It was a late-summer evening in western California. I had just finished putting my kids to bed when I noticed an unusual odor filling the room through the open patio door. Something like a burning campfire mixed with smog.
survival
How to Relieve Airway Obstructions When You’re Choking
How many times have you swallowed a piece of food that was too big and started panicking that it won’t go down? While you may have been lucky and eventually managed to swallow that piece of food, others weren’t as lucky.
Backwoods Safety Recommendations From An EMS Paramedic
We’ve all heard stories of people who went on a day hike or afternoon hunting outing when disaster struck. A short hike or hunt turned into three days lost in the woods, or even worse, the person went missing for weeks and was never heard from again. Backwoods calamities happen every year in America and beyond.
Turn Your Cell Phone Into A Survival Toolbox
Over the last 20 years, the cell phone has become a staple of everyday life. We use cellular technology for frivolous and serious reasons alike—everything from Angry Birds to dialing 911. Case in point: according to the FCC, about 70 percent of 911 calls originated from cell phones.
How To Keep Your Family Safe In The Event Of Terror Attacks
Terrorism is all around us. While the terror attacks of recent history have happened overseas, this was only a convenience for terrorists, as the targets were closer.
How To Defeat A Bigger, Stronger Opponent In A Self-defense Situation
When you are physically attacked, you are dealt a hand that you have no choice but to play. There are no do-overs or trade-ins, just the situation that is presented to you. You must deal with it then and there or suffer the consequences. In some cases, those consequences are severe injuries or possibly death.
Field Lessons For Detecting and Avoiding Mines – Counter Mine Operations
Mines vary in scale from anti-personnel weapons such as the US ‘gravel’ mine, shaped like and little bigger than a tea-bag, to massive anti-tank mines designed to pierce armor plate and destroy a 60-tonne armored vehicle.
How To Survive A Mined Battlefield – Mines Awareness
In order to give yourself a reasonable chance of survival, you must know what you are looking for and, equally important, how mines work.
How To Avoid GPS Pitfalls
You go on a camping trip in a remote patch of the Maryland woods. You get lost. You walk around. You walk around some more, looking to get out of the brambles.
Man Tracking Tips
How is man tracking different from tracking animals? Animals have set characteristics and do not conceal their spoor, but a man who doesn’t want to be found is capable of concealing spoor. Man tracking is often referred to as combat tracking or tactical tracking.
How To Be A Hard Target
When we think of a hard target versus a soft target, the first thing that comes to mind is that we’re speaking in military terms. But in terms of personal safety, it doesn’t matter what type of terminology you’re using, and your goal is to become a hard target.
Staying Fit To Survive Any Disaster
One of the real, make-or-break aspects of preparation can’t be packed away on a basement shelf or tucked inside of the bug-out bag. Health and fitness truly serve as a person’s greatest assets. Getting through the aftermath of a disaster requires being in decent shape and in good overall health. There’s no way around it.
A Few Wild Beverages Everyone Should Try
Wild teas and, more generally, wild beverages serve a number of purposes. First, if you are boiling water to make it safe to drink from pathogenic organisms, waiting for your water to cool down – particularly in summer – to have a cool drink can take too long for you to stay well hydrated.