While training to be an Air Force survival instructor, the first hurdle to pass was a screening course that occurred immediately after Basic Training. Recruits fresh out of Basic spent a few weeks getting their bodies strengthened through rigorous physical training, leading up to the official two-week course.
Week 1 of the screening course involved performing a lot of tasks in preparation for week 2. The second week took place out in the field. Training on base can help familiarize you with a lot of things, but if you want to be a survival instructor, sooner or later you need to get away from civilization. Week 2 of the screening course took place in the scrub country on a military installation north of San Antonio, TX. Here we got our first real dose of land navigation, drinking scummy water, and eating things we normally wouldn’t consider eating.
During most of our time in the field we worked in pairs or in groups. There were lots of tasks and activities to perform, along with new things to learn. Then at the end, we spent our final night going solo. On that night our instructors gave us a list of items we had to accomplish and dropped us off in locations where we were isolated from one another.
The list of items seemed fairly long, but none of them were terribly complicated. I went through the course in March, so my biggest challenge was completing as much of the list as I could before dark. I think the first thing I did after getting dropped off was find a spot to set up my shelter. I set down my ruck, then looked through the list of tasks to see which ones would be best to perform during daylight.
One of the things I needed to do was make a ground-to-air signal out of the materials available. Since I needed to wander around a bit in order to scavenge items to use in building the signal, I wanted to make sure I got that done while it was still light out. I started collecting logs and brush to arrange in the required pattern.
I can’t remember if I was using an axe or a military-issue bolt knife, but I started hacking away at some brush. Almost immediately I heard a sound I’d never heard in person before but knew right away what it was. While thrashing in the scrub, I had disturbed a rattlesnake, and it let me know in no uncertain terms that I needed to back up.
Of course I was startled and jumped back. It didn’t take long, though, for me to have this thought…how epic would it be if I were eating a rattlesnake when the instructors showed up to pick me up in the morning? That would become, like, the stuff of legends back at the survival schoolhouse on base!
I eyed the snake as it started slinking away, trying to decide whether I should try to kill it or not. Here I was, about to pass the course. I was hungry, but wouldn’t have a problem making it until the next day without anything else to eat. I’d never eaten a snake before, so I wasn’t sure how to prepare it. Since it was venomous, there were plenty of ways for things to go wrong. All you did was cut off the head a little below the widest part, right? I think so…but, how much am I willing to gamble on that?
Was it a good idea? By almost any measure, no. Would it be awesome? Absolutely and unequivocally yes!
Should I make the decision with my feelings or with my head?
I watched the snake as it slowly left the area, still flirting with the idea. In the end, the risk didn’t seem worth it. I didn’t want to make some kind of stupid mistake that ended up with me being injected with (or accidentally eating) venom when I was on the cusp of passing the course…a course I had no desire to repeat. When it was all said and done I gave the snake a wide berth and decided to pick a new spot to build my shelter for the night…a spot that wasn’t so near the brush the snake had been hanging out in.
The penalty? This story is less cool than it could have been. (I passed the course, though.)
It’s funny how we make choices in life. I’d compare this experience to other times when we’re trying to decide whether or not to pursue something we know isn’t a good idea…pick whatever sin is especially hard for you to walk away from. Even when you know it’s something that could bite you in the end, there’s that draw that pulls on you. Despite the fact that you know it’s a bad idea, you may still spend some time thinking it over despite the fact that you know you should walk away.
This is something you probably know, but I’m going to say it anyway. The closer you stay to and the longer you flirt with doing something you know you shouldn’t, the more likely you are to do it. When you find yourself in that position, take action to just shut that door. Walk away from the computer if you’re about to start looking at stuff you’re not supposed to look at. Put your phone down and walk away from it if you’re about to text something you shouldn’t. If you get yourself into trouble when you’re alone, go somewhere where you’re around people. If you get yourself in trouble when you’re around people, go somewhere where you’re by yourself.
Sin isn’t always going to be as obvious as a rattlesnake, but God gave you a conscience for a reason. If you consistently ignore it, it’ll eventually leave you alone.