What the SEALs use for their PSKs

Neat article on Time magazine's Battleland Blog about a contract being let for PSKs for the Naval Special Warfare Group (SEAL Team Six). Having worked on the specifications for other military survival kits I found it interesting how this one differs from those.

The specifications shown are much less detailed than the ones used for the folks for whom we worked. Those included material specifications, operational parameters and testing standards.

This solicitation seems like a 'sole-source' contract to replace kits the Navy has previously procured. There's a link in the story to the commercial vendor who sells the kits to the Navy.

The Battleland Blog has some very good reporting on all manner of things military in nature from procurement decisions to treatments for PTSD and histories of soldiers in combat.


To quote from the solicitation:

Beyond those particulars, the hard case shall be:


– Capable of limited cooking without effecting the container finish (i.e. paint bubbling)
– Capable of being used as a limited digging implement without affecting its ability to house contents (simultaneous function of digging and housing not required).
– Shall have a weather resistant gasket able to keep out water during minor water immersion (i.e. river crossings, swimming)
– Shall have a fastening system that is reuseable and secure to prevent accidental openings
– Top surface of kit must have permanently affixed a 2” x 3” piece of loop fastener (i.e. soft side of velcro)
– Ruggedized to take heavy abuse while carried without damage to inner contents
– Case shall securely hold all items below without rattling or other noises.

Government procurement is it's own wacky universe.

Edit: A quick search of the government's online contracting site found this solicitation for SERE kits.

Even the soft case has been specified to take a Velcro flag patch..

What ever happened to giving a squaddie fifty quid to go shopping at Blacks, Tiso and Boots?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU1VDzqo8T0

One thing that caught my eye from the content list for the hard case version:

1- 32oz foil pack of broad spectrum antibiotic

Is that a typo? I'm assuming that this is referring to an ointment, but maybe it's referring to medication? In either case, 32oz of anything is a lot in such a tiny kit! For comparison, your typical tube of sunscreen comes in around 5-7oz of product.

And only 300 units? You'd think these guys could put together their own kits more economically for such a small order.

I suppose that the SEAL operator could add the following;

Steristrips.

Lifeboat matches and striker pad.

Lip Salve.

Alcohol wipes.

Potassium Permanganate.

Compeed blister plasters.

Medium Tegaderm dressing patch.

Sewing Kit.

Condom.

Tampon.

Ibuprofen/DF118s etc.

Multivitamins.

Fish hooks/leaders/swivels/weights.

Thanks for posting Andy, very interesting. The lack of detail you mentioned is not up to level of professionalism I would expect from such a process. The link you added for the Air force procurement was equally disturbing looked like a cut and paste job from vendors sites, instead of actual requirements specifications.

Most operators add/subtract from their kits depending on terrain/season/location. Fishing gear in deserts - not so useful.

They probably won't add much first aid stuff, that's another kit that is carried. It too is added with personal stuff.

Knives/compasses are always carried, as are lighters/matches. Most of the time, the compass is dummycorded to you, as is a smaller SAK/multitool.

Considering what I used to carry in my pockets and/or in my web gear, which I pretty much wore 24/7, I didn't carry a seperate kit.

Oh, good OP-SEC there procurement people. Want to guess how many operators are in NAVSPECWAR?

The lack of detail points me in the direction of a sole-source contract rather than a full and open competition. This is common for buying small quantities of items that are commericially available. Or restocking previous buys. Running a wide open solicitation effort is very expensive and time consuming.

The SERE kit specs we worked on already existed, we were just helping the govt. to bring them up to date and add real world testing criteria. Yet that took hours of teleconferences, document reviews, etc. The specs for a few items ran into the dozens of pages. These kits will go to a very specific set of warfighters and are specially tailored to their work environment.

I agree that the AF specs were someone's lazy effort. But not all procurements are that way.

This is probably a re-supply procurement so the number is not likely to be indicative of unit size.

Er...About the same number of Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. The rest probably know how to make their own PSKs..

partial contents

http://nation.time.com/2013/02/21/youre-...-kit/?hpt=hp_t3

A comment from the article - "the art of survival hasn't changed much in 50 years." - basically a true statement, and probably pretty conservative at that. It wasn't a whole lot different when your flintlock was a multipurpose item - useful for starting a fire as well as ringing down game.

I wonder why they specified 188 lb breaking strength Kevlar line? It is strong and light, but I understand Kevlar is tricky to tie knots in. I would be happy with plain old nylon mason's line for most uses....

They really need to talk to Doug in regard to proper components. They request a container that the components will not fit in. They also request that each item be in a bag with an easy open slit, which makes each item bigger. And a P38... Don't they use MRE's now as opposed to C-Rats?

John

THEY don't carry a PSK.
The SEALS just bring a fork and a spoon .. and EAT YOU !!!

HAHAHAHA!!!
Pete2

In Mother Russia, survival kit carry YOU in its pocket!

OK what is in the AF kit, got a link ?
That P-38 stumped me and so did the Multi-Tool
it seemed to have very limited functions.

I found a hardback copy of O'Grady's book in a used bookstore one day for $3. I opened it up and on the title page was his autograph.

"In Mother Russia, survival kit carry YOU in its pocket! "

NOW you're talking.
I want one of those :-)

Pete2

Would a UniMog constitute a good survival kit?

The fact that they say 300 units doesn't bother me- we've had several people use that number before (SecDefs, SecStates, POTUSes, past and present) when talking about DevGroup. But most guys build their own kit.

So a couple theories. One, someone realized there is no official survival kit and had horrors and these are being bought to be the official, issued items. But I've got a hunch and nothing to support it- something about this feels like a prepackage. Slinking in with a cover with no real gear beyond laptops, dark clothes, and not even as much as swiss army knife is relatively easy; then the weapons, E&E gear, and the big bundle of cash meets you there, either with help of someone at the embassy or an air drop or whatever.

As for the p38, yes, it's old. But there are lots and lots of places where I can get canned food much easier than wet pack, and if you are building your supplies from indigenous materials, you take what you can get. Besides, the p38 is one of my favorite multitools.

as Ironraven commented... I've used my "US Speaker" P38 more as a screwdriver or other tool than it has opened cans... today it is a nostalgia item...a rite of passage to open a C ratiion can of ham and lima beans, wrong side up to find a layer of cold ham fat....I've had one on a key chain since 1971, compliments of the chow hall at Torii Station, JSPC, Okinawa...

I have several P38s and the larger B52 in both my BOBs. Be horrible if I came upon a can of ham and mofos and couldn't get into them. Or pork slices. Or the spaghetti with meat sauce. Or my personal fav, the chicken noodle soup.

The can openers were a right of passage back in basic. I maintain one on my keychain, carrying it on your dog tags only guaranteed an owie when you went prone and it was open.

But back to the main topic, aviators usually have two kits - one they wear in a vest, one someplace in the aircraft. In the USAF fighter ejection seats have one attached. The transport pilots have several onboard. Helicopter pilots have one large kit on board, location depends on the bird.

The vest kit is immediate E&E stuff and some first aid. The larger kits have the "shinies".

FYI,years ago, circa late '90s I think, I purchased a larger format paperback at B&N, entitled ,"US Aircrew Combat Flight & Survival Gear", by Hans Halberstadt. It was published in 1995, by Motorbooks International. Great kit and aircrew photos, mostly stock from Arms Communication according to the fly leaf . Text is OK too. Not spectacular but interesting. I haul it out now and again, as when I read this thread. You might want to check for availability.