Watch the movements of locals.
Locals who avoid perfectly good trails are probably avoiding a mined area. Observe which routes they will not travel on and avoid them. Never travel alone in a suspected mined area.
Look for dirt that has been disturbed.
Transference of dirt or discoloration of fields may indicate hasty placement of mines.
Look for wires across trails.
Trip wires strung across trails indicate mines or other explosives.
Look for newly destroyed vehicles on or just off the road.
Evidence of recent mine detonations includes burning or smoking vehicles and craters. Never assume that because a mine has already detonated the path is clear.
Avoid brush and overgrown fields and trails.
These will not be clearly marked with mine clearance signs, and they are more difficult to navigate on your own.
HOW TO DETECT A LETTER BOMB
1 If a carrier delivers an unexpected bulky letter or parcel, inspect it for lumps, bulges, or protrusions, without applying pressure.
Check for unevenly balanced parcels.
2 Handwritten addresses or labels from companies are unusual.
Check to see if the company exists and if they sent a package or letter.
3 Be suspicious of packages wrapped in string—modern packaging materials have eliminated the need for twine or string.
4 Watch out for excess postage on small packages or letters—this indicates that the object was not weighed by the post office.
It is no longer legal to mail stamped parcels weighing more than 16 ounces at mailboxes in the United States—they must be taken to a post office.
5 Watch out for leaks, stains (especially oily stains), protruding wires, and excessive tape.
6 Watch out for articles with no return address or a nonsensical return address.
WARNING!
Letter and package bombs can be very dangerous and destructive. However, unlike a bomb that goes off suddenly and with no warning, they can be identified.
Typical direct-pressure land mine
Types of Mines
Trip wire mines. Stepping across a wire attached to the detonator will cause the mine to explode.
Direct-pressure mines. Stepping down on a pressure-sensitive pad will activate the detonator.
Timer mines. A timer can be an electrical clock, an electronic digital clock, a dripping/mixing chemical, or a simple mechanical timer that will detonate the mine.
Remote mines. A remote mine can be detonated via an electrical charge across a wire (a “clacker”), via a radio signal, or from a heat or sound sensor.
HOW TO SEARCH FOR A BOMB
Government agencies use well-defined search procedures for bombs and explosive devices. After a bomb threat, the following can be used as a guide for searching a room, using a two-person search team.
1 Divide the area and select a search height.
The first searching sweep should cover all items resting on the floor up to the height of furniture; subsequent sweeps should move up from there.
2 Start back-to-back and work around the room, in opposite directions, moving toward each other.
3 Search around the walls and proceed inward in concentric circles toward the center of the room.
4 If you find a suspicious parcel or device, do not touch it—call the bomb squad.
GREAT ESCAPES
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Familiarize yourself with the trap. Press to compress the springs and relieve pressure on the jaws.
HOW TO FREE YOUR LEG FROM A BEAR TRAP
1 Move your foot and wiggle your toes.
Bear traps are designed to catch and hold the leg of a bear, not cut it off. Your leg may be badly bruised, but it should not be severely injured or amputated. Attempt to move your foot and toes to determine if you still have circulation and to check for tendon and muscle damage. In general, the steel “jaws” of the trap are not sharp. Each side of the jaw should have “teeth” that are designed to allow circulation. If you cannot feel your foot or do not have range of movement, you will have to work quickly.
2 Sit with the trap in front of you.
Sit on the ground and move the trapped leg so it is in front of you, bent slightly. The trap may be anchored to the ground with a short chain, or the chain may be attached to a loose hook. (When the caught animal runs away, the hook leaves a trail that is easy to track.)
3 Familiarize yourself with the trap.
The trap will have one piece of bent steel (a “spring”) to the left and another piece to the right of the jaws. The center of the trap will have a flat steel plate called a “pan.” Your leg will be between the jaws, your foot on the pan.
4 Place one hand on the top of each spring.
5 Close the springs.
With as much force as possible, press down hard on the springs to compress them. As the springs compress, they will lower and relieve pressure on the jaws.
6 Once the jaws are loose, slip your foot out of the trap.
7 Release the springs.
Take pressure off the springs slowly to avoid snapping the jaws closed suddenly.
8 Check your leg for damage.
Look for broken skin and tissue damage. Seek medical attention if you are injured. Be sure to request a tetanus booster if metal has pierced the skin.
HOW TO ESCAPE FROM A BAD DATE
Slip Away Unnoticed
1 Identify your escape route.
Observe your surroundings. Take note of the exits, especially the back doors. Look for the best way out and an alternative.
2 Plan to alter your appearance.
Think about your most distinctive features, and figure out how to hide or disguise them. The person you are trying to leave is going to see a figure moving past and away at a distance and will be focusing on the first impression. If you are not familiar to him and are uninteresting, you will not get a second look.
3 Excuse yourself from the table.
Move to the restroom or any private area with a mirror to begin your transformation. Your date will probably wait only two or three minutes before expecting you to return, so act quickly, before he begins looking for you.
4 Add or remove clothing.
Layering garments will change your body shape and even suggest a different gender. A long coat will obscure your body type. Hats are especially useful because they conceal your hair and facial features. Eyeglasses, whether added or removed, work wonders. A shopping bag is a handy prop and can be used to hold your belongings.
Add—or remove—eyeglasses. Roll or unroll your sleeves; tuck in or untuck your blouse. Modify your hairstyle.
5 Change your walk and posture.
If you usually walk quickly, move slowly. If you stand up straight, hunch over. To alter your gait, slip a pebble in one shoe or bind one of your knees with a piece of string or cloth.
6 Use or remove cosmetics.
Lipstick can change the shape of your mouth, heighten the color in your cheeks and nose, and even give you tired eyes if dabbed and blended on your eyelids. An eyebrow pencil can be used to add age lines, change the shape of your eyes and brows, or create facial hair.
7 Change your hairstyle or color.
A rubber band, hair spray, water, or any gooey substance can be useful for changing a hairstyle, darkening your hair, or altering a hairline. Borrow flour from the kitchen to lighten or gray your hair color.
8 Adopt a cover role.
A waiter in the restaurant may have an apron and be carrying a tray. If you can manage to procure these items, add or subtract a pair of eyeglasses, and alter your hairline or hairstyle, you can become invisible as you are moving out of the restaurant, into the kitchen, and out the rear door. Or you can take on the role of a maintenance worker; carry a convenient potted plant out the front door, and no one will think twice.
9 Make your move.
Do not look at your date.
Slip Out t
he Window
If you do not think you will be able to change your appearance enough to slip past your date, you may have to find another way to depart. Back doors are the simplest; they are often located near the restrooms or are marked as fire exits. Do not open an emergency exit door if it is alarmed unless absolutely necessary; an alarm will only draw attention. If there are no accessible alternate doors, you will need to find a window.
1 Locate a usable window.
Avoid windows with chicken wire or large plate glass. Bathroom windows often work best. If you are not on the ground floor, be sure there is a fire escape.
2 Attempt to open the window.
Do not immediately break the window, no matter how dire your need to get out.
3 Prepare to break the window if you cannot open it.
Make sure that no one is around. If you can, lock the bathroom door.
4 Find an implement to break the window.
Try to avoid using your elbow, fist, or foot. Suitable implements:
Wastebasket
Toilet plunger
Handbag or briefcase
Paper towel dispenser
5 Strike the center of the glass with the implement.
If the hand holding the implement will come within a foot of the window as you break it, wrap it with a jacket or sweater before attempting to break the glass. If no implement is available, use your heavily wrapped hand; be sure you wrap your arm as well, beyond the elbow.
6 Punch out any remaining shards of glass.
Cover your fist with a jacket or sweater before removing the glass.
7 Make your escape.
Do not worry about any minor nicks and cuts. Run.
Fake an Emergency
1 Excuse yourself from the table.
Tell your date that you are going to the restroom to “wash up.” Take your cell phone with you. If you do not have one, locate a restaurant phone that’s out of your date’s line of vision. Bring a restaurant matchbook or a business card that includes the restaurant’s phone number.
2 Call a friend or relative for help.
Tell him to call you (either on your cell phone or on the restaurant’s phone) and pretend that there has been an emergency. Some believable emergencies are:
Personal crisis: “My friend just broke up with her husband—she’s having a breakdown. I have to go.”
Business crisis: “My boss just called—she’s in Seattle for a major presentation and has lost all her files. I have to e-mail them to her immediately.”
Health crisis: “My sister just called—our grandmother is alone and ill.”
3 Leave quickly before your date can protest.
Apologize, but refuse any attempt your date makes to accompany you. If you leave swiftly and without hesitation, your date won’t have time to understand what’s happening or to object.
HOW TO ESCAPE FROM QUICKSAND
1 Carry a stout pole when walking in quicksand country.
2 As soon as you start to sink, lay the pole on the surface of the quicksand.
3 Flop onto your back on top of the pole.
After a minute or two, equilibrium in the quicksand will be achieved, and you will no longer sink.
4 Work the pole to a new position: under your hips and at right angles to your spine.
When in an area with quicksand, bring a stout pole and use it to put your back into a floating position.
Place the pole at a right angle from your spine to keep your hips afloat.
The pole will keep your hips from sinking, as you (slowly) pull out first one leg and then the other.
5 Take the shortest route to firmer ground, moving slowly.
How to Avoid Sinking
Quicksand is just ordinary sand mixed with upwelling water, which makes it behave like a liquid. However, quicksand—unlike water—does not easily let go. If you try to pull a limb out of quicksand, you have to work against the vacuum left behind. Here are a few tips:
The viscosity of quicksand increases with shearing—move slowly so the viscosity is as low as possible.
Floating on quicksand is relatively easy and is the best way to avoid its clutches. You are more buoyant in quicksand than you are in water. Humans are less dense than freshwater, and salt water is slightly more dense. Floating is easier in salt water than freshwater and much easier in quicksand. Spread your arms and legs far apart and try to float on your back.
FIREARMS
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HOW TO SURVIVE IF YOU ARE IN THE LINE OF GUNFIRE
If You Are the Primary Target
1 Get as far away as possible.
An untrained shooter isn’t likely to be accurate at any distance greater than 60 feet.
2 Run fast, but do not move in a straight line—weave back and forth to make it more difficult for the shooter to draw a bead on you.
The average shooter will not have the training necessary to hit a moving target at any real distance.
3 Do not bother to count shots.
You will have no idea if the shooter has more ammunition. Counting is only for the movies.
4 Turn a corner as quickly as you can, particularly if your pursuer has a rifle or assault weapon.
Rifles have much greater accuracy and range, and the person may be more likely to either aim or spray bullets in your direction.
Run in a zigzag pattern to make yourself more difficult to hit. Try to turn a corner if possible.
Attempt to keep large objects between you and the shooter.
If You Are Not the Primary Target
1 Get down, and stay down.
If the intended target is near you or if the shooter is firing at random, get as low as possible. Do not crouch down; get flat on your stomach and stay there.
2 If you are outside and can get to a car, run to it and lie behind a tire on the opposite side of the car from the shooter.
If no cars are present, lie in the gutter next to the curb. A car will stop or deflect a small-caliber bullet fired toward you. However, higher caliber bullets—such as those from an assault rifle or bullets that are designed to pierce armor—can easily penetrate a car and hit someone on the opposite side.
3 If you are inside a building and the shooter is inside, get to another room and lie flat.
If you cannot get to another room, move behind any heavy, thick objects (a solid desk, filing cabinets, tables, a couch) for protection.
4 If you are face-to-face with the shooter, do anything you can to make yourself less of a target.
Turn sideways, and stay low—stray bullets are likely to be at least a few feet above the ground. If the shooter is outside, stay inside, and stay away from doors and windows.
5 Stay down until the shooting stops or until authorities arrive and give the all clear.
HOW TO TAKE A BULLET
1 Face the shooter.
You do not want to take the bullet in your back or the base of your skull.
2 Get low.
In addition to making yourself a smaller target, by keeping a low profile you will be better able to protect your head, neck, and midline—all areas where a bullet wound is most likely to cause fatal injury or permanent disability.
3 Sit.
Sit with your rear end on the ground. Bend your knees and keep your legs in front of you, protecting your midline with your shins and thighs.
4 Move your elbows into the center of your body.
Place both forearms in front of you, covering your face.
5 Place your hands over your head.
Hold your fingers together, with your palms toward you. Keep your hands an inch or two in front of you to absorb the impact of the bullet.
6 Wait for the impact.
You may notice little more than a “punch” sensation, or you may feel nothing at all.
7 Determine the site of the injury.
Bullet wounds in the hands and feet, lower legs, and forearms are rarely fatal, provided blood loss is controlled.
Place firm, direct pressure on the wound to slow blood loss. If the bullet entered an appendage and pressure does not stop the bleeding, use a belt or narrow strip of cloth as a tourniquet. Place the tourniquet on the affected limb, several inches above the injury site. It should be tight enough to stop heavy blood flow. A tourniquet may cause permanent damage to the affected limb and should be used only as a last resort. Never leave a tourniquet in place for more than a few minutes.
9 Get help.
Seek medical attention as soon as possible.
WARNING!
If you are crouching next to a wall, stay a foot or more away from the surface. Bullets will skid along the wall after impact.
Gunshot wounds to the neck are almost always fatal.
Most interior walls and doors (including car doors) will not stop a bullet larger than .22 or .25 caliber.
HOW TO TREAT A BULLET OR KNIFE WOUND
1 Do not immediately pull out any impaled objects.
Bullets, arrows, knives, sticks, and the like cause penetrating injuries. When these objects lodge in the vital areas of the body (the trunk or near nerves or arteries), removing them may cause more severe bleeding that cannot be controlled. The object may be pressed against an artery or other vital internal structure and may actually be helping to reduce the bleeding.
Ultimate Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook Page 39