During a thread I started a while back where I asked for assistance from the forum prior to a week long military survival course, I received a few requests to report back following the course.
Hopefully it proves interesting, and provides an insight into the training that certain elements of the UK forces receive in survival training. Although clearly not fully aligned with bushcraft, most people would argue that there is a fair overlap... I should note that none of the below is restricted information in any way, and can be gleaned from any survival book.
The course is over 5 days, and run for members of all three services who may have need to utilise land survival skills. This includes those individuals deemed ‘prone to capture’. It is not run for every member of the armed services- for instance, my course of 25 was largely made up of Army Air Corps, a few members of the RAF, and a whole load of Army Commandos.
The training was given by a large, very professional, very knowledgeable team.
The course was hard- not particularly physical aside from the constant chopping of wood with the hatchet (at least in comparison to much military training), but tough in terms of lack of food, shelter, sleep, warmth and the other comforts that you could find yourself without in a true survival situation.
Most of the week was in groups of 5/6 each with their own instructor. The basic format of each day was a few lessons in the morning, then you cracked on and practiced what you had learnt in the afternoon.
Monday
The week started with a few briefings and classroom lessons (Psychology of survival, Priorities of Survival (Protection, Location, Water, Food), Navigation, Survival navigation. Kit issue- we were allowed to bring three layers of clothing, hat, gloves, daysack. Items on issue included a very holey 58 patt poncho (for the first night only), a holey and delaminated goretex bivi bag, army issue clasp knife (awful!), estwing axe (fairly rubbish but strong), nato matchless fire set, tin of aircrew emergency rations (basically a tobacco tin of boiled sweets), wire saw (mine broke the first time i tried to use it), 10m of para cord, brass wire (for snares and to secure the platform on a signal fire).
The afternoon started with a navigation exercise, before heading into a very damp mossy plantation that was to be our home for the next week. We were not allowed to do any real cutting or get a fire going for the first night, so we built a sleeping platform out of pine fronds (min 1m thick uncompressed to insulate from the ground), put up the leaky poncho, crawled into the ancient bivi bag and to cut a long story short, I cuddled a Commando for the night. It was freezing cold (quite literally- there was ice everywhere in the morning), and I went for several short runs in the night to try and get some warmth back. Two weeks later, and both my big toes are still completely numb from this night. After Monday night we were not allowed to use our ponchos again.
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets from the aircrew emergency ration tin we were issued.
Tuesday
• Lessons on safe use of axe and knife
• Taught how to (and later had to demonstrate) turn the issued wire saw into a buck saw
• Fire lighting, including making feather sticks, and using the chemicals of a used cyalume, the correct use of a nato matchless fire set, light a candle immediately you have flame to re light the fire if it goes out
• Attracting attention lesson- including ground to air signals (mainly a ‘v’ and an arrow to show direction of travel), suspending a strobe over a space blanket, creating tinsel trees (basically hanging all your rubbish off trees to attract attention), signal fire (on a tripod platform- should be able to pump white smoke out in under 2 minutes from hearing an aircraft)
The afternoon was spent building a team shelter- lean to for 6, with fire reflector. We again made a sleeping platform using long straight pine branches (dead standing- arrange parallel to the body to spread the pressure evenly and make more comfortable), upon which was piled 1m thick of pine fronds. The lean to had a steep roof, with over 1m thick of pine fronds for waterproofing. From mid day onwards it rained almost solidly for the rest of the week- it didn’t leak!
That night was much warmer- thanks to the large fire being kept going all night (we had two people awake at any one time feeding it- 1 hour shifts). Unfortunately when lying down in the shelter, I was shielded from a lot of its heat by a rather bulky bloke!
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets from the aircrew emergency rations, two gorse flowers.
Wednesday
The day started with a test- we individually had 5 minutes to get a fire going and sustain it. The feather sticks we had prepared the night before were pretty terrible (the nato issue clasp knife is probably the most awful knife I have ever had the displeasure of using- mine was issued very blunt, with a wobbly and chipped blade, and two minutes of use shreds your hands due to the distinctly un-ergonomic shape of the grip!). Luckily though the old mans beard and dry grass I had put in my pockets the day before to dry out saw me through. And the liquid from a cyalume really helps get things going too.
Other things we did Wednesday:
• Lessons on water collection and filtration- improvised filters, gypsy wells, solar still, purification pumps and straws, demonstrated that water could be boiled over a fire in plastic drinks bottles (they shrink but don’t hole) and old food/water sachets
• Food prep lesson- rabbits, pigeon (removing breast by cutting off head, inserting two fingers inside the opening and tearing the breast out), fish, shell fish, crickets (tear off head- removes gut with it remove sharp rear legs, flame for a few seconds- tastes like popcorn)
• Traps and snares (deadfall, simple snare, figure 4 deadfall), putting out a fishing (night line), weaving gill net from the inner strands of paracord
• Night navigation exercise out on the moor in pairs
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets from the aircrew emergency rations, 2 crickets, a cockle, 1/6th of a rabbit.
Thursday
As a group we were inspected in the morning on the Gill net we wove the night before, our deadfall and figure 4 traps, and our improvised water filter (made from a scavenged plastic bottle, sand, moss, charcoal, scarp of parachute nylon). After a random shout of ‘aircraft sighted’ from the instructors, we also raced against other groups to get our signal fire lit. Ours was pumping out thick white smoke after about 30 seconds (cunning trick- fill the core with lots of dry gorse, and light using the cotton wool from a field dressing, and lit bundle of ‘faggot’ of dry twigs from the main group fire !)
We then went into an individual phase where you were expected to demonstrate everything you have learnt previously in the week without contact with any other members of the course. We were positioned in another part of the wood, where I made a thermal A frame, with sleeping platform (trick- to fit in the main ridge pole needs to be almost 4 feet longer than your height, and moss can be used to thatch at low levels where it is more about insulation than waterproofing), built a fire reflector, set a snare, and set up ground to air signals and tinsel trees. I then spent all afternoon cutting wood, stripping it of its slimy wet moss covered bark, and sectioning into short lengths for the fire. At last light I lit the fire using some more grass and old mans beard that had been drying in my pockets for the last few days, and arranged all the wood around the fire so it could start drying out and was protected to an extent from the constant rain by a little overhang I had made for this purpose off my shelter. We were given a whole trout EACH in the evening to prepare and cook on the fire- nothing has ever tasted better to me (nor I suspect, will it in the future!)
It was by far the warmest night I had- and I naturally woke up from cold every 40 minutes or so once the fire had dwindled to get it going again. I made sure that I had dried some kindling next to the fire as well, which paid dividends once when I woke up to two minute specks of orange glow being the only remains of my fire. With them, I was able to blow the fire back into life- a bit stressful at the time, but once I had a blaze again ten minutes later, all was good! The sounds of constant chopping from other parts of the wood all through the night reminded me that my hard work in wood prep the previous day had been worth it!
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets, a trout.
Friday
Inspected on shelter, fire etc, then collapsed everything, returned the area to nature, end of course briefings and handed in kit. Ate a huge lunch- to an extent that I felt ill and had to lie down for a couple of hours!
The Weekend
On Friday evening I drove to Brecon to join the rest of my regiment prior to a 42km individual timed endurance march across all the pointy bit of the Brecon Beacons (with weight) on Saturday. After a week of almost no food, cold, and little sleep, this was a particularly traumatic experience. But I managed to come in a decent time, just as the sun was setting on the clear day behind Fan Fawr. It was only after removing my boots that evening that I discovered both my big toes were badly blistered- luckily they were both still completely numb from the first night of the survival course and I couldn’t feel a thing!
All in, an excellent and challenging week, which forced me to clear my mind of all thoughts of normal everyday life, and focus on the fundamentals of survival which lurk far below the horizon on most people’s modern existence.
Hopefully it proves interesting, and provides an insight into the training that certain elements of the UK forces receive in survival training. Although clearly not fully aligned with bushcraft, most people would argue that there is a fair overlap... I should note that none of the below is restricted information in any way, and can be gleaned from any survival book.
The course is over 5 days, and run for members of all three services who may have need to utilise land survival skills. This includes those individuals deemed ‘prone to capture’. It is not run for every member of the armed services- for instance, my course of 25 was largely made up of Army Air Corps, a few members of the RAF, and a whole load of Army Commandos.
The training was given by a large, very professional, very knowledgeable team.
The course was hard- not particularly physical aside from the constant chopping of wood with the hatchet (at least in comparison to much military training), but tough in terms of lack of food, shelter, sleep, warmth and the other comforts that you could find yourself without in a true survival situation.
Most of the week was in groups of 5/6 each with their own instructor. The basic format of each day was a few lessons in the morning, then you cracked on and practiced what you had learnt in the afternoon.
Monday
The week started with a few briefings and classroom lessons (Psychology of survival, Priorities of Survival (Protection, Location, Water, Food), Navigation, Survival navigation. Kit issue- we were allowed to bring three layers of clothing, hat, gloves, daysack. Items on issue included a very holey 58 patt poncho (for the first night only), a holey and delaminated goretex bivi bag, army issue clasp knife (awful!), estwing axe (fairly rubbish but strong), nato matchless fire set, tin of aircrew emergency rations (basically a tobacco tin of boiled sweets), wire saw (mine broke the first time i tried to use it), 10m of para cord, brass wire (for snares and to secure the platform on a signal fire).
The afternoon started with a navigation exercise, before heading into a very damp mossy plantation that was to be our home for the next week. We were not allowed to do any real cutting or get a fire going for the first night, so we built a sleeping platform out of pine fronds (min 1m thick uncompressed to insulate from the ground), put up the leaky poncho, crawled into the ancient bivi bag and to cut a long story short, I cuddled a Commando for the night. It was freezing cold (quite literally- there was ice everywhere in the morning), and I went for several short runs in the night to try and get some warmth back. Two weeks later, and both my big toes are still completely numb from this night. After Monday night we were not allowed to use our ponchos again.
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets from the aircrew emergency ration tin we were issued.
Tuesday
• Lessons on safe use of axe and knife
• Taught how to (and later had to demonstrate) turn the issued wire saw into a buck saw
• Fire lighting, including making feather sticks, and using the chemicals of a used cyalume, the correct use of a nato matchless fire set, light a candle immediately you have flame to re light the fire if it goes out
• Attracting attention lesson- including ground to air signals (mainly a ‘v’ and an arrow to show direction of travel), suspending a strobe over a space blanket, creating tinsel trees (basically hanging all your rubbish off trees to attract attention), signal fire (on a tripod platform- should be able to pump white smoke out in under 2 minutes from hearing an aircraft)
The afternoon was spent building a team shelter- lean to for 6, with fire reflector. We again made a sleeping platform using long straight pine branches (dead standing- arrange parallel to the body to spread the pressure evenly and make more comfortable), upon which was piled 1m thick of pine fronds. The lean to had a steep roof, with over 1m thick of pine fronds for waterproofing. From mid day onwards it rained almost solidly for the rest of the week- it didn’t leak!
That night was much warmer- thanks to the large fire being kept going all night (we had two people awake at any one time feeding it- 1 hour shifts). Unfortunately when lying down in the shelter, I was shielded from a lot of its heat by a rather bulky bloke!
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets from the aircrew emergency rations, two gorse flowers.
Wednesday
The day started with a test- we individually had 5 minutes to get a fire going and sustain it. The feather sticks we had prepared the night before were pretty terrible (the nato issue clasp knife is probably the most awful knife I have ever had the displeasure of using- mine was issued very blunt, with a wobbly and chipped blade, and two minutes of use shreds your hands due to the distinctly un-ergonomic shape of the grip!). Luckily though the old mans beard and dry grass I had put in my pockets the day before to dry out saw me through. And the liquid from a cyalume really helps get things going too.
Other things we did Wednesday:
• Lessons on water collection and filtration- improvised filters, gypsy wells, solar still, purification pumps and straws, demonstrated that water could be boiled over a fire in plastic drinks bottles (they shrink but don’t hole) and old food/water sachets
• Food prep lesson- rabbits, pigeon (removing breast by cutting off head, inserting two fingers inside the opening and tearing the breast out), fish, shell fish, crickets (tear off head- removes gut with it remove sharp rear legs, flame for a few seconds- tastes like popcorn)
• Traps and snares (deadfall, simple snare, figure 4 deadfall), putting out a fishing (night line), weaving gill net from the inner strands of paracord
• Night navigation exercise out on the moor in pairs
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets from the aircrew emergency rations, 2 crickets, a cockle, 1/6th of a rabbit.
Thursday
As a group we were inspected in the morning on the Gill net we wove the night before, our deadfall and figure 4 traps, and our improvised water filter (made from a scavenged plastic bottle, sand, moss, charcoal, scarp of parachute nylon). After a random shout of ‘aircraft sighted’ from the instructors, we also raced against other groups to get our signal fire lit. Ours was pumping out thick white smoke after about 30 seconds (cunning trick- fill the core with lots of dry gorse, and light using the cotton wool from a field dressing, and lit bundle of ‘faggot’ of dry twigs from the main group fire !)
We then went into an individual phase where you were expected to demonstrate everything you have learnt previously in the week without contact with any other members of the course. We were positioned in another part of the wood, where I made a thermal A frame, with sleeping platform (trick- to fit in the main ridge pole needs to be almost 4 feet longer than your height, and moss can be used to thatch at low levels where it is more about insulation than waterproofing), built a fire reflector, set a snare, and set up ground to air signals and tinsel trees. I then spent all afternoon cutting wood, stripping it of its slimy wet moss covered bark, and sectioning into short lengths for the fire. At last light I lit the fire using some more grass and old mans beard that had been drying in my pockets for the last few days, and arranged all the wood around the fire so it could start drying out and was protected to an extent from the constant rain by a little overhang I had made for this purpose off my shelter. We were given a whole trout EACH in the evening to prepare and cook on the fire- nothing has ever tasted better to me (nor I suspect, will it in the future!)
It was by far the warmest night I had- and I naturally woke up from cold every 40 minutes or so once the fire had dwindled to get it going again. I made sure that I had dried some kindling next to the fire as well, which paid dividends once when I woke up to two minute specks of orange glow being the only remains of my fire. With them, I was able to blow the fire back into life- a bit stressful at the time, but once I had a blaze again ten minutes later, all was good! The sounds of constant chopping from other parts of the wood all through the night reminded me that my hard work in wood prep the previous day had been worth it!
Food for the day- 3 boiled sweets, a trout.
Friday
Inspected on shelter, fire etc, then collapsed everything, returned the area to nature, end of course briefings and handed in kit. Ate a huge lunch- to an extent that I felt ill and had to lie down for a couple of hours!
The Weekend
On Friday evening I drove to Brecon to join the rest of my regiment prior to a 42km individual timed endurance march across all the pointy bit of the Brecon Beacons (with weight) on Saturday. After a week of almost no food, cold, and little sleep, this was a particularly traumatic experience. But I managed to come in a decent time, just as the sun was setting on the clear day behind Fan Fawr. It was only after removing my boots that evening that I discovered both my big toes were badly blistered- luckily they were both still completely numb from the first night of the survival course and I couldn’t feel a thing!
All in, an excellent and challenging week, which forced me to clear my mind of all thoughts of normal everyday life, and focus on the fundamentals of survival which lurk far below the horizon on most people’s modern existence.
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I couldn't put it better myself.
