SEAL Survival Guide (63 page)
Read SEAL Survival Guide Online
Authors: Cade Courtley
• Don’t get boxed in; stay at the perimeter of crowds.
• Be alert to emotional levels in the crowd.
• Watch for signs of violence.
• If confronted by police, raise your arms; open your hands to demonstrate you have no weapons or threatening objects.
• Gain distance from the unrest.
• Stay on your feet and crouch low, and move in the opposite direction.
If You Live in an Area Where Riots Are Occurring
As mentioned, rioting has no boundaries. You could find that your house is in the path of this unrest. The best way to avoid getting caught up is to shelter in. Use the following checklist to know what to do in a riot or during the aftermath of any catastrophe when lawlessness prevails.
1. Stay indoors.
2. Paint on the front door or on the outside of your house a warning that the occupant is armed, even if you are not. Simply write: “Occupant is armed.” This will usually deter the opportunists who take advantage of riots for purposes of looting.
3. Do not expose yourself, such as by sitting on your front porch with a shotgun in your lap.
4. Barricade doors and windows using plywood or heavy furniture.
5. When sufficiently barricaded indoors, move to an upper floor, if possible. If your house is breached, you want to be
in a position where the intruders have only one way to get to you. This is called creating a choke point. This will give you an advantage in defending yourself against a larger number of intruders.
6. Stay put. Wait for order to return before venturing out.
Stampedes
During a riot, getting trapped in a stampede and being killed by a fleeing crowd is very possible. The actual cause of death during a stampede is frequently
asphyxiation,
when those trapped in the melee are literally smothered under a sea of humans. Others are crushed or suffer broken necks.
If a fire breaks out at a theater, or if some emergency ensues at a stadium event, you will not have much time to act. Upon entering the stadium, practice your situational awareness exercises, knowing where all exits are located and the most likely passageways where human congestion could occur. In such a scenario, the marked exits may not be the best choice for evacuation. Once again, the herd mentality takes over in a stampede. Even though you might be among a crowd, panic sets off the “every man for himself” mindset. You need to distance yourself and not get swept up in the very powerful force that a crowd of human beings can create.
Immediate Actions
1. Do everything in your power to stay on your feet.
2. Don’t immediately head for exits; find a safe spot and try to buy some time. The initial rush of people will be like a tidal wave hitting these small exits. Too many bodies, not enough space.
3. Avoid aisles and hallways. For example, in a stadium, finding a path by climbing from seat row to seat row could be a better route.
4. Do not try to fight against the forward motion or the direction of the stampede. You have a better chance heading toward the perimeter by working to break through the crowd diagonally.
5. Gain distance from the crowd.
6. Find a barricade that will not be overturned and wait behind it or under it until the crowd passes.
7. Try to get to the high ground. On the streets, this could be standing on a car roof, or in a stadium, make your way to the higher levels.
The worst U.S. stampede happened on December 30, 1903, at Chicago’s Iroquois Theater, when smoke was spotted onstage. With only one exit, 602 died in the stampede to flee. Another stampede stemming from a fire took 492 lives at Boston’s Cocoanut Grove Night Club in 1942. The most recent U.S. stampede occurred in February 2003, when 21 people died in Chicago at the E2 nightclub trying to exit from the second floor. Security guards allegedly used pepper spray on a patron, which resulted in a rush for the stairwell. Abroad, death by stampede occurs more frequently, oftentimes at sporting events. For example, in 2003, 125 people died when 70,000 soccer fans tried to flee a Ghana stadium. Someone threw a bottle onto the field, and the police fired tear gas into the stands.
ROAD RAGE: DEFENSIVE AND EVASIVE DRIVING
Road rage is a relatively new phenomenon; the term was coined in the 1980s to describe aggressive confrontations among motorists. Attribute it to factors of the modern world, including previously unheard-of levels of traffic congestion, more miles driven, and the daily stress of multitasking. In addition, there is the human tendency to fight for territorial rights—although most of the “tough guys” doing this would react quite differently if they weren’t in the safety of their cars.
Drivers have been assaulted with everything from guns to water bottles, hamburgers, and used diapers. Aggressive drivers frequently tailgate as a means to get the car ahead of them to speed up or get out of their way. They will move into your lane and the very lane space you occupy, weaving in with only an inch to spare. Such drivers like to yell, smash their steering wheels with their fists, swear, use hand gestures, and honk their horns.
During the last seven years, out of all 290,000 people who died in traffic accidents, 45,200 of those deaths were directly related to aggressive driving.
Mental Toughness
The automobile is a powerful machine, and a driver’s license is a privilege that expects you to be responsible while operating a vehicle. Even small fender benders result in hassles and a loss of time, but a serious car accident could be life-changing, rendering you or someone else disabled or dead. While on the road you have the choice of whether you will control your emotions and let it go or become enraged and possibly take a life. Letting go requires a high degree of mental toughness. Admittedly, the art of letting it go is one that I have not yet entirely mastered. There have been more than a few times when I have implemented combat breathing to bring the agitation meter back down.
Understand that the split-second decisions you make while driving affect not only you but everyone around you. The simple act of tailgating a teenage driver, as a form of retaliation for his cutting you off, could quickly compound into a mass-fatality accident. Inhale four seconds, exhale four seconds . . . let it go.
Defensive Driving: Expect the Worst
Let’s face it: There surely seem to be more bad drivers on the road than good ones, which only adds to the necessity of being an extra-diligent driver. Don’t forget that car accidents are the number one cause of accidental deaths in America. Defensive driving is the combination of situational awareness and utilizing a set of driving skills. You need to be aware of not only the environment and the road ahead, but what’s happening behind you and to your sides. In SEAL team we said that while driving you need to keep your head on a swivel. In addition, you must anticipate dangerous situations and be prepared to respond without hesitation to the carelessness or recklessness of others.
DEFENSIVE DRIVING CHECKLIST
Scan the road ahead and plan for the unexpected.
Have an eye on any and every vehicle’s signals, brake lights, and indicators of inattentive drivers, such as cars drifting from lanes.