The thread about the soldier in TX just wandered into a discussion about map reading skills and relating the informaton to the actual landscape. This made me think about a question we could all contribute to;
What skills do you "EDC" that are survival/bushcraft specific or would be really useful in a survival situation?
And
How did you pick them up? Dad? BSA? Military? Experiential use? etc.

I will start with one of my specialties;

I am a very proficient navigator this includes map and compass, cross country travel and reading climbing topos.
Most of this I learned from backcountry skiing, mountaineering and rock climbing. All of these undertakings require good navigation; many approaches to climbs are cross country and climbing topos can be puzzels in themselves. I have exercised this muscle a lot. But a lot of it comes from a sort of really sharp sense of direction.

Ugh, enough about me what I want to know is what all of you intersting ETSers are good at. Come on I know there are a few EMTs, LEOs (retired too OBG) and veterans.

Tell us about how your picked up your skills.

I don't know if anything I know really qualifies as a "skill," but that the heck.

As far as map and compass work, that came from my interest in backpacking, and anything relating to it, along with my lifelong desire to be prepared. I am sorry to say that those map and compass skills have deterated of late. I can still do it, I just have to think about it a lot more. Doesn't come to me automatically anymore.

Fire starting, same thing. That actually started in Boy Scouts, or maybe Cubs. I still carry several different ways to start fire, and practice often.

Survival "stuff," again, that "be prepared" mental outlook. Growing up in, and working in for 30 years, CA earthquake country might have something to do with it. I like to be able to take care of myself as much as possible. Having to ask someone to do something that I should be able to do myself makes me crazy. After a local flood a few years ago, with bridges out in many canyons, there were locals, who lived out of town 20 miles or so to be self sufficient, begging our chopper to bring them food and water after only three days. How embarassing.

My military service (I was in the Air Farce), even tho I had the pleasure of attending a couple of Army survival schools, did not really have much to do with anything. I already had the desire. They did teach me what a raw boa tastes like, and not to eat fuzzy bugs. Law enforcement, same thing. I already had the survival/do it for yourself mindset, which went far beyond anything the department trained me in.

Gotta stop, mind is shot, hard day...

I don't know how I could have forgotten my dad. He started me off shooting at the ripe old age of five. I had my own .22 rifle years before a BB gun. We used to hunt and fish all over the place, and never had a map. Dad did have a compass (I still have it), but we never carried it. We just kept track of where we were going, what the country looked like, and always ended up back at the car. It was simple, and became second nature to me I guess...

I started with hiking with my Dad. Then learned map and real navigation for cross-country work and the tests to get licensed to fly sailplanes.
Reinforced with orienteering in college (I ran down a Navy Seal during one competition). Reinforced orienteering during ROTC summer camp (Navy ROTC- Marine week)
Nautical navigation- NROTC, actual shipboard work, submarine navigation, Officer of the Deck qualification.
Then lots of 4 wheeling and hiking in Colorado post-Navy.
Great preference for off-trail hiking leads to more nav skills.

Navigation is a great puzzle to be solved.

But I get lost inside buildings. Really. It all looks alike to me. Even though I can name the "outdoors scenes" on the local TV news, I get disoriented indoors.
Used a pocket compass to navigate the subways of Japan on a business trip :-)

I have been outdoor hiking, camping ever since I could walk.
Living near a river and woods helped. Most kids skipped school to party I skipped school to fish, hike and hunt.

I then was a co-founder of a Search and Rescue Team, and got involved in Medical Rescue. Then I was fortunate to be able to take man-tracking training from some of the best instructors around which led me to training Law Enforcement officers, Search and Rescue teams, and even got to be a civilian instructor to train a Marine Corp Sniper team.< a great bunch of guys by the way....HOOYAH

Part of my paid job was to actual build high detailed maps from scratch, but I was into Land Navigation from an early age. I have taught Land Navigation on a military base. Since I am trained to be a trouble-shooter I have been cross trained in many areas.

I have worked for the government for over twenty three years.


So I have picked up my skills from several varied sources and from real world rescues. I won't say I have seen it all and I am not an expert, I am still learning. Like they say though some things I have seen in my career would make a billy goat puke.

I blame my reading of "Robinson Carusoe" followed by "The Swiss Family Robinson" for getting me hooked on surviving and thriving with what is available. Then I really starting learning and praticing (in the woods), as I read the stories of the old mountain men and the westerns by Louis L'amour and others.

The USCG taught me some basic survival skills for sea and land. I also learned navigation and signals from the guard. During my time in the guard, I worked with the training detachments of the 2nd & 3rd Ranger Battalions while training "A" teams of the 2nd, 7th, and 10th Special Forces Groups (winter operations/survival). In the course of my career I also got involved in planning and executing low level air recon missions as Mission Commander and Aerial Observer. I was OPS Boss for 4 different cutters which meant I was also the Training Petty Officer for the entire crew (among many, many other collateral duties). As a Medical Officer (15 males & 1 female patients/crew), I had to specialize in OB/GYN (Haitian Embargo/pre-invasion ops), patient stabilization/MEDEVAC, advanced 1st Aid, CPR, etc. As the assistant Intel Officer on some of those Cutters, I learned to accept "processed Intel" with large grains of salt and to look for the raw Intel to make our own judgements with (no politicizing garbage). As Combat Officer on 2 Cutters, I learned tactics and weapons (WEPS on 1 Cutter).

No, I did not have the normal career path for a USCG QM!!

I am still learning everyday!!!

May yers ago when I was a kid, I was never in cub or boy scouts, but I sure did fish and hunt alot in my local area and was never lost.
Later in life I was a den leader(cub scouts) and went across the bridge with my son and beacame a scout master. Prior to this time I was in the U.S.Air Force and on flight status, Most of my overseas time was spent in Labador, Where I fished and Hunted.

Thru the Boy Scouts and the service and the survival schools you had to go thru to be on flight status I have recived my training on compass and map reading.

Now there is GPS which I used during my stay with the U.S. Forest Service chasing lighting stricks. Like OBG my compass skills have wayned but I still use the GPS with Maping software.

Making PSK's and FAK'S for friends who still fly is a type of hobbie for me and I enjoy learing more on survival.

I like most of the people on this forum belive in being prepaired and being able to take of me and mine.

I started my survival "career" growing up on a cattle ranch on the foothills of the cascade mountains. I was lucky that at the age of 7 or 8 I was hunting, fishing and sleeping outdoors on my own on horseback. I remember having to lead the horse to a fence to get back on the horse! Cub and boy scouts was a natural progression.

Then into the Army where I got into "combat survival". Both on a personal level and unit level. After that, I got into EMS as a volunteer Firefighter/EMT at the local fire department where I learned EMS and other types of rescue skills, including high angle technical and swift water rescue, etc.

I enjoyed hiking and backpacking in remote areas too. Learning self relience, confidence and improvisation. Later, I went to school to become a gunsmith. I worked in the area for several years, mostly LE and military stuff. Of course, all along I've been into competitive shooting, as well as self defense and street survival classes.

Now, I work as a scuba diving professional. Strange turn of events that led me here, way to long a story to explain here. But, it has given me a whole new new perspective on ocean survival and water survival, especially in remote, secluded areas all over the world.

Now, living in Phoenix, I'm working on learning skills that will help me survive the Sonoran desert. Maybe I can get together with someone in the area and work on the skills together? I'm still new to desert survival and have a lot to learn.

Wow, this reads like a resume'. Sorry, didn't mean it that way.


Cheers,

DLR

Nice resume' you're hired.

Started out with SGT. Dad learning to be a good soldier. He taught me about weapons, map reading, camping and survival
Joined the BSA learned everything I could about the outdoors from as many people as possible.
Went into law enforcement ant trained to be a tracker, firearms instructor and unarmed self defense instructor.
Joined the navy and then the Army where I got into as many of the classes for survival and E&E as possible (4).
Went back into law enforcement and wound up teaching firearms and self-defense.

In HS I started with the martial arts. I guess however it really started when I certified as a (NAUI) "Basic SCUBA Diver" at 13 years old (yes it was awhile ago). It turned out that my instructor held credentials that I will just say were/are quite impressive. (For his privacy I won't give exact details). Lets just say it includes federal agent status as well a 'former' SEAL (not they are ever "former"). It turns out that he also taught for an Explorer Post (the division of scouting from 14-18 years old). I became interested in the Post and got CPR/ First Aid/ Canoeing/ Lifeguard (then known as ALS) (back when WSI still existed)....I also certified in advanced SCUBA. I think it was "Advanced Open Water" but I don't remember exactly. Advanced SCUBA continued....Night Diver/ Deep Diver/ Swift Water Diver/ Wreck Diver/ Hunting and Collecting/ Search and Recovery......All of the instructors were 'brutal' to us....and it made us excellent 'students'. Their instruction has literally saved my rear end on more than one occassion. I never stop thanking them (I'm not in touch with them anymore but it doesn't stop me from thanking them...) They were the start of my always having what I needed on hand...of being prepared (no I wasn't a boyscout and the post was not run as a troop--it was run the way a post should be run...the 'kids' ran it) That also taught me to be a better person.

From there I went to College in Long Island and certified as an Ocean Water Lifeguard (Atlantic Ocean). At the same time I became a certified NYS EMT. After College I returned home and Certified as NYC Paramedic. Through all of it.....I was always prepared to take care of myself. While back home in the 'city' I certified as a firearms instructor. Again from a 'ruthless' instructor who demanded you give the best. Home firearms safety, Pistol, rifle and Shotgun/high power disciplines. I help to teach JROTC and did some instruction at several military ranges (Ft. Dix, NYS Armory, Navy Weapons Depot).

Like most on this thread I have a mixture of BSA/Military/LEO. As a suburban child I started my training in the Boy Scouts, eventually attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Then came college, with the costs of tuition. As a result I enlisted in the Army National Guard which paid for college. I was automatically promoted to a higher rank for being an Eagle Scout. I could go on and talk about the great training I received through my six years in the military as well as civilian law enforcement training. But, after working with professionals who have been through SERE, Ranger, SF and SWAT training , the one thing everyone says is that the best training they received was when they were kids in the BSA. This is not to say Boy Scout training is anywhere near the level of real hands on, real world experience, but the best thing for any child is to gain experience, team building, leadership, and self esteem. These are the same things the military spends so much time trying to teach. I would recommend that anyone with children start teaching them these skills early in life, because they will never regret having these skills no matter what path they choose.

Well, I'd like to say that my dad being in the military had something to do with it, but he was a chief yeoman on nuclear submarines. Pretty danged specialized set of survival skills there, but he could blow and go from 100 feet and type well over 100 wpm on an IBM Selectric. So, I too can swim well and type fast.

Seriously, I've always been into camping, hiking, fishing, etc. I took the Sierra Club Basic Mountaineering Course, which is hard on about map and compass navigation, rock climbing, high altitude winter climbing, and how to avoid getting into a survival situation. That was one of the mottos, "If you're in a survival situation, you've already made a serious mistake."

Well, then living in SoCal for 20-some years you get bugged a lot about earthquake preparedness, especially when the whole house is shaking at 2am and all the car alarms are going off at the same time. Then there's fire season at the ranch in the high desert. You learn that the fire department is not going to come out and save you and your horses, so you'd better learn how to do it yourself.

Kevin B.

My father taught me the basics of hunting and fishing when I was a kid. I still enjoy doing that stuff today on a regular basis. I have been interested in wilderness survival for quite some time, so I'm constantly reading survival books and lurking around this forum. I try to practice newly learned skills whenever I'm out in the woods. I have also learned other skills such as basic first aid and CPR while being in the Air Force.

My family is from eastern Kentucky, which is to say they were subsistence farmers and hunters and gatherers whenever the mines were shut down, which was often. My earliest memories include going hunting and fishing with my father, grandfather and uncles. Somewhere along the line I learned to make a fire, build a shelter, catch and clean fish, shoot and skin rabbits and squirrels, avoid poisonous plants and critters, find my way there and back, and generally live off the land. Later on I was in Boy Scouts, took First Aid courses, and read everything that came to hand about survival equipment, techniques, etc. I still enjoy camping and fishing, but pretty much hunt only clay pigeons these days.

BSA..50's--the easy stuff..
US Army 60's--the hard stuff..
Wilderness Canoeing..70--80--90-00's..everything else..