A USMC survival kit

[sv_libertarian]

Copied straight from the USMC Winter 2002 Survival Manual. I kept all formatting and bolded text where present. Do we see that is not included in this kit? Sometimes I think there is too much of an emphasis to include a gun and a crap load of ammo in a survival kit. I suspect it appeals to some inner Rambo instinct in some. Anyway, this is an interesting read.

Your survival kit does not need to be elaborate. You only need functional items that will meet your needs and a case to hold them. The case might be a first aid case, an ammunition pouch, or another suitable case. This case should be-
(1) Water repellent or waterproof.
(2) Easy to carry or attach to your body.
(3) Suitable to accept various sized items.
(4) Durable.


When constructing a survival kit, you should have the following components:

(1) Fire starting items.
(2) Water procurement items.
(3) Food procurement items.
(4) Signaling items.
(5) First aid items.
(6) Shelter items.


2. ITEMS CONTAINED WITHIN EACH COMPONENT
a. Fire Starting Equipment
(1) Matches.
(2) Magnifying glass.
(3) Flint and Steel.
(4) Lighter.
(5) Potassium Permanganate, with container of sugar or anti-freeze.
(6) Prepackaged Tinder.
-Commercially Manufactured
-Cotton Balls and Petroleum Jelly
b. Water Procurement Item.
(1) Water Disinfecting Chemicals.
-Iodine Tablets
-Betadine Solution
-Iodine Solution
-Bleach
(2) Metal Container. (Serves for boiling water)
-Canteen Cup
-Survival Kit Container
-Any Suitable can that contained no petroleum products.
2
(3) Water Carrying Items.
-Canteen
-Plastic Bag
-Plastic/Metal/Glass Container which contained no petroleum products.
c. Food Procurement Items.
(1) Fish.
-Various sized hooks
-Various sized sinkers/weights
-Metal leaders and swivels
-Small weighted jigs
-Fishing line
-Think about the size of fish for that environment when selecting weights
and sizes.
(2) Game.
-Snares
*Commercially Manufactured
*Aircraft Cable
*Tie Wire/ Comm Wire
-Bait
*MRE Cheese Spread, Jelly, or Peanut Butter Package
*Fishing Bait
-550 Cord for Gill Net and Trap Construction
-Engineer/Marking Tape
-Sling shot rubber and pouch
-Large treble hooks
d. Signaling Items
(1) Day
-Mirror
-Whistle
-Pyrotechnics (Smoke, Pen Flares)
-Air Panels/ Brightly colored material
(2) Night.
-Pyrotechnics (Pen Flares, Star Clusters)
-Lights (Flashlight, Strobe, Chemlight)
-Whistle
-Buzz Saw

e. Shelter Items
(1) Cordage.
- 550 Cord.
- Wire.
-Communication wire
-Tie wire
(2) Finger Saw.
(3) Sewing Kit with Needles for construction/repair of clothing.
(4) Tentage.
-poncho
-space blanket
(5) Candle.
f. First Aid Items
(1) Band-Aids.
-Steristrips
-Adhesive Tape
-Non-stick pads, 4x4’s, Gauze, Battle Dressings
-Muslin Bandage
-Butter flies w/ Super glue
(2) Ointments.
-Burn
-Anti-septic
(3) Miscellaneous.
-Salt
-Sugar
-Eye Wash
-Alcohol prep pads
-Suture Kit
-Scalpel
-Vile of Yarrow
g. Miscellaneous items.
(1) Fingernail clippers.

(2) Compass.
(3) Notebook with pen or pencil.
(4) Wood eye screws and nails.
(5) Surgical tubing.
Note: It is assumed that the Marine is always carrying a high quality fixed bladed knife, a
multi-tool knife, and a sharpening stone.

[larmus]

and probably assumed he is carrying a side arm and primary weapon...

[sv_libertarian]

Originally Posted by larmus

and probably assumed he is carrying a side arm and primary weapon...

No, they never state that, and it is plain that when equipment is assumed to be carried, that they mention it.

They assume the marine has a fixed blade knife, a multitool, and a sharpening stone.

[larmus]

0h ok

[Mooseman684]

What are food Procurement Items ???
Mine is a Gun !

[thrillbilly]

Sure I have a pack like that...and I keep it right next to my rifle. I don't care what Marines do...my Army Dad learned me to use a gun! LOL

[Ninja Piper]

Excellent list! I will definitely be revising the contents of my bug out kit!

[sv_libertarian]

The point here, is not every kit has to include enough firepower to fight the 2nd World War. The manual I took this from is about Arctic Survival, which presumes lost in the woods or tundra way up north. This kit and a blade may very well be what is on a person at the time. Anything extra would be a bonus of course.

And when you consider the standard 5.56 NATO rifle, and a 9mm pistol that is again standard, those are not guns that I would choose for being lost in the arctic with.

The idea behind posting this was to get people thinking about *not* having their guns, ammo and combat inspired loadout.

[sv_libertarian]

Originally Posted by Mooseman684

What are food Procurement Items ???
Mine is a Gun !

stuff off this list according to the manual...

(2) Game.
-Snares
*Commercially Manufactured
*Aircraft Cable
*Tie Wire/ Comm Wire
-Bait
*MRE Cheese Spread, Jelly, or Peanut Butter Package
*Fishing Bait
-550 Cord for Gill Net and Trap Construction
-Engineer/Marking Tape
-Sling shot rubber and pouch
-Large treble hooks

[ke4sky]

This link has photos of the issue kit if you wish to look it over:

USMC Survival Kit

[thrillbilly]

A gun doesn't make me Rambo...I view a firearm as a tool...a very useful tool. I'd rather have the ability to shoot game AND trap game.

BTW...aint Rambo famous for using a Knife and Bow? Not a Gun? Correct me if I'm wrong here.

[oldjarhead]

Funny, I served 25 years in the Corps and my survival kit consisted of a rifle, ammo, bayonet, shelter half, blanket, clean set of clothing, canteen with cup, and compass; and a KaBar. Some of us carried a sewing kit for whatever purpose we needed it for; good for mending clothing and stitching up wounds.
Oh yeah, we had a compression bandage on our cartridge belt.
As Thrillbilly said...we learned how to shoot for food. Survival is to do what you can with what you have at hand.
Don't think for a second that a military person will willingly give up his weapon and ammo for a little packet of goodies...these are of primary interest in staying alive during an emergency.
You go ahead and try to survive on your little packet of goodies without a weapon...I'll keep my weapon and ammo thank you.
Looks to me like there is alot of civilian influence on the military these days.

[sv_libertarian]

Good grief. I never said do without a weapon, or limit to a small amount of stuff. Rather this was directed towards people who think the first step towards survival is a battle rifle and several hundred rounds. Nor was I equating carrying a gun with a survival kit as a Rambo tactic, but rather ONCE AGAIN those who need to go Tommy Tactical for a wilderness or urban survival kit. So much discussion about survival kits ends up going way beyond what is practical for a person on the go to carry, or assumes the need to have a battle rifle and a zillion rounds. I keep a decent BOB that I can comfortably carry, and my 6" Ruger Security Six, which as immediate grab and go. If I'm in the woods I have a small kit similar to that described, and the same pistol.

Entirely different game if the Zombies come, which I think is what some folks prefer to focus on. If my point here still isn't clear... well I'm guessing English isn't a first, or even second language.

[oldjarhead]

Originally Posted by sv_libertarian

The idea behind posting this was to get people thinking about *not* having their guns, ammo and combat inspired loadout.

You're quite clear.

I doubt anyone on this forum is eluding to carry more ammo than what may be needed for the mission or activity at hand, nor a large arsenal of weaponry. Neither does one need to have an extensive pre-stocked survival kit with all the items listed be it USMC or USA.
I totally agree with your assessment of the 5.56 and 9mm as survival arms but if that's all one has at hand, it will have to do. I'd prefer a .308 (or.30/06) and a .45
Heck, we used safety pins as fish hooks; worked fairly well. Of course we weren't fishing for salmon either.

Yeah, Thrillbilly, Rambo was an archer and his arrows had HE heads...not real good for hunting...of course on the other hand one would never have to worry about field dressing his game. LOL

[larmus]

sv libertarian, no one has said anything about haveing lots of battle rifles and being loaded down with a bazillion rounds... its just in any type of survival aplication i.e. having to grab your b-o-b and go we all will have some sort of rifle and handgun that will come with us, you even said that you grab your b-o-b and your Ruger security six(revolver right) when you go... and i would figure you have at least 50rnds in your b-o-b and speed loaders on your belt. i have a bob with all that stuff, give or take some items since i live in the dessert, but i also have a box of 50rnds .45 and a 25rnds of 12g on a belt in my b-o-b... so no one is making light of what you posted, it is good stuff and imgoing to recheck my b-o-b list against this one and see if i can incorparate it in to my b-o-b.

[wunhunglo]

What no condoms?? I thought that they were the first things to put in your survival pack! (plain, unlubricated, unflavored; they can hold over a litre of water and take very little space)
You can even wear it on your head & keep your hair & ears dry in the pouring rain! ("ground control to major Tom.....")

[SwedeSteve]

Isn't the normal habitat for a Marine the beach ?? He must of lost his compass to end up in the Arctic... ROFLMAO !! Just giving OJH a ribbing.

Good list to bounce yours off of. Thanks sv l !! I think the intent was what you might need to survive without a weapon. I taught survival in the Army. Both summer and winter.

If it's winter in the arctic, you can leave the fishing stuff at home unless it's ice-fishing gear, lol !! Personally, I'm staying away from frozen bodies of water until late in the winter.

Without a weapon, your primary food source is going to come from traps and snares. Think birds, hares,and squirrels. GI issue tripwire works great, is cheap, and doesn't take up much space. Run a trapline in a circular shape out and around your shelter, checkng it each morning and evening.

And yes Wun, condoms are a great item to carry. Wether you are in a survival mode, or not !!

Again, thanks sv l for reminding us that we should always be looking to improve what we have and carry !!

[oldjarhead]

[QUOTE=SwedeSteve;1010304]Isn't the normal habitat for a Marine the beach ?? He must of lost his compass to end up in the Arctic... ROFLMAO !! Just giving OJH a ribbing.
QUOTE]

One of the coldest nights I ever spent was on a beach on Mindoro Island in the Philippines during a mid-July exercise. That ocean breeze was quite cold and the only way to keep warm was to dig into the sand...sorta like layng in a grave but it worked.

[SwedeSteve]

Yep, we dig snow trenches to do the same.

[oldjarhead]

Originally Posted by SwedeSteve

Yep, we dig snow trenches to do the same.

Yep...amazing how well they work. My Corpsman and I dug a snow pit during cold weather training and were surprised how warm it was. One of my NCO's made hmself a snow cave but wouldn't sleep in it for fear of it falling in on him.