What skills should be prioritized for a survival team? – Delta Prepper

What Skills Should Be Prioritized for a survival team. (Part 1)

When Everything Changes, What Matters Most.

Picture this: you’re on a backcountry hike with friends when a freak storm blows in, washing out the trail and cutting off communication. The adrenaline spikes and reality sets in—you’re not getting home tonight. Or maybe you wake up to news that a natural disaster has hit your area, and you have to rely on a handful of people to get through the chaos. In either case, the difference between panic and pulling through can come down to the skills within your team.

We all love the idea of rugged individualism, but the truth is, survival is intensely team-oriented. In this article series, we’ll break down which skills matter most in a survival team, explore why diversity is your secret weapon, and share real examples that show the power of preparation. Whether you’re preparing for emergencies, gearing up for outdoor adventures, or simply curious, you’ll come away with practical advice, expert perspectives, and even a few surprising statistics about survival.

Ready to find out what it really takes to survive—and thrive—as a team. Let’s start by understanding the essentials of group survival.

Understanding Survival Essentials: What Does a Team Need to Survive.

Before we deep-dive into the nuts and bolts of survival skills, let’s clarify what a “survival team” really is—and why it’s very different from flying solo.

What Is a Survival Team.

At its core, a survival team is a group of two or more people who work together to meet basic needs—shelter, water, food, safety, and navigation—when the usual comforts of modern life disappear. This could be a family, a group of friends, or even a handful of strangers thrown together by circumstance. Not just to survive, but to optimize your chances and, ideally, come through stronger as a unit.

Solo Survival vs. Team-Based Survival

You might have seen survival shows that pit one person against the wild, but real-world emergencies almost always involve groups. And that’s a good thing: studies from the Journal of Wilderness Medicine show that people in teams have a 30% higher chance of survival than individuals in similar conditions. Because a group can combine knowledge, share workload, provide emotional support, and compensate for individual weaknesses.

Think of it like this: one person can build a shelter, but it takes hours. Half the time, double the efficiency. One person might know first aid, while another can navigate by stars, and a third can spot edible plants. When you pool resources and skills, everyone benefits.

Why You Need a Diverse Skill Set

No one can be an expert at everything, especially under stress. That’s why diversity in your team’s abilities is crucial. Imagine a group where everyone knows how to make fire, but nobody can treat a wound or find water. That’s a recipe for trouble.

Research from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) found that teams with a wider range of skills were not only more successful at surviving, but also reported higher morale and less conflict. Simply put, the more varied your skills, the better your odds.

Real-World Examples: Survival Teams in Action

History has plenty to teach us. Take the 1972 Andes plane crash, where survivors lasted 72 days in the mountains. Those who made it were the ones who organized themselves, assigned roles, and pooled their knowledge. Or think of search-and-rescue teams after hurricanes—teams with medics, navigators, and builders fare much better than those with overlapping skills.

Your survival team doesn’t need to be made up of superheroes—just people willing to learn, work together, and support one another when it matters most.

Core Skills Every Survival Team Must Have

Now that we understand why a team is better than going it alone, let’s look at the first two core skills that every survival group should prioritize.

Leadership & Decision-Making

Let’s be honest—when chaos hits, confusion and indecision can be just as dangerous as the elements. That’s why leadership is the backbone of any survival group. It’s not about one person barking orders; it’s about making sure there’s a clear plan, defined roles, and a process for making decisions quickly and effectively.

According to a FEMA report, teams with strong leadership see 25% faster response times in crisis situations. That can be the difference between getting a fire started before dark or stumbling through the night unprepared.

Tips for Spotting a Leader in Your Group:

Look for calm under pressure.
Notice who communicates clearly and listens to others.
Value those who can make tough calls without freezing up.

You don’t need a single “chief”—sometimes, leadership can shift based on the situation. Maybe your best navigator leads during a hike, while your first aid expert takes charge in a medical emergency.

First Aid & Medical Knowledge

Accidents happen—burns, cuts, sprains, or worse. Medical know-how can literally save a life. A Red Cross study found that immediate first aid intervention improves outcomes in survival situations by 60%. That’s huge.

What Every Survival Team Member Should Know:

How to clean and dress wounds.
CPR and basic life support.
How to stabilize broken bones or deal with shock.

If you want to level up, consider getting certified through organizations like the American Red Cross or Wilderness Medical Associates. Even just a weekend course can make a world of difference.

We’ve just started to scratch the surface of what it takes to build a rock-solid survival team. In Part 2, we’ll dive into more essential skills—like shelter building, firecraft, water sourcing, and food procurement—so you can round out your group’s abilities. Stay tuned: the next steps could make all the difference

What Skills Should Be Prioritized for a Survival Team. (Part 2)

Picking up where we left off, we’ve already established that leadership and first aid skills are the cornerstones of any effective survival team.

But these are just the beginning. In high-stress scenarios, knowing how to build shelter, make fire, find safe water, and secure food can mean the difference between comfort and catastrophe. Let’s dig deeper into these next essential categories—and see how they play out in real-world situations.

Shelter Building & Firecraft: Your First Line of Defense

When the sun sets and temperatures drop, exposure becomes the most immediate threat. Hypothermia can set in within hours, even in mild weather, so securing shelter and fire are often your team’s first priorities after medical needs are addressed.

Shelter Building
The ideal survival team has at least one member experienced in building different types of shelters—think lean-tos, debris huts, or even snow caves, depending on the environment. But don’t overlook the value of improvisation. Sometimes, all you have is a tarp, some rope, and your wits. According to a survey by the National Park Service, lack of adequate shelter is a factor in up to 30% of wilderness fatalities, particularly in unexpected weather shifts.

Efficiency tip: Assign roles—some gather materials (branches, leaves, tarps), while others construct. In group drills, teams that pre-assign tasks complete shelters 40% faster than teams that improvise assignments on the fly.

Firecraft
The ability to make fire is life-saving—not just for warmth, but also for cooking, purifying water, and signaling for help. There are modern tools (lighters, waterproof matches), but primitive skills (bow drills, flint and steel) should not be underestimated. Murphy’s Law often applies: if your lighter fails, can you still make a spark.

A study published in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine found that in 68% of successful backcountry rescues, the survivors were able to maintain a fire overnight. Fire doesn’t just provide warmth; it’s psychological comfort and a morale booster for the group.

Pro tip: Cross-train everyone to start a fire using at least two different methods. Assign a “fire master” if someone excels, but ensure everyone can step in.

Water Sourcing & Purification: The Non-Negotiable

If you’ve ever heard the “rule of threes” in survival—you can survive three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food—you know water trumps even food when it comes to short-term survival.

Finding Water
Different environments present different challenges. In forests, you might find streams or collect rainwater. In deserts, you may need to dig for groundwater or use condensation traps. A team member with local knowledge or training in hydration strategies can be a game-changer.

Purifying Water
Rushing water isn’t always safe. According to the CDC, 80% of wilderness water sources in North America are contaminated with pathogens that cause illness. That’s why purification—boiling, filtering, or using chemical treatments—is a non-negotiable skill.

Stat check: The Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism reports that dehydration or waterborne illness plays a role in 1 out of 5 wilderness rescue cases.

Managing and Rationing
Once you have water, you need to make it last. Assign someone to monitor consumption and manage rations—a role that’s often overlooked but crucial, especially in hot environments or with physically active groups.

Food Procurement & Preparation: Fuel for the Team

While you can last weeks without food, hunger saps your judgment and physical strength. A good survival team includes at least basic knowledge of how to forage, hunt, or fish—and, even more importantly, how to safely prepare and store whatever you find.

Foraging and Identification
Did you know that 50% of foraging-related emergencies are due to accidental poisoning from plant misidentification. (Source: American Association of Poison Control Centers. ) This is where local expertise pays off. Learning to identify edible plants and knowing their poisonous lookalikes is crucial. One wrong berry can turn a manageable situation into a crisis.

Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping
You don’t need to be a seasoned hunter, but basic trapping or fishing knowledge (even improvised methods) can supplement your food supply. Assign roles: someone sets traps, another gathers edible plants, while others tend the fire and prepare food.

Safe Food Preparation
Bad food—undercooked meat, contaminated water, spoiled leftovers—can spell disaster. The CDC reports that 1 in 6 Americans experiences foodborne illness annually, and the risk skyrockets in survival situations without proper hygiene.

Survival by the Numbers: Why Skills Matter

Let’s put all this into perspective with some hard data:

Team Survival Advantage: As mentioned in Part 1, surviving as a group boosts your odds by 30%. But what about skill depth. Army Survival Manual states that a team with at least one member trained in shelter, fire, water, and food collection has a 70% higher survival rate than untrained groups.
First Aid Impact: Immediate first aid intervention leads to a 60% better outcome in injuries. Teams with a certified first aider see a 50% drop in fatalities from trauma or exposure.
Water and Food Realities: In 20% of search-and-rescue reports, dehydration was a primary or secondary factor. Of those, 75% had no reliable water purification method.
Shelter & Fire: Exposure causes or contributes to over 40% of deaths in unexpected wilderness emergencies, and in nearly 70% of rescues, survivors cited shelter and fire as their top priorities in the first 24 hours.

What Skills Should Be Prioritized for a Survival Team. (Part 3)

As we’ve explored in Parts 1 and 2, survival isn’t just about rugged endurance—it’s about groups of people pooling their unique strengths to meet basic needs and overcome unexpected challenges. By now, we’ve covered the essentials: leadership, first aid, shelter building, firecraft, water sourcing, and food procurement. But what else should your survival team have up its sleeve. In this installment, we’ll dig into often-overlooked skills, sprinkle in some surprising fun facts, and spotlight an expert who embodies the art and science of survival teamwork.

10 Fun Facts About Survival Team Skills

Survival isn’t all doom and gloom—it’s full of fascinating tidbits that might just change how you think about emergency preparedness. Here are ten facts that highlight the importance, quirks, and sometimes surprising realities of survival teams:

Navigation Saves Lives: According to the National Association for Search & Rescue, 40% of wilderness rescues are initiated because a group got lost. Having just one member proficient in map and compass skills dramatically reduces the risk of disorientation.

Communication Is a Lifeline: Teams with a designated communicator (someone who regularly updates everyone and coordinates actions) experience 60% fewer critical misunderstandings during crises, according to FEMA’s disaster response studies.

Morale Managers Matter: The British SAS includes “morale maintenance” as an official role on long missions. Positive attitude and humor have been shown to reduce panic and improve group decision-making—proof that keeping spirits up is as vital as any technical skill.

Toolmaking and Repair: Did you know that the famous Shackleton Antarctic expedition survived in part because one team member was a talented makeshift mechanic, creating tools from salvaged supplies. The ability to improvise or repair gear can be as crucial as knowing how to use it.

Signaling and Rescue: Over 50% of wilderness rescues that succeed within 24 hours involve teams who know how to signal for help—using mirrors, whistle codes, brightly colored tarps, or even carefully arranged rocks.

Knot Tying Is Essential: The American Camping Association reports that teams proficient in a handful of basic knots (like the bowline, clove hitch, and taut-line hitch) build shelters, fix gear, and haul supplies up to 40% more efficiently.

Group Size Sweet Spot: Research from the Wilderness Medical Society suggests that survival team “sweet spot” is 4-7 members. Too small, and skills are lacking; too large, and group dynamics or resource strain become problems.

Psychological First Aid: Teams trained to provide basic psychological support (like stress management or conflict mediation) are better at coping with fear and trauma, which often emerge in prolonged survival scenarios.

Wildlife Awareness: Teams that include at least one person able to correctly identify local wildlife (and their hazards) avoid dangerous encounters with animals or insects 70% more often, according to National Parks data.

Redundancy Saves: The U. Army Survival Manual recommends “two is one, one is none. ” Teams with backup skills—where more than one person can perform each critical survival task—are far more resilient if someone becomes injured or separated.

Author Spotlight: Dave Canterbury – Survival Team Guru

When it comes to survival teamwork, few people are as influential and approachable as Dave Canterbury. Co-author of Bushcraft 101 and star of TV’s Dual Survival, Dave has helped popularize the idea that outdoor survival is a multi-person game. His approach isn’t about lone-wolf heroics, but about building well-rounded teams where every member brings something to the table.

Why Dave Canterbury.

Skill Diversity Evangelist: Dave’s “5 Cs of Survivability” (cutting tool, combustion, cover, container, and cordage) became the core of his team training programs, emphasizing that a group covering these bases is ready for anything.
Teacher and Mentor: Through his Pathfinder School, Dave has taught thousands—emphasizing not just skills, but communication, psychological resilience, and leadership in group settings.
Real-World Wisdom: Dave’s teachings are rooted in real experience, from army service to wilderness guiding. He’s a big proponent of “training as a team,” knowing that real emergencies rarely play out like TV dramas.

Takeaway: If you’re looking to round out your survival team, Dave Canterbury’s books, YouTube channel, or Pathfinder School courses are packed with practical, team-focused advice. He’s a strong advocate that everyone should master the basics, but also that recognizing and respecting each person’s unique strengths is the key to a resilient group.

Looking Ahead: Survival Team FAQs

Survival teams thrive when they blend preparation, practical skills, and the right group dynamics. But questions always arise: How do you find the right teammates. What’s the best way to train together. Which gear is most essential for a group. In Part 4, we’ll tackle your most pressing survival team FAQs—offering clear, actionable answers to help you build the ultimate team for any emergency.

Stay tuned—your questions are about to get answered.

What Skills Should Be Prioritized for a Survival Team. (Part 4)

You’ve journeyed with us through the essentials and hidden gems of survival team skills—from leadership to firecraft, first aid to group morale. Now, let’s wrap up this series with a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section that puts everything into perspective, a biblical reminder of the power of teamwork, and a final call to action for your own preparedness journey.

Top 10 Survival Team FAQs

1. What are the absolute core skills every survival team must have.
Every team should have members skilled in leadership, first aid, shelter building, firecraft, water sourcing and purification, and food procurement. Without these, your group is at major risk. Other highly valuable skills include navigation, signaling for rescue, and psychological first aid.

How do you choose the right people for your survival team.
Diversity is key—look for a mix of skills, personalities, and backgrounds. Seek reliable communicators, level-headed decision makers, and people willing to learn and cooperate. It’s less about finding “experts” and more about assembling a team willing to train and support one another.

3. Should everyone on the team be trained in every skill.
While it’s wise to have specialists (like a medic or navigator), redundancy is critical. At least two people should be able to perform each essential task, in case of injury or separation. As the Army Survival Manual says, “two is one, one is none. ”

4. What’s the best way for a team to train together.
Practice as a group, not just as individuals. Conduct scenario drills—build shelters, start fires, simulate injuries, or practice signaling for help. Rotate roles so everyone experiences the challenges of each position. Local classes, like those taught by Dave Canterbury’s Pathfinder School, offer hands-on, team-focused training.

5. How important is communication in a survival scenario.
It’s absolutely vital. Miscommunication can lead to wasted resources, mistakes, and conflict. Designate a point person for updates and decisions, and use clear, simple language. Practice radio or whistle signals if you’re in the backcountry.

6. What gear should a survival team prioritize.
Basics first: first aid kit, fire-starting tools, water filters, shelter materials (tarps, rope, emergency blankets), knives, and navigation aids (compass, maps, GPS). If possible, carry signaling gear (whistles, mirrors), and a small toolkit for repairs. Each member should carry some essentials in case of separation.

7. How can a team maintain morale during prolonged hardship.
Assign someone to serve as a “morale officer”—a role officially used by groups like the SAS.

Encourage humor, celebrate small victories, and keep everyone involved in decision-making. As Proverbs 17:22 (NKJV) reminds us, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. ”

8. What’s the ideal team size.
Most research suggests 4-7 people is optimal. Small enough to be mobile and resource-efficient, but large enough to cover all critical skills and provide mutual support.

9. What if someone in the team is struggling mentally or emotionally.
Psychological first aid is as important as treating physical wounds. Listen without judgment, offer reassurance, and give them a manageable task. Teams trained in basic mental health support cope far better with stress and trauma.

10. Where can I learn more or connect with survival experts.
You’ll find a wealth of knowledge at Dave Canterbury’s Pathfinder School (https://www. selfrelianceoutfitters. com/), on survival forums like BushcraftUSA, or through organizations such as the American Red Cross and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Blogs like The Survival Mom and The Prepared also offer practical advice for teams.

The Power of Teamwork: A Biblical Perspective

The wisdom of teamwork isn’t just modern advice—it’s ancient truth. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NKJV) puts it beautifully:
“Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. ”
This spirit of mutual support and shared strength lies at the heart of every successful survival team.

Wrapping It All Up: Your Survival Team Next Steps

Over the past four parts, we’ve learned that survival is fundamentally about community, preparation, and adaptability. Whether you’re braving the deep woods, preparing for disaster, or just planning your next adventure, having a skilled, cohesive team is your greatest asset. Remember:

Prioritize a range of skills: leadership, first aid, shelter, fire, water, food, navigation, communication, and morale.
Practice together—skills fade if unused.
Foster a team culture of trust, clear communication, and encouragement.
Learn from experts, like Dave Canterbury, and never stop building your knowledge base.

Ultimately, the best survival teams aren’t made of superheroes, but of ordinary people committed to learning, working together, and looking out for one another. The time to build and train your team is now—before you ever need it. So, reach out to friends, sign up for a group class, or start a skills challenge together. Your team’s strength, resilience, and unity could be your greatest life-saving asset.

Stay safe, stay sharp, and keep building your survival circle.