U.S. Special Forces Survival Training

How To Survive Like The U.S. Special Forces

PART 1 –
Special Forces Survival Training and Mountain Warfare
Why Are the U.S. Special Forces so Skilled at Mountain Survival? What Can We Learn from Them?

PART 2 –
Special Forces Advanced Mountain Operations School
Finding Food, Water, Edible Plants, Insects, Wildlife, Fire Making, and Making Shelter

PART 3 –
Special Forces Alpine Warfare Survival Training
Scouting, Camouflage, Erasing Tracks, Fighting in the Snow, Choosing a Camp Location, Baiting an Enemy into a Killzone, Retreat, Taking High Ground

Part 1

Special Forces Train For Multiple Environments And Terrain

While this series discusses survival in U.S. mountain ranges during a hypothetical time of war (here at home) or lawlessness following an economic collapse or other widespread disaster, the U.S. Special Forces isn’t limited to learning how to survive just in North America.Rick Scavetta, a writer for the U.S. Army, covered a segment on U.S. soldiers training in South Africa, where they trained in techniques for living off the land, learning from the locals. He writes here: Survival school – Out of your comfort zone, “WHEN evading capture in the South African bush, grassy juice from an impala’s stomach quenches thirst. Noisy hippos mean water is nearby, as does sighting an African fish eagle.

These are a few tips Staff Sgt. John Otfinoski, a squad leader with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, learned recently in survival school, taught by the South African Special Forces.

Otfinoski was one of three noncommissioned officers to complete the three-week course in April, which focused on living off the land, tracking and evading capture.

“They strip you bare and teach you how to survive in the bush,” Otfinoski said. “It was different than anything else I’ve ever experienced.”

Mountain Warfare

There’s a reason that most governments train soldiers for mountain warfare or, as in the example above, surviving in an extreme place like the South African bush. Most nations have mountains or are near mountains and throughout history many battles have often taken place in mountainous areas.America has faced that most recently in Afghanistan, with the locals using the mountains to their advantage as much as possible to fight American forces.

The Nazis faced mountain warfare in Europe in World War II — the Third Reich had seized power in Austria leading up to the war, but Switzerland was ready, even placing troop battalions in the mountains (the Alps) and wiring bridges into Switzerland with explosives should the Nazis attempt to enter the country.Before we jump into detailed tips on mountain survival with the U.S. Special Forces Advanced Mountain Operations School serving as inspiration for these lessons, I think it’s important for readers — who are concerned about the many threats to America today — to take a look at recent history first. Let’s start there.

Special Forces Survival School

People can live and fight from the mountains — that’s important to realize and it’s something you may need to convince others of one day. Because, like it or not, long term survival in the mountains is going to be dependent on how well you can get along with others and how your group can work as a team to tackle the many challenges of mountain survival.You and your team may become good at mountain survival — and you may be one of the first Americans to form a resistance, should the dark day come that America’s government suffers a collapse at the hand of other nations — which has been discussed quite a bit on this site — especially with the growing hatred of America by numerous nations — many who arm and finance terrorists.

Code Name: Geronimo

The U.S. Special Forces are mainly known for stealth — they’re trained for strategic missions and to move in small teams rather than moving in large battalions where hundreds or even thousands of soldiers are used in battle. Osama Bin Laden was taken down in a stealth mission originally code named “Geronimo”.Some of what is known and taught by the Special Forces (perhaps a lot more than we realize) are skills at both survival (living off the land) and stealth developed by earlier century Native Americans such as the Apache Indians — who launched many successful attacks using stealth on a much larger enemy at times (including U.S. forces) then simply disappeared back into the countryside. They survived by stealth in a dangerous land and they attacked by stealth. Geronimo was an Apache.

Resistance Fighters

Americans have had resistance fighters in the past — those who stood for the common good of the land, such as our founding fathers who resisted the British and then also those who resisted the Confederacy of the American South and came against slavery, among other things.There have been resistance fighters more recently in history as well — such as those who resisted and fought back against the Nazis in World War II.

The Nazi party had been firmly rooted in Austria since the early 1930s; but before World War II had even started Nazi-resistance fighters were rising up. A few were Jews who had the courage and anger to fight back; other fighters were Germans, Austrians, and Czechs who detested what the Nazis were doing with the Jews and the concentration camps that were going up — some very close to where local citizens lived. They witnessed the harsh and cruel treatment of Jews up close and first hand. Many feared the Nazis. But some decided to fight.

The “Underground”

Every nation the Nazis would eventually occupy had resistance fighters, commonly called the “Underground”. One of these underground groups was called the Austrian Underground. They helped many Jews escape Nazi occupation; they also helped one another, for example sometimes bribing Nazis to let “criminals” go who had been arrested by the Nazis and imprisoned for helping Jews (those lucky enough not to be executed or locked up in a concentration camp).

Bribing The Authorities

If we ever see American’s in concentration camps — due to a collapse of government and a future foreign occupation — it may be possible to do some bribing.My hope is this — if we’re going to take threats to America’s modern day of life seriously — the threat of Islamic nations for example and their desire to destroy the West — we need to be ready to do some serious survival — because that’s what it’s going to take to live off the land and in the mountains and even rise up and fight back. It’s going to take survival.

American’s Fighting From The Mountains

Throughout history resistance fighters have been able to fight wars from the mountains when up against a larger army.If our nation falls (and other Western nations) that’s where people who escape the resulting chaos and lawlessness and future occupation of a foreign force may want to consider heading. Survivors of foreign occupation in different times in history have been able to flee to mountainous areas and escape the tyranny that has taken power. We should learn from them.

Consider the Swiss, in World War II, who moved parts of their army to the mountains and trained many in alpine warfare, even having troops train and fight on skis. They weren’t going to simply bow down to the Nazis. They knew the Nazis were killers.

What We Can Learn From US Special Forces

Now we get down to the details about mountain survival. I’m talking about survival tactics: Food, Water, Plants, Insects, Wildlife, Weapons, Shelter, Making Primitive Fire, Skis, Snow, and Scouts. You’ve just completed part 1 of this series. Click on the link below to continue to part 2.

How To Survive Like The U.S. Special Forces

PART 1 –
Special Forces Survival Training and Mountain Warfare
Why Are the U.S. Special Forces so Skilled at Mountain Survival? What Can We Learn from Them?

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PART 2 –
Special Forces Advanced Mountain Operations School
Finding Food, Water, Edible Plants, Insects, Wildlife, Fire Making, and Making Shelter

PART 3 –
Special Forces Alpine Warfare Survival Training
Scouting, Camouflage, Erasing Tracks, Fighting in the Snow, Choosing a Camp Location, Baiting an Enemy into a Killzone, Retreat, Taking High Ground