I know I have hit on this before, but communication skills are critical in this type of environment. At the very least, understand how the other person is thinking.

I recommend HIGHLY the work of a guy named Rory Miller on Conflict Communications.

He uses Maslow's Hierarchy of needs (I know how some people view some of his theories, but this does work) to explain how a person is thinking so you can predict behavior and know how to deal with it.

In a survival environment, I mean where people are struggling to literally survive, they are in the "lizard brain". They are desperate and dangerous, this is resource violence. They can be dealt with and brought out of that mode of thinking, but you need to take care.

In an environment where groups have formed and are struggling for dominance, they are in their "monkey brain", and social violence is the game. Behavior is different from the "lizard brain".

There are many other aspects of communication in this type of environment, and it is a survival skill. It can be learned. If anyone would like, I can put together a list of the best books on the subject. I have done extensive training in this, and have a great deal of experience using it. It can help anyone in any situation where they deal with people, not just survival situations. It is well worth the effort.