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Career Survival with Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith

Tip: Gear up for winter survival

If you're on rural patrol, are you prepared to survive this winter? Rural officers could easily find themselves alone and without communication, despite all our technology. There are cell phone and portable radio "dead zones" everywhere, and that computer and in-car radio depend on your car's battery to work; if you're in a crash, you may find yourself without a working vehicle and no way to get help.

Prepare to save yourself if you, your communication, or your vehicle becomes disabled on a cold winter night. Pack up a "survival bag: with the following:

• GU Energy Gel/Energy Bars (I like GU because it goes down easy and its extremely portable)
• A good hiker's wrist watch (with compass, lighted dial, etc)
• Extra pair of boots, socks, gloves, another hat (layering is the key to warmth, and you need to replace wet items with dry ones)
• An extra outer shell or extra coat of some kind
• Water...lots of it. Keep a case of cheap bottled water in your trunk.
• Waterproof matches and a waterproof blanket
• Extra flashlight or light sticks or both
• A small but good first aid (IE: "self aid" kit), like the Tactical Medical Pac

All of this can also come in handy if you're stuck on the perimeter at a crime scene, directing traffic at a major crash, or in any one of the hundred situations that we might find ourselves while on patrol this winter.

Prepare for your own survival like your life depends on it...because it does!