The AFR 64-4 Survival Field Guide

Most bad outcomes don't start with a bear or a blizzard. They start with one panicked decision in the first ten minutes.

Here's the problem. Much of the survival advice people still repeat is wrong. Cut a snakebite? Wrong. Rub frostbite? Wrong. Crouch in a lightning storm? Wrong. Trust clear, fast-running water? Wrong.

This guide fixes that. It keeps what still works from the Air Force's classic AFR 64-4 training and checks the rest against today's first-aid, weather and rescue guidance. 328 skills. Step by step. No fluff.

Inside, you'll find:

- How to take control in the first five minutes with the STOP routine and a priority ladder that stops panic decisions.
- Stop severe bleeding and treat injuries far from help, following the 2024 American Heart Association and Red Cross first-aid guidelines.
- Stay warm without a tent. Ground insulation, storm tarps, windbreaks and your car as a shelter.
- Start a fire in wind and rain with feather sticks, a ferro rod and the right fire lay.
- Make questionable water safer to drink with boiling, filters, tablets or plain household bleach.
- Find your way without GPS. Map, compass and resection, plus the sun, the stars and a homemade needle compass.
- Get found faster. Text 911, use satellite SOS and beacons, build ground-to-air signals and work safely with a rescue helicopter.
- Handle snow, desert, jungle and open water, including rip currents and falling through ice.
- The Emergency Quick-Finder. Someone is bleeding, a car is stuck in snow, thunder is rolling in: turn straight to the right page.
- The "Then and Now" guide shows which old survival advice can get you hurt, and who says so.
- Protect your family at home with step-by-step plans for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires and power outages.
- 8 photocopiable checklists: 72-Hour Emergency, Personal Survival Kit, Vehicle Kit, Water Treatment, Distress Signaling, Navigation, Heat & Cold Recognition and a Household Emergency Plan.

No military background, expensive gear or experience needed. Every skill tells you when to use it, what you need and the mistake to avoid.

Scroll up and click “Add to Cart” to find out exactly what to do in the first five minutes of any emergency.