Merit Badge: Tactical Survival Training

Earn Your Badge!

To earn your badge, attend the lecture:

Class Handout

Assignment

Good news: NO QUIZ!

In the comments below, tell your survival story.

It must be at least 200 words.

If there are two scouts in your household, you can split the assignment, but it needs to be at least 300 words.

WHAT THE STORY NEEDS TO COVER:

What are three things you would add to your emergency survival kit in addition to what was covered in the lecture?
If you were on a hike, got lost, and needed to implement the tactical survival protocol, what things would you be happy you had in your kit?

  1. What would you most like to see in your ideal survival shelter?
  2. Who would you most like to have along when you are in a survival situation?
  3. Who would you most like to see as your rubber?
  4. Have you had to implement the tactical survival protocols, like when you were on your Clan of the Cavecat night in the wilderness, what skills served you best? What do you wish you’d known what to do?
  5. Do you own a pair of Cat Scouts Tactical Underbriefs?
  6. Please add one survival training tip that was not covered in the lecture.

Leave your assignment in the comments below!

57 comments

  1. My survival story is my Clan of the Cavebear survival story. We were only allowed a few things but if I was allowed to take other things I would have taken a tarp, a space blanket, a knife with all sorts of attachments, a flint and my cell phone.. I would want my sisfur Tater with me in an emergency situation. She is fiesty and she knows what she wants and how to get what she wants. I want any of my fellow scouts as my rubber. I know they would all do a good job.
    When I was on my Clan of the Cavebear survival, I used my eyesight. Cats have very good night vision so I was able to watch for vishus deer and other animals that might attack me. I wish I had been able to find my way back to camp a little easier, but I did make it back.
    I do not own any Cat Scout Tactical Underbriefs. My mom says Amazon has everything. I tried to buy some on Amazon. It’s not true that Amazon has everything from A to Z.
    My impawtent survival tip is to use your nose. I used my nose a lot on my Clan of the Cavebear survival. I could smell my 100th cousin Bob Cat when he was near. I found my way home because I smelled bacon cooking over the campfire.

  2. Wow, this is a hard one! I’ve never been out on my own, except one night before my first birthday, my sisfur, Chessie and I ran down the stairs to the basement, when Dad had left the door open. Mom talked to him about that…he’s never don’t it again. Our basement is partly a dirt cellar, icky. I didn’t plan ahead. I finally got scared and ran back up. I should have had stuff with me.
    1. Three things I’d be happy to have with me: an umbrella. Provides shade or could be used to make a shelter. Keep me dry!
    A MasterCatster card in case I found a convenient convenience store!
    Scout Dirk, in case I for what to do!
    2. My ideal shelter would have air conditioning in the summer, heating in the winter, alarm system for bears and Vishus deer.
    3. It’s really hard to pick a Cat Scout for a rubber. Any of my fellow Scouts would be great! Even the gerls!
    4. Not being in the Clan of the Cave Cat, yet!, I can’t really answer this one.
    5. No tactical underpants. Just ordinary ones.
    6. Scout Dirk is really good and covers so much! Maybe….we’ll, he didn’t tell us how to open a coconut, if we find one.
    Thanks Scout Dirk, Denmaster, and Scout Ripley.

  3. We couldn’t comment under the individual stories, but enjoyed them all. Felix and I do not remember our early days. We were fortunate to be rescued from the elements by a group called PATH – Paws Across the Heart, and the rest has been up to our mom!

  5. Here’s the other half of our report. On My Clan of the Cavecat survival ordeal, my friends the beavers helped shelter me for the night in their lodge. Boy, would that make a great survival shelter if we could build one! Totally dry, warm and comfy.

    Another survival tip not mentioned in the lecture is remembering stick signs. If no rocks are available, we could leave a stick message for our Scout friends.

    In addition to the items Dirk covered in his lecture, we would ADD these items to our emergency kit: a compass a bandana some vet wrap

    We would make sure our Survival Kits included a canteen full of water, purification tabs, some ziplock bags, windbreakers and a small plastic container. A boatswain’s pipe would also be great! They’re small and can be heard over very loud noises such as those made by wind or fire.

  6. Great lecture! Maggie and I will do our assignment together.

    On our Clan Cat survival trek, we each used our animal friends to help us. A group of Owls helped me devise a way to get down from the tall tree where I had spent the night. (I used my “toga/underpants” as an umbrella, which helped me float down safely. I definitely own a pair of Cat Scouts tactical underbriefs!

    One survival training tip not mentioned in the lecture was remembering some rock signs. If lost, we should try to leave a “message” for our fellow Scouts so they can find where we are sheltered.

    I would use Maggie as my rubber, since we read each other’s thoughts and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

    What I’d most like to see in my ideal survival shelter is a waterproof blanket. I would also be happy to have a rain poncho, some Purina small meat or fish snacks and lots of matches!

  7. Oopsie, our report did not get all on so we are submitting it again.

    Anya and I are working on our assignment of survival tactics together. We were both out on our own when we were little kittens.

    Gracie: I was about six to eight months old when I heard my furever family outside having a picnic. I ran over to their yard and my now dad could see right away that I was starving and got me a bowl of food and some water. He says my ribs were sticking out and he felt so sad that I was starving. I don’t remember much about this time as I was little but I do know that I had shelter and kept my self warm but with my ribs sticking out I could not find much food. If I had a survival kit back then I would have wanted a cell phone, a jar of peanut butter, and a blankie.

    Anya: I also was a young cat out on my own. I had to not only take care of myself but I had kittens to raise. I knew right away I had to have a safe place for myself and my family. My shelter was in an ice cream truck. I kept my babies there safe and sound. In my survival kit I would always want to have a cell phone with a solar battery charger, flint, and raincoat.

    1. Gracie: My ideal shelter is under a bush. I got outside about a year ago and stayed close to the house and stayed under a bush right by the front door of my house. The bush kept me safe and I could keep watch to see if predators were coming my way. The ground was kind of hard to I would always like to have a nice soft blanket to lay on.
    1. Anya: In my shelter I would like to see a bag of cat treats. That would be nice to munch on until I could find a better source of food.

    2. Gracie & Anya: We both agreed that we would both like to be with each other if we were every to get lost. We know each other so well and know we could work together to find shelter, food, and our way back home.

    3. Gracie: I would like to have a nice strong mancat to be my rubber. A mancat would not tire as well as a girl scout would. I would see if Raz could help me.
    3.Anya: With a question I would like to have Pete S., by boyfriend, be my rubber. He is so strong and I know he could open the can of tuna in no time at all.

    4. Gracie & Anya: We both had no problems on our Clan of the Clave. We sure were very happy that there was no need to implement a tactical protocol.

    5. Gracie & Anya: No we do not have a pair of tactical under briefs. Girls do not wear under briefs. Is there a possibility that there could be undies that the girl scouts could order? There needs to be a style change.

    6. Gracie: My survival idea is for the first 24 hours of finding that you are lost stay pretty close to that area and find shelter. This might make the rescue team find you quicker if you hunker down near to where perhaps you were last seen.
    Anya: My thought on being safe and surviving when on a camping trip is to use your claws and mark the trees so if you get lost you can find the claw marks and find your way back.

  8. Anya and I are working on our assignment of survival tactics together. We were both out on our own when we were little kittens.

    Gracie: I was about six to eight months old when I heard my furever family outside having a picnic. I ran over to their yard and my now dad could see right away that I was starving and got me a bowl of food and some water. He says my ribs were sticking out and he felt so sad that I was starving. I don’t remember much about this time as I was little but I do know that I had shelter and kept my self warm but with my ribs sticking out I could not find much food. If I had a survival kit back then I would have wanted a cell phone, a jar of peanut butter, and a blankie.

    Anya: I also was a young cat out on my own. I had to not only take care of myself but I had kittens to raise. I knew right away I had to have a safe place for myself and my family. My shelter was in an ice cream truck. I kept my babies there safe and sound. In my survival kit I would always want to have a cell phone with a solar battery charger, flint, and raincoat.

    1. Gracie: My ideal shelter is under a bush. I got outside about a year ago and stayed close to the house and stayed under a bush right by the front door of my house. The bush kept me safe and I could keep watch to see if predators were coming my way. The ground was kind of hard to I would always like to have a nice soft blanket to lay on.
    1. Anya: In my shelter I would like to see a bag of cat treats. That would be nice to munch on until I could find a better source of food.

  9. In my survival kit, I would add some rope, Temptations, and a multi-tool. When I did my overnight survival in the wilderness, I wish I had the handout on how to build a shelter. In my ideal survival shelter, I would like to see my wife, Allie. We would be able to snuggle to stay warm. Besides Allie, I would most like to have Angel Sammy with me, as he was and will always be my best friend and a dynamite Cat Scout. I would want Cooper Murphy to be my rubber, as he is big and strong. I do not own tactical briefs. My survival tip would be to never leave camp or home without your compass or telling your mom or another Scout where you are going and when you plan to return.

    I think with Cooper Murphy’s long-windedness, we should have at least 300 words between the two of us.

  10. Mau and I are doing our survival assignment together; though, we will have some different answers to the questions. Mau belongs to the Clan of the Cave Bear and so survived the wilderness to earn that honor, but I have a real survival story.

    I was scavengering for food in January in the snow and came across a recent angel cat named Fiona. I was very cold and very hungry and very skinny. She said she needed to do a good deed get her wings and offered to help me. She said her humans had several other cats, but they were very lonely and depressed, and she thought I could cheer them up. She gave me directions to their house, but my internal kitty GPS had frozen from the cold, and I ended up at a house that had a porch where I thought I could hunker down. A nice lady lived there, and I asked her if I could come inside. She had three woofies and so didn’t let me in, but she gave me a blanket and some tuna. I didn’t need a can opener, as she opened it for me.

    Though the nice lady with the dogs could not give me a home, she called Mau’s mom and dad, and Dad Tom grabbed a Sleepypod and came immediately to get me. It turned out that I was at the house of their friend who lived just around the corner. I was lucky I didn’t wander too off course. If I had a compass, I would have ended up at the right destination to start with.

    When I got to my new home, it was the warmest most wonderful house with lots of noms and other cats. Being a responsible pet parent, Mom Janet tried to find my original humans. (It was obvious that I must have had a home at one time, as I was well socialized and had been neutered. But I obviously had been abandoned or dumped and left to fend for myself.) She visited every lost pet web-site looking for me and listing me. That’s how I got the name, Not Charlie. A lady and two little boys came to see me, as they thought I might be their cat, Charlie. I wasn’t; thus, the silly name. Mom also had the vet check for a microchip, but I didn’t have one. I do now.

    The survival tip I have that wasn’t included in the video, is Don’t Eat Yellow Snow! Now that I am a Cat Scout and have a real home, I don’t have to worry about the snow, but some things I would add to my survival kit/go bag are, rubbers (the kind you wear on your paws), a space blanket, Temptations, and one of those collapsible umbrella hats…good for keeping, sun, rain or snow off your head. In my survival shelter, I would like to have Tyebe. She is funny and would be good company, And I am very smitten with her. I would like to have my pals Teddy and Chip with me as we are the Three Gingersnaps and together we are stronger than any ten cats. I would like to have Mau as my rubber. I do not own the tactical under briefs.

    Mau will answer the questions in the following comment.

  11. I didn’t have to use survival training until I did my night for Clan of Cavecat. What 3 things would I add? A cooler with water, a comb for getting mats out of my fur, a small roll of toilet paper.
    1. What would I most like to see in my shelter? my favorite blanket
    2. Who would I most like to have along? Dirk or other male cat scout
    3. Who would I most like to see as my rubber? Nobody, I plan on bringing tuna in a pouch that I open with my claws and teeth
    4. Have I Had to implement protocols in Clan of Cavecat? Yes, seek shelter, make a fire, get water and food
    Which skills served me best? Finding shelter. What did I wish I’d known to do? The various ways of getting water to drink.
    5. Do I own a pair of Cat Scouts Tactical underwear? No I don’t, but if they made them for girl scouts I would get some.
    6. Please add one survival tip not covered in lecture. Always travel with a buddy, that way one of you might be able to get help and keep the other from getting eaten by vishus deer or other animals.
    I was adopted from a shelter before I was 1 year old so I don’t really remember being lost, alone or scared before I got adopted. My huMom didn’t let me outside and kept me safe, warm, well fed and loved all my 18 years.
    In a couple of weeks my huMom will be adopting a kitten. More info to come.
    If I got lost and needed to implement protocol what things would I be happy I had in my kit? blanket, matches for fire, several pouches of tuna and treats and maybe just a little catnip for when I get rescued or make it back home as a celebration.

  12. I’ve never been in a survival situation before – I’ve only been living with my Mom and Dad since February 2017 and I was already almost one year old then when they adopted me. We don’t know where I was prior to the shelter but I just bet I had to learn how to survive if I was a barn cat, or from a feral colony or something. I seemed to know from the start how to HIDE, BE CUTE TO GET ATTENTION, how to BEG……so I learned that stuff somewhere. Anyway, here are my answers to the six questions:

    1. A crate of Fancy Feast with pop top cans
    2. My Dad
    3. My Mom
    4. Never had to use survival skills as I said but I am SURE that I could if I wanted to because I am a Cat Scout now and have learned how to take care of myself AND how to be a good member of a Troop and Patrol. If I was on my own without any other Scouts around, I know my skills would keep me going until help arrived or found my way back home.
    5. Those pants are on my Santa’s Wish List for this Christmas – a six pack of them.
    6. I think a good skill to have would be snoring. Why? Anyone passing your tent at night might think there was a BEAR inside and leave you alone…….or if an animal passed your tent and they heard loud snoring they would think something BIGGER than they are is inside and move on to the next tent!
    7. My three additional things would be: A whistle, extra socks and a rain poncho!

    Scout Teddy

  14. Allie and I did our assignment together.

    Allie and I have never been outside on our own and we know having a good sense of your surroundings would be super impawtent if that happened. Not having familiar smells could confuse us and we could get really lost. Allie would be our designated
    rubber because she loves to paw things (especially in the middle of the night. We always have a Go Bag ready (especially in hurry-cane season) Our ideal shelter would be the tent we use when we evacuate for hurry-canes because we are super familiar with it and it would make us feel secure. It would be good to have Scout Dirk with us since he is very knowledgeable Both Allie and I got a lot of help from the Eggs we were sent off with when we spent our initiation night in the wilderness. We would want to have one of them (or both) with us to help guide us. Our blankets kept us warm too. We were also sent with two matches which would be helpful to start a fire to keep warm and send out smoke signals. We could make s’mores too! Having our important treats and noms would be important. Eating grass and plants could be helpful but we usually hork if we do and that would dehydrate us. Stinky goodness with gravy would also give us some extra hydration. Neither one of us have the Tactical Underpants but probably should ask for them for Christmas so we would have a place for our water purifier tablets. We would also like to bring a cell phone and a battery charger so we could call for help or use the GPS function to get us home safely. Of course, there might not be a good signal so that’s why the smoke signals would be impawtent.

  15. I have never been lost or shut-in anywhere. I did get infatuated with some birds in the neighbour’s yard and yelled at them for many hours but everyone could hear me….so I wasn’t lost. If I were lost in the wilderness I would make like to have matches, a small blanket, water and treats…..Greenies. No need to get bad teeth cause I’m lost. I would like to have a cell phone, a compass and a poo bag. A cell phone would make being lost only amount to a short time, unless mom was out buying cat treats, then this would not work, Then I would want to call 911. Shoko says I should never call this number cause they wouldn’t understand me. Guess she’s right. The compass would be very handy as we get lots of cloud cover and you can’t see the North Star or any other object to find home. Now you may be saying why a poo bag with all that area to dig and bury. I don’t want to leave any trace of me….so the poo bag. I can give it to mom when I get home. A blanket would keep me warm and also I could use it to make smoke messages from the fire I made from some sticks. The smoke signals would be awesome but only during the day as it’s too dark here at night to see anything, The fire would keep wild animals away too. I would want to have Dirk with me…..he did the lecture so must know what I might have forgotten.

    Tyebe

  16. I was shut in the neighbour’s garage. He locked the door and walked away. Mom didn’t have a clue where I was. Terrifying as this was, I kept my head and looked for water. No water, no plants to wring out sweat from. I didn’t even have a tinkle turban to keep the spiders away. I was 2 so this was many moons ago and I wasn’t as self aware as I am now. Mom called me and I yelled my fool head off. so mom woke the neighbours and they opened the garage door. I was rescued but I was in that garage for more than 24 hours. Since then I joined Cat Scouts and now I know how I could have handled it better. For one thing I should have brought treats. a thermos of water and a cell phone.. To carry these I would need a utility belt instead of a collar.. Inside the garage was a linen blanket. I could have used this for warmth but I panicked and was trying to make a white flag out of it. There was a window and I tried to place the flag in the window. Nobody saw it. If, mom was there she could have screamed so much louder than me and she could have kept me company. Mom would be my rubber. She bashes and rubs good. She always carries a can of tuna as she loves tuna and you never know when the spirit will be wanting a tuna fix. Since my night out for the Clan of the Cavebear where I was dependant on my wits, I have never needed to use the survival skills. I can wander the Lane and I know the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west, moss grows on the north side of the trees. I dont wander into garages anymore….not even our own.

    3. Wow, Shoko, did you know that my sisfur, now angel, Louise, was trapped in our neighbor’s basement for two whole weeks. We really have no idea how she survived. My humans and the neighbor even searched there and called her name over and over again, but she was too afraid to answer them. It is a miracle she was saved! You are so lucky that you knew to call out.

    4. One of the very first Cat Scouts, Scout Mao, who was a very vocal Siamese (and would engage us in conversation), got locked in a neighbor’s garage once over a long weekend. We lived in a hilly, wooded area. We hiked up and down looking for him, calling for him, and at last I heard him call back. We were able to locate him, but could not free him. The neighbor was gone for the holiday.

      Fortunately, Siamese are the SMARTEST and LOUDEST breed of cats. We had to wait another day and a half, but finally got Mao home.

  17. Wow, Timmy, that sounds like a scary night. Good thing Dad Pete found you. But, as our dad always says, “Have you ever seen a dead cat in a tree?” Eventually, you would have figured out how to get down!

  18. Here is my essay: I am lucky I have not needed to survive outdoors. I would definitely add a can opener, cell phone and lickable treats to my survival kit. If I were lost, I would want my mom with me, she would protect me and do everything for me except make a tinkle turban. If we didn’t have a can opener, she would be the rubber.
    I have not had to use these protocols. One time I was invited to stay out all night for the Clan of the Cavecat, but my mom said she didn’t want me to be out all night and I didn’t want to make her nervous so I skipped it. I do not yet own a pair of those special underpants. I will ask Santa for some for Christmas even though I was hoping for a new scratcher. Scout stuff is most important.
    The lecture seemed to include everything. The only advice I would add is to have a cell phone on you so you can call for help or use the GPS feature to find your way out. And always stick by one of your folks then you will stay safe.

  19. The three things I would add to my kit that weren’t covered in the lecture:
    I would keep cat kibble—it may not be delicious, but it’s easy to carry, won’t spoil, and doesn’t need a can opener.
    A cell phone in case I can get bars.
    Aspirin in case of injury or headaches.
    All easy to carry.

    I would most like to have mouse nests in my shelter.

    I would like to have Scout Dirk along in a survival situation.

    As my rubber, I would like to have along a body builder, like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, who could get the cans open fast.

    No, I haven’t had to implement tactical survival in the wilderness. I was in two shelters before my permanent home, and I found that swaggering and confidence was how to survive.

    I don’t have the underbriefs, no.

    For my additional tip: If you don’t have a compass, remember that you have the sun by day and the North Star by night. If it’s cloudy, remember that moss grows on the north side of trees, and spiders make webs on the south sides of trees.

  20. Back when I was very young I did a silly thing and got lost. There was a really interesting bird outside the window screen and I really really wanted to give him a bitey and have a nice breakfast. Well I whapped and whapped but that darn screen was blocking me. I gave a great big WHAP and guess what. Both the screen, and me, fell out of the second story window. I hit the ground BAM. Shaken I looked around and was skeered of everything. Well to be safe I climbed a tree. Not being a regular tree climber I went way high and got STUCK. No water. No Food. No warmth, but, I was safe from vishus deer. I had nothing with me and really wish I had brought along some tactical rope so I could have reppelled back down. Rope is an impawtent thing to have along! Dad came out and looked all over and did not see me and I was so high up he did not hear my mews. The second day when I saw him I went MEOW! He looked up and shook his head. He buddy came over and they put up a big ladder and got me down. I stayed under the couch for a day. Whew. Besides the rope I would have liked to have a little multi tool with a saw and a signal mirror. Maybe I could have signaled Dad earlier.

    1 A stocked fridge
    2 Felix, Aetheling, Raz, Teddy, Gracie, Sammy P, Pete H, Anya, Pete, Allie, Cat P, Maggie… All my Cat Scout Pals
    3 Dora is my rubber to keep me warm
    4I needed fire building on Cave Cat night and I wish I knew more about finding water as I was thirsty.
    5 I have a drawer full. Except the ones on the flagpole
    6 Have some rope. Very handy

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