NORTH CAROLINA OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL TASK FORCE DAGGER FOUNDATION - EVERGLADES/10,000 ISLANDS COASTAL CANOEING Febuay 22 - Febuay 27, 2018
CONTENTS WELCOME TO NORTH CAROLINA OUTWARD BOUND 2 ABOUT OUTWARD BOUND 3 Mission Statement Histoy Woking With Veteans What We Teach 4 Pogam Goals COURSE PREPARATION AND PHYSICAL FITNESS 4 Attitude and Mental Pepaation The Best Execise Thee Is 5 Taining fo Coastal Canoeing COURSE INFORMATION - COASTAL CANOEING 6 Pepaation Shelte Food Hygiene Waste Managment Coastal Canoeing 7 Self-Reflection/Solo Pesonal Challenge Event CLOTHING AND GEAR 8 What We Supply What To Bing Fabics Packing and Stoage Medications You Eyes 9 Skin Cae Money Electonic Devices and Communications CLOTHING AND GEAR 10 Requied Uppe Body Clothing Head Eyes Hands Requied Lowe Body Clothing 11 Feet Additional Requied Items Optional Items Impotant Note About Medication
WELCOME TO NORTH CAROLINA OUTWARD BOUND We ae pleased you have begun the pocess that will lead you Outwad Bound. We pomise you an extaodinay outdoo adventue and bonding oppotunity. Veteans pogams ae designed to be fun, fast and challenging. We make the most of the oganizational and teamwok skills you leaned in the militay to get you staight into the wildeness. You leadeship skills will be tested as you and you cewmates take on the esponsibility of oute planning, navigation, camp site selection and meal pepaation all the while helping one and othe ovecome the physical obstacles of being in the wildeness and the emotional challenges of tansitioning back to life at home whethe you have etied fom the militay o ae still on active duty between assignments. At Outwad Bound you will have the oppotunity to discuss you sevice expeience in a suppotive, non-confontational setting suounded by fellow veteans and sevice membes while expeiencing the beauty of the county you have seved. The wildeness is ou classoom. We opeate in all kinds of weathe and tavel a vaiety of teain. Thee will be times when you can expect to be hot o cold, wet, tied and soe. You will push you limits both physically and mentally on Outwad Bound. Ou staff, sometimes veteans themselves, have extensive wildeness expeience woking with goups. You can ely on thei ability to manage isk on you pogam. Howeve, pesonal health, safety and well being in the wildeness is the esponsibility of each and evey membe of you cew. This packet contains all the infomation needed to pepae fo you wildeness adventue. Take the time to ead the infomation and complete and etun all you equied foms. Failue to fully complete you foms and etun them by the due date can delay you application. Without all elevant data, it is difficult to adequately plan schedules and logistics necessay to povide a quality Outwad Bound expeience. To complete an Outwad Bound couse is an achievement. People of all ages emembe thei Outwad Bound expeiences fo a lifetime and fequently epot, "Outwad Bound was the best thing I eve did." On behalf of Outwad Bound, I thank you fo you sevice to ou nation and look fowad to seeing you in the wildeness. Regads, Matt Matthew D. Rosky Noth Caolina Outwad Bound School Veteans - Pogam Manage 2
ABOUT OUTWARD BOUND MISSION STATEMENT Changing lives though challenge and discovey. HISTORY The name Outwad Bound comes fom the nautical tem descibing the moment a ship leaves the safety of the habo fo the unknown challenges and adventues of the open sea. Outwad Bound was founded duing Wold Wa II. Geman U-boats wee sinking Bitish mechant ships, and many mechant sailos wee dying as they waited to be escued fom the ough and figid wates. Si Lawence Holt, owne of the Blue Funnel shipping line in Geat Bitain, called upon a pogessive educato, Kut Hahn, to help him uncove the answe to this question: Why wee the olde, moe seasoned sailos suviving at a ate much highe than the younge and pesumably moe fit sailos? Hahn identified the poblem as a lack of confidence athe than any shotage of skill o equipment. Hahn identified the poblem WWII Atlantic convoy as a lack of confidence athe than any shotage of skill o equipment. He ecognized that the younge sailos had not yet developed an undestanding of thei own physical, emotional and psychological esouces. The olde men wee able to daw on thei life expeiences and inne esouces to suvive the hadships pesented to them. To addess this poblem, Hahn opened the fist Outwad Bound School in Abedovey, Wales. The school povided paticipants with a seies of pogessively challenging oppotunities fo success. Since 1941, Outwad Bound has become the oldest, lagest and most ecognized wildeness educational oganization in the wold. WORKING WITH THE ARMED FORCES AND VETERANS The histoy of Outwad Bound seving veteans dates to 1971 and the Spatan Pathfinde pogam un by the John F. Kennedy Cente fo Militay Assistance. The pupose of the pogam was to use Outwad Bound techniques to eoient soldies with dug and disciplinay poblems and pomote self-confidence and self-awaeness though contolled stess in a wildeness envionment. Outwad Bound fo Veteans was ceated though collaboation with Veteans Administation Post Taumatic Stess Disode (PTSD) units to seve Vietnam Wa veteans. Outwad Bound enewed the pogam in 2006 to seve Iaq and Afghanistan veteans, unning one such couse each yea. Since then Pivate donations and chaitable oganizations have enabled Outwad Bound to seve ove 600 veteans evey yea. Kut Hahn 3
The founde of the Vietnam veteans pogam and a guiding hand though many iteations of veteans couses was fome Amy Colonel and head of Special Foces in Vietnam, Bob Rheault (left). Colonel Rheault became an Outwad Bound instucto afte he left the Amy, because it was the closest thing to Special Foces that he could find. WHAT WE TEACH The Fou Pillas The Fou Pillas epesent the histoical foundation of Outwad Bound and ae the coe of ou couse design and delivey. The Fou Pillas ae: Colonel Robet Rheault in Vietnam Physical Fitness - building the physical and emotional stamina to meet challenges Caftsmanship - modeling quality and intentionality in one s actions Self-Reliance - being esouceful, ecognizing and applying pesonal stengths Compassion - selflessly engaging in the welfae and dignity of othes In additon to the Fou Pillas, the following Piciples ae incopoated in each of ou pogams: Safety - managing isk fo physical and emotional safety in eveything we do Sevice - acting selflessly to meet the needs of othes and ou envionment Couage - taking isks to achieve goals and stand up fo univesal well-being Leadeship - utilizing collaboative elationships to initiate collective action Divesity - embacing people s diffeences as a souce of leaning and gowth Envionmental Stewadship - peseving ou natual wold fo futue geneations PROGRAM GOALS Evey paticpant attends fo diffeent easons.howeve, it is ou goal fo all paticpants to: Bond with fellow veteans and feel less isolated Establish tust with accepting listenes Validate expeiences and incease sense of self-woth Have pupose and achieve success Live in the pesent moment Tansfe militay values and expeiences to continue seving communities COURSE PREPARATION AND PHYSICAL FITNESS ATTITUDE AND MENTAL PREPARATION Have fun and enjoy the adventue of pepaation while taining fo you couse! This is an excellent oppotunity fo you to get outside, get fit and exploe you neighbohood's paks and eceation aeas. You attitude of commitment and willingness to ty new things ae two of the most impotant contibutions you can bing to you couse. Pepae youself to take on new challenges and ty new activities. 4
You ability to inteact well with a goup is also impotant to successfully completing you couse. Plan to be patient, to pesevee, to expand you limits and to have a positive and memoable adventue! We stongly suggest that applicants who ae oveweight o have high blood pessue, family histoy of heat disease, diabetes, a polonged sedentay lifestyle o smoke moe than one pack a week consult with thei physician to establish an execise pogam. You DO NOT have to be an athlete o highly-tained to attend an Outwad Bound couse. You DO have to be physically capable and active. Ou couses ae demanding. You will use you muscles in new and challenging ways o ways that you have not used them in a while! It takes stength and fitness to cay a 50+ pound pack fo 5 miles o climb a ock wall. If you aen t aleady involved in a fitness pogam, now is the time to stat. You effots will pay off in enjoyment, comfot and fun. THE BEST EXERCISE THERE IS Fo most people, the best and most accessible execise is jogging a combination of walking and unning compatible with you cuent level of fitness, ability and inteest. Why jogging? It s the simplest, cheapest, least encumbeed, most available and most efficient way to use you lage leg muscles equiing the heat and ciculatoy system to pump lage quantities of blood and oxygen. The most impotant thing is to find an activity that you enjoy doing. While execising thee times a week fo thity minutes is the minimum, five times a week is optimum physical pepaation fo you couse. Build in 15-30 minutes evey othe day fo light weight taining. Weight taining helps build stength which will complement you aeobic fitness. Yoga? Stetching? Impeative. Stetching maintains flexibility. TRAINING FOR COASTAL CANOEING COURSES Enduance tain at least thee times a week on a owing machine. If a owing machine is not available, supplement with stength taining thee times a week by including sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups o weight taining that concentates on you shouldes, stomach and back. As always cadiovascula execise like unning, walking, swimming o iding a bike will get you heat pumping and set you up fo success on couse! 5
COURSE INFORMATION - COASTAL CANOEING PREPARATION It is impotant fo you to take time to mentally and physically pepae fo you couse. Look ove the Couse Pepaation and Physical Fitness guidelines on page 5. If you have yet to stat physically pepaing, stat now and focus on cadiovascula taining. You will be putting youself at a disadvantage if you postpone o ignoe physical pepaation! If you ae unsue how to begin a fitness egimen appopiate fo you, contact you physician fo assistance. SHELTER While in the Eveglades/Ten Thousand Islands, you may be sleeping on the beach in tents with up to fou othe paticipants o on camping platfoms in a pesonal bug tent. You will also be given a gound sheet and a foam sleeping pad to place unde you sleeping bag. FOOD Outwad Bound pactices Leave No Tace camping ethics. Theefoe, we seldom build fies. You will be cooking on gas camp stoves. You instuctos will teach you backcounty cooking techniques and you will be esponsible fo helping with the pepaation of all meals fo youself and you cewmates. You diet will be a mix of dehydated foods, fesh fuits and vegetables. We use ice, totillas, cackes, salami, cheese, peanut butte, jelly, tuna fish, pasta and tail mixes. The amount of physical activity you expeience duing you couse demands a nutitious diet to help fuel you body. Junk food is not available on couse. If you have special diet equiements, make sue we ae awae by ecoding these equiements in you Medical Recod booklet. Fo moe infomation on nutition, efe to the Medical Recod booklet. HYGIENE You will be outside while on couse and won't have access to a showe o bath. You will be able to do basic cleanup evey day: bush you teeth, wash you face and comb you hai. At the end of you couse, you will be able to do a moe thoough cleanup. Ou staff ae vey skilled in field hygiene so please don't hesitate to appoach them with any questions o concens. WASTE MANAGEMENT Since Noth Caolina Outwad Bound is an outdoo pogam, you can expect to lean and use Leave No Tace camping techniques. Know that it is natual to have questions egading sanitation in an outdoo setting. You instuctos will answe you questions and will teach you the hygienic and envionmentally safe way to dispose of waste. 6
COASTAL CANOEING You can expect to spend a good deal of time each day in canoes. You will be in a tandem canoe, which means thee ae two paticipants pe canoe. Depending on the wind and weathe, the level of difficulty will vay day to day. You and you cewmates will lean o pactice: maine expedition isk assessment and management. maine oute planning and navigation. paddle stokes and techniques fo canoe populsion and steeing. canoe-based assisted escues and self-escues. expedition equipment use, cae and maintenance. how to wok with you paddling patne. It will be necessay fo you and you cewmates to pefom a swim assessment; as well as a flip and swim assessment as pactice fo paddling and self-escue. This activity is closely monitoed by you instuctos. It is citical fo us to detemine you paddling comfot as you and you cew exploe the islands. Even if you ae a non-swimme o weak swimme, you will still paticipate in this safety assessment. All students will be weaing pesonal floatation devices (PFDs) duing the assessment. Pesonal floatation devices (PFDs) ae equied appael anytime students ae on the wate. SELF-REFLECTION/SOLO Self-eflection time is an an oppotunity to elax afte challenges completed and echage fo challenges ahead. It is also a good time to wite in the jounals we povide. You instuctos will detemine if solo is appopiate fo you and you cew. Solo is not a suvival test and you ae not dopped in a emote aea. You entie cew is spead out in a designed aea. Solo will not exceed 24 hous. You instuctos will teach you pocedues to follow duing solo and monito you duing this expeience. You will know the location of you instuctos solo site should you need to contact them. You ae given a whistle, food, wate, sleeping bag and a pesonal tap to ceate you shelte. FINAL CHALLENGE EVENT At the end of you couse, you may paticipate in a final challenge event. This is an oppotunity to see how much you skills have impoved since you began you couse. 7
CLOTHING AND GEAR WHAT WE SUPPLY Noth Caolina Outwad Bound supplies the technical equipment needed fo you couse including a canoe shelte, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, ain gea, compass, cooking equipment and eating utensils. At the end of couse, you will clean all gea that was issued to you. Bing only the items on the Clothing and Gea list. WHAT TO BRING Because ou couses ae chaacteized by unpedictable weathe, obtaining the pope clothing is cucial. Please bing the items on the Clothing and Gea list as descibed. You can find these items at camping, outdoo and thift stoes, Amy/Navy suplus, outlets, and mail-ode catalogs. Clothing and gea can be expensive. Shop aound befoe you buy. Buy last yea s model; don t woy about colos o style. You choices should be govened by whethe o not the piece of clothing o gea will meet ou equiements, not if it is the best looking o newest! Many students use the following websites to shop fo clothing and gea: Receational Equipment Incopoated - www.ei.com Easten Mountain Spots - www.ems.com Siea Tading Post - www.sieatadingpost.com Campmo - www.campmo.com When you aive fo couse stat, you will not have an oppotunity to puchase fogotten items! FABRICS It is impotant that all you clothing be comfotable, quick-dying and wam. Fabics such as polyeste, polypopylene, fleece, acylic, ayon, wool o name bands like Polatec, Thinsulate, COOLMAX and Capilene ae just a few favoites of outdoo enthusiasts, since they etain much of thei insulating qualities when wet. Thee ae othe band names as well. Check with a sales associate o mail-ode epesentative. Do not bing down, denim o cotton clothing (unless othewise indicated). Ou Clothing and Gea list eflects the layeing pinciple. Seveal layes of light clothing keep you wam and can be adjusted to changes in both weathe and activity. Fo example, weaing a polypopylene undeshit, a mediumweight wool o synthetic sweate and a fleece jacket allows you to adapt to changing conditions. PACKING AND STORAGE Pack you clothing and gea in a duffel bag o soft luggage containe. When you aive, you will eceive the items Outwad Bound povides (see What We Supply section) and you instuctos will teach you and you cew how to pack fo you expedition. You will keep pesonal items such as clean clothes (fo you etun tip home) and valuables (cell phones, electonic devices and wallets) in you duffel o soft luggage containe. These items will be stoed at ou base camp facility in a locked stoage bin while you ae on couse. Leave expensive items at home. MEDICATIONS Pesciption medications bought on couse must aive in the oiginal containe with the pesciption label intact. The pesciption label is documentation fo use of the medication while on couse. The containe should not include othe medications, vitamins, etc. Refe to the Medical Recods booklet - Medications. Do not bing non-pesciption medications such as aspiin, Advil, etc., unless it is listed in you Medical Recod booklet. We have a medical kit that contains these medications. 8
YOUR EYES Noth Caolina Outwad Bound staff ecommends glasses with a holding band vesus contact lenses. It is moe difficult to maintain adequate hygiene when weaing contact lenses in a wildeness setting. Weaing contact lenses may put you eyes at isk of infection o coneal ulces. These conditions can develop vey quickly and can be vey seious. In ae cases, these conditions can cause blindness. If you do choose to wea contact lenses, bing both a backup pai of contacts and glasses. Be sue to bing enough contact lens solution and be diligent in you contact lens outine. Fo moe infomation please visit the FDA website: Food and Dug Administation - Contact Lenses SKIN CARE Remembe you will be outside the entie time you ae on couse. Keeping youself potected against insect bites, sunbun and othe types of skin iitation is impotant to you comfot and safety on couse. It is you esponsibility to follow you instucto s diections and monito how you skin is eacting to the envionment. We don t want you leaving couse sunbuned o coveed with insect bites. It is clea to wildeness enthusiasts that the best potection fom biting insects, bugs and sunbun is the physical baie of clothing. Theefoe, we emphasize that you bing the equied clothing and gea listed. DO NOT bing shot shots! If you do, you ae only exposing you skin to insect bites, sunbun and abasions as you expedition. If you ae taveling by ai, be awae of TSA guidelines. To avoid TSA taking items out of you cay-on luggage (like insect epellant and sunsceen), pack these items in you checked luggage o do not exceed size specifications. Fo moe infomation please visit the TSA website: Tanspotation Secuity Administation - Cay-ons MONEY You should bing appoximately $50 with you. You may encounte food expemses befoe and afte you couse. In addition, you and you cewmates ae financially esponsible fo any lost o damaged NCOB gea o equipment. ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND COMMUNICATION Cell phones, tablets, GPS devices, and all othe electonic devices (except digital cameas) ae not pemitted on couse. Ou couses ae meant to push paticipants out of thei comfot zones. Pat of this push includes stepping away fom electonic devices. Electonic devices can be vey distacting and can disupt the wildeness expeience. Cell Phones: Although cell phones ae not pemitted on couse, taveling to and fom you couse with a cell phone and a chage is encouaged. At couse stat, you will be asked to tun off you cell phone and stoe it in you pesonal luggage. You luggage will be locked in a goup stoage bin at ou facility fo the duation of the couse. Cameas: Cameas ae welcomed at Noth Caolina Outwad Bound. We ecommended watepoof disposable cameas. If you elect to bing a non-disposable camea, we advise that you stoe it in a small dy bag o plastic zip lock-bag. Ou couses ae igoous and thee is a isk of losing o damaging you camea. Cell phone cameas, tablets, and any othe Wi-Fi enabled electonic devices with built-in cameas ae not pemitted on couse. Postal Mail: Mail delivey is not available on 4-9 day couses. Emegency Communication: If a family emegency occus while the couse is in pogess, emegency messages can be elayed by calling ou toll-fee numbe (800-878-5258) on weekdays 8:30 AM 5:00 PM Easten time. Befoe you couse begins, you will eceive an e-mail that will povide an afte-hous and weekend emegency phone numbe. 9
CLOTHING AND GEAR This Clothing and Gea list is the esult of many yeas of staff and paticipant feedback. Please follow this list closely. Points to keep in mind while planning and shopping: Changing weathe conditions may equie use of all of these items. Keep eceipts and tags fom new puchases so any unused items can be etuned afte couse. Clothing should be made fom synthetic o wool fibes such as polyeste, polypopylene, fleece, acylic, ayon, wool o name bands like Polatec, Thinsulate, COOLMAX and Capilene. Weaing white o light coloed clothing keeps you coole; in addition, they attact fewe biting insects. Dak colos ae acceptable fo insulating attie. Cotton clothing loses its insulating popeties when wet. Also, cotton does not dy quickly in the outdoos. Fo these easons, do not bing items made with cotton unless othewise noted. REQUIRED UPPER BODY CLOTHING HEAD EYES 1 mediumweight fleece jacket o pullove (200 weight fleece) Comfotable, beathes well, insulates when wet. A sufficiently wam wool o wool/synthetic sweate may be substituted - if in doubt, bing two sweates. 1 mediumweight synthetic long undewea top 1 long sleeved, light coloed button up shit 2-3 synthetic t-shits 1 mediumweight fleece o wool hat that coves you eas and the back of you neck 1 wide-bimmed sun hat o baseball cap 1 bandanna (used to shield you head, neck o face fom insects and sunbun) 1 bug head net (mesh needs to be small enough to potect against no-see-ums and mosquitos) 1 pai sunglasses Pesciption eye wea and/o contacts (if applicable) Bing an exta pai in case of loss o damage. If you have limited vision without you glasses, bing pesciption sunglasses. Retaine staps (make sue they fit you glasses tightly and have an adjustable stap) Had cases to stoe glasses HANDS 1 pai of lightweight synthetic gloves (fo sun potection) REQUIRED LOWER BODY CLOTHING 1 mediumweight synthetic long undewea bottom 1-2 pais of quick-dy nylon tekking pants (can be the type that convets to shots) 2 pais of quick-dying nylon shots 2-4 pais of synthetic, quick-dy (not cotton) undewea o boxe shots 10
1 pai of WET SHOES: secue fitting shoes that enclose the entie foot and have a had sole, such as old unning shoes o sneakes. These shoes will be won when paddling and WILL get wet. UNACCEPTABLE WET SHOES: Any open toed and/o open heeled and/o open side sandals (Teva, Chaco, Keen), clog type shoes o flip flops (Cocs), Vibam 5-finge shoes, aqua socks o low cut slip-on shoes. 1 pai of lightweight unning shoes 1 pai of CAMP SHOES: The unning shoes listed above may double as you camp shoe, OR you can bing a Coc-type shoe o a spot sandal. This camp shoe MUST fit secuely, have a had sole, be closed toed, and enclose the majoity of the foot. 1-2 pais of mediumweight wool o synthetic socks 2 pais of lightweight synthetic socks ADDITIONAL REQUIRED ITEMS Medicated powde like Gold Bond Pesciption medication (if applicable) 1 LED style headlamp with 1 spae set of batteies (ecommended) OR 1 standad headlamp with 3 sets of spae batteies and one spae bulb. Avoid halogen bulbs to polong battey life. 1 small bottle of insect epellent (no aeosol o wipes) 1 1 watepoof watch with alam 1 tube of sunsceen SPF 30+ (should be less than 1 yea old) 1 1 lip balm SPF 30+ o geate 2 pens o pencils 1 old twin flat sheet (39 x 75 inches) o saong (55 x 57 inches) o shemagh (44 x 44 inches) to cove up fom bugs on hot nights and fo discete clothing changes 2-4 gallon-sized zip lock bags (fo keeping items like notebook, camea dy and clean) Tavel size toileties fo expedition: small toothbush, small tube of toothpaste, comb o bush (we will povide you with biodegadable soap) Tavel size toileties that will stay at base camp: shampoo and conditione, soap, towel, toothbush, tooth paste, comb o bush (fo post couse clean up.) 1 set of exta clothes fo tavel days $50 cash (see Money section) OPTIONAL ITEMS It's nice to go light, but many past students also ecommend binging the following items: Cazy Ceek camp chai Camea (with exta batteies and memoy cad o exta film) 1 Swiss Amy type knife o multi-tool with can opene IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT MEDICATIONS Refe to section titled MEDICATION in this Clothing and Gea booklet o contact ou Medical Sceene at medical@ncobs.og o 1-800-709-6098. 11
RISK AND SAFETY Safety is ou numbe one pioity. At all levels of ou school, we demonstate ou dedication to paticipant safety by ou wods, actions and values. Outwad Bound has been a national leade in wildeness safety fo ove 50 yeas and fequently advises and assists othe oganizations in outdoo adventue isk management. Living and taveling in a emote wildeness setting exposes you to isks diffeent than those you may encounte in you daily life. We believe that accepting appopiate isks and taining and pepaing paticipants to manage those isks, povides invaluable life expeience. Regadless of pecautionay measues, isk and uncetainty ae cental to the concept of challenge and adventue. The intent is not to avoid activities involving isk but to ecognize, pepae fo and successfully manage isk. In ode to identify any potential hazads and update best pactices, ou pogams ae egulaly eviewed by outdoo pofessionals fom inside and outside the Outwad Bound system. Outwad Bound instuctos eceive egula taining in the activities and envionments in which we delive ou couses. They ae tained to anticipate and manage isks inheent in emote aeas. They ae also tained in fist aid, seach and escue and emegency management. Ou instuctos ae cetified Wildeness Fist Respondes; some ae Wildeness Emegency Medical Technicians, o equivalent. Outwad Bound maintains a minimum staff-to-student atio of appoximately 1:6. Instuctos wok in teams of two o thee with six to 12 students. Instucto teams ae usually co-ed, but balancing skills and teaching styles is ou pimay staffing focus. One instucto in evey team is a lead instucto with multiple seasons of taining and expeience. The lead instucto has single point accountability fo the safety and effectiveness of the couse in the field as well as mentoing thei staffing team. As a paticipant, you must take esponsibility fo youself by following instuctions and pacticing the skills taught by you instuctos. 12