SUR 1001 - General Survival Skills

(1) Enrollment Requirements: None (Open)

(2) Duration: 6 hours

(3) Format: Field

(4) Course Description: This introductory course familiarizes and demonstrates general survival skills necessary to sustain human life in an emergency situation. Designed to provide a broad overview of many skillsets, this course acts as a foundation to build upon with further knowledge and practice. Primary topics include: shelter, water and food procurement, firecraft, survival equipment, and signaling. This course is not an exhaustive period of instruction for survival training, but simply provides basic concepts that are intended to be developed. This course is designed specifically for individuals with little to no prior survival training.

(5) Terminal Learning Objectives (TLO):

Students will be able to:

• TLO 1: Construct basic field shelters utilizing natural materials as well as with basic survival supplies.

• TLO 2: Identify fauna and flora suitable for nutrition in survival scenarios.

• TLO 3: Utilize basic water procurement techniques.

• TLO 4: Understand how to construct fires utilizing natural materials as well as with basic survival equipment.

• TLO 5: Utilize basic survival and signaling equipment effectively.

(6) Course Outline:

• Phase I — Introduction (1 Hour)

  • Instruction: Introduction to survival (scenarios), why survival skills are important, and what is/is not taught in the course.

  • Key Topics: Survival scenarios, survival skills.

• Phase II — Survival Equipment (1 Hour)

  • Instruction: Introduction to basic survival equipment, creating an individual or emergency survival kit, how to tie basic knots, and how to create improvised survival equipment.

  • Key Topics: Equipment, survival kits, knot tying, improvised equipment.

• Phase III — Shelter, Water, & Food (1 Hour)

  • Instruction: How to use immediate and improvised shelters and how to construct shelters from local natural material. Water requirements in survival scenarios, finding and gather water, and how to prepare water. Nutrition requirements in survival scenarios, how to identify edible plants and animals, how to prepare food in a survival scenario, basic cooking in a survival scenario, and how to preserve food.

  • Key Topics: Immediate shelters, improvised shelters, water requirements, water sources, water preparation, nutrition requirements, flora, fauna, food preparation, cooking, food preservation.

• Phase IV — Fire & Signaling (1 Hour)

  • Instruction: How to build and safely utilize a fire. How to signal for help using both manufactured and improvised signaling devises.

  • Key Topics: Elements of fire, fire making methods, emergency signaling.

• Phase V — Practical Exercise (2 Hours)

  • Instruction: Students have the opportunity to request additional instruction or further information on any discussed topic.

  • Practical Application: Students have the opportunity to practice skills and techniques demonstrated during the course.

  • Key Topics: Survival skills.

(7) Completion & Assessment Requirements:

• This course is informational or experiential and does not carry a formal assessment. Credit is awarded based on attendance, participation, and adherence to the Code of Conduct.

(8) Awarded Certificates & Identifiers:

• Certificate of Completion

(9) Provided Gear & Materials:

• Shelter materials

• Fauna and flora handout

• Firecraft tools (if practical application is available)

• Example survival equipment

• Rope

• Example signaling devices

(10) Recommended Gear & Materials (Student):

• Notebook

• Pen or pencil

• Day pack (backpack)

• Lunch and/or snacks

(11) Required Gear and Materials (Student):

• Water source