How to fight for life with nature
The process of survival implies the presence of enormous willpower, the very desire to survive, to remain alive, which in itself implies the existence and manifestation of a person’s greater or lesser creative abilities.
There are many different opinions about what is meant by human creativity. However, in one all are unanimous: imagination, fantasy are characteristic features of any creative abilities.
Fantasy is the only ability of a person to help him resist the arguments of "common sense", which is often armed with the only argument: this can not be because this can never be.
The extent to which a person has a developed imagination is usually judged by his ability to offer unusual, original ideas. All of you know well how difficult it is to come up with something truly interesting and new. It turns out that the blame for everything ... habit, we are too well aware of familiar objects for a long time, their usual sizes and weight, we remember where and how they are usually used. Such "frozen" ideas about familiar subjects are called psychological inertia in science. Like any inertia, it pushes us towards the most simple, obvious solutions.
Recall the old tale. The princess is languishing in a tall stone tower. Having overcome all obstacles, a brave young man reached the foot of the tower. But it is still too early to rejoice in salvation: there are no doors in the tower. How can a young man get to the princess's window and give her a rope ladder?
What will change in our life if paper or glass suddenly disappears, if all the clocks stop at once? It is enough to “subtract” buttons, zippers and shoelaces, and our appearance will immediately change. You can "subtract" the technical system - the car - and get transport without cars, or some kind of subsystem, say wheels (car without wheels), or transport subsystem (imagine the world without transport !!!).
Such a fantastic subtraction makes it possible to reveal the hidden properties of the remaining objects and use them instead of those that you have subtracted. In Robinson Crusoe, thrown on a desert island, there are only items saved from the dead ship: a gun, tools, a few grains. Robinson still survived on the island. And if you subtract everything except for any one thing?
Imagine the modern Robinson, who sailed on a ship with a load of hats. Then everything is like Defoe's: a storm, a shipwreck, a miraculous rescue - huge waves cast ashore only a multitude of hats, panamas, caps, helmets, and earflaps. What to do? After all, he needs food, shelter, dishes, clothes, weapon - all that we ruthlessly took away. But Robinson is not discouraged. Experience, creative activity and, finally, fantasy come to the rescue. No shovels? But there is a helmet with which to dig the ground. No ropes? He tears the strings from the earflaps. Robinson fills with boxes from under the caps and builds a comfortable house out of them. With the help of a delicious straw hat, he lures a wild goat into a hole dug with a helmet, and then tames it.
Robinson can use not only the hats themselves, but also their parts: the visor of a cap can serve as a spoon or knife, and knitted hats can be dissolved into threads and knit any clothes from them. Or another headdress: flight helmet. It has glass, all the properties of which the inventive Robinson can use. The glass is transparent - here are the windows in the house; glass is sharp - knife and razor appeared.
Robinson, armed with the "Robinson Crusoe Method," may be in a better position than its literary predecessor.
Without such consideration of objects from the point of view of their various properties, a creative approach to solving problems of vital activity under extreme conditions is generally impossible. The main thing to remember is that in the objects around us there are a lot of unused properties and opportunities.
If some hidden by the method of Robinson, the hidden property of a familiar object is considered as the main property, the role of this object in the world around us will change dramatically. In the story of A. Azimov, Lost in Vesta, the heroes find themselves in a critical situation: the surviving fragment of a spacecraft is located near a saving asteroid, but in order to move from the satellite orbit, you need to have some kind of engine. The heroes have at their disposal a large supply of food and a huge cistern with drinking water, but there is only enough air for three days. It would seem that the heroes are doomed to death, but not without reason they say, necessity is the mother of invention.
One of the heroes, after analyzing the hidden properties of the items at their disposal, remembered that a water jet could push something away. He made a hole in one of the walls of the tank, and the rocket engine quietly began to push the wreck to the desired Vesta.
There is nothing exaggerated in this fantasy. Even modern astronauts, before flying into space, pass a thorny path along the paths and wilds of survival. A modern person, regardless of the planned actions and route of movement in terrestrial and unearthly space, timing and geographic location, must be ready for action in an emergency situation, without communication with the outside world, when you can and should only rely on yourself. For a person in an extreme situation due to unforeseen circumstances, such as an airplane accident, a ship wreck, the process of survival is mainly a psychological issue, and the most important factor, in this case, is undoubtedly the desire to survive. Regardless of whether the intelligence officer is alone or in a group, he may, and most likely, must have emotional factors - feelings due to fear, despair, loneliness and boredom. In addition to these mental factors, the desire to survive is influenced by possible injuries, pain, fatigue, hunger and thirst and, finally, apathy.
Human life has always been fraught with danger. It was not by chance that our distant ancestors, making the first steps along the path of evolution, learned to use stone not only as a tool of labor, but also as a weapon.
The struggle for existence forced people to cling to life by hook or by crook, to adapt to any adversity, no matter how hard they were, to boldly go to meet dangers. The desire to carry out the seemingly impossible, penetrating the whole history humanity helps to understand the incredible efforts made by people in different parts of the world in order to adapt to the harsh natural conditions. Man has always had the ability to adapt to the natural and artificial environment - from primitive hunters to space travelers of the end of our century, mobilizing all his physical and mental capabilities.
It is for servicemen of reconnaissance and special formations whose life is constantly fraught with dangers that preliminary training, both physical and psychological, is very important. Any soldier, regardless of the profession, leaving the long-distance route, must necessarily go through a preliminary full course of adaptation, as a result of which his body gradually acquires resistance to certain environmental factors that were previously absent and, thus, is able to fully adapt to the conditions of the upcoming combat area .
Most people and animals, being in extreme situations, from which there is no way out, do not die, but acquire one or another degree of adaptation to them and save their lives until better times. Such stressful situations - long periods of hunger, cold, natural disasters, interspecific and intraspecific conflicts - are always widely represented in the natural habitat of animals.
In the social environment of a human being, the same scheme operates. For a relatively short period of its history, humanity passed through periods of slavery, serfdom, world wars, but did not degrade, demonstrating a high efficiency of adaptation to extreme situations. Of course, the cost of such an adaptation is unjustifiably high, but these indisputable facts inevitably lead to the conclusion that the body must have sufficiently effective specialized mechanisms that limit the stress response and prevent stress damage and, most importantly, save life and health.
In general, all this corresponds to the well-known everyday observation - people who have passed through the harsh life tests acquire a certain resistance to environmental damaging factors, i.e. vital proof in any extreme situation.
The natural environment that surrounds us imposes additional requirements on measures to ensure the vital activity and survival of personnel. A scout for special forces, due to some circumstances, may be far from supply bases, under the influence of different, often unfavorable (destabilizing) geographically and geographically and climatically conditions of a region.
In this regard, the requirements of ensuring the biological reliability of a reconnaissance intelligence officer, providing for the possibility of eliminating biological failures (body failures) and catastrophic errors (loss of combat capacity due to incorrect actions) during the combat mission, are very important. Such requirements are developed on the basis of an analysis of the functioning of people under conditions of complete autonomization, taking into account the relevant recommendations, modern human physiology, psychology, and special medicine.
Let's look at the purpose and main tasks of life support equipment. Special means of life support are designed to ensure the functioning of special intelligence officers operating in various, incl. extreme environmental conditions.
Maintenance of the life of the formations and bodies of the Special Forces Command of the RF Armed Forces, including special purpose reconnaissance groups, is a complex set of measures for:
- maintaining high morale and physical condition;
- proper orientation on different terrain;
- overcoming natural and artificial obstacles;
- timely and qualified self-help and mutual assistance;
- provision of food, incl. using the nutritional properties of various plants, obtaining and eating meat of wild animals, birds, fish;
- provision of drinking water, incl. mined on site. Successful solution of emerging problems in extreme situations of autonomous existence depends largely on the physical and psychological preparedness of personnel, their knowledge of the physical and geographical characteristics of the region, and the correct provision and solution of biomedical issues.
In this regard, the main task solved by special means of life support is to ensure the vital activities of the special forces units of the Russian Armed Forces, including special purpose reconnaissance groups when they are in different environmental conditions, divided into a number of private or special tasks for an intelligence officer (special forces officer):
1. The tasks of improving (improving) the physical condition:
- ensuring accelerated training of muscle groups in order to improve performance and resistance to prolonged physical exertion;
- ensuring accelerated recovery of performance after exposure to physical and emotional (mental) loads of medium and high intensity;
- removal of pain syndromes for bruises, injuries, wounds and other injuries of the soft and hard tissues of the human body.
2. Objectives of improvement (improvement; mental state:
- ensuring a high level of psychological preparation;
- Strengthening the will, perseverance;
- the mastering of the skills of mastering the methods of auto-training;
- ensuring the rapid withdrawal of the human body from the state of shock (in case of external influence of the pain or mental barrier).
3. Objectives to ensure a high level of field training:
- the training of personnel in extreme actions
conditions of autonomous existence, incl. overcoming water obstacles, mountain slopes, glaciers, rocky areas, hummocks, desert and semi-desert areas, taiga, jungle (depending on the region), organization of camps and bivouacs;
- elimination of consequences (exit from) extreme situations, such as a dip in the water or a crack in the ice, a sudden natural climatic impact, severe frost, wind, heat, hail, rain, dust storm, storm, etc.).
4. Tasks of providing food and drinking water:
- provision of a wearable supply of food and drinking water;
- provision of food and drinking water from local sources;
- ensuring the possibility of fast cooking in liquid and hot;
- use of vegetation in food.
5. The tasks of life support in the conditions of uncomfortable exposure to the external environment;
- ensuring the protection of the human body and its individual parts from exposure to low and high air temperature, moisture (rain, snow), direct solar radiation, reflected sunlight in snowy areas, etc .;
- providing protection from the effects of blood-sicking insects (midges, midges, mosquitoes, flies, mites, etc.).
6. The tasks of navigation and orientation (scouts on the ground.
7. Communication and signaling tasks.
8. Tasks of successfully solving medical and environmental problems:
- rendering the first (pre-medical) self-help and mutual assistance for injuries, injuries, bruises, Cold and high-temperature (burn) injuries, food poisoning with animal and plant poisons, bites of poisonous animals and insects, the occurrence of colds or parasitic and infectious diseases;
- performance of sanitary and hygienic procedures;
- elimination of the possibilities of manifestation of psychological incompatibility between people and related excesses.
The solution of the considered tasks should be carried out with the help of special means of life support, which can include the following groups of means in its membership:
1. Mechanical and electromechanical simulators. These funds traditionally provide solutions to the problems of improving the physical condition of people, developing strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination, and developing special skills.
2. Technical means of biomedical (physiological) purposes. This is a class of tools that includes:
- electro-neurostimulators for preliminary training of muscle groups in order to increase endurance and resistance to prolonged physical exertion, relieve fatigue and "relieve" feelings of pain in injuries, bruises, fractures and other injuries, as well as pains of the neurological type;
- semi-automatic and automatic devices for determining the functional state of a person, which can be used to determine the need for the use and type of electrical stimulation used, as well as for the targeted selection of intelligence officers (special forces) to solve specific problems in specific conditions;
- electrostimulators of training type, which allow you to accelerate the development of skills of specific actions.
3. Equipments, including trousers and jackets of various types and purposes, camouflage and overalls, underwear for various geographic and climatic zones and seasons, shoes, socks, gloves, hats, belts, vests.
These means can also include duffel bags, backpacks, bednets, tents, capes, camouflage nets, sleeping bags, mattresses (bedding), hammocks.
4. Food in the form of wearable stocks (rations, rations).
5. Special devices for carrying water supplies, filtering and purifying water from local water sources, for building fire in special conditions (at low temperatures, high atmospheric pressure, high humidity, strong wind, etc.), for quick cooking from portable supplies and products of local fauna and flora, including with cooking (frying, boiling, drying, drying), for catching animals and fish, to attract fish and birds to the place of fishing).
6. Specific tools in the form of hacksaws for metal, wood, files of different profiles, drills with drills of various diameters, knives and hatchets, blades, electric lamps of various types.
7. Medicines (pharmacological chemicals). Technical means of signaling, including various kinds of lighting and signaling rockets, combined signal cartridges, flashing beacon lights.
9. Technical means of navigation and orientation, including compasses, theodolites (or compass), thermometers, barometers, radio navigation aids and objects of orientation. And yet, how to behave in extreme situations? A kind of reference can serve the English word "Survival" ("Survival"), which contains tips that a person who has fallen into an extreme situation should adhere to in the following sequence:
S - (Size up the situation) - assess the situation, recognize the danger, look for a way out of the hopeless situation;
U - (Undue haste makes waste) - excessive haste hurts, but decisions need to be made quickly;
I - (Remember where you are) - remember where you are, determine your location (standing point);
V - (Vanquish fear and panic) - overcome fear and panic, constantly control yourself, be persistent;
i - (Improvise) - improvise, be creative;
V - (Value living) - cherish your means of existence, really appreciate the limits of your capabilities;
A - (Act like the natives) - behave like a local, know how to evaluate people;
L - (Learn basic skills) - learn to do everything yourself, try to be independent and independent.
Nature, with all its natural disasters, unexpected manifestations of power and might, climatic phenomena, "whims" and other natural "vagaries" has been and remains threatening at all times.
Any way out of nature is full of difficulties and risks, therefore preliminary special preparation, knowledge of methods of orientation and the corresponding equipment are required. The manifestation of frivolity and disregard for the organization, the choice of route, equipment, knowledge of orientation lead to expensive retribution.
For intelligence officers (special forces), located in different regions of the country, the planet, orientation is one of the important conditions for the maintenance of life and the successful achievement of goals.
Orientation on the terrain can be carried out on the map, compass, heavenly bodies, as well as on various local signs and objects.
Orientation on the map and the compass is not very difficult. But intelligence units and special purpose groups can be in conditions where knowledge of nature, the ability to find the right direction, to anticipate changes in the weather are crucial when there is no map or compass. Therefore, when preparing to perform a task, it is necessary to pay special attention to imparting solid skills to the basic techniques, rules and methods of orientation to the terrain without a map and compass.
The situation often requires intelligence officers (special forces) to be able to make marches for a considerable distance, accurately navigate and move quickly in the most diverse terrain at any time of the year, with dramatic changes in meteorological conditions, as well as the ability to overcome obstacles in the way.
The route of motion due to sudden circumstances may significantly change or deviate from the previously planned. And then you will need to make the necessary adjustments to the route of movement and accurately reach the intended area (point). All this can be achieved only by daily training and gaining experience.
Important is the ability to read traces. To correctly read the tracks left by a person, an animal or various means of transportation is primarily to determine at what time the tracks were left, how much a person or transport units passed and in what direction. This difficult task is complicated by the fact that traces need to be read quickly, because sometimes there will be no time for a detailed introduction to the trail. When reading traces, maximum concentration of attention is necessary, the ability to distinguish false traces from real ones. The ability to read traces needs to be developed through persistent training of your attention and visual acuity in everyday life.
The intelligence officer (special forces), who owns the skill of a tracker, usually has a better developed observation, visual memory, he is better and faster than others in the environment, more quickly perceives the environment, better understands complex natural phenomena, therefore we will consider orientation techniques that use the simplest devices and auxiliary random objects, various intelligence signs,
ways and methods of movement and overcoming obstacles; basics of tracing.
We will present the national units of measurement of some countries, as well as various tests (verbal, numerical, visual-spatial) for training reaction, observation and ingenuity. Since we spend most of our lives in populated areas, we will consider issues of survival in urban environments, as well as in water bodies. Sea and river expanses, water - always attracted people. But sometimes a person forgets that how gentle and affectionate a sea, a river (water) is, so ruthless to people who are disrespectful towards them.
Knowledge, skills and the ability to survive in extreme environmental conditions in various physiographic regions of the world are primarily of practical importance to ensure the successful execution of the combat tasks of the reconnaissance (Special Forces) officer and the preservation of their combat effectiveness. At the same time, issues of survival in extreme conditions are also important for pre-conscription and draft youth preparing for the defense of the Fatherland and service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and, in particular, in the Special Forces - in elite formations and bodies.
The practice of survival in extreme situations is relevant for all citizens of Russia and the planet Earth, without exception.
The literature devoted to the problems of survival in extreme situations is quite extensive, but it is either scattered around difficult-to-access special editions (for example, manuals on combat use of troops), or in articles of various profiles, and choosing the most necessary from there is not an easy task.
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