It's a given - girls are NOT, er … how shall I put it? ... well the quieter of the species.

In fact, at times we are down right loud, talk over one another, and …put a bunch of us together in one room - look out!  Heard the phrase “they sound like a bunch of cackling hens”.  That’s us!

This got me to thinking, when I read an article about 'noise discipline'.  I immediately thought 'uh oh' are we women in trouble.   It’s a given.  Women and noise just go hand-in-hand. 

But, like so many other survival skills we must learn or have learned – noise level is going to be one of those practiced skills.  So, let’s discuss the necessity of this skill. 

Say you are hunkered down in your retreat. Windows darken to avoid detection.  You hear the night noises – which are actually the noises we hear during the day - but now seem more close and personal.  By learning the skill of ‘noise discipline’, you will be able to decipher between noises of the night and those that could be a potential threat.

‘Huh?’ You say.  Well for example.  Remember the days of babysitting?  You meet the family for the first time, the parents show you around the house and get you acclimated to the kids, and then they leave for the evening.  Everything is all well and good during the evening into night.  But, once you put the kids down for bed and it’s all you by your lonesome, you begin to hear the sounds of the house.  The refrigerator humming, the air-conditioner goes on and off and, the cat scratching in the litter box, all turn into the thought of someone breaking into the house.  With each new sound (noise) you become more and more uneasy. 

Now flash to your house.  Your refrigerator hums, the air-conditioner comes on and off and hey whadda ya know – your cat also scratches in the cat box.  But these are familiar sounds to you.  

Do you wear jewelry that jingles?  Does you key ring hold a ba-gillion keys and trinkets making it obvious that you are carrying them?  How about your shoes?  A person in my office use to say she could tell it was me coming down the hall by the sound of my shoes! (no, not because I stomped down the hall - because of the sound of my heels made on the floor – which I was totally oblivious to.) 

How about this.  Do you even know how to talk in a whisper?  I’ve sat in public places where someone has whispered something to someone else and it was so loud I was tempted to answer back.  Been there right? 

We must learn to minimize our noise in a survival situation.  But how?

Well think about items you would use in a survival situation and ways to ‘soundproof’ as many of them as possible.  This can be as simple as wrapping some fabric around metal to metal objects, filling water sources completely full (so they don’t “slosh”), wearing soft material that doesn't make a “swish” sound when walking (remember the school librarian whose nylon hose would swish together when she walked?) and, packing tactical pouches and pockets well.  Don’t forget to keep items free of rattling such as loose batteries, ammunition, etc.

You might even want to practice talking softly or practice using hand signals (such as the universal “shush” hand signal with your finger instead of talking.

By the way the aforementioned hand signal is NOT to be confused with the other universally used finger signal!

- Survivor Jane

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