Borgenicht - The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook

THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO
Survival Handbook

By Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht

The authors wish to thank all the experts who contributed to the making of this book, as well as Jay Schaefer, Laura Lovett, Steve Mockus, and the entire team at Chronicle Books.

Copyright 1999 by Quirk Productions.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Worst-Case Scenario and The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook are trademarks of Quirk Productions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

eISBN: 978-0-8118-7356-7

Illustrations by Brenda Brown

A Quirk Book

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

When a life is imperiled or a dire situation is at hand, safe alternatives may not exist. To deal with the worst-case scenarios presented in this book, we highly recommendinsist, actuallythat the best course of action is to consult a professionally trained expert. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO UNDERTAKE ANY OF THE ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED IN THIS BOOK YOURSELF. But because highly trained professionals may not always be available when the safety of individuals is at risk, we have asked experts on various subjects to describe the techniques they might employ in those emergency situations. THE PUBLISHER, AUTHORS, AND EXPERTS DISCLAIM ANY LIABILITY from any injury that may result from the use, proper or improper, of the information contained in this book. All the information in this book comes directly from experts in the situation at hand, but we do not guarantee that the information contained herein is complete, safe, or accurate, nor should it be considered a substitute for your good judgment and common sense. And finally, nothing in this book should be construed or interpreted to infringe on the rights of other persons or to violate criminal statutes: we urge you to obey all laws and respect all rights, including property rights, of others.

The Authors

THE RULES OF SURVIVAL
By Mountain Mel Deweese

I am a Survival Evasion Resistance Escape Instructor. I have developed, written, attended, and taught courses around the world to more than 100,000 studentscivilians, naval aviators, and elite Navy SEAL teams. I have more than 30 years of survival training experience, from the Arctic Circle to the Canadian wilderness, from the jungles of the Philippines to the Australian desert.

Lets just say that Ive learned a few things about survival over the years.

Whatever the situation, whether youre out in the mountains, on board a plane, or driving cross-country, to survive means To outlive, to remain alive or in existence; live on. To continue to exist or live after. After all, thats what its really all aboutabout continuing to exist, no matter how dire the circumstances.

You have to be preparedmentally, physically, and equipment-wise.

I would have to call my training in the Arctic Circle the ultimate survival adventure. The Arctic is an extremely harsh and unforgiving environment, and yet the Inuit people (Eskimos) not only survive, they live here at the top of the world. Most of the items you need for Arctic survival must come with you when you gothe Arctic offers little for improvisation.

One morning, as we huddled inside our igloo drinking tea to warm up, I noticed that our senior Inuit guide drank several more cups of tea than the rest of us. He must be thirsty, I thought. We then proceeded outside for our morning trek across the frozen landscape. After we reached our camp, the senior instructor walked over to a small knoll. Our young Inuit guide interpreted his words: This is where the fox will come to seek a high lookout point. This is a good place to set a trap. The older man then took out his steel trap, set it, laid out the chain, and to my surprise, urinated upon the end of the chain!

The younger instructor explained: Thats why he drank all that tea this morningto anchor it! Indeed, the chain had frozen securely to the ground.

The lesson: Resources and improvisation equals survival.

You must not ignore the importance of the mental aspects of survival; in particular, you must stay calm and you must not panic. And remember that willpower is the most crucial survival skill of alldont catch that terrible disease of Give-up-itis. All these mental strengths especially come into play when someone makes a mistakewhich is inevitable.

One trip into the jungles of the Philippines, our old guide Gunny selected and gathered various plants while we were trekking. Upon arrival at the camp, Gunny skillfully prepared bamboo to use for cooking tubes. To these he added leaves, snails (he claimed only the old men catch snails because they are slowyoung men catch fast shrimp), and a few slices of green mango. He also added a few things I could not discern. Topping this off with leaves from the taro plant, he added water and placed the bamboo cooking tube on the fire.

After the jungle feast, we settled into the darkness for sleep. During the night, I experienced pain, contraction, and itching in my throat. We were in pitch darkness, far from civilization, and my airways were progressively closing. The following morning, the condition worsened and my breathing was becoming restricted. I questioned the instructor, and he agreed he had the same problem. That we shared our distress was reassuring and it led to our determining the source of the problem. It turned out we had not boiled the taro leaves long enough. Recovering hours later, I mentally logged this as a lesson learned the hard way: Even the old man of the jungle can make mistakes.

We all make mistakes. Overcoming them is survival as well.

You must have a survival plan. And your plan should consider the following essential elements: food, fire, water, and shelter, as well as signals and first aid.

I remember a military survival training course I took in another jungle. A tropical environment is one of the easiest to survive, if you know where to look. It offers all of the needs for survivalfood, fire, water, shelter. We needed water badly but could not head for the major streams, rivers, or bodies of water to quench our thirst, as the enemy was tracking us. The enemy knew our dire need for water, and he would be watching those areas. Looking into the jungle foliage, our guide Pepe pulled his jungle bolo (a large knife) from its wooden case and pointed to a thick, grapelike vine, 3-4 inches in diameter. He cut the vine at the top, then sliced off a 2-3 foot section, motioned to me, and held it above my parched lips. Excellent! In total, it produced almost a large glass of water. Then he cut into a rattan vine that provided nearly the same amount.

That evening we tapped into the trunk of a taboy tree, placed bamboo tube reservoirs we had constructed beneath the tap, and left them overnight. Early the next morning, I was surprised to find 6-8 quarts of water in our reservoirs.

The next morning in the rain, Pepe stopped to cut a tall bundle of grass. He selected a smooth-barked tree and wrapped the grass around the tree to form a spigot. He then placed his bamboo drinking cup under the grass spigot. I was not convinced about the quality of his filter, but it was a good way for us to gather rainwater. That night, after we had reached the safe area, the jungle darkness fell upon us and we sat in the flicker of the bamboo fire. Pepe smiled at me and said, Once again weve evaded the enemy and learned to return.