The Walking Dead- Crossed: Survival Takeaways

The Walking Dead- Crossed: Survival Takeaways

Water Bottle Filter: For the first time on the show they decided to filter the water that would more than likely kill them! Here is one I made a few months ago. See where I made one of these filters a few months ago (LINK HERE) also here is another water filter I use for filtering larger amounts of water- Tripod Water Filter (LINK HERE)

Water Storage and Movement: I haven't seen a single platypus bag, hydration bladder or other type of collapsible water storage container used to date. If you implement this type of container you will have a durable water container that can carry much more than what they are adding to a water bottle. These containers also work with inline filters such as the sawyer squeeze (See My Product Review HERE) which can nearly any water source into drinkable water.

Three Is Better Than Two: For those who believe they could survive on their own post grid-down, I highly caution you to rethink that strategy as it will involve a lot of luck. One person simply can't run a camp, gather food/water and still provide for 24/7 x 365 security. Now is any three better than any two, NO. You have to cautiously gauge the knowledge,  skills and abilities of anyone you add to your group or face the issues of taking on someone who will hurt the group dynamic or bring the group down (i.e the lying scientist without any other skills)

Medical Training Is A Must: If you are not an EMT or Paramedic, what are you waiting for? This training teaches you the basics of life saving, add in a wilderness medicine course and you will be able to get yourself and others through what could be a very life threatening situation. How many of you can splint a broken bone? Render medicine from plants? Stop severe bleeding? Use a basic kit or items found in nature to render care? Have a basic knowledge of medicine and are able to generally narrow down symptoms to determine the possible source? If the answer is no get out there and get the training you need to survive!

Making An Improvised Stretcher: To piggyback off of the previous topic this is an essential wilderness skill. It can easily be done with a few small trees and some cordage (vine, roots, etc.). The group had access to the fire apparatus which would have contained a roof ladder (instead of the extension ladder she used to provide shade) and pike poles (used to pull down an interior roof) which could have easily been used as the poles along with the wool blanket, tarp or duck tape to make a stretcher to EVAC the wounded patient instead of killing a day waiting around.

Silent Combat: You can invest in the best weapons in the world but in many instances the silent approach will save your life. Have you thought about obtaining an NFA silencer? Training in Krav Maga? Advanced fighting skills using fixed blade knives? How are you going to fight if needed silently? Have you ever shot a weapon in an urban environment without ear protection (don't recommend it without ear protection or a silence). So if you can afford one there have been improvised ones on the show, but I will not go down that road here as it carries with it time in a federal prison. If you don't invest in a silencer ($500.00 or so minimum investment with stamp) I highly recommend a good set of ear protection which filters out high frequency sounds but still allows you to hear others talk.

Tetanus Kills: Do you have good foot protection? Steel or composite toe/steel shank are a must if operating in an urban environment, I wear Matterhorn's with metatarsals on a daily basis and have stepped on many nails and other sharp pieces of metal and have yet to have an issue with these boots. I have dropped various heavy objects on my foot, cut the coating on the boot, walked through rivers, walked through fire (use these for wildland firefighting along with US&R) and have yet to do any damage to my feet. These are expensive boots, but I have abused them for over five years and they will save your feet and with poor foot health you are off your feet and out of the fight.

Trust No One- While this is a little pessimistic view of the world, it is now more than ever true. People generally seem to be self-serving more so today than any point in our history. If it means saving their life or that of a loved one be ready to be sold down the river. Look at life through a near drowning scenario, nearly every time a person who is drowning will struggle and try to push down their rescuer to save themselves. This is why rescuers are aggressive and will knock your butt out if you try to drown them..... we can treat unconscious patients but cant treat someone if we drown in the process. Now before you say they are strangers coming to the rescue, I have seen children drag their parents down and spouses do the same to their significant other. No matter what you think there is a primal desire to survive and we all possess it and will act on it if put in that situation.

Makeshift Fishing Implements: Can you make a net from an old wind breaker or cordage? Can you make a hook from a pop can pull tab or a thorn bush? Have you ever made a primitive fish trap? Survival is more than buying gear! Get out and practice your primitive survival skills, rely on those skills for food gathering and you will go far. As always keep learning, you can never learn too much whenever it comes to your survival.

Cleaning Fish/Game: It's revealing that they are three years in and many still don't know how to clean game (I believe Darrell, Carol, and Rick are the only ones who has been shown killing and processing game in the past). It makes you wonder how in the world they actually survived this long. If you don't practice these skills they can degrade and be lost, thus why I believe in practicing bushcraft/woodcraft as these skills and so many others essential to survival.

Operational Picture/Over-watch: In both operations in this episode an over-watch/sniper should have been deployed.  In the urban environment it would have eliminated the threat vehicle as it approached and while by the road there should have been someone on top of the fire engine to get a better operational picture of possible approaching threats.

 

Conclusions: 

So what are your thoughts on the episode? Did you take any other lessons away from the episode? What tactics would you implement going forward? Do you think any of these individuals would actually still be alive if this were an actual real life scenario? What do you look for to happen next week then the soft touch plan backfires? If you were Rick would you have been more insistent on taking an aggressive action against the group of captors? What other general thoughts do you have about this season and the survival skills shown on the show?

 

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