Urban-SERE

04/12/2019

Another example of people leaving the stranded vehicle and not surviving.

Learn basic survival skills and stay with the biggest obvious signal - car with bonnet and boot open.

Australia outback: Body found in search for missing woman https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-50653763

It is believed to be the final member of a group of three who went missing two weeks ago, police say.

12/05/2019

We were pleased to stumble upon a page for Ridgeline clothing to find our own Conrad modelling lol. A survival management task to Taransay a couple of years back.

17/03/2019

It’s been said before and Will Be again, carry and map and compass and know how to use them.

Stay safe

It's a skill that many people do not have the pleasure of learning these days...using a compass!

Plus it's essential for safety and navigation! Check out our beginners guide here 👉 http://ow.ly/REk650mJeKC

05/02/2019

A fantastic example of tech being used smartly and a great outcome.

An unwell man living in a very remote area of Scotland was rescued by HM Coastguard helicopter after his distress signal was picked up in Houston, Texas.

The gentleman – in his mid-70s – normally activates his SPOT beacon in a ‘check-in’ alert mode on a Sunday to let family and friends know he is ok. However, last Sunday (3 February) he triggered an SOS instead of the normal alert mode, potentially signifying he needed urgent assistance.

The SOS signal was picked up by a response centre thousands of miles away at the International Emergency Response Coordination Centre (IERCC) in Houston USA, which in turn notified HM Coastguard Mission Control Centre (MCC) in Fareham, Hampshire on Sunday just before 6pm.

The dilemma for HM Coastguard’s MCC and the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) was whether the SOS function been used accidentally when the gentleman simply intended to check in with family and friends as usual.

Without any other means to get in contact with the man to find out if the SOS was intentional or not, HM Coastguard decided to send the Prestwick Coastguard helicopter to the man’s remote Scottish cabin to check if he was ok.

When the Coastguard Winchman was winched down and made his way to the man’s cabin they found that he was indeed very ill and needed medical assistance. The helicopter was unable to winch close enough to the man’s cabin so Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team were called in to help move the casualty to a more suitable location for winching.

Once onboard the helicopter he was flown to Torlundy for onward transfer to hospital by land ambulance.

Neil Blewett, UK Aeronautical Operations Centre Controller for HM Coastguard said “This is an excellent result thanks to the vigilance of our MCC and ARCC not putting it down to an ordinary check alert.

‘When the man activated his beacon that signal went via satellite to Houston, which then gets sent to our MCC for attention. What must seem a very long way round for an alert to reach us is actually very quick thanks to the satellite technology that we use.

'In this case, the man’s activation of his beacon, the satellites and the SPOT beacon itself saved his life because without any of those we would not have known he needed urgent help. We have since heard that the man is doing well hope and we wish him a speedy recovery so that he can return home as soon as possible.’

PICTURE CREDIT: Tim Wallace AmbientLife
Prestwick SAR Coastguard Helicopter

14/12/2018

Anyone going heading to Snowdonia should be made aware if this.

Stay safe.

Walkers and climbers are being warned of a potentially hazardous boulder on the slopes of Tryfan in Snowdonia. A large stone block was observed by mountain rescuers during a recent incident on the East Face of the mountain

08/12/2018

This is such a terrible story, especially at this coming time of year where families expect to spend time together.

We can only offer our condolences to the family but we Can try to stop this happening again.

To help prevent this we at Urban-SERE are giving away 50 copies of our travellers safety and security handbook over the next week. Just use the following link and at checkout enter code 'StaySafe50' to get your free copy.

https://www.urban-sere.com/products/travel_handbook.php

From all of us at Urban-SERE, please share this and lets get these give way handbooks out to those travelling, gap year students, holiday travellers or business.

Stay Safe.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-46492477

A 26-year-old man is to appear in court on Monday as police continue to look for the body of Grace Millane.

02/12/2018

Very important skill that is always overlooked.

Get trained, stay safe.

Skyrunner and fell running expert Keri Wallace explains why all mountain enthusiasts should hone their map and compass skills.

29/10/2018

This is excellent advice and everyone venturing out would do well to take a few moments to watch, digest and then adhere to the following advice.

Stay Safe!

08/07/2018

Last week we had a mini-adventure in North Wales climbing, MTB, bouldering and Packrafting.

03/07/2018

Conrad and Phil enjoying packrafting around in North Wales. Excellent weather and great opportunities for adventure and for testing skills. So far they’ve been Rock climbing, Mountain biking and today Packrafting. What will tomorrow hold in store?

24/06/2018

A great weekend delivering escape training with Peter Moore; a man held captive for 946 days and eventually released in a prisoner exchange. His bodyguards, captured with him, were less fortunate and were all murdered within the first year of captivity.

This is real training from those who know, understand and in Peter’s case have had to live it.

15/06/2018

We are testing our students Evasion skill on the moors and so far they’re doing better than we anticipated.

They’re keeping their wits about them and moving well making full use of time, weather and dead ground.

14/06/2018

Navigation skills in Rural Evasion are pivotal to knowing where you are, assessing where hostile forces or hunters may be and assessing how we can avoid those high probability areas of contact.

Training begins with teaching in daylight training and concludes with night movement exercises.

Rural Evasion training done right at Urban-SERE.com

20/05/2018

Teaching two of lovely clients on our navigation course. Map reading really is a skill that can save lives. If you want to be adventurous you really should learn to map read. GPS is all well and good until it fails and batteries die.

We’ much rather make intelligent use of dumb technology rather than rely on smart technology. Map, watch and compass - always works it’s as simple as that...

09/05/2018

It is great when we get asked to chair conferences that are clearly our expertise. It not only allows us to share our thoughts and concerns but more importantly we get to see the general understanding around the subject.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6400082878029455360

Great to be asked to chair this conference.

13/04/2018

Map appreciation going well on our Hostile Environment training this week. Lots of good planning and information being understood. As usual joined by Peter Moore the Iraq hostage who works well with us and gives us the real deal about life in captivity. It can happen to anyone and happens to some every day of the year somewhere in the world...

05/02/2018

It’s times like this when our staff get to train themselves. Here in Norway Conrad is introducing Donna, our Doctor, to extreme cold weather at Rjukan. Famous for the ‘Heroes of Telemark’ raid on the N**i heavy water factory but also the premiere place for ice climbing. Nearby is Gaustatoppen, the highest mountain in southern Norway, where NATO had a listening post and railway inside the mountain all secret until 2010. This is a great area to ski, climb and become accustomed to extreme cold (-15C). Here is the gorge guarding the site of the heavy water factory. And the escape route of the saboteurs; all the way to Sweden, unsupported and only carrying small packs - now that was survival...

15/01/2018

Well done to all the MR troops involved. Tryfan is an amazing mountain but must never be underestimated. Over the years it's seen many an incident and plenty of fatalities. Our thoughts are with the family.

For those wishing to explore the mountains in winter, be equipped, trained and stay safe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-42694851

About 40 mountain rescuers searched for the walker on Tryfan after the alarm was raised on Sunday.

14/01/2018

An article for the American magazine Outdoor Life written by our Conrad Allen.

"Not all those who wander are lost.” That oft-quoted line from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings pretty well describes a certain type of outdoorsman. Maybe it’s a military sniper who relies on evasion to stay hidden and lethal. Or maybe it’s a surveillance professional, a paid spook who...

19/12/2017

With Christmas just around the corner and many people going 'away' for the festive season, this is well worth a read and viewing.

Stay safe out there everyone.

http://www.safetravelsmagazine.com

Want to know more before you travel? Safe Travels Magazine is for you!

09/12/2017

We are here in Las Vegas having just attended and delivered at the conference below. Urban-SERE Ltd gave a good account of itself and made many great contacts. What sets us apart from the competition is our Resilience within our Hostile Environments Training (HERST).

If you have staff travelling and need assurance you are meeting your duty of care then get in touch. Buying Insurance does NOT demonstrate a discharged duty of care and does nothing to keep your staff safe. It helps pick up the pieces and calms the aftermath. However, training your staff to avoid the issues, preparing them properly for difficulties and to be resilient to their impact, in order to do your bidding whilst travelling, is what is really required.

This is what Urban-SERE Ltd does and we do it very well indeed. Just ask some of our clients...

https://www.quaynote.com/conference/corporate-liability-travel-risk-duty-care/

Now in its second year, Corporate Liability, Travel Risk and Duty of Care will build upon the inaugural conference run in Washington D.C. last year and the series of conferences staged by Quaynote in the U.S., U.K. and Europe over the last decade.

22/11/2017

This is incredible footage demonstrating just what it could take to flee an oppressive regime and escape to freedom.

Well done whoever you are, you are now free. Enjoy the rest of your life.

North Korea defection: Footage of moment soldier fleeshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42075986

21/11/2017

We have just confirmed that we are sending one of our instructors to Canada 🇨🇦 in Feb Mar for 5 weeks to qualify as a CSIA ski instructor. We will incorporate this into some upcoming courses and expeditions we have planned.

But for now it’s time to read up on all the hazardous situations we are likely to come across and need to be aware of.

18/11/2017

Our upcoming climbing expedition requires a 70m rope and guess what’s just arrived in the post...

We are looking forward to this and will send updates

11/11/2017

This is exactly the kinds of mistakes that cost dearly. Our travellers’ safety and security handbook covers this in detail.

Let’s hope she has a good outcome and in the meantime spread the word to educate others to prevent it happening again.

https://www.urban-sere.com/store/store.php?product/page/3/Travellers%27+Security+and+Safety+Awareness+Handbook

Stay Safe with Urban-SERE.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41950987

Laura Plummer's family hope the judge will say carrying the banned tablets was an innocent mistake.

09/11/2017

Amazing story and perfect example of never giving up. How many of you out there, in the same situation would have perished just from losing the will to survive and giving up?

Get trainings, build confidence and be aware of the risks. Always have alternate plans.

The German man was discovered after falling into a 100ft deep chasm in the Dachstein mountain range

08/11/2017

It’s been said before and it’ll be said again. Training and knowledge overcome equipment every time. Get yourselves properly prepared. Navigation training is a good starter.

Hillwalkers and climbers are being encouraged to also equip themselves with winter skills and weather information.

06/11/2017

Excellent teamwork and great result with inter-team liaison. ‘Whensoever’
The motto of the RAFMRS says it all.

20/10/2017

The military adage of ‘time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted!’ Is certainly not lost on the Urban-SERE team about to embark on the toughest adventure race held in the UK.

This week whilst sat on trains we have been pouring over the maps.

In a week’s time along with our new team doctor will be arriving in the Lake District to take part in the OMM.

https://www.theomm.com/omm50-start-list/

We will give updates as we are able and a write up following the event.

05/10/2017

It is with great pride that we can announce Urban-SERE's attendance at the 2nd Corporate Liability, Travel Risk and Duty of Care Conference.

Both Peter Moore and Conrad Allen have been invited to attend and speak at the conference bringing their well balanced and considerable expertise in this field to the fore. Together, they will no doubt generate and stimulate interesting and lively debate concerning best practic. This is exactly what Urban-SERE Ltd was set up for and continues to develop real SERE skills for the civilian environment.

Targetting Risk Managers, HR Directors, Security Directors and anyone in the security space who has Duty of care exposure. Focusing on the Duty of Care organisations have to keep their employees secure in both domestic and overseas environments, the conference will explore those issues.

https://www.quaynote.com/conference/corporate-liability-travel-risk-duty-care/

Now in its second year, Corporate Liability, Travel Risk and Duty of Care will build upon the inaugural conference run in Washington D.C. last year and the series of conferences staged by Quaynote in the U.S., U.K. and Europe over the last decade.