Northern Pacific Island Survival Exercise

[CharlesHarris]

This was a brainstorming document from the local Air National Guard Unit being sent off to the Pacific Northwest for a survival exercise on a coastal island off Alaska.

Imagine Norway or Finland...

What 10 items that you want to take with you if we dump you out on an island in the North Pacific? Climate is rainy and above freezing low 35- high 55-60 degrees. You will there for three weeks.

50 rounds max for your weapon, the rounds and the weapon are one pick.

You will have a Personal Locator Beacon so don’t worry about rescue gear.

Your clothes don’t count so you can bring whatever you can wear.
A pair of socks for every day of the week for all I care.

You will take with you an edible plants book of the local area.

There is a high concentration of bear, wolves and large cats, Bobcat, Lynx, Puma.

As an example a head lamp or flashlight plus one set of spare batteries is part of the same package item so don’t waste your pick on that.

No water filters.

I will give you 100 ft of 550 cord as one item.

Water will be no problem. The first challenge is to stay dry and warm and then to feed oneself.

Clothes, Wool and Gore Tex, boots are LL Bean type rubber bottom with leather uppers.

So, for three weeks, how do you shelter yourself, how do you protect yourself, purify water and most important how do you feed yourself.

Don't forget the reality of biting insects.

This is all leading to something so class participation is desired.

Here is my list, what would you change and why?

1. 12-ga. shotgun, 10 slugs, 25 rds, 00 buck, 25 rds. High base No.6s.
2. 6 ft. Cast net.
3. 4 quart pot to cook in.
4. 220 body grip Conibear
5. 25 stainless hooks as limit and 400 yards of monofilament line.
6. Basha with 100 ft of 550 cord
7. Sleep system, military bivvy, Wiggy's 0 degree bag and a Doobie.
8. Mora 731 6” sheath knife with sharpener attached outside of the sheath.
9. Stihl 27” 3-pound felling axe
10. Doan fire starter

[Tincup]

I see you are watching the second season of Alone on the History channel.

http://www.history.com/shows/alone/artic...ited-items

[CharlesHarris]

They used the TV show as an idea starter, but the air wing has a different plan.

[Tartar Horde]

(6 May 2016, 20:34)CharlesHarris Wrote: This was a brainstorming document from the local Air National Guard Unit being sent off to the Pacific Northwest for a survival exercise on a coastal island off Alaska.

Imagine Norway or Finland...

What 10 items that you want to take with you if we dump you out on an island in the North Pacific? Climate is rainy and above freezing low 35- high 55-60 degrees. You will there for three weeks.

50 rounds max for your weapon, the rounds and the weapon are one pick.

You will have a Personal Locator Beacon so don’t worry about rescue gear.

Your clothes don’t count so you can bring whatever you can wear.
A pair of socks for every day of the week for all I care.

You will take with you an edible plants book of the local area.

There is a high concentration of bear, wolves and large cats, Bobcat, Lynx, Puma.

As an example a head lamp or flashlight plus one set of spare batteries is part of the same package item so don’t waste your pick on that.

No water filters.

I will give you 100 ft of 550 cord as one item.

Water will be no problem. The first challenge is to stay dry and warm and then to feed oneself.

Clothes, Wool and Gore Tex, boots are LL Bean type rubber bottom with leather uppers.

So, for three weeks, how do you shelter yourself, how do you protect yourself, purify water and most important how do you feed yourself.

Don't forget the reality of biting insects.

This is all leading to something so class participation is desired.

Here is my list, what would you change and why?

1. 12-ga. shotgun, 10 slugs, 25 rds, 00 buck, 25 rds. High base No.6s.
2. 6 ft. Cast net.
3. 4 quart pot to cook in.
4. 220 body grip Conibear
5. 25 stainless hooks as limit and 400 yards of monofilament line.
6. Basha with 100 ft of 550 cord
7. Sleep system, military bivvy, Wiggy's 0 degree bag and a Doobie.
8. Mora 731 6” sheath knife with sharpener attached outside of the sheath.
9. Stihl 27” 3-pound felling axe
10. Doan fire starter

1) A bolt action rifle in either 303-306 or 308, open sights, fifty rounds of expanding
2) A decent Khukri and small "whetstone"
3) cleaning kit for rifle
4) magnesium fire starter (as back up because I can make fire from friction)
5) Pot to boil water and cook in.
6) hooks and line to make "long lines" (the Sea will be my main source of food, with traps, lines and scavenging seashore as focus)
7) Lightweight one man tent and 4 season sleeping bag.
8) Binoculars
9) knife and fork kit (I dont want to eat with my fingers lol)
10) small first aid kit with tablets to stop "the squits"

Here's my reasoning. A bolt action Rifle instead of a shotgun because wildfowl etc will not be a high priority for me as my main focus for food would be the rich ocean on my doorstep. A few hours scavenging a day would easily supply you with food, such as clams, molluscs, Winkles, Limpets, plus they would serve as bait for my "longlines" which would supply Fish. The Rifle would be used for defence and the taking of large Game if the opportunity arrives. A cleaning kit for Rifle would be a main priority as near the Salty Sea your weapon could quickly become rusty, and if you fall into any mud etc, you need to be able to clean your weapon!
First aid kit for obviouse reasons, but importantly to carry medicine to combat water borne sickness like the shits which can really ruin your day.
A good quality one man low profile tent, and the same quality sleeping bag, because being dry and getting a good nights sleep are very important to your mental wellbeing. Good quality Hooks and line so I can set a variety of "lines" to maximise my catching chances, and they work 24hrs a day unlike a cast net which requires your time to use which could be used on on other things. I don't think I need an Axe as my Khukri can handle anything apart from felling Trees (and to be honest it could handle small ones) it is versatile enough to make kindling, clear brush and cut wood big enough to make a shelter, so I would save the weight of having to carry an Axe. Knife and Fork, because small luxuries make us feel happier, but I know you "Hardy" chaps out there would just use your knives to eat with! Bino's --being able to scan ahead would be very important, especially with Bear, I will be scavenging the shoreline and that's also prime Bear country!
Magnesium firestarting kit, but I will make every attempt to get a Bow drill made and save the Magnesium starter. Once I get a fire made I will keep it going so don't see myself having to make fire all the time, even though I appreciate the country I'm in is known to be wet, but then again I'm from England so I know about wet!!!!
My strategy would be to patrol the shoreline daily noting tide times. I would look for areas of rocks with stretches of beach between to find shellfish. These can be collected rapidly and are highly nutritious. Huge "middens" of these shells have been found in the UK which shows our hunter gatherer ancestors considered them a staple food source, in the Pacific North West I think it would be just as rich. In the deeper water off the rocks I would put baited hooks thrown out and anchored. These would provide additional larger meals. 25 of these "lines" set at strategic points would no doubt provide a good feed, and they work all the time, only requiring checking every tide. I could also make Fish traps to work alongside my "lines". Weapon wise I would not take a shotgun, and here's my reasoning. I wouldn't be actively looking for Wildfowl, and don't think they would play any part in my food gathering strategy. The preparation and energy needed to convert them to food, is not as efficient as Fish, plus I don't want to have to get wet to retrieve them!! so I don't need "birdshot". The ability to shoot "slugs" is an advantage just because of their destructive power, but why shoot slugs when you can have a thirty calibre rifle? The Rifle would take it for me as most suitable for my needs. My choice would be a reliable bolt action with open sights, scopes can break, or get damaged, open sights work!! choice is endless, a good old Mosin Nagant, the tried and tested Winchester, I'd pack a Lee Enfield 303 with the rear peep sight. With large predators like Bear and Cougar around there are obviously going to be large herbivours such as Moose and Deer and I would make an effort to harvest one as soon as my "fishing" activities are up and running. Given an abundence of Water and seafood, suplemented by meat there is no reason a three week stay should be too terrible a prospect.

[Jonas]

I'd add a standard issue web gear harness, canteen cover, and canteen with nested canteen cup and cup stove. Water purification tabs fit into the small pocket on the canteen cover.

[harrypalmer]

Shell fish... you need to eat a LOT to get anything like your fat and protein needs, something over a kilo a day. Midden Mounds are these days thought of more as a meeting point where people would meet and eat...a bit like a beach party.

I'd not take an axe but prefer a folding saw, something like http://www.amazon.com/Bahco-396-LAP-Lapl...+laplander which work superbly well and are not expensive. Knife wise I'd take a Mora, http://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Bushcraft...mora+knife great blades and I'd take stainless steel over a carbon version. Tent wise would have to be a two man tent, one man tents are a pain in the ass if your stuck inside when the weather is bad.

I did two Arctic training courses based in Norway, the amount of food and kit you need is staggering; we were eating five or six thousand calories a day and still lost weight.

Threads like this crop up a lot on survival/prepping/bushcraft forums a lot and the bottom line is that minimum kit in the arctic will kill you. Look at the brief era the American 'Mountain Men' were around, they did not go minimal, most took pack horses loaded with shelter, flour, bacon, jerky, sugar, coffee, dried beans etc.

[NorthernRaider]

And many of the mountain men died of malnutrition even though they ate well every day, trouble was they gorged on plentiful rabbit but IIRC rabbit is deficient in an essential vitamin so no matter how much they ate they still died off.

[Tartar Horde]

(14 May 2016, 18:56)harrypalmer Wrote: Shell fish... you need to eat a LOT to get anything like your fat and protein needs, something over a kilo a day. Midden Mounds are these days thought of more as a meeting point where people would meet and eat...a bit like a beach party.

I'd not take an axe but prefer a folding saw, something like http://www.amazon.com/Bahco-396-LAP-Lapl...+laplander which work superbly well and are not expensive. Knife wise I'd take a Mora, http://www.amazon.com/Morakniv-Bushcraft...mora+knife great blades and I'd take stainless steel over a carbon version. Tent wise would have to be a two man tent, one man tents are a pain in the ass if your stuck inside when the weather is bad.

I did two Arctic training courses based in Norway, the amount of food and kit you need is staggering; we were eating five or six thousand calories a day and still lost weight.

Threads like this crop up a lot on survival/prepping/bushcraft forums a lot and the bottom line is that minimum kit in the arctic will kill you. Look at the brief era the American 'Mountain Men' were around, they did not go minimal, most took pack horses loaded with shelter, flour, bacon, jerky, sugar, coffee, dried beans etc.

You are quite right about the calories need for your activities stated, but the difference is that there is a difference between "foraging" calories needed and "working" calories. A mountain man or a soldier working hard needs far more calories than someone foraging for a living. Ethnographic studies have shown that hunter gatherers need far less calories than agricultural/working based lifestyles. It's a fact that when our ancestors moved to agriculture (neolithic) we required more calories because we were working more hours growing food through farming which is demanding work, the same with a soldier on exercise who is burning up a lot of calories. I dissagree with the midden mound theory of seasonal get togethers as most of these mounds exhibit continuous all year round use. A foraging/hunter gatherer mode of living requires less work than the modern equivelent lifestyle. In a rich enough environment with a good supply of varied food you can collect calories in a few hours to get by.

[harrypalmer]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

The problem with winter foraging is what is available and will you get more calories back than you expend looking for food. Winter foraging is no easy task.