Barkow said this “was meant to mimic the scenarios you hope to never encounter.” The dunk took place after a three-hour patrol hike, far away from any quick assistance. The SEALs would stay in the icy water for 12 minutes before being allowed to get out.
Instead of stripping off their layers and building a fire like you would think, they instead followed John’s tenant of survival by “getting immediately out of the elements and gaining control of the situation.” So, how do you get control of a situation this dangerous and likely deadly?....................................
Instead of the strip and dry method we assume is correct, Barkow had the SEALS pull their backup synthetic outer layer from their packs and put them on OVER their drenched layers. They split into pairs with one SEAL putting up a small tent and the other preparing the stove to boil water. No fires yet — just a camp stove and boiled snow.
From here, both men got into their tents and into their sleeping bags. Once the water was boiling, they made a hot drink and rehydrated some chili. Once consumed, they continued to lie in their bags and tents and wait. What they were waiting for is for their metabolism to kick into action and start to warm them from the inside out.
After a few hours, the SEALs gradually stopped shivering and were warm enough to function again. During this time, their bodies had nearly dried their base layers, partially dried their mid-layers, and their outer layers were nice and frosted. At this point, they could build a fire if necessary and dry out anything else that needed it while being completely safe without any more risk of hypothermia.
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