Fight to Survive

Still, regardless of how thorough your training is and how extensive your supplies are, you cannot be prepared for every situation. This is where real creativity comes in. The more uses you can come up with for a stick or a rock, the better equipped you are. In the end, survival is an improvisational art. "We give them some ideas and say, 'Now use your imagination,' " John says. " 'Find out what works for you, then practice, practice, practice.' "

Rule 7: Survival Is the Norm

Ask McKay how long he could survive if he walked into the woods right now without supplies, and he doesn't hesitate: "The rest of my life," he says. McKay and Smith are professional survivors who exude the easy confidence that comes with knowing that they can take care of themselves no matter what. They even put themselves in self-inflicted survival situations, because they find them challenging and fun.

As unusual as survivor behavior can sound, SERE instructors remind students that it's quite natural. "In some ways, there's no big mystery about what we teach," says John. "If you turn the clock back 200 years or so, this was everyday life for our ancestors. They knew how to get water and build dry shelter and trek across the wilderness and bring home food. There's really nothing new about it."

Sidebar: How Do You Spell Survival?

Chuck Salter (csalter@fastcompany.com) is a Fast Company senior writer based in Baltimore. Until now, everything he knew about survival he learned in Boy Scout Troop 467 in Atlanta.