– help you escape
– help transport the injured (see Part Four, “Survival Medicine,” page 305)
– serve as a weapon (see “Improvised Weapons,” page 301)
During a training evolution* I was run over by a boat operated by Navy personnel who weren’t paying attention and veered from their normal course. They obviously didn’t know that they even hit me, but nevertheless, I took the full force of the collision to my head while I was in heavy surf. I have never been hit that hard in my life. When I resurfaced and saw the blood coming from my ear, I decided it was time to swim to shore. Once I got to the beach, I felt fine and was more concerned with giving the boat driver the universal sign for FU than anything else. It wasn’t until I had regained consciousness an hour later in the ER that I was informed that I had sustained a fractured skull and a subdural hematoma (bleeding brain), the source of the blood coming out of my ear. Thank God for the cold water, or I would have lost consciousness way before hitting the beach. It wasn’t my time.
*“Training evolution” might seem like a strange term, but that’s what we call various phases we go through to become a SEAL. In a sense, it is true to the meaning of the word “evolution”: We are transformed from our previous selves and evolve into warriors.
Step 4: Develop a Game Plan
Success in warfare often comes down to the side that knows their battlefield better. If a mall or school turns into a battlefield, knowledge of the environment will be a great advantage. If you are in a familiar environment, such as the office building where you work, where your previously acquired situational awareness provides knowledge of the exits, this is the time to figure out where you are. During your time getting off the X, you may find yourself in a place somewhat different than expected yet still familiar in general. Most buildings and stores use repetitive construction, such as repeating floor plans. You can make a representation of your logistics on the floor in front of you by using items to diagram the area. If you are in an unfamiliar place, like a mall, and your smart phone still works, get a map from the website, or use evacuation placards or signs posted on walls to get your bearings.
MAKE A DECISION USING THE RULE OF THREE
Make a decision as to the next course of action, choosing the best of the three plans you can conceive. There isn’t time to second-guess yourself or for debate. Pick what seems like the best of the three options and then act decisively.
In the case of an active shooter, for example, your three options might be:
1. Head to the nearest exit.
2. Run to the highest level and attempt rescue from the roof.
3. Set an ambush, recover a weapon, and shoot your way out.
If you’re able to, call 911. Give police as much HUMINT (human intelligence) as possible, including: who you are, what’s happening and where, how many shooters and their physical description, which types of weapons are being used, and any special gear, such as body armor, that you observed. Describe the shooter’s skill level, ethnicity, language, accent, body movements—anything that may be helpful.
As mentioned above regarding police response, don’t wait for help. You might be dead before the cavalry gets there. In making your decision to evacuate, choose the most discreet way out and the one most likely to limit your chances of meeting the shooter again. Your goal now is evacuation. However, remember that the safest evacuation route may not be the most direct. The best exit may not be the closest one.
MOVING AS A GROUP
If you find yourself among a group of other survivors, it’s now your job to assign responsibilities. This will focus individuals who are likely still in a serious panic mode. Maintain group cohesion by displaying a sense of purpose and by offering a reasonable game plan. Remind people: “We’re in this together, and we’re going to get out of this together.”
Your group has now become a small unit and can benefit from using standard, small-unit tactics and techniques employed by the military. Usually, but again depending upon the scenario, it’s better to move in single file, where each person has a couple of feet or an arm’s length of separation. Assign a person on the line to scout out areas that you plan to travel to during your evacuation. By using all eyes, the group maintains 360 degrees of awareness. The leader, or the one in point position, is responsible for the front 180 degrees—or from nine o’clock to three o’clock, with twelve o’clock always being the direction of travel. The second person covers the left, the third covers the right, and so on. The last person in line scopes out the rear to alert the group of any indication that the shooter is following them. If you are in the rear, don’t walk backward; you will undoubtedly trip and fall. Instead, every three or four steps stop momentarily and spin back. Then continue moving forward. The last person will be responsible for the 180 degrees of the rear view (from three o’clock to nine o’clock). This method allows you to know what could be coming at you and gives you the extra seconds needed to react.
Step 5: Live or Die
Sometimes, the only way out is to fight. There will be times when your course of action might be limited to taking on the shooter. As cold-blooded and mechanical as these shooters seem, especially with firepower in their hands, they are expecting to eventually come against some intervention or police confrontation. This oftentimes will lead to overconfidence or recklessness and brazen actions. The 1997 shoot-out at a North Hollywood bank is an excellent example. Two heavily armed men robbed a bank, and when they confronted police upon exiting the bank, they expended two thousand rounds of ammunition before they were finally gunned down, despite believing they were invincible. It’s best to try to capitalize on a shooter’s lack of discipline or training when trying to plan an attack.
When I die, let it be on my feet, with a white-hot smoking rifle, empty mags, and bloody knuckles. —Cade Courtley
HOW TO SET AN AMBUSH
The best ambush is one in which your target ends up in the exact location you want them in, essentially walking right into your trap. Put yourself in a hidden position that the shooter must pass by. This is known as the “strike zone.” Obviously, surprise is the key to a successful ambush. Additionally, you will increase the odds of your success with a weapon. (See “Improvised Weapons,” page 301.)
Types of ambushes
• Ambush with multiple people: This is the ideal form of ambush. You have greater numbers and are able to strike from multiple positions simultaneously. Just remember that with multiple people, the odds of hurting one of your own increase. Make sure that you direct those in your party to remain at preestablished set points in the ambush to avoid causalities from what is referred to as “friendly fire.”
• L ambush: One group sets up to lure the shooter toward them, while the other group, to the right or left, is prepared to engage once the shooter enters the strike zone.
I can’t emphasize enough the necessity of violence of action for an ambush to be effective. If you must face the shooter and it comes down to either his going down or your dying, this is “pull the trigger” time, and you can and will put every ounce of your being into defeating the enemy. Survival is your mission! (See “Fighting,” page 146, for more on how to approach an attack.)
ACTIVE SHOOTER NEUTRALIZED
If the ambush is successful and the shooter is dead, good; the mad dog is done. If the shooter is alive, then make sure to bind and gag them.
Never assume this is the only shooter or that the incident is now over!
1. Stop and listen; do you hear any more gunfire?
2. Does the shooter you took down have a radio? If they do, there is someone else they must have been communicating with.
3. Attempt to get further information regarding the number and location of other shooters from the assailant using any effective form of coercion. Yes, I mean torture. This person was trying to kill you and other innocents; I would use whatever means necessary to know whether he or she is acting alone.
4. Immediately inform the police of your
status and pass on any useful information.
Again, never assume an active-shooter situation is over until law enforcement declares it to be over. Strip any and all equipment the shooter may have for your own use. Take weapons, ammo, and body armor. Any communication equipment will be especially useful. It will not only enable you to monitor what the other shooters are doing, but it will give you the opportunity to jam their communication with each other.
HOW TO JAM OR “HOT-MIKE”
To jam most walkie-talkies or radio devices, press and hold down the transmit button. On most radios, this will not allow anyone else to transmit, thus jamming the transmission and removing the shooter’s ability to communicate with any partners.
ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
Divvy up the weapons and equipment you have taken from the shooter and give them to those most experienced and capable of using them. If there is only one weapon or set of body armor, give it to the point man, because he or she is up front and the one most likely to encounter the next shooter.
Step 6: Encountering Law Enforcement
If you’re successful and you make it out alive, you surely don’t want police to think you are one of the assailants; you don’t want to die from this form of friendly fire. As in the military, law enforcement officers are taught to look at people’s hands first. If your hands are free of weapons, then you aren’t considered a shooting threat. So when you are about to exit and think there is a high probability of encountering law enforcement, you must empty your hands. Put all weapons on the ground and away from you. Place hands high in the air and yell out, “Friendlies—we are unarmed.” Keep repeating this, and do so loudly. Do exactly as you are instructed to do at this point; there will be time for them to realize that you are the survivors once police have you in a nonthreatening posture.
ACTIVE SHOOTER CHECKLIST
1. Get off the X. Remove yourself from immediate danger.
2. Regroup and regain focus.
3. Perform a self-assessment for injuries and resources.
4. Form your game plan. Make a decision, keep the group cohesive, and assign individuals responsibility.
5. Live or die. Pull the trigger! This is your mission!
6. Make sure you safely encounter law enforcement.
AIRPLANE CRASH
Airline travel is now a common occurrence, with an estimated two billion people worldwide flying every year. When you enter an aircraft, you literally turn your life over to the mechanical integrity of the aircraft and to the pilot’s skills. However, preparedness, rehearsal and reenactment, and the SEAL mindset can enhance your odds of survival in the event of a crash. Although airplanes are widely considered the safest way to travel, they do occasionally go down. While it seems hard to believe sometimes, there is always a chance you can survive an airplane crash, and how you approach the act of air travel can increase your odds of survival.
The two main threats to you on an airplane (aside from hijacking and terrorism, which we’ll save for a later section) are the impact of the plane against something, and post-impact conditions, mainly fires, fuel combustion, and smoke inhalation. It is estimated that 30 percent of those who have died in airplane accidents were lucky enough to survive the crash but failed to respond properly after.
Preflight Preparation
When SEALs plan for a mission, be it in the Arctic, the tropics, an urban setting, or the desert, a critical part of our success is the uniform and gear we wear and use. In tactical planning, this is grouped with overall equipment. Nevertheless, the choice is made on the basis of functionality. The military has learned over the years that clothing, footwear, and other accessories provided to a soldier are important elements of the planning phase. This is also something to consider in your daily routines—are you dressed to handle an emergency?
When traveling by airplane, think less about looking fashionable or professional and more about what would serve you best if something were to go wrong. This applies to both men and women.
• Always wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts or blouses made of less flammable material (such as 100 percent polyester, nylon, wool, or silk) and avoid more combustible fabrics (such as cotton, cotton-polyester blends, rayon, or acrylic). This will act as a layer of protection for your skin should a fire occur, and prevent you from sustaining cuts or lacerations caused by debris that might impede your escape.
• Avoid wearing sandals, open-toe shoes, or high heels. You may want to wear sandals to get yourself in vacation mode, for example, or high heels to look stylish; however, these types of shoes will hinder you should you need to climb through burning wreckage or debris, broken glass, or flammable liquids. In fact, high heels have to be removed before going down inflatable evacuation slides, wasting precious seconds during an escape.
• Have a handkerchief or some other cloth you can cover your mouth with in case of a smoke or noxious-fume event. This won’t always be enough, but it may buy you precious seconds.
WHERE TO SIT
Book a seat with emergency evacuation in mind. In examining the statistics of airline crashes compiled by the Federal Aviation Administration, the greatest number of survivors are among those who were seated toward the back of the aircraft. First class may have the most comfortable seats and allow you to be the first on and the first to disembark during nonemergency situations, but these seats are not statistically the safest. In fact, passengers seated closer to the tail have an estimated 40 percent higher survival rate. In addition, seats closest to the exit doors are preferable. If you survive the initial impact, you want to be in a position to get out of the aircraft as quickly as possible.
The one thing that has killed more SEALs than anything else (by a wide margin) is helicopters. I often thought it was the most dangerous part of the job: many men crammed into a small space, flying around in something that has a ton of moving parts and shouldn’t really work. Then it must slow down, giant target that it is, when it’s most vulnerable, during takeoff and landing. Unfortunately, it is a necessity of war.
GATHERING INTELLIGENCE
In the military, we have no choice in boarding the aircraft to which we are assigned. However, in the civilian world, many people spend considerable time researching the ratings of a hotel, for example, but gather no intelligence on the aircraft that will get them there. To enhance your chances of survival, include in your travel plans, well in advance of the flight, research information about the safety record of the plane you are ticketed to take.
Some commercial airlines keep planes in service for more than forty years. You can check the mechanical data and safety records of any plane. The Federal Aviation Administration maintains incident reports for all aircraft. You can find detailed records by knowing the aircraft’s identification, or “N,” numbers, which are found near the tail of every plane. You can request the N-number of the plane when you book a ticket. If you go to the FAA website (http://www.faa.gov/), the N-number will tell you the age of the plane and many other invaluable details.
Situational Awareness on the Plane
From the time you enter the plane your situational awareness should be extremely high. Be aware of the following:
The condition of the plane.
The condition of the pilots and flight crew.
Your fellow passengers: Does anyone seem unusually nervous, uncomfortable, or out of place?
Where are your two closest escape routes? Say it to yourself: “Back, four rows, right.” Or “Forward, three rows, left.” Repeat it several times.
Start your mental movie in real time by observing every exit as you pass it. Once you get to your seat, immediately find your two closest exits. If you’re sitting in an exit row, study the door and make sure you know how to open it. Learn the door’s particular operating procedures carefully. In normal circumstances, the flight attendant will open the door, but if the attendants are dead or injured, you’ll need to do it.
Be ready. Whenever the plane is below ten thousand feet,
which is normally the first five and last ten minutes of the flight (although this time could be longer if the plane is kept in an extended midair holding pattern near the destination airport), you should be in full alert mode. This is when pilot error, mechanical failures, and varying environmental factors, from wind shear to birds, cause crashes. During takeoff and landing, be fully prepared to respond quickly to any emergency condition.
Impact: Brace Yourself!
Let’s face it: There’s not much that you can do here but be alert. Throughout the flight, but especially during takeoff and landing, keep your seat belt securely fastened. The seat belt should be placed as low as possible, at the upper part of your pelvis, and not across your stomach.
The slightest slack in the seat belt—even a centimeter too loose—will increase the G-force your body will be subjected to during a crash. This is a lesson every new SEAL has to learn the hard way when doing a “map of the earth” low-level approach for insertion on a target. Since “map of the earth” basically means you are riding a roller coaster at treetop level, believe me, you don’t want any slack in that belt.
If the crew has issued a crash alert, or you just know your plane is going down, brace yourself. The primary function of a proper brace position is simply to place yourself firmly against whatever is in front of you, such that when the sudden deceleration causes you to be thrown forward, you’re already in contact with whatever it is you would hit. In a plane, you want to brace against the seat in front of you. If the plane has a video screen, don’t brace against that surface. Rather, position your head above or below it. (Lower is generally better.)
Seal Survival Guide Page 6