SEAL Survival Guide (52 page)

 Avoid touching fences, signposts, or any metal object.

 Power down any cell phones and other portable electronic devices.

 If caught outside, sit down and tuck your head between your legs. It is also important to insulate yourself from electrical currents transferring through the ground. Try to sit on a coat, blanket, or anything that limits your body’s direct contact with the ground.

 If you are in an open field, then avoid this hunched position, as it will still leave you as the highest point. In that case, lie flat on the ground. If possible, try to stay in a slightly raised push-up position. If lightning does strike, it will then pass through your arms and into the ground, thus bypassing your heart and other vital organs.

LOST AT SEA

Things have gone from bad to worse, and you’ve been forced to abandon ship. (See also “Abandon Ship,”
page 29
.) At this point, you have already been through some traumatic experiences, made your threat
assessment as to the seaworthiness of your vessel, and gotten off the X. Now you find yourself in the water and away from what was once the security of your ship. You must remember that you got to where you are because it was the best option to save your life. You pulled the trigger and survived a sinking ship, so now is not the time to panic. Even more, you must continue to focus on the varying conditions of your suddenly new situation, remain calm, and do what must be done next. As with most life-threatening scenarios, survival at sea is all about prioritization. And, as obvious as this may sound, your very first goal is to keep from drowning. You surely didn’t plan on being neck-deep in the water, but here you are, and now a new mission begins.

Survival Priorities

1. Staying afloat

2. Retaining heat

3. Avoiding sunstroke

4. Water

5. Food

6. Signaling

1. STAY AFLOAT!

You don’t have to be a world-class swimmer to survive even rough seas. In fact, you could be a nonswimmer and still keep yourself afloat. If you aren’t wearing a life vest, do everything in your power to locate one. If one is not available, find something that is floating and hold on.

Improvised flotation device

This is a great example of a drill that can be rehearsed during nonemergency situations, such as in a pool or while partaking in recreational swimming. This is one of the first drills taught to every new recruit in the Navy. If you have the mindset to endure, there are tools to prevent you from drowning, as long as you remain calm and think.

1. Pull off your pants and tie a knot at the end of each leg.

2. Close the zipper and button the pants at the waistband.

3. In a quick motion, while holding the pants at the waist, throw the pants over your head and dip down into the water. This action will fill the pant legs with air.

4. Keep the waist under the water. This will keep the air from escaping. Then creep up until a pant leg is under each arm. This will lift your head out of the water.

5. You do not want to tie off the waist to keep the air in the pants, as one might think necessary, but rather grasp the waistband while underwater with your hands to create the seal. Pants are not balloons, but they will hold air. You will need to repeat the above procedure as necessary, as the air trapped in the pant legs will diminish.

Survival float

If you aren’t able to locate or make a flotation device,
don’t panic
. This is where your physical toughness is going to pay off. Remember, you could be out here for a long time, so start conserving your energy now. Use a survival float position to help you do so.

1. Keep your face in the water and your arms and legs dangling; every time you need to take a breath, slowly lift your head out of the water while scissor-kicking once with your legs and pushing your arms together. Pushing your arms and hands together raises your body slightly above the waterline.

2. Then drop your head back facedown and relax your dangling body.

3. The key is to relax your body while getting into this position, which is sometimes referred to as a dead man’s float. The longer you are able to relax and conserve energy, the better your chance of enduring.

2. DON’T FREEZE

Your next priority is to fight off hypothermia. Even if you are in tropical waters as warm as 84 degrees, for example, your body’s core temperature will still drop one degree for every hour you remain submerged. It only takes your core temperature’s dropping two degrees for you to begin to feel the effects of hypothermia. Additionally, your
body uses a lot of energy to keep warm. And if you have few or no supplies, your problem compounds.

HELP (Heat-Escape-Lessening Posture)

In addition to summoning the power of all the mental toughness you developed, you can use the
HELP
to fight against hypothermia. This is done by positioning your flotation device under you so it will lift as much of your upper body out of the water as possible. The less your body is submerged, the less effect the water will have on your core body temperature. If there are several people, then float together by tying yourselves to one another. This may not be any warmer, but there is strength in numbers.