Survival Skills and More--With a Marine

As a former member of a Marine Corps Sniper Team, I have spent many months in forests, deserts, and unpredictable environments.  The military survival instruction I received was critical to my success and I want to share that knowledge with you! 

This course is geared towards 8-13 year old students (though the content is appropriate for students of all ages).  All students of all ages are welcome to attend!

The ongoing course will include instruction in field craft (forest/desert survival), urban survival, and overall situational awareness.  The topics will cycle back around so you can jump into classes at any point.  Most weeks include a skills lab to do on your own.  All weeks include class notes that I post after each class is completed.  All classes are recorded so you can rewatch if needed or miss a class.  The recordings auto post into the classroom about an hour after the class meeting ends.  This option opens once the student has attended one  live class so Outschool can verify the learner.  The recording posts into the discussion board where the after class notes are found.  

Students may come and go as desired.  The classes auto renew each Sunday.  You may choose to pause classes from the parent page.  This will stop charges and place your student's seat as available for another student who is looking to join the class.  Outschool automatically places your student back in class if a seat is available at the end of the pause period.  If there is no seat available, Outschool will message the parent and withdraw the student from the class which allows the parent to look at the schedule to reenroll in a different day/time.  

The format of this course will be lecture, photographs, diagrams, videos and demonstrations--as well as discussion.  I will engage students by soliciting their experiences and by presenting "what if" scenarios for their consideration.  

During this course of study students will learn to master the following areas:  

How to be safe in any environment/situation.  This requires some forethought and planning on your part. 
 
How to find and treat water for drinking.  This is easy with the right gear and not so easy without but still doable with the right 
knowledge.
                
How to start a fire with, or without, tools.  We will cover both methods. 
              
Situational awareness scenarios and preventative or problem-solving techniques.  This will prevent 90% of potential problems and hazards. 
               
How to find food in the forest, in the desert, in a city, in a rural area, at the dump, or even in the ocean!
                
How to survive in extreme heat (such as a desert setting)
          
Map Reading and Land Navigation
 
How to find your way home no matter where you are.

Survival Tools and Gear you need to know about.

How to make a "Go Bag".  
              
Finding and signaling for help 
            
How to make a shelter anywhere...out of practically anything.
               
5 things you MUST do during a natural disaster (tornado, hurricane, power outage, etc.) 
             
Knot tying.  Yes--Knots are boring.  But if you don't know how to tie a proper knot--you're going to regret it.
             
How to survive frigid temperatures.

I also take student requests for topics they would like to see covered.  
              
For this course, no prior experience or knowledge is required.  My goal is for students to be empowered to overcome any obstacle or situation they may face in the wilderness.  

My teaching style is casual, humorous, friendly, positive, and socially neutral.  I understand students come from many various backgrounds.  I want the students in my class to be prepared to survive and thrive if things go bad--or if they experience a difficult situation.  I want to share my experience and training with them so they can take care of themselves and their loved ones.  With the know how presented in this class, they will be able to do so.

Students will be encouraged to ask questions or seek clarification at any point during the instruction.  Such interaction is the best way for this specialized knowledge to be understood and absorbed.  

Each week we will focus on one of the above topics so students may join the class at any point in the rotation.  All classes in the same week will cover the same topics which allows transfers between classes as needed for schedule changes as seats allow.  

Students who cycle through all the classes can repeat classes which will solidify knowledge they have already learned.  I recommend 2 cycles to master the material.  I currently have developed 18 months of curriculum before it repeats.  

Current topic cycle for -April 2025:
Week of:

4/7  Scenario- Problem solving class polar bear/deer attack
4/14 Fire Cube 
4/21 Prevention 
4/28 Knots 
5/5  Scenario- Problem solving land mines 

I solicit friendly participation from all students and have found that even the most stand-offish students eventually join in the weekly conversations with enthusiasms.  

I allow time during and after class for student questions, as well as sharing of things going on in their lives.  I typically go about 5-10 minutes beyond the class time scheduled to allow for this short social time in addition to topic coverage but students are free to log off if they need to go to another class.  

**Late/Missed Class Policy:  All classes are recorded and posted to the classroom discussion board to allow for viewing after we meet in the cases of a missed class.  Refunds are limited and on a case-by-case basis.  

Tags: 
Survival class 
Survival training 
Survival school 
Survival basics 
Survival education
Survival skills 
#superstar