Folks,

I have in my hands one sample of FM 21-76-1, Survival, Evasion and Recovery: Multiservice Procedures dated June 1999 that I picked up in a surplus store during a trip to Fort Bragg, NC. It is printed on weatherproof paper, slim, 4"x6", with a spiral binding and plastic cover. The chapter headings are as follows:

Evasion
Navigation
Communications and Signaling
Recovery
Medical
Personal Protection
Water
Food
Induced Conditions (NBC)
The Will to Survive

To quote the manual: "This publication provides Service members a quick reference, weatherproof, pocket-sized guide on basic survival, evasion, and recovery information."

As we are reminded by recent headlines, everyone should have one of these on them, or in their vehicle, when they venture outdoors.

You can find this manual on the web at:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/21-76-1/index.html

I suppose you could print it out and make a weatherproof knockoff by laminating the pages, but I like my GI issue copy just fine. However you accomplish it, get one and keep it close. It may save your life one day.

This is a fairly cheap book to get off the Internet as well. Amazon always has used copies for five or six bucks. Definitely worth procuring but don't do no good if ya don't read it...even less good if ya don't learn it.

One bit of warning on Military Survival Manuals, there is alot of conflicting info. heres a link to an article by the late David Alloway http://wildernesssurvival0.tripod.com/articles.htm

I have alot of the FM's, but I have reservations about using any of the tatics other then personal survival info. Most of the evasion or mantrap info our military trains on. So they are well aware of these tatics, better to use older less common tatics for evasion and guerrilla warfare. Something that has not been seen in a long time.

I agree with Greywolf. We should be drawing upon all sorts of different sources of knowledge. If we only know one trick, we only get to use it once.