Joshua Piven - The NEW Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook

Copyright 19992019 by Quirk Productions, Inc. 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, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
ISBN 978-1-4521-7218-7 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4521-7225-5 (epub, mobi)

Designed by Liam Flanagan.
Cover design by Neil Egan.
Cover illustration by Aurora Parlagreco.
Illustrations by Brenda Brown.

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, CA 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. 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

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. Its an extremely harsh and unforgiving environment, and yet the Inuit people 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 warm tea, I noticed that our senior Inuit guide drank several more cups of tea than the rest of us. He must be thirsty, I thought. After our morning trek across the frozen landscape and arrival at 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, which froze solidly to the ground! The younger instructor explained: Thats why he drank all that tea this morningto anchor it!

The lesson: resources and improvisation equal survival.

• You must not ignore the importance of the mental aspects of survivalin particular, stay calm and do not panic.

Remember that willpower is the most crucial survival skill of alldont catch that terrible disease of Giveupitis. Mental strength especially come into play when someone, inevitably, makes a mistake.

One trip into the jungles of the Philippines, our old guide Gunny gathered various plants while we were trekking. Once at the camp, Gunny skillfully prepared bamboo to use for cooking tubes. To these he added leaves, snails (old men catch snails because they are slow, he said, young 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 some taro leaves, he added water and placed the cooking tubes on the fire.

After our jungle feast, we settled in to 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. The instructor was experiencing the same problem, and this helped determine the source of our distress: we had not boiled the taro leaves long enough. Recovering hours later, I mentally logged this lesson, learned the hard way: even the old man of the jungle can make mistakes.

We all make mistakes. Overcoming them is survival.

• You must have a survival plan that considers the following essential elements: food, fire, water, and shelter (as well as signals and first aid).

A tropical environment is one of the easiest to survive. It offers all of the needs for survivalfood, fire, water, shelter, if you know where to look. On a military survival training course in another jungle we needed water badly, but could not head for the major streams, rivers, or bodies of water, as the enemy was tracking us, and watching those areas. Looking into the foliage, our guide Pepe pointed with his jungle bolo (a large knife) to a thick, grapelike vine, three to four inches in diameter. He cut the vine at the top, then sliced off a two to three foot section, motioned to me, and held it above my parched lips. Excellent! 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, there were six to eight quarts of water in our reservoirs.

The next morning in the rain, Pepe stopped to cut a tall bundle of grass. He wrapped the grass around a smoothbarked tree to form a spigot. He then placed his bamboo drinking cup underneath to gather rainwater. That night, after we had reached the safe area, the jungle darkness fell and we sat in the flicker of the fire. Pepe smiled at me and said, Once again weve evaded the enemy and learned to return.

That simple phrase became our mottoand in fact, it is the motto of every survival trainer, whether or not they know it. Learn to return.

This guide might help you do just that.

We have some good news, and some bad news.

The bad news first: We are sorry to report that its still a dangerous world out there.

Despite our best efforts; despite the dramatic leaps we have taken forward in technology, medicine, and global awareness; despite the millions of readers we have reached over the past two decades with our handbooks (several of whom have claimed that their lives have been saved by our popular and entertaining-yet-accurate advice), danger still lurks beneath the surface, around the corner, and behind the door.