Summary

Think and act like a Navy SEAL and you can survive anything. You can live scaredor be prepared. Trained by the U.S. Navy to become one of the world's most elite soldiers, former Navy SEAL Platoon Commander/Sniper and Senior SEAL Instructor Cade Courtley presents his SEAL Survival Guideas a way to give readers the tools to live with confidence and security in an increasingly dangerous world. With insight into how to think and act like a SEAL, and step-by-step instructions for dealing with anything from earthquakes to terrorist attacks to mall shootings, this is the authoritative guide to overcoming life-threatening situations from the preeminent American survivalist. Delivered in a user-friendly fashion and with a voice that is both relatable and backed by extensive experience, SEAL Survival Guideis a manual that no modern household should be without.

Author Biography

Cade Courtley was born in Columbus, Ohio and raised in Boulder, Colorado. He spent most of his young adult life in the outdoors and upon graduation from the University of San Diego he was immediately commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy and began Navy SEAL training (BUD/S). After several intense tours as a Platoon Commander that had him operating around the world, Cade decided to leave the SEAL teams to pursue other challenges. He was the host of the Spike TV and Discovery Channel show Surviving Disaster and appears as a regular commentator on CNN and Fox News.

Introduction	p. xiii
SEAL Mindset and Survival Psychology	p. 1
Expand Your Comfort Zone	p. 3
Increase Your Physical Toughness	p. 5
Increase Your Mental Toughness	p. 7
Mental Preparation	p. 10
Emergency Conditioning
Visualization
Rehearsal
Muscle Memory
Create a Trigger
Violence of Action
Situational Awareness
Composure Under Pressure
Combat Breathing
Checklists
Use the Rule of Three	p. 23
Long-Haul Survival	p. 24
Survival Scenarios	p. 27
Abandon Ship	p. 29
What to Do When Boarding a Ship or Boat
What to Do When a Ship Is Taking On Water
Abandoning Ship
Mayday
Going into the Water
Active Shooter	p. 37
Active-Shooter Incidents
Police Response Time
Situational Awareness: Exits, Cover, People
Once a Shooting Begins 0 Reverse 911
Movement Techniques
Bullet Penetration
Decoys
Moving as a Group
Set an Ambush
Encountering Law Enforcement
Airplane Crash	p. 58
Preflight Preparation
Where to Sit
Gathering Intelligence on Your Plane
Situational Awareness on the Plane
Impact Brace Positions
Postimpact
Finding the Best Exit
What to Do Once You're Out
Animal Attack	p. 66
Dogs
Black Bears
Brown Bears
Polar Bears
Mountain Lions
Auto Accident	p. 77
Seat Belts
Air Bags
Other Safety Features and Precautions
Avoiding and Minimizing Accidents
Four O'clock and Eight O'clock Hand Positions
Tire Blowouts
Postaccident Actions
Biochemical Attack	p. 84
History
Early Signs
How to Protect Yourself and Escape
Improvised Gas Mask
Shelter In
If You've Been Exposed
Bomb	p. 91
Car Bomb
Situational Awareness
Individual Precautions for Community Safety
Structural Safety
IED and Booby Trap
Suicide Bombers
If a Bomb Detonates
Bridge Collapse	p. 100
Crumbling Infrastructure
Bracing for Impact
How to Escape a Submerged Vehicle
On the Surface
Burglary and Robbery	p. 106
Crime Facts
Prevention
Point of Entry
Being a Good Neighbor
Neighborhood Watches
Exterior Lighting
Doors and Locks
Windows
Interior Lighting
Alarms
Dogs
When a Burglary Happens
When a Robbery Happens
Encountering the Invader
Convenience Store and Bank Robberies
Carjacking	p. 119
Being Alert
Typical Strategies Carjackers Use
The Bump and Jump
The Good Samaritan
The Ruse
The Trap
Surprise Attack
Prevention
During a Carjacking
When a Carjacking Becomes an Abduction
Carjacked as a Passenger
Locked in Your Trunk
Earthquake	p. 128
Secure the Compound
If You Are Outdoors
If You Are in a Vehicle
If You Are Inside
Drop, Cover, and Hold On
Triangle of Life
Aftermath
Buried in Rubble
Tapping
Elevator Emergency	p. 135
Situational Awareness
Elevator Entrapment
Free Fall
Falling Through Ice	p. 141
Going In
Swimming Out
Rolling Out
Stop and Save It
If You Are a Bystander
Fighting	p. 146
Prefight
Commanding Presence 'Distance
The Fight
Protect Your Face
Stay On Your Feet
Hit Hard
Vulnerable Points on the Body
Punches
Palm Strikes
Feet
Elbows
Knees
Chokeholds
Thumb Drops
If They Have a Knife or a Gun
Final Note on Fighting
Fire: Forests, Buildings, Homes	p. 160
Situational Awareness: Know Your Risk
Outdoor Fire Threats
Preparation Checklists
Building and House Fires
Renters
What to Do in a Fire
Flash Flood, Flooding, and Tsunami	p. 167
During a Flood
Aftermath of a Flood
Tsunami
Know Your Location
Animal Behaviors
Foot Pursuit and Being Chased	p. 171
Mindset
Use Your Environment
Gang Violence	p. 174
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Distance and De-escalation
Punch and Run: Fight and Flight
Hijacking	p. 178
Before You Board
Settling Into Your Seat
Observe Your Passengers
Air Marshals
Assess the Hijacker
Charge!
Improvised Weapons
Explosives
Search, Handle, Restrain
The Outside World's Response
Home Invasion	p. 186
Tiger Kidnapping
Prevention and Rehearsal
Safe Rooms
When Violence Comes
SERE (Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape)
How to Escape Restraints
Alerting Others
Hurricane and Tornado	p. 199
Hurricane Preparation
When to Evacuate
Holding Your Position
Caught Outside
It's Not Over Yet
Tornado Survival
Jail	p. 206
Jail Types and Stats
Mental Preparation
Just Locked Up
What Not to Do
Violence Behind Bars
Be Good
Lightning	p. 211
Know the Enemy
Targets
The 30/30 Rule
Action Checklist
Lost at Sea	p. 214
Survival Priorities
Staying Afloat
Retaining Heat
Avoiding Sunstroke
Getting Water
Getting Food
Signaling
Raft Survival
Sea-Induced Delusions
The Long Haul
Shark Attack
Lost in the Desert	p. 228
Survival Priorities
Shade
Finding Water
Building a Solar Still
Types of Shelters
Walking Out
Lost in the Frozen Mountains	p. 235
Survival Priorities
Finding Shelter
Building a Quinze
Starting and Maintaining a Fire
Dry Clothing
Getting Water
Getting Food
Trapping
Lichen
Moving and Navigation
Improvised Compasses
Nuclear Attack	p. 245
How a Bomb Works
EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse)
How to React
Materials That Protect from Radiation
Avoiding Radiation by Sheltering In
Avoiding Radiation by Outrunning It
Decontamination
Pandemic	p. 252
Methods of Transmission
Preventing Infection
Pandemic in Effect
Disruption of Services
Minimum Food Essentials
Your Crew
When You're the Sick One
Sickroom
Homemade Protective Gear
Handling the Dead
Riots and Stampedes	p. 259
Awareness of Likelihood
If You Are in a Riot
If You Live in an Area Where Riots Are Occurring
Stampedes
Road Rage: Defensive and Evasive Driving	p. 266
Letting Go of Anger on the Road
Defensive Driving: Expect the Worst
Evasive Driving
Basic Techniques for a High-Speed Chase
Advanced Techniques
Y-Turas
J-Turns
Barricade Breaching
Being Rammed
Driver Down
Search and Rescue	p. 273
Step Up and Help!
Gear Up
Going In
Marking Your Results
Extracting Survivors
Levers
Cribbing and Shoring
Stalker and Surveillance Detection	p. 277
Stalking Stats
If You Are Being Followed
Change Your Routine
Surveillance Detection Route
Ambush
Torture and Being Held Hostage	p. 280
Torture's Many Forms
Why Me?
Accepting Your Situation
Stress Management
Time
Thoughts of Escape
Become the Gray Man
Managing the Pain
Give Something vs. Give Nothing
Trouble in a Foreign Country	p. 286
Before You Go
Friendly Embassies
Avoid Trouble
In Trouble
On the Run
Part Three: Gear and Improvised Weapons	p. 293
Gear	p. 295
Go Bag Essentials
Go Bag Advanced
Firearms	p. 298
Thoughts on Firearms
What Weapon Is Best?
Basic Firearm Operation and Safety
Improvised Weapons	p. 301
Survival Medicine	p. 305
Step Up and Help!	p. 308
Casualty Assessment
Get into Action
Initial Assessment
Triage
Immediate Priorities for Treating the Injured	p. 312
ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation)
Rescue Breathing
CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)
Stopping the Bleeding
Dressing the Wound
Tourniquets
Protecting Wounds
Fractures
Dislocations
Transporting the Injured
Shock	p. 329
Causes
Prevention and Treatment
Heat Injuries	p. 331
Dehydration
Heat Cramps
Heat Exhaustion
Heatstroke
Cold Injuries	p. 333
Hypothermia
Frostbite
Trench Foot
Trench Foot	p. 339
Choking	p. 339
How to Help Someone Who's Choking
If You Are Alone and Choking
If the Victim Is Unconscious
Burns	p. 341
Burn Types
Short-term Treatment
Long-term Treatment
Bites and Stings	p. 343
Bees and Wasps
Spiders and Scorpions
Snakes
Acknowledgments	p. 345
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Supplemental Materials

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

Excerpts

EXPAND YOUR COMFORT ZONE

You know your current comfort zone, defined as the daily routine you do and the things that make you feel secure, content, and in control. However, most of our daily comfort-zone rituals will leave us unprepared to deal with even the smallest discomfort and will certainly render us incapable of handling an emergency or life-threatening challenge.

Challenge Your Limits and Daily Routines

Push the boundaries of your comfort zone at least once a day. There are so many opportunities to do this without attempting all at once to become an ultra-marathon runner, although this is a great goal. You must first expand your mind to the possibilities of doing certain things that you previously believed unachievable. Start with small steps and note progress by keeping track; make a list, and check off all the things you do each day to challenge yourself, both physically and mentally. Ultimately, by expanding your comfort zone you will increase both your physical and mental toughness, which are the keys to survival.

I believe that if you first focus on changing small things, you can begin the process of thinking differently, and ultimately achieve the goal of acquiring the SEAL mindset of survival, which will allow you to endure anything. You will quickly see thatdoingthings differently makes youthinkdifferently. Observe your current routine and then start by doing simple things another way. For example, use the stairs instead of the elevator to take you up only a few floors. Climb at a reasonable pace and know that when you reach the top, you have just expanded your comfort zone. When in your car, don’t fight to get the space closest to the store, but purposely look for one that will make you walk. Force yourself to meet three new people and learn at least five things about them. If you have to balance your checkbook, leave the calculator in the desk and make your brain complete this task. Open up the contact list in your phone and memorize five numbers each day. You must seek out ways to expand both mind and body. Start paying attention to how you think about things. If you expand your comfort zone in this manner, you will be better able to do the rest. If you already exercise or jog, for example, increase your distance or speed. Run that extra mile, or run it a minute faster. Do that one additional push-up. Try holding your breath for a minute, and then try two. When in the shower, after scrubbing down with the warm water you usually prefer, finish the last thirty seconds with a blast of cold water. By pushing your physical limits, you are also forcing your brain to expand its comfort boundaries, thus gradually making yourself physically and mentally tougher.

Now that I am out of the Navy and getting older every day, I continue to push my comfort zone by engaging in activities I did when I was in SEAL team, including skydiving, shooting, climbing, and long swims. Instead of doing these things in preparation for a mission, I do them not only to maintain these very perishable skills, but also to keep my mind and body sharp—I still push the comfort zone and know that this will allow me to be every bit of the warrior I used to be.

Everyone’s comfort zone is different, so for some of us, expanding it means starting with drinking one less beer or forgoing dessert. Yet all of these little daily victories will bring us confidence later, especially when our lives depend on it. It’s so much easier to do nothing, and it seems natural not to bother, but I tell you: These first exercises are essential in changing your mindset and eventually can be the very things that will separate the survivors from the victims.

Here is a visualization I use: I like to imagine that pushing my comfort zone daily is similar to rolling a boulder up a hill. If I let it, the rock will always want to tumble back down, and I’ll have to start from the bottom again. Expanding the comfort zone on a daily basis will actually make it easier to get that boulder closer to the summit—and to our success or ultimate survival.

COMFORT ZONE CHECKLIST(all answers need to be yes):

Did I challenge myself today?

Did I do something positive that my mind initially didn’t want to do?

Did I do something positive that my body initially didn’t want to do?

Can I do more?