Survival

(Certified Survival Kits)

Survival Kits

Daniel Boone was once asked if he had ever been lost. His reply was, "I've never been lost, but there have been several days at a time that I did not know where I was. Whether you are lost or just don't know where you are, COULD YOU MAKE IT?

In Troop 204, and in many other Troops, "Scouting is Outing". Against all of the rules, you get separated from the Troop on a hike. Maybe, it is accidental, you just weren't paying attention. Maybe you stepped away from the rest of the Troop to handle a little private business behind a tree and didn't tell your Patrol Leader. No matter how it happened, you don't know where the rest of the Troop is and you do not know the way back to camp. After the first moment of panic, you remember your Survival Kit and pull out your Troop 204 whistle and start blowing. Three blasts, pause, three blasts. When you pause to listen, you hear a long blast and suddenly the whole Troop is there. Boy are you glad to see them. Now your worst problem is telling the Scoutmaster where you went wrong!

Troop 204 has a long history of requiring Survival Kits for all Scouts. These Survival Kits are required to be on the Scout's person whenever the Scout is away from RSBC on a Scouting event. The only time a Scout is excused from carrying his Survival Kit is when he is participating in waterfront activities or is in the shower. Because of this stringent requirement Scouts are encouraged to make their Survival Kit as small as possible so that it can easily be slipped into a pocket or hung from their belt.

Recently, TLC (Troop Leader Council) voted to have a minimum accepted level for all Survival Kits. While Scouts are encouraged to surpass this minimum level, the following is the minimum accepted configuration:

Items Supplied by the Troop	Items Supplied by the Scout
° Parachute Cord, 18'	° Matches (6)
° Zip Loc Bag for fire starters	° Fire Starters
° Small spool of Adhesive Tape	° Pencil (golf size)
° 3/4" plastic Band Aids (3)	° Paper (waterproof is best)
° Single Edge Razor Blade	° Aluminum Foil (2 - 12"x 12" sheets)
° 2"x 2" Sterile Gauze Pad	° Waterproof Container to hold Survival Kit
° Beef Bouillon Cubes (2)	° Water Purifying Tablets (dated)
° Morse Code & Semaphore Card	° Emergency Quarters ( 4 recommended )
° Snare Wire, 15', wound on dowel	° List of Contents
° Troop 204 Survival Whistle	° Match Striker ( if needed)
° Tweezers, small
° Compass, small
° Fishing Kit
°° Fishing Line, 20'
°° Hooks (2)
°° Lead Sinkers (2)
°° Crappie Jig (1)

The above list is the minimum accepted for a Troop 204 Survival Kit. While you must have all of the items on the list, you can add extras that you think would be helpful and can improve on the minimum supplied. For example you might replace the small compass supplied by the Troop with a liquid filled compass for greater accuracy. If it is hot and you are sweating a lot, a small container of salt might really help. Think about it and ask one of the Scouts that won the last Survival Kit Contest what they carry in their kits.

When you have everything you should have, see your Patrol Leader to get your Survival Kit Certified.

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