The resident of Vilnius claims that you should take responsibility, stock up, plan routes and calculate the time yourself. Also, in his opinion, it would be useful for every civilian to take a course that would help them prepare properly for war.
“Anyway, you can be afraid of war, you can not be afraid, but it is coming, you have to do something, although many people, including myself before, talk more, but do nothing. I have been doing it for 2 years.
The worst thing is that the Seimas, the Government, the President say that they are taking care of it, but this is more of an imitation than a real preparation, because if you know that you will be robbed, so you don’t say that you need to make a plan now, how to buy a new lock, then half a year you don’t think about where and what kind of lock to buy,” says Tom.
Tomas from Vilnius: “When you return after such training, you realize how well we live”
Tomas from Vilnius adds that the training he attends sometimes lasts a day, but can last several days or more. In the opinion of the Vilnius resident, such training scares some people, because they have to do things that are unpleasant and completely unnecessary for a comfortable life.
“It was a cold test, people had to get into the water in March, when the water is still cold, and stay there for at least a couple of minutes. It is very difficult for some people and they don’t even try to do it,” asserts the man from Vilnius.
He does not hide that during part of the training, attacks are simulated, and it is necessary to hide and defend. But he says the most important thing is that it’s the teachings, not the reality.
“Is it scary or not scary to sleep for two days in a broken, abandoned apartment building on the door?” Maybe it’s uncomfortable, maybe it’s hard, maybe it’s cold, maybe there’s a lack of food, but only when you come back after such trainings do you realize how well we live.
You see people having fun, eating ice cream, young people with beer a glass after the ball trying to recover, and you’ve only eaten pearl barley for two days. Everyone seems relaxed, they don’t think about the war”, the interviewer talks about the emotions after the training.
In case of war, you need to leave the house faster than in 45 minutes
According to Vytautas Šimanskis, representative of the “Valanda ZULU” survival training organization, a person’s natural reaction to a threat is to fight or run. Therefore, after deciding which of these choices a person wants to take, a plan of action needs to be created, because the resources, tools and skills available in advance are very important in the face of war.
“For example, the evacuation plan is not that we will go to Kaunas, Elektrėni or retreat to Poland, there must be points where we will spend the night, we will go through forests, along the river or by railways,” he points out.
In his opinion, if you practice in advance, there is less panic in the event of a real threat. And leaving home should be planned in such a way that you can leave in less than 45 minutes.
“After that, everything will be jammed, there will be mass panic as some of the unprepared people quickly throw their things in about 45 minutes and try to go without a plan, then gets clogged roads, caused by accidents, conflicts. In order to avoid this, you need to guess earlier”, explains V. Šimanskis.
Also, in his opinion, there is a need for agreed-upon family words, how they will talk to each other if there is danger around, to warn their relatives about it, but not let those around them understand.
“Suppose we can agree that the greeting should be: hello. That would mean everything is fine. And, for example, a good day would mean a warning that there is some danger and you need to be careful,” the expert gives an example.
Encourages learning from mistakes made in Ukraine
The expert claims that he was in Ukraine during the war, so he saw that not everyone had prepared an action plan in case of war.
“People hid from the shootings, but they didn’t take anything with them, and there was simply a lack of water, food, heat and medicine – everything was lacking. Those who had a bag ready could survive for a few hours because they had to take care of others,” he says.
You also notice that people in Ukraine did not take copies of documents, so they could not leave the country even if they planned to. There were also no clothes ready.
“I saw a woman standing by the wall with small children in high heels,” says V. Šimanskis, hinting that the outfit should also be planned in advance.
Survival bag contents
A survival bag, according to V. Šimanskas, is needed in both cases: if you plan to fight and if you plan to leave.
And here, one of the most important items, in his opinion, is a multi-tool, where there is a knife, pliers, a screwdriver and a tip to help start a fire, and other tips for survival. Also, clothing, food, radio and communication equipment should be in the survival bag.
Such a backpack must be assembled in such a way as to help a person survive for 24-72 hours. Following the example of his wife, she keeps a backpack in the car, which contains the necessary things for the night for her and the child. And other supplies are also hidden in places known to the family.
However, the expert points out that everyone’s priorities are different, so the contents of the survival bag will also be different. Emphasizes that each item can be used for several purposes, but it takes skill to realize it.
“For example, a rusty bucket is for one a means of fetching water, as a kettle and a place for fire, while for another it is simply a rusty bucket.
Also, if asked for half a liter of water, an already trained person would know that, for example, any fabric absorbs water perfectly, and without a bucket or other similar object, you can get water by putting a sweater in water and simply wringing it out,” he gives an example.
Knowledge of first aid
According to the specialist, the most important skill is first aid, which includes stopping bleeding, dressing wounds, knowing the driver’s first aid kit, using a tourniquet, and protecting oneself from the cold.
“You need to develop skills for that matter, so that after giving a person first aid, after stabilizing his condition so that he does not bleed, after pulling out of a dangerous place, it is already possible to shoot effectively or wait for help,” he assures.
According to the interviewee, a person who does not know these things would be lost in the event of a war, because people often do not know how to use them even if they have first aid kits in the car.
“For example, the medicine kits contain the so-called foil, a universal, very good thing, because it is intended for the prevention of hypothermia, when blocking the movement of air, protecting against moisture, it reflects 100 percent of the heat of the human body back to the person”, – how the foil in the medicine kits can provide warmth, he says interlocutor
However, V. Šimanskis points out that it is not enough to pass first aid training once, they must be repeated every year so as not to forget.
Survival training lasting 12 hours, 24 hours. or even 72 hours, according to the interviewer, he learned how to practically implement preparation and test himself in stressful situations.
“The practical part, when a person packs a backpack, gets dressed, prepares, has a plan and follows a route, he is in pursuit, he is caught because there is an enemy force involved. In such conditions, a person must already survive those 24 hours and do certain practical tasks,” explains a representative of the “Valanda ZULU” survival training organization, as one of the trainings looks like.
And this training can be done in stages, starting with smaller challenges and ending with the longest trek and survival test. The prices of these trainings, depending on the stage and the number of training hours, vary from 80 to 240 euros in the organization.
Tags: man Vilnius afraid war refuses wait authorities action coming
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