Welcome to the Old School Survival (OSS) Blog

 

Welcome to the Old School Survival (OSS) Blog

By Michael H. Maggelet
17 October 2018

  Back in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s, the survival movement gained speed via a number of publications, movies, and an occasional TV show. Having survived the dismal Jimmy Carter era, 1980 brought forth a new generation of folks interested in self preservation. To be honest, most of my focus in high school was not on survival, but on girls, not to mention the Cold War and Soviet military history (we didn't have the luxury of the internet, but did have shortwave radio).

  While the early '50's were certainly a time for disaster preparedness with the threat of nuclear conflict, there wasn't much emphasis on a group effort, say for the Mormon church and other groups looking ahead to the future. For those with a military background, the emphasis on self reliance, self defense, and personal liberty went hand in hand with the "back to nature" movement of the 1960's. Another push came from movies such as 1973's  "Jeremiah Johnson" with Robert Redford, and 1980's "The Mountain Men" with Charlton Heston and Brian Keith, which motivated a whole new generation of folks interested in primitive skills.

  In the early '70's as a Boy Scout in Florida, my interests were on basic survival skills and camp craft. There were several military brats in our troop, and we shared many interests and pursued our merit badges in hopes of achieving the ultimate honor- that of an Eagle Scout. While I never was in the Scouts long enough to achieve that goal, I learned a lot from several of the younger Scouts, to include how to cook with a Dutch oven (not too difficult), basic field craft, navigation using the sun, moon, and identifying stars and constellations, and the ultimate test, the Wilderness Survival merit badge. Our troop even had an ingenious way of heating water via copper tubes connected to a large cooking pot. A lot of challenges and fun times.

  After joining the U.S. Air Force in 1980,  my focus was more on my career field, and not much was done towards building a survivalist stockpile (not that we had much of a chance in a nuclear conflict so close to the eastern seaboard). One of the guys in the dorm was a hard core survivalist, and naturally we became good friends as we discussed clothing, equipment, and firearms. I also learned a lot from my room mate, who was from northern California and passed along a lot of info from his time in the mountains. A key motivator for me was the book “Life After Doomsday” by Dr. Bruce D. Clayton, and several books by Ragnar Benson. Also deserving special mention are “Survive” magazine, and “American Survival Guide”. Another great book was “Survive Safely Anywhere- The SAS Survival Manual” by John “Lofty” Wiseman. 

  With an assignment to upstate New York and the proximity of the Adirondaks, we had a great opportunity to experience the wilderness and perfect our outdoor skills. However, our primary concern was relaxation and basic skills, not doomsday prep. Living on a SAC base, I sincerely doubt we had much of a chance surviving the six to ten minute warning time from a Soviet SLBM launch off the US east coast (and a 500 kiloton to 1 megaton burst).

  Over the decades it’s become apparent that much more was needed for individual survival, or survival of a group, to include long term preparedness, and the possibility of “bugging out” during an emergency. Having personally survived a few disasters (hurricanes, air show disaster in Germany, etc), and emerging 21st century threats on US soil and overseas, it became evident that we survivalists (aka “preppers”), have to change our focus to match modern technology and its intrusiveness, and the ever changing political climate and growing extremism.

  Of course, the "survival" movement has always been with us, from prehistory to the modern day, it's up to you to rekindle the spirit.

  Thus, I hope to pass along some skills and insight, along with those of our contributors, ranging from the use of ancient and modern skills, tools, equipment, and techniques, which will hopefully motivate others toward self reliance, independence, self preservation, and personal liberty.

Michael H. Maggelet
Old School Survival (OSS) Blog