Personal Survival Kit means a personally carried survival kit for possible military isolation. Depending on its contents, its items support storing and carrying water, protection from the weather, geographical orientation and signalling. Selection is matched to the person and operating environment and can supplement issued survival equipment.
Equipment that remains with the person
In the US Pararescue model, such a kit is one component of the first line of equipment for personal survival, evasion and escape. The first line provides the personal baseline when other loads must be discarded. Additional supplies and sleeping equipment belong to the third line, normally carried in a rucksack. Preparation therefore identifies which items must be retained in an emergency and which are expendable.
Personal tasks and usable items
A water container holds a carried reserve for consumption and transport. Carried protective materials limit weather exposure. Map information supports geographical orientation, while suitable signalling equipment can mark the person or their location during an actual contact.
Military use and the related term
The US Army also uses Personal Survival Kit as the name of a limited kit brought by participants for SERE training. For operational isolation, selection follows the actual environment, personal needs and the equipment expected to remain available.
The Personnel Recovery Kit named in the US Air Force model supplements survival equipment with a specific connection to the operating area and its personnel recovery plan. Personal survival items, regional information and contact aids can belong to both. Personal Survival Kit focuses on equipment the individual can use; the PRK supplement is explicitly matched to the intended personnel recovery procedures and capabilities.