V  alue living A  ct like the natives L  earn basic skills S  — Size up the situation by considering yourself, the country, and the enemy. In considering yourself, hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. Get to a safe, comfortable place as quickly as possible. Once there, look things over, think, and form a plan. Your fear will lessen and your confidence will increase.  Be calm!  Take it easy until you know where you are and where you are going. Part of your fear may come from being in a strange country; therefore, try to determine where you are by landmarks,  compass  directions,  or  by  recalling intelligence  information  passed  on  to  you  by  your leaders. In  considering  the  enemy,  put  yourself  in  the enemy’s shoes. What would you do? Watch the enemy’s habits and routines. Base your plan on your observation. Remember, you know where the enemy is; the enemy does not know where you are. U  — Undue haste makes waste. Don’t be too eager to move. That will make you careless and impatient. If you begin to take unnecessary risks, you have a good chance of being captured. Don’t lose  your  temper;  doing  so  may  cause  you  to  stop thinking. When something irritating happens, stop, take a deep breath, relax, and start over. Face  the  fact  that  danger  does  exist.  To  try  to convince yourself otherwise only adds to the danger. R  — Remember where you are. You may give yourself away because you’re used to acting in a certain way. Doing “what comes naturally” could be the tip off that you don’t belong there. V  — Vanquish fear and panic. To feel fear is normal and necessary. It’s nature’s way of giving you that extra shot of energy just when you need it. Learn to recognize fear for what it is and control it. Look carefully at a situation and determine if your fear is justified. When you investigate, you will usually find many of your fears unreal. When injured and in pain, you’ll have difficulty controlling fear. Pain sometimes turns fear into panic and causes you to act without thinking. Loneliness can also cause panic. It can lead to hopelessness, thoughts of suicide,  carelessness,  even  capture  or  surrender. Recognizing these signs helps you overcome panic. I  — Improvise. You  can  always  do  something  to  improve  the situation. Figure out what you need, take stock of what you have, and then improvise. Learn to put up with new and  unpleasant  conditions.  Keeping  your  mind  on SURVIVAL will help. Don’t be afraid to try strange foods. V  — Value living. Conserve your health and strength. Illness or injury will greatly reduce your chances of survival and escape. Hunger, cold, and fatigue lower your efficiency and stamina, make you careless, and increase the possibility of  capture.  Knowing  that  will  make  you  especially careful because you’ll realize your low spirits are the result of your physical condition and not the danger. Remember your goal of getting out alive. Concentrating on  the  future—on  the  time  when  you  will  return home—will help you value living during your survival situation. A  — Act like the natives. “At a railroad station, there were German guards,” one World War II male escapee related. “I had an urgent need to go to the rest room. The only rest room was an exposed  one  in  front  of  the  station.  I  felt  too embarrassed to relieve myself in front of all passersby. I walked  throughout  the  entire  town,  occasionally stopping and inquiring if a rest room were available.” This man was detected and captured because he failed to accept the customs of the natives. When you are  in  a  foreign  country,  accept  and  adopt  native behavior to avoid attracting attention to yourself. L  — Learn basic skills. The best life insurance is to make sure you learn the techniques and procedures for survival so thoroughly that they become automatic. That increases the chances that you will do the right thing, even in panic. What you know about survival could save your life. Be inquisitive 15-16 Student Notes: