Army Survival Tips Might Help You Survive the Recession

Lessons from the Survival, Evasion and Escape Field Manual

A perennial surplus store favorite, FM 21-76, the Department of the Army Field Manual, Survival, Evasion and Escape, was written in March 1969 to advise U.S. Army soldiers in how to survive bad situations behind enemy lines in Vietnam and around the world. Today, it's mostly interesting reading for campers and hikers. However, the old manual contains some nuggets of wisdoms for people struggling in America's economy today.

First, Survival, Evasion, and Escape is a reminder that life could be worse. No matter how bad your economic situation may be, you are not surrounded by a foreign enemy. In addition, you don't have to make a shelter out of twigs and branches and you don't have to eat berries, nuts, tree bark, and bugs. Second, this old Army survival manual makes it clear from the outset that people who maintain a positive attitude are most likely to survive a desperate situation.

One of the most interesting survival tips in Survival, Evasion, and Escape is the transformation of the word "Survival" into a mnemonic device. The manual advises troops in a survival situation to do the following:

S - Size Up The Situation.

U - Undue Haste Makes Waste

R - Remember Where You Are

V - Vanquish Fear & Panic

I - Improvise

V - Value Living

A - Act Like the Natives

L - Learn Basic Skills

If you've been laid off, each of these Army survival tips can be useful. Certainly, you do need to "size up the situation" when you've suffered a job loss. You need to think about your finances, your bills, your local economy, the state of your industry, and the state of your job role. You have to seriously assess your situation before you take action.