There are a couple of acronyms commonly accepted as the first actions you should take in a potential survival situation. The U.S. Military often uses the actual word SURVIVAL. S – Size up the situation U – Use all your senses R – Remember where you are V – Vanquish fear and panic I – Improvise V – Value living A – Act like the natives L – Live by your wits, but for now learn basic skills This is absolutely great advice, but may be a little more suited to a combat environment and unless you’re required to memorize it, it can be long and wordy. The civilian counterpart to SURVIVAL is, as mentioned above, STOP. S – Stop/Sit T – Think O – Observe P – Plan This is easy to remember and for the most part, covers the critical things well. The one crucial thing that this lacks from the Military acronym is: V – Vanquish fear and panic. This element can not be stressed enough! In those first few minutes, you must stay calm and not panic; panicked actions will greatly reduce your chances of getting out of your situation with little more than a cool story to tell your friends. This is why we add sit to the first “S” as a reminder to relax. Now before we jump into this, we’re going to talk about priorities. It’s surprising how wrong most folks get this, but again we have a simple rule to help you out here: The Rule of Threes. The Rule of Threes are easy, you simply have to remember them and trust them. You Can Live For: 3 Minutes without oxygenated blood to your brain. 3 Hours without protection from a harsh environment. 3 Days without water. 3 Weeks without food. Pretty simple huh? Some folks like to add “3 Seconds without situational awareness or controlling panic” to the front of the list and I’ve seen “3 Months without the will or a reason to live” tacked on the back. While neither is a bad idea, these basic four are what you need to really keep in mind.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 18:00:51 +0000
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