James,
I started reading SurvivalBlog this year after a friend told me to check out the site and it has been a great resource. I had a couple of thing that might be of interest to everyone.
First is the 2nd annual Bug-out drill at Tiger Valley in Texas. Tiger Valley will host its second annual Bug Out Drill, September 29, 2007. We will run the same distance as last year, 15 miles, but the physical challenges will be tougher. For those who didn’t attend the last event, the idea for this was spawned from reading the survival forum. I, like a lot of people don’t believe that something does what it claims without a test; hence, the But Out Drill was born.
As last year the challenge was to move and recover family members who are a distance away. For the sake of argument an EMP has disabled all vehicles, I know some of you have spare parts wrapped in foil, but we have to keep this on an even keel. That means you have to travel the entire route on foot, no bikes, 4-wheelers Gurkhas or Donkeys allowed on the course. You must carry everything you need for the event on your person. We will have a hydration station that you can top off water during the event.
Last years event had 20 physical challenges, everything from having to cut through chain link fence to triage a tactical mannequin. This year I plan on making some of the challenges technically and physically more challenging. I won’t go into detail on the plans but nothing is off the table.
We had 27 hard-core contestants compete last year. Everyone made a great effort, and from the feedback, learned a lot from the experience. As the concept stated last year, you don’t have to complete each event. If the event is to challenging, you can bypass it and take the penalty. Remember, this event is designed to test you and your equipment, not kill you. We don’t want to run those off who might be intimidated by some events.
I need some feedback from you guys on one area. I thought it might be good to require those attending to camp out on Friday night. Pitch whatever survival tent you have and take off in the morning. This idea is still up for grabs so let me know what you think.
The price for the event will be the same as last year, $150. I will start getting prizes as soon as I get back from this class in Waco.
The other item of interest is medical training information from Medical Corps. This organization has a substantial amount of information that I’m currently digesting. {Meanwhile,] OperationalMedicine.org has downloadable videos on various procedures like “How to Suture a Wound” that can supplement or help prepare for classes. It could also be the only training available to people without the means to attend classes. Thanks, – Paul in Texas
Letter Re: 2nd Annual Bug-Out Drill at Tiger Valley in Texas
