For the last 15 years, we’ve been running the 45-day survival instructor program with only one option. If you wanted to get certified, you had to do it all in one setting. And over the course of those 15 years, I’ve received thousands of phone calls from people telling me they can’t take off work that long to take the program. And after all these years, we have finally caved and given in to customer demands to allow the course to be broken up.
So we devised a two-phase system that allows instructor candidates to take the course in two parts. The first part of the program lasts roughly 23-25 days and the second part last another 20 days. The instructor course has a natural break in the middle of the program after the hunter-gatherer course is completed. Once this is complete we typically jump right into wildcrafter and 3-4 days of review to practice skills before we put students to the test on Scout Survival. This gives us an opportunity to allow Phase 1 students to leave and usher in Phase 2 students.
This course phase gives us time to prepare students for the toughest part of the course, Scout Survival. We systematically review each student’s weak areas and help them practice for the final test of their wilderness survival skills.
We want to set students up to succeed so they can pass the course. The course, historically has had a fairly high washout rate. Around 40% of all students who show up will probably quit. Not because the course is so difficult, but mostly because people lack endurance for most things in life. Staying 45 days in the woods is foreign to most modern people and it’s tough to do under all weather conditions.
That being said, this natural pause in the middle of the course provides us the opportunity to break the course into two phases. Allowing students that can’t take off work the full 45 days, to take the course. We will say though, that your odds of passing scout go down significantly if you leave and come back later. Unless you’re very diligent in studying what you were taught.
We still highly recommend that students take the full course all in one setting, as it gives them the best training and the best odds for success. But if you simply can’t do it because of family or work-related issues. Then you have the option to break the course into two parts.
How does it work?
If you purchase the phase 1 instructor course certification, you’ll arrive and take the course just like everyone else. Except you’ll leave at the end of the hunter gatherer course which is approximately 24 days into the program. Once you complete that course, you must leave. You can’t purchase the phase 1 course to try things out and decide to buy the second half later in the course. Once you’ve graduated the phase 1 program, you’ll have the option to return to the phase 2 at any future dates listed within 2 years of completion. But you must contact us first to check availability for future dates. You’ll also want to lock in future slots ASAP to ensure you can get a spot for future course dates. As people who purchase the full course will get priority status and once the course date slots are full, we won’t take anymore phase 2 students. Once you’ve purchased the phase 2, you’ll choose a date and you’re guaranteed a slot.
Phase 1 |
Phase 2 |
| Survival Standard (5 Days): We will start with the basics and build from there. And there is a 1 day gap between Standard and Adv Standard. |
Wild Crafter (3 Days):
The wild crafter course will hone your wild edible skills and get you ready to forage on scout survival. |
| Adv Standard (5 Days): We will add to skills learned from the previous course and there is a 1 day gap in between Adv Standard & Primitive Standard. |
Review Period: There will be a multi-day review period getting students ready for Scout survival and going over skills with them in preparation. |
| Primitive Standard (5 Days): This course starts to really add long term Bushcraft skills to your toolbox. And there is also a 1 day break in between courses. |
Scout Survival (7 Days): This is your final wilderness survival test. 7 days of surviving in the woods with only a knife to start. You’ll get a 1-day break before SERE. |
| Hunter Gatherer (5 Days): This is the final course is phase 2 and will cover skills related to primitive hunting and gathering tactics. You’ll depart after this course. |
SERE: Urban SERE training begins and this course will prepare you for traveling the world and dealing with the dangers that presents. |
| Graduation Lvl 1 Instructor |
Can GI Bill Students do the two phase program?
Unfortunately at this time GI Bill students cannot take the two phase course, they are only able to take the full course in it’s entirety. The VA won’t approve of the course in two parts and we have to abide according to their rules. At this time, the two phase system is only available to those paying out of pocket.
If you have questions, please call or text at (417) 522-8172
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