Rowe Survival Kit

 

• C O L O N E L   R O W E ’S   S U R V I V A L   K IT IT  Lieutenant Colonel  Colonel James  James  Rowe  hits the  trail,   he he carries hen  Lieutenant hen  carries  three separate survival kits. survival  kits. The  first-class model   stays  in his  rucksack,   bu butt if that one gets lostt or has to   be   abandoned  for a  lighter   load,  he  has the   second-class  unit on los a  harness that hangs between between his shoulder blades.  If that sloughed ghed off, blades. If  that one must be slou his  shirt pocket.   With  this one, and one,  and his  his trus trusty ty there’s   always   his “last-line”  kit in his shirt knife, Rowe  can live  indefinitely. Bet on itit.. K IT  a (About  th   size  of    2 4 ounces)   th e a  of a a    cigur b o x ,  weighs  FIRST-CLASS

 Me dic al Equ ipm ent   Medic IV tubing and dextrosesolution  a Suture thread and needles (“Forget that  garbage.”) a Scalpel Scalpel blad  blades es a Betadine antiseptic solution solution a  a Tetracycline Rambo garbage.”) Rambo tablets a tablets  a B ee  sti  sting ng kit (Epinephrine  pills  and injection) injection) a  a Lomotil  a.Aspirin Sunscreen  a Alcohol wip wipes es a  Band-aids a  Field compresses  a  Triangular bandage compresses a Eye-injury kit (ophthalmic (ophthalmic   ointmen ointment, t, eyepad, and andeye eye wipe) Food   an d  Shelter   Shelter Equipment  curry powder napalming ming your tast tastee buds”)  a Iodine tablets  (for Small packets of curry  powder (“for napal water purification) aCoffee  and  sugar a Signal  mirro rrorr a Pen flare  a Spaceblanke Spaceblankett Signal mi   fire starter Wire saw a  Compassa Candle aWaterproof matches a Maguesium-block  fire Net hammo hammock ck a Nyl Nylon on cor cord d a Five-quart Five-quart water  water conta container iner with clamp and IV tube to run directly from packto mouth aFishing  kit (fresh hooks and Fishing kit (fresh- and  and saltwater saltwater hooks lures, gill nets, 25-pound test line, red felt, and and sinkers)  sinkers) aTw Twoo ponchos a  and nd a pon poncho cho line linerr a Army  Survival Manual FM21-76 (Pocket-sized compendium o f  Army Survival Rowe Office.)  you ever wanted ever available  wanted toknow survival,”  and “everything about wrotethe  book. Literally.It’s  throughabo theut Government Printing a SECOND-CLASS K IT  a

(About  th  size  o  o f a a   3-by-5-card  b  b o x ;  weighs   weighs 12  ounces)   th e  size   ounces) 

Small folding knife with very hard hardcarbide-steel carbide-steel blade  blade (doubles  (doubles as a scalpel) Suture needles a Antiseptic solution a Silk   sewing thread a Waterproof  matches  light a Iodine tablets  a  Coffee  and sugar aAluminum foil (for (forcooking, Strobe light Strobe tablets a cooking, signaling,  or fishi fishing ng lures) a Bullion  a  Fishing line  and hooks  a  Candle a Compass Compass a   L AST-L IN E   K IT a  /   

 

(About  th  th e size of  a  a   band-aid  box)   box)

tablets  a ~Compass ~ Fishing line  and tablets I~odine

matches   o  Waterproof   Waterproof matches Band-aids aAntiseptic Antiseptic solution  a  Butterfly  sutures  solution a

 you’reso   stuck    in the the woods.  woods.   And best-equipped survival kit  kit in theOK, territory now in just jus t concentrate  on  you’ve Rowe’s got  Fourthe Rules for Survival:survival 1 .   “Don’t  Panic.”   Panic.” Being  lostt or hurt is bound bound to be unner unnerving, ving, but panic isthe bigge biggest st Being los  butpanic killer.   Sit dow down, n, cou count nt to  1 0 0   (slowly),  and get a clear head.  Survival  Survival is  is jus justt a mat matter ter of understanding your problems, considering problems, considering your  your alter alternativ natives, es, and and making  making   logical decisions. B e  rational. 2 .   “Assess  the Situation.”  Take  stock  of yourself and your surroundings.  First,  treat any   injuries. Ignoring  even  small  cuts can lead to  any to   major major problems problems in  in the   woods. Second, provide Second,  provide  for   the  basic necessities: water,  shelter,  fire, food, and  signaling, in that order. that getting ing food, a~1 get  order.   If you   have some  water to drink, a means of gett ~ io out of the   elements,   and a   fire   for for signaling  signaling   and boost boosting ing morale,  morale,   you’re  going tobe fine. through. gh. Where  are you,  where do you  need to get 3 .   ‘Work  o  o n   a   Plan.” Think things throu  Where are to,  and what’s in between? Examine between?  Examine all  available  resources,  resources, and  and decide  whether it’s bestto stay put  putand and  wait  for rescue,  or hike out. 4 .  “Head   to Water”  Everything else   does,so wh  whyy   not you? Besides being the obvio obvious us drinking water, food   providers source  for drinking  water,  lakes  and streams will be greatfood providers.. Remember that the the human human body is a  remarkably  remarkably resilient  resilient machine:  machine: Y o u   can go for  about seven days without days  without food  food  before your jud  judgm gmen entt will begin  begin faltering.  faltering.   Don’t  bother playing catch  fish,  snakes, Jeremiah  Johnson and and tracking  tracking caribou;   catch fish,  snakes, and  and  frogs.   T o   set set snares,  snares, look  for  for  tracks on lakeside  trails  to determine what animals  are in the neighborhood neighborhood animals are and   where’they’re drinking. and  their ir scat to see what they’re eating, an d useit for where’they’re drinking.  Read  the eating, and bait.’ Just a. tip: Don’t mess  with raccoons—they’re awfully nasty.

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with that unchecked power of   attorney, and the thought of it drcwe him himon. on.

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  ometime ometime after  after  I  heard that story a   meeting   was   arranged   with ColonelRowe, wh who o would would bein his   office   at   Fort   Bragg.   I   had hoped   to   meet   Rowe   in   the woods   somewhere   to sha share re   a meal  of fresh-killed snakeand  snakeand cattail  cattail roots, but   when  you’  deal  deal with  the   Army,   you  with the take what  can get. man,   48   years old, He  is  you a compact probably   5   feet  8   or 9. Probably   1 70   or 175 . L evel,  curious  eyes  and a   face  that is friendly,   inte intense,and.shows nse,and.shows the scars scars.. He shakes his  visitor’s hand,  firmly, and offers and  him the best chair. in his his office.  offers him  office. Among  the pictures on his  wall  is one  of  Rowe,  in his dress uniform, sitting in the Oval Office with Richard Nixon. They were discussing the  POWissue,  says  Rowe. “H e  was interested in politics, and andwe we were  interestedinaccountingforthe  guys. Sowemadeaa deal.” Sowemade Is  he still active in the POW  cause? “N o.   I’ m   doing this   instead. This instead.  This   is something positive something  positive I  I can,4o.”. He started the SERE~ograrnin 1981, he   says~At   the time   h : ’ ~ .was   a   civilian, active in active  in the  reserves.   The The   Army had Army  had   no central school   to   teach   survival   and and   the various skills a soldier  would need tomake soldier would it   a s   a   POW   A   reserve military   intelliintelliconducted an  an ad hoc course gence unit gence  unit conducted course   at Fort   Gordon, Gordon, Georgi Georgia, a,   complete with a mock POW   camp and interrogation   sessions.  I t was filmed by  N BC ,   photographed andwritten andwritt en up  b  byy Star  magazine as  magazine  as “Camp Hell—Where Army Tortures  Its GIs.”  The short exercise   put some 20  troopers out of  40   into   the the hospital.  hospital. “That’s when “That’s  when  I   came  back on  active duty,”  says   Rowe,  “and started the  S E RE program. Myjob program.  Myjob was  to  come  up  with an Army-wide Arm y-wide school   that   would would teac teach h  what  they’ without people  had d   to kno know wn  d doing dumb   crap  ha like that.  A   that’s what we’ve done.’ By  w e,  Rowe  means  means himself   himself    and and his  his instructors. He instructors.  He is  intensely   proud  of the men   he rec recrui ruited ted to to hel help p him start start his program.   “They   were  the absolute  best,” he  says.   “ 1   couldn’t  have  have gotten  gotten   them  i if f   I didn’t have didn’t  have  credibility.” He   came   by  it because of a firefight in the Mekong  Delta. The action took place alive in 1963, while John Kennedy   was still stillalive and Presi President. dent. Kennedy’s  solution   to  h  his is problems   in in Vietnam  Vietnam   had had been  been the   Sp Spe ecial   Forces—the Green Forces—the Green  Berets.   Rowe  was~ a  Special   Forces  lieutenant  when  he was captured.   Before   he he escaped,  escaped,   more than five   years   later,   he he   had had seen  seen  three other POWs  die, at  least  one  “because  he didn’t  the  V C   would just believe the believe would  just  let  him die. He didn’t understand  that if he was going to   what live,  it was going to  b e   because   of  what P lea se  turn to page   86 

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