SEAL Survival Guide by Cade Courtley Read Free Book Online

face, head, and neck. Given that you don’t know what’s in the water, it’s better if you allow your legs to absorb the blow, and therefore increase your chances of surviving the initial jump. Keep your feet and knees together to protect your femoral arteries, which can cause rapid bleed-out if cut.

    6. Get clear of the sinking vessel. Swim to a lifeboat or anything else that may be floating.
    7. If there is fuel in the water, stay clear of it! If it is burning, avoid or swim under it. (This may require you to brieflyremove your life vest—either toss it to a clear section of water ahead of you or drag it behind you, utilizing the straps or any line you may find.)
    WHAT WENT WRONG?
    In January 2012, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit an underwater rock outcropping that breached the hull. The ship was in 150 feet of water and sank within 1,000 feet of the shore. Yet thirty-nine people died. Survivors related how the crew delayed reporting the severity of the situation and even told passengers to return to their cabins. Those who ignored these instructions and made it to the deck lived. In this situation, the passengers had lost faith in the crew. If you are in a similar situation, use your survival tools and follow your instincts. If the crew, instead, seems prepared and diligent, become a leader to those around you and try to keep everyone calm. Even if you are in the line to board a lifeboat, don’t let chaos set in, as this will lessen your chances of survival.

ACTIVE SHOOTER

    Malls, markets, and schools—we expect to go to these places to stroll, shop, relax, or learn in environments that are relatively secure. One of our great freedoms is to go about our daily lives without fear. However, think about the 1999 Columbine High School shooting that killed fifteen, or the 2005 Tacoma, Washington, mall shooting that woundedseven, or the 2007 Westroads Mall incident in Omaha, Nebraska, with nine dead, or the Virginia Tech massacre in that same year when thirty-two died, or the 2011 slaughter of sixty-nine innocents at a Norwegian youth camp.
    THE JULY 2012 MASS SHOOTING AT THE CENTURY MOVIE THEATER IN AURORA, COLORADO
    Over 300 people went to see a midnight screening of the film The Dark Knight Rises . Of those, fifty-eight were wounded and twelve never left the theater.
    I am aware of the vast and varying opinions regarding guns and gun control. That said, imagine if just one person in the theater that night had had the required training and was carrying a properly permitted concealed weapon. This senseless horror happened in my own backyard, so forgive me for playing armchair quarterback and taking the scenario one step further: I’m at the theater when James Holmes opens fire. Two seconds later I’m returning accurate fire toward the muzzle flashes. You don’t have to be a Navy SEAL to do this, you just have to step up—wouldn’t it have been some shock to this killer if he found the “video game” he was playing in his mind started shooting back? GAME OVER.
    Some will argue that more guns would cause more devastation. Well, it doesn’t get much more devastating than a psycho with over one hundred and fifty rounds shooting at a mass of innocent people at point-blank range.
    Given all these incidents, one thing can be said about the people who do this: they are similar only in their intent to kill. Their motivation to commit these acts might be a personal vendetta, or to further a political or religious agenda, or some psychological disorder—so stay alert, because the shooter could be anyone, anywhere.
    The paramilitary or trench coat garb that is often used to conceal weaponry, of course, is not by any means the preferred look of an “active shooter.” The Virginia Tech murderer wore a maroon hoodieand a gray hat. The Norwegian shooter donned a police uniform. He actually called out to the fleeing students, identifying himself as a police officer. He then gunned down those who ran in his