USI 7+1 Survival Priorities
USI staff has been in the S.E.R.E. game since S.E.R.E. Specialists were known as Survival Instructors. We have thirty plus years of continual S.E.R.E. experience and have been part of almost every major change in the survival world. The USI 7+1 Survival Priorities brings some of the old and a lot of the new into a concept of "TOTAL" survival operations which gives the survivor the best chance of getting out alive if the 72 hours runs into 96 or even longer.
Although USI fully believes in the "Big 7" Survival Priorities we also understand survival doesn't stop there. USI's belief that protection from the weather is much more than a good shelter. Protection from the weather also includes choosing correct clothing every time you leave the house. This mentality brings us back to the original S.E.R.E. term "Personal Protection". The term Personal Protection also became one of the guiding priorities for the USI kits containing both shelter and clothing.
The +1 comes from the fact that you cannot eliminate navigation as a survival priority. Although it is taught "along with" the Big 7 survival priorities, it should in fact be a priority in itself. In a situation where rescue is not a possibility or not imminent ( bad weather) and a medical or environmental emergency is at hand, navigation becomes a survivor's best hope. The ability to walk out of a situation is at least as important as food and therefore deserves a ranking as a survival priority.
USI believes in the total commitment to all things SURVIVAL, regardless of it's country of origin or design. However, USI also believes it is the responsibility of all to fully understand and test each item related to survival before it is marketed. You have USI's word that any item which comes from us has been tested under real world conditions and is the same equipment used by us.
If it's not good enough for our family it's not good enough for your's....PERIOD!