth / damp paper aids to block and filter the air you’re breathing from the smoke and other killer pollutants.
Don’t believe me? Then read this headline from a distressed plane making an emergency landing:
“PLANE FIRE SURVIVORS ALL REPORTEDLY HELD WET CLOTHES ON FACES!”
That headline is dated 06 June 1983. That news story out of Florence, Kentucky started with: “A Federal investigator said today that the 23 survivors of the smoky fire that killed 23 people on an Air Canada plane all had held some kind of wet cloth or paper over their faces.” So there you go. Now you know so You’re Ready Anytime Anywhere!
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Stopping Stinging Bees And Other Stinging Insects In Mid-Flight: Here’s a very simple concoction that STOPS bees, wasps, and other stinging insects in mid-flight! I learned this trick from a guy that works in a junkyard. I was having electrical problems with my truck. So I called a tow truck (when I lived in Belleville, IL) to take the truck to the Mazda dealership. On the way there we were talking about parts in the junkyard and he started talking about the several encounters he had with bees and wasps.
He said that vehicles would be out there for years and bees, wasps,… would claim them for homes. He said when he’d go to disassemble parts from a junked vehicle, sometimes he would encounter a swarm of mad bees, wasps,… He said he ALWAYS carried around a SPRAY BOTTLE of gasoline! Yes, regular gasoline!
He said he’d spray it at them and it would stop them in their tracks. He said he sprayed at the approaching bees, wasps,… while in-flight and they’d FALL to the ground right then and there! So consider “gas in a spray bottle” to STOP those attacking bees, wasps, … in their tracks on your next outdoor adventure so you’re ready Anytime Anywhere!
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Only Defense Against Close Quarter Slaughter Military Style:
Before I give my answer to countering an active shooter in a close quarter environment of multiple innocent targets, let me give you a list of past shootings here in the US.
List Of Close Quarter Shootings!
Name Location Date Injured Deaths
American Civic… Binghampton, NY 03 Apr 2009 04 14
Arapahoe H.S. Centennial, CO 13 Dec 2013 00 02
Aztec H.S. Aztec, NM 07 Dec 2017 00 02
Buell E.S. Mount Mo…, MI 29 Feb 2000 00 01
(shooter is a 06-year old male)
Campbell CC H.S. Jacksboro H.S. 08 Nov 2005 02 01
Carolina F H.S. Conway, SC 16 Oct 2009 00 01
Central H.S. Knoxville, TN 21 Aug 2008 00 01
Century 16 The… Aurora, CO 20 Jul2012 58 12
Chardon H.S. Chardon, OH 27 Feb 2012 03 02
Charleston Church Charleston, SC 17 Jun 2015 01 09
Columbine H.S. Columbine, CO 20 Apr 1999 21 15
Deming M.S. Deming, NM 19 Nov 1999 00 01
Discovery M.S. Madison, AL 05 Feb 2010 00 01
Freeman H.S. Spokane, WA 13 Sep 2017 03 01
Georgetown Amish Nickel M…, PA 02 Oct 2006 06 06
Henry Foss H.S. Tacoma, WA 03 Jan 2007 00 01
James Parker M.S. Edinboro, PA 24 Apr 1998 00 01
Lake Worthy M.S. Lake Wor…, FL 26 May 2000 00 01
Marjory SD H.S. Parkland, FL 14 Feb 2018 14 17
Marshal C H.S. Benton, KY 23 Jan 2018 18 02
Marysville P H.S. Marysville, WA 24 Oct 2014 02 05
McDonald’s San Diego, CA 18 Jul 1984 19 21
Millard H.S. Omaha, NE 05 Jan 2011 01 02
North Park E.S. San Bern…, CA 10 Apr 2017 02 03
Platte Can… H.S. Bailey, CO 27 Sep 2006 00 02
Red Lake H.S. Red Lake, MN 21 Mar 2005 00 10
Red Lion J.H.S. Red Lion, PA 24 Apr 2003 00 02
Reynolds H.S. Troutdale, OR 10 Jun 2014 00 02
Rocori H.S. Cold Spr…, MN 24 Sep 2003 00 02
Sandy Hook E.S. Newtown, CT 14 Dec 2012 00 27
Santana H.S. Santee, CA 05 Mar 2001 13 02
Sparks M.S. Sparks, NV 21 Oct 2013 02 02
Thurston H.S. Springfield , OR 21 May 1998 00 02
Townville E.S. Greenville, SC 28 Sep 2016 02 01
Umpqua CC Roseburg, OR 01 Oct 2015 08 10
Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 16 Apr 2007 17 32
Weston H.S. Cazenovia, WI 29 Sep 2006 00 01
Westside M.S. Jonesboro, AK 24 Mar 1998 00 05
Legend: CC = Community College, E.S. = Elementary School,
H.S. = High School, M.S. = Middle School
Note: Deaths include the deaths of the shooters and those that died later. I assume all the listed shootings occurred in close quarters (inside structures, inside single rooms).
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Counter To Close Quarter Shootings Military Style: Hang in there with me, I’m going to give you some background information.
I (author) spent 20-years in the military starting with an Airborne Infantry with the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg, NC and progressed to the Special Forces (Green Berets). It was like jumping out of the pot into the fire!! I learned conventional tactics and unconventional tactics.
One conventional military tactic is the Ambush. The ‘Principles of an Ambush’ are Surprise, Coordinated Fires and Control. And there are 02 main types of Ambush. They are the Near Ambush and the Far Ambush.
The definition of a Near Ambush is taking enemy fire within hand grenade range – within 30-meters (90 feet). The Near Ambush is very close-in fighting.
The definition of a Far Ambush is taking enemy fire beyond hand grenade range – beyond 30-meters (90 feet). The Far Ambush is taking surprise fire more distant than 30 meters. And there are 02 types of a Far Ambush. They are a Point Ambush at a very specific target and an Area Ambush at a more general target.
In this case with school shooting and such with close-in shootings we’ll put them under the realm of a Near Ambush.
With the Near Ambush, the surprise fire is so close there is ONLY ONE THING you can do. The enemy if they’re smart, they’ll pick their KILL ZONE that offers no Cover & Concealment – no protection of enemy fire. The Near Ambush if executed correctly is ABSOLUTELY LETHAL.
The ONLY counter to the Near Ambush is to ASSAULT ASSAULT ASSAULT (running at a full sprint) directly into the Near Ambush with automatic fire or quick semi-automatic fire. This is the only thing soldiers can do if they fall into Near Ambush. Counters to a Near Ambush are rehearsed over and over again so it’s AUTOMATIC. There is no time to think about it, there is no time to wait for orders, the counter to a Near Ambush comes under IADs – Immediate Action Drills.
Now let me tell you how this translates into countering an active shooter set on slaughtering defenseless and unarmed students, workers, shoppers,…
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Active Shooter Scenario: Single potential shooter enters a high school of several hundred unarmed defenseless students with a few dozen teachers and admin personnel. The shooter is a fellow 17-year old senior student who is heavily armed with a pistol, assault rifle and shotgun with 400-rounds of total ammunition. He is carrying all his weapons and ammunition in a gym bag with the high school’s logo. Also, in his bag are 06 sets of chains with 06 padlocks.
On this day is a rally that will take place in the school’s auditorium. The rally is for a football game that weekend. At 11 am, all students will assemble in the auditorium.
At 11:15am, all students with several faculty members are assembled in the auditorium. The shooter surfaces from his hiding place from one of the classrooms. He’s loaded-up and carrying all his weapons and is going to the outer perimeter of the auditorium and chaining and padlocking all the 06 sets of double doors to the auditorium.
The shooter then goes to the stage-side of the auditorium and enters from the dark backside of the auditorium. The shooter is a recon and is using military strategy and tactics to his advantage. The stage itself is on high ground. Directly to the front of the stage is a deep orchestra pit. On each side of the stage are 02 staircase that connects the stage to the auditorium. The only access from the auditorium of hundreds of students to his vantage point are the 02 staircases.
The female cheerleaders are on the stage cheerleading with the several hundred students applauding. The shooter enters from the back and starts cussing and shoots directly at the cheerleaders. His bullets completely miss the cheerleaders but hit students in the auditorium.
In a mass panic, the female cheerleaders run for their lives down the staircases. The remaining several hundred students run in a mass panic for the 06 double door exits. Reaching the 06 double doors, masses of students are piled-up at the 06 blocked double doors.
This is exactly what the shooter planned. He now takes aim at the piled-up students at the 06 blocked double doors. Laughing and cussing he starts shooting at the 06 sets of piled-up students. After pegging a couple dozen students, the students now run for cover behind the wooden folding seats throughout the auditorium. The wooden folding seats actually provide double protection from the speeding bullets and shotgun pellets.
Crying, yelling, pleading for mercy, moans of pain can be heard throughout the auditorium. The shooter stops shooting and counts approximately 40 – 50 bodies laying at the 06 double door exits. He has approximately 300 rounds of ammunition remaining. Reloading all his weapons, he decides to descend the stairs and shoot students who are hiding behind the wooden folding seats.
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Active Shooter Defense: Unknown to the shooter are a few dozen high school Junior ROTC members in the audience who were sitting close together. Sitting together, the 40 JROTC immediately ducked behind their seats instead of running to the exits. The Junior ROTC members mumbled their intentions to each other.
About 01-minute of no fire, reloaded all his weapons. After loading all his weapons, the shooter descended the staircase and was heading directly for the 40 JROTC students at the front of the auditorium. All JROTC students were proudly wearing their cadet uniforms despite the common ridicule of other civilian students.
The shooter descended the staircase and was now on the level of the auditorium and walked slowly to the first row of chairs. He started to turn and aim his weapon at the first row of students hiding behind the chairs and with a complete SURPRISE:
03 rows of JROTC cadets popped-up from behind their chairs, and started SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER, threw watches, shoes, coins, books and sprinted directly – jumped directly at the shooter. The scared wided-eyed shooter is now on the defense trying to defend himself from the cadets own ‘ammunition.’ The scared shooter gets off only 01 shot droppin 01 cadet, but a 1/4-second later, a dozen JROTC cadets tackled the shooter and were now on top of the shooter pummeling him into unconsciousness.
The JROTC cadets via their training from a retired ex-Green Beret JROTC advisor, executed a classic RAID. The Principles of a Raid are Surprise, Speed and Violence of Action (advancing quickly on the enemy while screaming, shouting, throwing watches, throwing shoes, throwing coins, throwing books, throwing pens, throwing pencils, throwing purses, throwing chairs, throwing belts, throwing anything available directly at the shooters face.). The ammunition for the assault is anything you can throw at the shooter’s face. The intention is to cause the worst possible injuries to the shooter so he / she can’t engage innocent targets.
The ROTC students were also in a Near Ambush scenario and there is only one thing you can do to SURVIVE a Near Ambush – ASSAULT ASSAULT ASSAULT.
But here’s the main problem with this solution to a close quarter shooter, 99.9999% of students, workers, shoppers,… are unaware of this life-saving tactic. Their first response is to run, thus being slaughtered in-place.
No school can afford full time armed security. I mean good security with metal detectors, constant roaming security in and outside the school. I think hand-picked faculty members should be trained for active shooters. Not only should they be trained for active shooters but they should be discreetly armed with constant marksmanship ‘must pass shooting tests.’
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Killer Quicksand And How To Survive: Here’s a quick true story. Hang with me, I got to give you some background info. A couple years ago (2016) my ears perked-up when I heard this kid (mid-20s) talking about catfish fishing. I love catfish. Anyway, I started talking to him and I asked him what he used for bait. He said he ALWAYS fished at night and he ALWAYS used chicken livers for bait. As a matter of fact, over the years I ran into him in WalMart and guess what he always had in his hand? Yes, a plastic white container of chicken livers. He told me he never went home without any catfish when he fished at night and used chicken livers for bait. Anyway, one rare occasion, he went fishing during the day time. This time he ventured to the mighty Mississippi River.
He always fished at night but this time he went fishing during the daytime. He was closing in on the mighty Mississippi River on foot and without warning he started sinking. He walked into a patch of KILLER quicksand. The first question I asked him, “Were you alone?” He stated “Yes.” But one in a million shot, one in a million, guess who was patrolling down the mighty Mississippi River directly in front of him? Yep, the US Coast Guard! Was he LUCKY or what? In just another minute or so the quicksand would have swallowed him up forever. He told he waved at the Coast Guard and lucky for him they were looking in all directions as they patrolled the mighty Mississippi River and sighted him waving for help. What if he decided to fish at night instead of the daytime? Anyway, the Coast Guard rushed to his aid and snatched him out of the killer quicksand.
Killer Note: This kid I’m talking about is an avid fisherman. He’s always fishing. I also asked him “Do you know how to swim?” I was expecting a ‘heck yeah I know how to swim’ answer with him always being near water obstacles (lakes, ponds, rivers). But he told me he never learned how to swim. That guy is living on ‘borrowed time.’ He:
• An avid fisherman
• Can’t swim a lick
• Goes fishing at night
• Fishes alone
• Worst yet, he fishes and drinks beer at the same time
If I was a betting man, I figure he’ll never see his 30s.
Now let me give you some historical information concerning ‘killer quicksand.’
Chisholm Trail: The famous Chisholm Trail was initially trailblazed and used by Indians for many years. It was called Shawnee Trail and ran from southern and southwestern Texas going northward. Texans called it the Kansas Trail as the trail ran from Texas thru Oklahoma and thru Kansas to Abilene, Kansas. With the demand for beef increasing to markets in the north and eastward, the trail spread northward and finally called the Chisholm Trail, named after a Cherokee – Jesse Chisholm. Approximately 35,000 to 55,000 cowboys worked the Chisholm Trail with approximately 20% of them being Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and black cowboys.
The Chisholm Trail beginning of the end came with the invention and use of barbed wire. Lands were purchased along the Chisholm Trail and guarded with the proven barbed wire. The railroad also brought the end to the Chisholm Trail for cattle was railed to destinations from cattle ranches to their slaughter houses and markets.
However, while the Chisholm Trail was in use (1860s to 1880s), here are the survival tricks used by cowboys that spent months on the Chisholm Trail.
Chisholm Quicksand: On the Chisholm Trail another unforgiving threat was quicksand. Quicksand is sand or muck held in suspension by water. It’s not only found in swamps but just off rivers like sandbars. Experts state quicksand supports the body better than water. Victims caught in quicksand are killed because of the following reasons:
a) Victim realized too late that they’re in quicksand.
b) Victim is overwhelmed by Fear & Panic.
c) Victim sinks because of incorrect body movements (lifting feet while vertical, struggling,…).
Many cattle and horses on the Chisholm Trail were swallowed whole real quick and never seen again in invisible quicksand traps. Herds arriving near rivers were not only threatened by the deep water and swift currents, but also by quicksand at its banks. The only warning cowboys had that quicksand might be present is if the river level was low which creates quicksand at its banks. In 1869, one cattle drive avoided quicksand traps and had to travel 25-miles upstream before it crossed the river.
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Invisible Quick Sand: Buffalo Bill’s scouting party reached the Platte River. The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River at Bellevue, Nebraska. It travels west through Nebraska and separates at North Platte, Nebraska into the North Platte River and South Platte River. Along the Platte Rivers are invisible patches of quick sand that can devour an entire wagon, its load, everything, and completely disappear. A scout named Charlie described patches that looked like regular hard sand with only 02-inches of water but are bottomless quick sand pits that could swallow anything that entered it.
How were these invisible patches of quick sand identified to avoid them? According to my research, they had no way to identify unmarked patches of quicksand. No doubt there are many isolated parches of quicksand throughout North America. Whether these sites are marked are unknown. That’s another reason to NEVER NEVER NEVER, one more time – NEVER travel alone through the wilderness especially near water obstacles.
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Quicksand Survival: Quicksand is sand or muck held in suspension by water. It’s not only found in swamps but just off rivers like sandbars. Experts state quicksand supports the body better than water. Victims caught in quicksand are killed because of the following reasons:
a) Victim realized too late that they’re in quicksand.
b) Victim is overwhelmed by Fear & Panic.
c) Victim sinks because of incorrect body movements (lifting feet while vertical, struggling,…).
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Swimming In Quicksand: Experts state potential victims should test for hardness to detect quicksand by throwing rocks on the sand. If it sinks, it could be quicksand. Avoid it.
If caught in quicksand, the victim should go face down in the quicksand with their face to the side. Spread arms and pull your way across the quicksand. At all times, the body must be kept horizontal.
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Shallow Water Blackout: Of the ’10 Emergency Survival Actions You Gotta Know’ I know this next survival application is legit because I personally got it straight from the horses’ mouth from different soldiers who experienced it. OK, here we go.
The US Army Special Forces Scuba School (Green Berets) down in Key West, Florida has got to be one of the most difficult physically demanding military schools not only in the US military but on this entire planet. To attend the course no doubt you have to be a very strong swimmer but that’s not good enough. To insure your tax dollars are well spent, you don’t want candidates going to scuba school only to fail. So, the US Army Special Forces has a mandatory Pre-Scuba that all candidates must go through and pass.
Going through Pre-Scuba, even strong swimmers fail. I’ve talked to soldiers who attended Pre-Scuba and passed and they eventually deployed to the US Army Special Forces Scuba School down in Key West, Florida. They returned early from scuba school failing the course and they were traumatized. NO, not because they failed the course but what happened to them and all scuba students. Scuba School puts the students through swimming drills that are so rigorous that scuba students end up floating unconscious underwater.
It’s called Shallow Water Blackout. As told to me by scuba students, they’re swimming underwater and its LIGHTS OUT. What happens is they suck-in water and go unconscious. During the next few minutes it’s called Shallow Water Blackout. The water is stopped from going into the lungs by some muscles in the lower throat area. This is Shallow Water Blackout. The scuba students are retrieved and easily revived. And are asked if they want to quit. A scuba student told me all scuba students have a Shallow Water Blackout at least once during scuba school.
Now after approximately 03-minutes, the muscles in the throat relax and the water goes into the lungs – now you’re drowning. Returning scuba students after experiencing Shallow Water Blackout 01 or more times, are traumatized.
So traumatized that they’re scared to take showers or take a bath. Whether these soldiers passed or failed the US Army Special Forces Scuba School, they’re better & safer swimmers paid for by your hard-earned tax dollars.
So, bottom line, if you know of a person that has ‘drowned,’ don’t give-up on them. Odds are its Shallow Water Blackout. Call 911 and call for any medical professional nearby. Put them on their stomach and try to get the water out of their system before the water goes into their lungs.
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MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: Now that you read & viewed ’10 Emergency Survival Actions You Gotta Know’ – You’re Ready Anytime Anywhere. However, before you go out on your next outdoor adventure, please re-read “How To Plan Your Outdoor Adventure!”
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Paperback Book—————Kindle E-Book
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