Posted: 1/12/2004 11:30:22 AM EDT
| I know it's kind of stupid but I think about this off and on. Would someone like Rambo survive in modern times with such things against him like night goggles, thermal imaging, and the MOAB. Just kidding about the MOAB. But really does anyone have a chance of escaping into the woods like that and not get blasted with todays technology. I don't mean like Osama. Think more along the lines of the movie. |
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I think that most people on this site are of like minds. Meaning that most of us are survival minded inviduals who think about self preservation and think of their weapons not only as hobbies, collections, but also as tools. What would be the chances of you (or me) surviving on our own against an advanced opponent. Let's say that you have had the training and the experience and you are physically fit enough to do just about anything. I guess it would have to be a SHTF type scenario. |
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Depending on how extreme and high end of the techonlogy used , I suppose. I think the story mostly centered around, a guy who had [b]INCREDABLE Mental Strengh (SF guys).[/b] It showed he would push himself harder than that of his captors to enable him to escape and evade. (Mental disapline, Mental strength) Now if (purley a hypothical issue...i know its a movie) you had men of his talant, insticts, experience, and mental strengh (current SF guys) PLUS todays NVG's, thermal imaging, air support, etc. then the movie might have been alot shorter. I really enjoyed the first movie (first blood), because it showed how a persons entire exsistance is altered forever, because of the training and Dramatic EXPERENCE he had to go though starting at 18 yrs old. (it is my belief you put that kinda serious drama on an 18 yr old kid, and he aint never commin back) I know alot of Viet Vets. And some have seen more uglyness that any man should ever have to seen. when you are so young it leaves impressions that may never be erased. Alot of these vets still aren't home. (figurativly speaking). But God bless them all! |
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Quoted: I think that most people on this site are of like minds. Meaning that most of us are survival minded inviduals who think about self preservation and think of their weapons not only as hobbies, collections, but also as tools. What would be the chances of you (or me) surviving on our own against an advanced opponent. Let's say that you have had the training and the experience and you are physically fit enough to do just about anything. I guess it would have to be a SHTF type scenario. Damn right. [sniper2] |
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Quoted: Company Leader to Raven - Come in Johnnie... [b]Covey[/b] leader. Covey Leader calling Raven. Come in Raven. This is covey leader to Raven. Talk to me, Johnny. Covey leader to identify Baker team. Rambo -- Messer -- Ortega -- Coletta -- Jorgensen -- Danforth -- Berry -- Krackauer. Confirm? This is Colonel Trautman, please acknowledge. |
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Quoted: Challenge: Watch Rambo III and count how many badguys he kills. He's fiction, no more no less. Tj I knew an actual Green Beret that fought and was wounded in VN. He told of seeing Rambo III. "Rambo ran left and the mortar hit to the right. Then he ran right and the mortar hit left." At this point he slapped his forehead and said, "Why didn't I think of that?!" |
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The problem with surviving in the bush with a superior force searching for you is three-fold. 1. you need the skills to make do with what's around you. Eric Rudolph apparently had those. 2. you need the will to put up with deprivation, borderline starvation, cold, wet, etc. for extended periods of time. Rudolph had this, but lost it. 3. you need some level of friendly support in the area to supplement what you cannot do for yourself on a practical level. Rudolph had that as well, but this is a two edged sword since it creates a vulnerability. Rudolph was ultimately caught because he kept going back to the same support structure over and over and over again. That repetition and pattern eventually got him. Technology is a crutch and is not infallible. Consider where Rudolph went to ground. While FLIR and other heat sensitive systems do provide the ability to locate man-sized IR sources through some cover, the NC woods are pretty thick in some places, which would break up the IR images. Likewise the NC woods are full of man-sized IR sources including black bears, whitetail deer, wild hogs, innocent hikers and hunters, etc. Plus all it really takes to defeat such a system is to go to ground when you hear a helicopter under a pile of leaves, brush etc. that will screen the heat from your body for a little while. Without a good signal to prosecute, the helicopter just flies over. Nightvision is even easier to beat. All nightvision goggles and similar systems do is amplify available light by thousands of times as well as pumping out some IR light to supplement. The field of view in IR goggles is monochromatic and depends upon contrast and movement to differentiate objects from their background. If a person is camouflaged in local vegetation and doesn't move, they might as well not even be there. A good camoflage job can make a person functionally invisible in broad daylight so add in the visual degradation of NVG's and it's even easier. The other complication is space. The acreage involved in both of those situations creates a limiting factor. Consider this. In the Early winter/late fall, a little boy walked into the woods near a condo complex in Lincoln, New Hampshire. He got lost and it took weeks to find him despite hundreds of volunteers, some of whom had intimate knowledge of the environment, National Guard and Mountain Search adn Rescue teams, etc. When they finally found his body it was in an area they had searched over multiple times, and just missed him under the brush. This is a kid who was not actively hiding, they had a pretty good idea where he was to within a few square miles, and they still couldn't find him. The problem of long term survival in a guerilla setting A la Rambo or Rudolph is more survival than staying unfound. Staying warm enough, unhurt, and generally healthy is a challenge and can complicate staying hidden since fires create smoke, scent and a clear IR/thermal signature. The solution is camouflage. I'll bet an awful lot of hikers unknowingly shared a shelter or campfire with Rudolph, or that by using established campsites along established trails, that Rudolph was able to get warm without really tipping off the law. Realistically, a fugitive could stay lost on the Appalachian Trail almost indefinitely without spending a whole lot of money or particularly standing out so long as they had some basic backpacking gear. No one really expects to know your real name on the AT, nearly all "thru-hikers" use a trailname. My AR15.com alias is my AT trailname. So remaining anonymous is easy. As far as food is concerned, a lot of AT thru-hikers get food in their maildrops that they don't like or get tired of, they have more than they need, etc. It goes into hiker boxes at post offices and hiker hostels to be picked through by other thru-hikers who are running short. The selection may not be appetizing, but it'll keep you going. Usually cans of tuna, peanut butter, dehydrated milk, maybe some Lipton's Noodle and Sauce or Rice and sauce meals, macaroni and cheese, pop tarts and the like. Like I said, not appetizing, but it'll keep you going. The hiker boxes peter out as you move north and the number of thru-hikers on the trail decreases, and the pickings also get thin in the late fall and winter when there aren't many, if any thru-hikers out there, but that's when you could fall back on your local friends or even the people you meet along the trail for some support. Most people don't remember faces all that well and minor changes to appearance can completely throw them. They may recognize the face or it may seem vaguely familiar, but putting a place or name to it can be all but impossible unless you have become very familiar with it through constant bombardment on TV and in the newspapers (assuming you pay attention). All things considered Rudolph was probably able to walk right down the streets of some towns and so long as he took some minor effort to change his last known appearance, he could probably go unrecognized except by people who knew him well or were actively seeking him. |