SEAL Survival Guide (2 page)

BURNS

Burn Types
•
Short-term Treatment
•
Long-term Treatment

BITES AND STINGS

Bees and Wasps
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Spiders and Scorpions
•
Snakes

Acknowledgments

About Cade Courtley

To my teammates both here and above

Introduction

What enables someone to carry a 250-pound man up three flights of stairs while taking enemy fire or spend six sleepless days and nights running around with a fractured right leg? What allows a man to break through a door knowing full well there is someone with an assault rifle on the other side trying to kill him? How is it possible to endure continuous physical abuse and confinement in a three-by-three-foot concrete box without food for more than a week and finish with a smile? Or not only survive exhausting days and nights of subzero temperatures during a blinding blizzard but thrive, coming out harder and stronger? How does one swim seven miles in frigid, whitecapped ocean waters? What makes one voluntarily return time and time again to a war zone?

Essentially, what makes a Navy SEAL?

There are currently nine SEAL teams and approximately 2,500 active-duty U.S. Navy SEALs. President John F. Kennedy created the SEALs in 1962, announcing his plans to do so during the same historic speech in which he promised to put a man on the moon. The president wanted specialized units to handle extremely dangerous and covert operations and become the elite force for unconventional warfare techniques. Since the creation of the Navy SEALs, they have been involved in thousands of combat missions, first making their name in Vietnam. There, SEAL Teams One and Two accomplished an amazing kill ratio of 200:1. SEALs were so feared by enemy forces that they were simply known as “the men with green faces.” SEALs also served in Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, in addition to conducting
numerous highly classified operations in countries not mentioned above. Recent notable operations include freeing the hijacked captain of the
Maersk Alabama,
the rescue of American hostages in Somalia, and the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Mr. President, you got your money’s worth.

“SEAL” is an acronym for “Sea, Air, Land.” The idea was to forge a military unit that could operate effectively in all environments. Prior to the formation of the SEALs, there were numerous specialized military units, such as the Scouts and Raiders, formed in 1942, nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. These guys were trained for stealth and conducted preassault assessments of beachhead landing areas, marked targets, and did whatever it took to make a mission by other forces more successful. There were also the Naval Combat Demolition Units and the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs), which many remember as the classic “frogmen” of World War II. These were amphibious units that went in prior to conventional battles to clear beach obstacles, cut underwater enemy cables, or rig buoys, bridges, or enemy ships with explosives. They were responsible for blowing out fortified German gaps during the Omaha Beach landing, for example, which ultimately led to victory for the Allies. In addition, the Office of Strategic Services had a group called Operational Swimmers, which more closely resembled current SEAL operations. These men were dropped by parachute behind enemy lines for guerrilla warfare, or donned the first flexible diving masks and fins to attack by sea.

The SEALs were formed to create a military force that combined all these varying branches, capable of operating in all environments. Whether it be the Arctic tundra, the jungles of the tropics, the desert, or the ocean, SEALs are trained to adapt to any variable and carry out everything from top-secret missions to conventional warfare. SEALs perform the most dangerous and oftentimes unimaginable tasks, and they do so with uncompromising principles and resolute loyalty.

To be eligible to become a SEAL, you must be a U.S. citizen, pass a basic physical, have good eyesight, and be under twenty-eight years old. If you score well on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, and at a minimum swim five hundred yards in under twelve and a half minutes, do forty-two push-ups in two minutes and fifty sit-ups in two minutes, and run one and a half miles in under eleven and a half minutes (although much higher scores are required for serious consideration), then you might get a chance to attend training.

Only one out of a thousand who want to become a SEAL gets the opportunity to attend BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training), the twenty-six-week training process of becoming a SEAL, and of those, less than 15 percent will make it to graduation. Once trainees have completed BUD/S, the training continues with the twenty-eight-week course of advanced training called SQT (SEAL Qualification Training), which teaches them all of the skill sets they will need to officially become a Navy SEAL. The guys who thought it would be cool to be a SEAL because they saw the teams in the movies or wanted to use their SEAL status to pick up chicks last about two days. The ones who make it endure the toughest military training in the world and possess traits in common that include persistence, dedication, and tenacity; quite simply, these men are
hard
. But it’s much more than that.

These new SEALs then report to one of the following SEAL teams: Teams One, Three, Five, and Seven are based in Coronado, California. SEAL Teams Two, Four, Eight, and Ten are located in Little Creek, Virginia. Once they join their team, they will spend another eighteen months training with their platoon prior to a six-month deployment. So if you are lucky enough to not get injured and make it straight through training, it will be at least thirty-one months before you are a combat-ready Navy SEAL.

As you might notice, I didn’t mention SEAL Team Six, since before the bin Laden kill, this was a theoretically nonexistent unit and no one was to know of its missions or activities—it was our secret. So much for OPSEC (Operational Security). Nevertheless, to be chosen for SEAL Team Six, a SEAL must serve for six years on other teams,
and then they’ll have the opportunity to screen for this crew of all-stars.

When I entered BUD/S, I was determined not to quit. I convinced myself there was no backup plan. I would graduate or die trying, even if it took me nine months longer than usual to get through it, since I had broken my leg three times and suffered a fractured skull. I spent the entire six days of Hell Week running on a partially fractured right leg. To say my comfort zone was pushed with every step I took is an understatement. I did finally graduate as a lieutenant, and everything I learned and endured during training has served me well and kept me alive.

I tell you this not to boast. Those of us who have served in the teams are hesitant to list our trials. I cite the above examples to validate that what I have to offer comes from very real and current experiences. The information in this book doesn’t come from an “Internet expert” or someone “out of the game” since Vietnam. Rather, it comes from someone who has been there, done that, and truly survived.

For a Navy SEAL, achieving and maintaining maximum physical fitness is a basic job requirement. I’ve spent the better part of my life working hard to stay at peak physical levels for mission success, but I will never forget the strongest muscle of all—and that is the brain. It is the foundation on which everything else is built. In this book I will teach you the true secret techniques used by Navy SEALs and demonstrate how to significantly enhance your odds of survival in any situation.

The real successes and achievements attributed to SEALs are actually due to the way we have trained and conditioned our minds. It’s the ability to see the real world and react to any situation without
hesitation and make split-second decisions that could have global ramifications.

I am writing this book to give you the tools needed to think like a SEAL, to adapt rapidly to the unexpected, and to ensure maximum survival. If you follow the advice in this guide, you will significantly reduce your chance of becoming a mere mortality statistic when adversity strikes, and instead become one of the few who will survive.

The world we live in is truly dangerous, but the intent of this book is to empower. It will give you the tools you need to survive in almost any situation, especially the most deadly. No one needs to become a reclusive survival fanatic or live in a paranoid state. We must all be prepared and vigilant, but living scared is not living. I became a Navy SEAL to protect our country and defend our rights and freedom. Be confident in yourself and the new skills you will learn, and then go on and enjoy every day of your life.