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Did you ever attend Outward Bound training?


Wilbur

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7 minutes ago, wilbur said:

Today, it is marketed more as an adventure holiday whereas, when I went, it was more about developing survival skills.   Have you ever been in an actual survival situation?  

Not really.  I referenced before being without supplies for several days but we had enough food & water for about 1/2 the time we were out there. Shit happens...

I have spent considerable time in the field., land nav, water training & such.  Typical Army stuff which a lot of the outward bound stuff is based on.

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The navy throws you into a swimming pool with all your clothes and shoes on and the guys with long poles keep you from getting to the edge to keep from drowning.  Then they send you to fire fighting school and set you on fire.  After that they put you in a simulated sinking ship (it's really sinking but it's in a pool so they can raise it and do it again) and try to drown you again but give you the tools to stop the water coming in if you're good enough.

If you are then placed in the submarine service they kick you out of a chamber 100' down with no breathing apparatus and watch to see if you bob to the surface.  You might think that the people doing this are scared to death but screaming is what they teach you to do so your lungs don't burst as the pressure drops on the way to the surface.  They do this in a special tower filled with water so the bodies don't float away in the open ocean.

I don't know if these things count as survival situations though.

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1 hour ago, BuffJim said:

How long are the outward bound trips?

When I did them, 21 days.  I don't know what they are these days.  

edit:  OK, I just looked.  They have everything from 7 day to 21 day courses.  17 and 21 day courses give high school credits.  There is even a Toronto Urban Expedition course for LGTBQ2... youth. 

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Definitely not.  OB is something that rich kids are able to enjoy.

Never been in a survival situation.  I ran low on supplies on a backpack trip once.   My husband spent the night out in a park one time.  They ran out of light and energy.  They had to sleep on the ground in their bike clothes.  I think there was some huddling that night, but the three guys rarely speak of that part of the trip.  LOL 

Luckily, they had a lighter. They built a little fire before all the cuddling.  Ambiance.  

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11 minutes ago, late said:

As a former backpacker, I loved Outward Bound. Loved it!

They would do their silly stunts, and that would innoculate the participants, so they wouldn't clutter up my woods.

I know.. all those silly stunts I did again in military training and actually put to use later in life.  Silly OB. 

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23 hours ago, wilbur said:

Today, it is marketed more as an adventure holiday whereas, when I went, it was more about developing survival skills.   Have you ever been in an actual survival situation?  

Yes.  I regularly took the D train from the last stop in the Bronx to mid-town Manhattan during a non-rush hour.  I was lucky to get out alive.

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On 11/9/2019 at 2:59 PM, wilbur said:

Today, it is marketed more as an adventure holiday whereas, when I went, it was more about developing survival skills.   Have you ever been in an actual survival situation?  

Survival situation?  Yeah, I got lost in the woods on Wednesday.  I didn't know if I'd make it back to my car before they locked the park gates at dusk - 5 pm these days!  I finally found my way out and exited the park with 20 minutes to spare.  I survived!

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On 11/9/2019 at 5:28 PM, maddmaxx said:

The navy throws you into a swimming pool with all your clothes and shoes on and the guys with long poles keep you from getting to the edge to keep from drowning.  Then they send you to fire fighting school and set you on fire.  After that they put you in a simulated sinking ship (it's really sinking but it's in a pool so they can raise it and do it again) and try to drown you again but give you the tools to stop the water coming in if you're good enough.

If you are then placed in the submarine service they kick you out of a chamber 100' down with no breathing apparatus and watch to see if you bob to the surface.  You might think that the people doing this are scared to death but screaming is what they teach you to do so your lungs don't burst as the pressure drops on the way to the surface.  They do this in a special tower filled with water so the bodies don't float away in the open ocean.

I don't know if these things count as survival situations though.

No wonder you are so cranky. :D

 

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28 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

No wonder you are so cranky. :D

 

I loved that shit man.  I was a red cross trained lifeguard before I went into the service.  I was out of my clothes and shoes in a blink and spent my time swimming around helping other guys and trying to pull the guys with the poles into the pool.  Thankfully there were no serious swimmers like seals in the instructor corps. They were a bit pissed.  Fire fighting school was intense.  They teach you how to put out oil fires with water.  You actually get to go into rooms that are on fire while a second hose team sprays fog on you from their position behind you so you don't catch fire.  These were fun times.

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I used to teach Search and Rescue classes... I got to do lots of survival training for 2 weeks at a time.. 

Best time I had was following the class and eating eggs and bacon in the morning while they foraged for food. :)
Worst part is watching a complete idiot trying to start a fire! 

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