I have recently retired from the military and have began to dig deeper into the survivalist arena. I have always been interested in this area for quite some time but have not really dedicated the amount of time that I want due to job requirements, life events etc. I have been reading all the blogs, videos and write ups about prepping, survival and there are a lot of good information out there. So I decided to use my 26 years of military experience (4 yeas Infantry, 6 years Long Range Surveillance and 16 years Special Forces)  and apply pertinent concepts toward the Survivalist Mindset.  In this paper I will discuss some planning considerations for establishing a Survival Plan of Action (SPA) and the survivalist mind set. Your skills and abilities are tools in the tool box (your mind). Hopefully this discussion will aid you into adding more tools to your tool box.                 

Throughout the Internet and online blogs you have seen a plethora of acronyms dealing with prepping, survival, and the end of the world.  Some are The Schumer Hits The Fan (TSHTF), The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI), BOB - Bug Out Bag, Get Out Of Dodge (G.O.O.D.), But we don't have an overall acronym for all the planning, resource identification, rehearsing, etc that encompasses the entirety of what we do to accomplish all of this great information and techniques. This is where the SPA comes into play. It is the Survival Plan of Action (SPA). This document should include information that outlines your groups plan to Get Home, Bug Out, Bug In, Get Out of Dodge, etc. You can add to this document by adding Annexes to augment the information like Food Storage Inventories, Vehicle Inventories,  or Bug Out Site Inventories.

I am currently working on a format to help with creating your SPA. It will include the base document, annexes, appendices and tabs, which will be all inclusive to every scenario.  Now if one decides to establish a SPA he must take the utmost care in securing it in a safe and secure location that only a select few will know or have access. One technique is to have a hard copy sealed in an envelope in a safe. If you have a digital copy or use a computer to write one, use a laptop that is never connected to the internet preferably with a removable hard drive. If you store a back up on a thumb drive with all your personal information place this in your envelope also.

Area Study
One of the first things you should do is conduct a comprehensive area study of your operational area (home site, get home route, bug out site, etc) especially if you have recently moved or plan on relocating to a more suitable area. Some of you may be saying "I have lived here all my life" then this area study should be real easy. You will be surprised with information that you find or might never have considered. This area study should be a living document (continue to update and add information) and your base resource document for planning.

Why is it good to have one? Several reasons; if you plan on establishing a group survival area, the new members of your group can read the document to become familiar with the area. If you have distant family members relocating to the area with you, you can send them the document so they can become familiar with the area. These documents should be a great addition to your survival SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures).

This document is all open source and contains the following basic  information (not all inclusive): Natural environment, Demographics/Cultural features, and Lines of Communications/Information Systems. Since this is a living document you will periodically update it and add additional information. If you need to add new categories or scenario plans, just add an annex, appendix or tab to your overall SPA.

When you are researching the natural environment include all geographical data.  Consider your operational area and dimensions; state, county and municipal boundaries; terrain,  general direction of mountain ranges, areas that provide good concealment/cover, the general degree of slope, large open fields suitable to land small aircraft, hazards toward movement, natural routes over land, natural resources for survival, historic land use, suitable locations for hole up sites or base camps, typical climate overview, temperature tables, snow/rainfall, wind/visibility, sun/moon table, general drainage pattern, river flow and current, location of lakes/ponds, potable water resources, coastal tides/currents, beaches, and areas that are good for subsistence. Remember to include seasonal changes to all these categories.

In the demographics and cultural section be sure to include area population estimates, location of towns,  ethnic composition, language, social conditions, religious factors, medical/health information, economic conditions, political factors, type of currency, typical dress, customs, local government information, travel restrictions, local degree of self sufficiency, agricultural information, local industrial information, and commerce/trade information.

When it comes to lines of communication/information systems we are referring to how do people commute and communicate in the area. Include location/direction of interstates, state highways, county roads, forest service roads, jeep trails, hiking trails; major active and inactive rail ways, navigable waterways, location of large and small ports, harbors, marinas; location of gas stations, petroleum storage; location and type of power plants, sub stations, transmission lines; location of radio broadcasting stations, telephone companies, satellite companies and newspaper offices.

When writing your SPA, you will get pertinent information from this section. Like urban and rural key terrain (places to avoid or to occupy) , avenues of approach (places for travel routes and places for avoid ambushes, choke points, bridges, river crossings), the best times to move in total darkness (no illumination), time of year with the best or worse weather (seasonal effects of weather on terrain and visibility), river and stream data (depth, width, flow rate and direction of flow, potable water), coastal data (tides, beach type, coves) towns with dense or sparse populations, subsistence data (cultivated, natural wildlife),government offices (urban key terrain),  military bases, governmental control measures (check points, curfews, population control measures), health data and hospitals, areas with friendly or favorable ethnic/social/religious factors,  agriculture and domestic food supply, natural resources, percentage of self sufficiency, manufacturing plants, local dress to assist with "blending in",  economic trends over a period of time.

Your area study is basically a plethora of information that you update over time. It will give you all the information that you will need to plan all your scenarios. Use it to assist you planning your Get Home Plan (GHP), Bug Out Plan (BOP),  or your Link Up Plan (LUP). 

Planning considerations

When planning your scenarios there are a few acronyms to discuss. METT-TC, OCOKA, PACE and PRSCC. These acronyms will assist you in planning multiple scenarios and establishing SOP's. A few of these will be used throughout your planning and during your scenarios to assist you in your decision making process. IN the following discussion I will focus on a Get Home Scenario.

METT-TC is used primarily during your initial planning phase. M stands for mission (what is your mission? Get Home) you should state who is doing the mission, where are they going, what is to be accomplished and when is it going to happen.  E stands for enemy situation (basically this is any hostile group) you want to detail their size, location, operational area and equipment to include weapons. T stands for Terrain and Weather (specific to your mission not your entire area of operations) for weather you want to discuss the effects on you and the hostile forces. When covering terrain you will use OCOKA, which  I will cover later in this section. T stands for Troops available (personnel that you have or need to accomplish the mission). The second T stands for time available to accomplish the mission. Do you have one day or a week? C stands for civilian considerations. You can put in this section the potential for mass refugees or displaced persons congesting up the main roadways, possible direction of mass evacuations from built up areas in your mission area. So by using METT-TC you are taking information from your area study and experience to narrow down information for your specific mission.

The next is OCOKA. This one is used for detailing the terrain section in METT-TC.  O is for observation and fields of fire.  You need to determine locations along your route that provide the best observation of and from road ways, towns, bridges. rivers etc. C is for cover and concealment. Cover is something that will protect you from small arms fire and concealment only conceals your location. Identify locations that aid you in your movement home by vehicle and foot. Which route offers the best concealment and what locations along your route provide good cover. The second O is for obstacles. you want to identify any obstructions along your route, destroyed bridges, natural terrain that hinders vehicular movement like a swamp or large bodies of water. K is for key terrain. Identify locations  or areas (natural or manmade) that the seizure, retention, or control of affords a marked advantage to either friend or foe.  A is for avenues of approach. Identify all road ways, trails, power line paths, railroad tracks between you and your home. Don't forget to consider aerial and subterranean routes.

The third one is PACE. When constructing your plan you do not want to have only one route, one location, one vehicle or one weapon. You need flexibility and depth just like a NFL teams roster. This one is very simple. P is for primary, A is for alternate, C is for contingency, E is for emergency. Keep in mind that in some cases you will not use all of the PACE, mostly you will only use the P and A. It is up to you  and your resources how deep you are able to go. Bottom line, you should always have at least an alternate plan, route, weapon or location. So using a PACE for all your scenarios or missions is essential to good planning. Personally, I always have a primary weapon and an alternate weapon. 

The last one is the PRSCC  or the Five Principles of Patrolling. . It is used heavily by any combat force that conducts patrolling,  P is for planning. In the previous paragraphs I have discussed planning extensively, so I will not dwell on this one. R is for reconnaissance. Reconnaissance should always be part of your planning. It should be implemented at the beginning and continued throughout your mission.  You can accomplish this through maps, imagery and actually traveling the route (best choice) . By actually traveling the route you will identify any known obstacles, alternate routes and potential hole up sites, to include the time needed to accomplish. S is for security. Security is a constant throughout your planning and scenario. Keeping your documents locked up and your situational awareness while moving applies. Whether traveling alone or in a group always stop, look,  listen and smell (SLLS) first when setting up your camp. After this you should always have a conduct a short recon around your area to identify key terrain or avenues of approach that can assist you or effect you, to include water resupply. If everything is safe then you can ensure your weapons are ready to go and then eat. Once you have eaten and water is filled, then you can implement a rest plan. If you are in a group, not everyone cleans their weapons or eats at the same time. Always have someone on guard during the rest plan. C is for control. Control is any method, terrain or device that will help you control your team, movement or mission. Such as check points, phase lines, limit of advance, contact points, decision points, No later than times (NLT), no earlier than times (NET) and boundaries (left limit or right limit). The last C is for common sense. Common sense is not so common. So always do a common sense check with all decisions. Identify the your action, the reaction to it (from enemy) and what your counter reaction would be if it happened.

Mindset

Having the correct mindset is the most important aspect to survival. With the proper mindset, you can achieve anything. So you can say survival is mainly a mental game. You should always keep your situational awareness, stay healthy, have the proper equipment and the right skills to survive.

Situation awareness (SA) is very important during all your activities, not just when a survival situation hits. Some would say stay alert, stay alive. Maintaining your SA will prevent you from becoming a victim. If I am on a trip or in an area unfamiliar to me, I apply the 51% rule. I look around me and see what the majority of the people are wearing, their actions and mannerisms, their type of vehicle, or other habits of the environment. Kind of like, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." By doing this, you will blend in with your surroundings and not stand out. Just blending in will help you not be a victim or a target. You can prepare yourself by researching the area you will be traveling. The next time you go somewhere and park in the parking lot. Look around and see how many vehicles are backed into a parking space versus parking "normal" in a space. You will begin to take notice of these vehicles every time you go out.

Staying healthy and in good shape is the second thing to consider. If you are overweight and out of shape you can become injured easier. This is probably the hardest thing to accomplish for some people. Lifestyles and life events can affect you. Always begin slow and never over do it. If you over do it and are unable to function the next day, it will discourage you from continuing. Set yourself small, realistic goals and give yourself plenty of time to achieve them. Get your whole family involved with a new diet and exercise routine. This will aid you in your goal of getting in shape, not to mention the benefits for your entire family. I am not saying you need to be a professional athlete but just stay healthy with a good diet and exercise routine.

The third thing you need is the proper equipment, basic foundation and skill sets. You need to look at your budget and realize how much you have to acquire the right tools of the trade. Just do not buy an item because it is a "name brand" or the "most expensive." These terms do not always equate to good, versatile and solid tools. Research and test (if possible) these item before you purchase them. Establish your survival fundamentals or foundation. By this I mean your navigation, water procurement, food procurement, shelter making and fire making skills.

You need to learn the basic ways to accomplish each of these tasks. The ability to achieve each of these with a minimalist type of kit. A GPS is great to aid your navigation but when the batteries go out or you smash the screen it is a paper weight. So understanding how to navigate by the sun, stars and/or compass and map is critical. Learn how to start a fire without a lighter or match. Learn how to make a shelter out of natural materials, learn how to trap food, improvise a weapon to assist your hunt. Learn how to acquire water through various means. Once you have mastered the basics, then move on to more advanced techniques.

Do not go out and buy the entire Wal-Mart camping section, place it in your pack or vehicle and call it good. Because it is not learning the basics, it is a waste of time and money. There are a lot of videos, blogs and so called "experts" out there on the internet. Use your 5th principle of patrolling (common sense) when looking at these sites. You will realize that they are unqualified individuals that have no experience or training. That being said, there are a lot of great videos, blogs and web sites from people who have those skill sets and the experience. Good luck in all your endeavors. Remember to learn the basic fundamentals, acquire the right tools and sharpen your skill sets. You have the tool box, all you need to do is to add the right tools. De Oppresso Liber.

What is combat gear, and why do you need it? Well, your combat gear is simply your gear that you wear from day to day, in a combat situation, or more aptly for us, a TEOTWAWKI situation. I am a young prepper living in the central Carolinas. I have been collecting military gear, such as uniforms, helmets, vests, and such for over 8 years. Over those 8 years, I’ve seen what the average soldier wears through combat in Iraq and what a Delta operator might wear in Afghanistan. However, please keep in mind that as preppers, most of us have never received the specialized training of a soldier, and 99% of us have never had the training of a Special Forces Operator. That being said, let‘s discuss what an average prepper might need in the way of combat gear.

Uniforms
The uniform is the most basic of items that a prepper can find, and might be one of the most useful. There are several different types of camouflage to choose from. The most ubiquitous form of camo that can be found is the US M81 Woodland type, commonly called Battle Dress Uniform (BDU). This camo was used from 1981 until 2005 when it was dropped by all branches of service, except for auxiliary organizations, like the Civil Air Patrol (http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/) (check that program out as well, it’s a great resource for knowledge). It seems that everybody and their brother has a pair of the BDU pants. However, they can frequently be found at local thrift shops and occasionally at Goodwill and Salvation Army for under $5 for the pants, and under $3 for the shirts. I personally have picked up all of my BDU items from surplus stores and Goodwill [thrift stores] for under $4 for the pants, and normally $1 for the shirts (large sizes as well). The great thing about the BDU pattern is that the US Military made a lot of their gear in this pattern, so you can have a lot of your gear match in color (this would certainly help in blending in to the environment. If you have two shades of green, some black, and some tan on your gear, you might stick out just a little bit).

In 2005, when the BDU was dropped from service, most of the branches of the Armed Forces went to a pattern designed for their duties. Most of these patterns are pixilated or better known as “Digital Camo”, such as the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) pattern, which is an ugly mix of gray and tan squares. One of the most effective uniform patterns that came out of this switch was the Marine Pattern (MARPAT), which is available in Woodland or Desert types. The woodland stuff blends in really well with the surrounding environment, better than the BDU. However, it costs significantly more, with prices being around $15-$30 for a shirt and the same for a pair of pants. Beware of Chinese-made copies. To differentiate: Genuine MARPAT material has a small Marine Corps Emblem known as the Eagle, Globe and Anchor or EGA and “USMC” stamped below that in very small letters printed on all of the fabric.

There are also many other camo patterns, too numerous to discuss here, but I would like to discuss Multicam. This is a camo pattern that is being introduced to our soldiers in Afghanistan, dubbed the AMU (Army Multicam Uniform). It has a good color to it, and it tends to blend into most environments quite well. It is more expensive than MARPAT, but because it is being mass produced for the military, look for prices on it to drop like a rock in the next five to ten years. The Multicam pattern is being used on rucksacks, vests, helmet covers, etc. just like the BDU and ACU patterns have been.

So, which pattern is best for you? If money were no object, I would get five sets of Multicam. However, most of us don’t have the luxury of a large piggy bank. I have used the BDU pattern in the woods around here (mostly hardwoods like Oak), and in the prone position, as well as the kneeling position, I avoided being spotted until I made my presence known. The BDU however, has four front pockets that are parallel to the ground, while MARPAT and Multicam have two slanted chest pockets, facing inwards, and pockets on each sleeve that are slanted at a 45° angle which help in accessing the items in those pockets. Special Forces operators, finding the digital patterns not suitable to their needs, modified BDU uniforms to the same pocket configurations as the MARPAT and Multicam, removing the bottom pockets, moving them to the sleeves, and slanting the top chest pockets. I have found this to be quite utilitarian, especially when using a vest that covers up your front pocket area. These modifications can be made on a standard sewing machine, or the sewing ladies at the off-base surplus stores (if you live by a military base) can help you with this, at a normally reasonable price.

Boots
In my personal opinion, you cannot go wrong with a simple US Military surplus pair of black leather combat boots. There are two types of the BDU black combat boots. One type is all leather, and offers a lot of ankle support. The other type is commonly referred to as the jungle boot, with only a leather shoe, and canvas reinforcement above the ankle. The boots are normally quite a bit more expensive than the uniform itself. Like-new condition ones, in large sizes can go for $30-$60 a pair. But, if you shop around, you can really find bargains. Since the BDU uniform was in use for so long, thrift shops often have used BDU boots in stock. I was able to find my first pair for $2, and although they were quite used and already broken in, I added a $10 pair of insoles and they wear great.

If you don’t want surplus, that’s fine. There are a multitude of commercial boot makers that the soldiers have utilized during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Among the best are Danner, Altima, and Oakley. Most of the commercial boots come in two varieties; low top and high top. Unlike the standard military issue boots, low top boots allow for more movement and agility. Some of the best low tops are the Oakley Assault Boots ($130 range) and the Danner Hiking Boots ($150 range). Most of your commercial high top boots are of poorer quality than surplus (save for the aforementioned brands), and had a zipper on the side of the boot that facilitates putting on the boot and removing the boot. However, this zipper is likely to break and be more of a hindrance than anything. You simply cannot kill lace up boots. Laces break? Tie them back together! Break them again? Then why didn’t you replace the laces with 550-Paracord and be done with it!

Combat Load Bearing Equipment
There are three ways to carry your “battle rattle”; the ALICE system, the MOLLE system, or a vest. The ALICE system was used by the US Military from the 1960s until about ten years ago. It utilizes metal clips which attach to a utility belt. The belt is also held up by suspenders. There are a variety of pouches that were made for the ALICE system- everything from radio pouches, first aid kit pouches, canteen pouches, magazine pouches, etc. It is not hard to find the components to the ALICE system, and at dirt cheap prices. You normally can buy a complete system for under $30. The ALICE system is customizable to a certain degree, and is a good starting point for combat gear. The standard surplus ALICE gear is OD Green. The cheaper commercial stuff (that is not very reliable) comes in black as well as tan. There is also the transitionally-issued Load Bearing Vest (LBV) that was used by the military in the 1990s. It is BDU woodland camouflage colored and has four M16 magazine pouches on the front, as well as two grenade pouches. It has suspenders and tightens by lacing up the sides. You can also attach an ALICE utility belt to the bottom of it.

The MOLLE II system (spoke "MOLLY", not "MOLE-Y" or "MOLE") is the newest system developed for the US Military to carry the standard gear for a soldier. The MOLLE system includes different types of pouches, similar to the ALICE system, but instead of using clips, it utilizes straps that slip through loops on a MOLLE compatible vest, backpack, or Camelback. The MOLLE system is more customizable than the ALICE system, but it is also more expensive. It comes in all of the major camouflage colors of the US Army, as well as tan and black. The most versatile way to carry gear with the MOLLE system is something called the Fighting Load Carrier (FLC). It is a vest that covers the chest fully, and has wrap around MOLLE loops. It closes with a zipper on the front as well as buckles. The FLCs can be found for $15-$30 a piece, and the pouches can cost around $3-$6 each.

Another way to carry your combat gear is through a vest . There are many makers of these vests, and some are MOLLE compatible, while others already have all of the pouches sewn onto the vest. All of the vests that I have ever seen have the option of attaching a utility belt below the vest. Also, vests adjust in size around the sides, and it laces up. Normally, one size fits all. Some of the most popular makers of these vests include Blackhawk, 5.11 Tactical, UTG, and Condor Tactical. From what I have heard from soldiers, seen in the surplus stores, and my own personal experience, the Blackhawk brand is very durable, and can take a significant beating. There are way too many layouts of vests to be discussed thoroughly here, but I personally use the Blackhawk Omega Elite Cross Draw vest, which allows me to carry 3 magazines for my battle rifle, 4 magazines for my pistol (not including one in the pistol itself), as well as a small FAK (First Aid Kit), my Ka-Bar knife, some 550 paracord, a strap cutter, and a multi tool. Not to mention I can always attach more pouches to the belt if the need arises.

Body Armor and Helmets
We always see “Bullet-Proof” vests and helmets in the movies. Sadly, this is not an accurate term. While some helmets and body armor are designed to stop bullets, others are not, and it’s important to know the difference. The US Military first started issuing Flak Jackets to the B-17 Pilots flying over Germany. The first body armor for the soldier on the ground came during the Vietnam conflict. However, the first Kevlar body armor came into existence in the mid-1970’s, and is called the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troop (PASGT). There were vests that were issued in the BDU Woodland pattern, and they came in various sizes. However, these vests were designed to stop grenade shrapnel, not bullets. They do, however, offer protection against some small caliber rounds.
There are also PASGT helmets (mostly called Kevlar helmets) that are relatively cheap on the surplus market, for under $50. These helmets are normally green or black and you can buy BDU, ACU, or MARPAT covers for them. The updated version of the PASGT helmet, known as the ACH (Army Combat Helmet) offers more ballistic protection to soldiers. However, please be aware that with helmets, you lose a lot of mobility. It’s difficult to have a full range of vision with a PASGT helmet on in the prone position.

Commercial body armor is a hot business. There are different levels of protection, and those are a separate article by themselves. However, a good rule of thumb is to remember that “soft armor” (Kevlar) is rated to a 9MM pistol round, and “hard armor” (Ceramic plates inserted into body armor) will stop up to a 7.62x39. A higher level of protection can be offered by wrapping ceramic plates with soft Kevlar armor. Most of the personal body armor that Law Enforcement wears is soft armor, and Military uses the Ceramic plates. The plates and the soft armor can be inserted into a piece of equipment known as a plate carrier, which, true to its name, holds the plates for you. If you are looking for a good concealable armor, Safariland makes some interesting products that, when worn cannot be seen under a t-shirt. Kevlar fiber does deteriorate over time (depending upon who you ask, of course), and ought to be replaced every 5-7 years. The military body armor system, called the Interceptor Body Armor (IBA), is a plate carrier system that works with either soft or hard armor, and has MOLLE loops to allow for your combat load. It comes in BDU, ACU, Tan, and will soon be available in Multicam. They are, however, expensive (especially with the ceramic plates!).

Where to Get Your Battle Rattle
When you are in the market for buying personal combat gear, I do not advise buying online. The online marketplace generally has the same prices on the same items everywhere on the net. However, you can find real bargains if you are willing to look for them. First, I would advise looking online to see what you like, who makes it, and what the general price tag is on it. Then, go to your local flea market, and look around for the surplus dealers. Or, if you can afford it, drive down to your nearest Army or Marine base and look through the surplus stores, and get to the local off-base flea market early. Flea Markets are Surplus stores are the best when it comes to gear, and sometimes uniforms. However, I recommend buying pants from your thrift stores because they have lower prices on camouflage pants than your local surplus dealer. If your surplus dealer does not have what you are looking for, get to know him, and let him know what you are on the lookout for. It helps to bring printed pictures of exactly what you want. Often times they have duffel bags of stuff they aren’t putting out, and they might just have what you want. Don’t be afraid to haggle. Also, don’t be scared of used items. Most of the time, they are gently used an therefore priced much lower than new items.

[JWR Adds: There is also a subtle psychology to the sight well-worn looking web gear. The sight of brand new looking web gear screams "newbie" or "armchair commando". But seeing old, well-worn web gear imparts the "wizened veteran" look, and usually respect and "don't mess with him" restraint. Older gear also looses the sheen that is typical of new nylon, so it is less reflective.]

Get the dealer’s name and phone number (or a business card) and call him and ask him if he has a certain item, or if he will be getting any new items soon. Most dealers make trips to their sources every so often, and they have the best stuff right after they get back from buying it.

Notes:
- Most recent US Military magazine pouches are designed to fit the M16/M4 5.56 NATO 30 Round Magazine. If you are looking for something to fit an AK or FAL magazine, then bring a magazine with you when you shop to insert into the pouch and make sure it fits. I have found radio pouches will work well with AK magazines.
- If you buy the ALICE system, invest in extra clips. They often cost about a dollar a piece, and are well worth it when they break
- Larger ALICE pouches fit on the back of the belt, and the pouches often have holes where the suspenders hooks will fit into the pouch.
- MOLLE webbing is ideal for the placement of walkie-talkies and chem-lights (glow sticks)

[JWR Adds: Pouches for odd-shaped magazines such as Saiga 12 shotgun drum magazines, XS drum magazines, and FN P-90 are available from TheVestGuy.com. They can make nearly all of their gear in MultiCam, on request.]

Conclusion
Now that we have learned exactly what is available, at the lowest cost possible (because being frugal is part of the preparedness concept), get going! Try on different gear. Find out what is best for you. Research what soldiers are currently wearing, and look up pictures of special forces soldiers, because they normally carry the lightest gear possible, which is ideal for bugging out. Find something you like, except for the color? Then spray paint it! Soldiers have been doing that for twenty years now, and it doesn’t hurt. So, I hope this article has helped point you in the direction of what you may one day need to save your life! Hey, who knows? Maybe you’ll turn that Bug Out Bag into a Bug Out Vest.

I have been a police officer for eleven years, with assignments in patrol, SWAT, undercover operations, and as a use of force and firearms instructor, I'm often asked by gun owners one question. The questions usually goes something like, “When can I legally shoot someone?” Or, “Can I shoot somebody if they do this?” Because I am prepping myself, I also talk with those who are preparing  for the collapse of society. They generally don't ask those questions. With the possibility of no law enforcement or court system to worry about, they believe they can shoot anyone who, in anyway, is a threat to their survival. But it seems whether we are talking about everyday encounters with criminals, or preparing for a world without order, everyone is very focused on the “can I shoot” question. Which I believe is the wrong question.

While current laws may restrict people's rights in regards to weapons, it almost always allows you to respond with lethal force, to protect a life. Even if you live in an area where the law says you cannot protect yourself, if necessary, you will protect yourself anyway. Making the question of what the law says you can do irrelevant. If you can articulate that a reasonable person would feel threatened with serious injury or death, the law allows you to shoot. It is important to know what the law says you can do. But when you are faced with a potential lethal threat you will not be asking yourself, “Can I shoot him?”

If I would have fired every time I could articulate that I felt my life was in danger, I would have shot dozens of innocent people. Many were home owners holding weapons. Some were concealing their hands, or reaching inside pockets at the wrong moment. The list would also include a person who I later confirmed was an off duty officer who pointed a gun at me while I was also off duty, and trying to come to his aid. We are both lucky I recognized a police control tactic he applied on a suspect a few moments earlier. Otherwise I would have drawn and fired. In the real world you will not be shooting at gray silhouette targets. There is a lot more going on that you have to pay attention to and process. You know you can shoot, but you will generally not shoot. Not until you can answer the real question, which is, “Should I shoot?” This question comes into play if there is any confusion about what is happening. Because of the fog of war, there is often a lot of confusion. Nobody wants to shoot the wrong person, so the fact that you automatically ask yourself this question is a good thing.

There are a lot of people out there who aren't trying to victimize anyone, but who do really stupid things that could get them shot. They aren't thinking about how their actions could make other people feel at risk.  While not commonly dealt with by concealed carry holders now, I think if society collapsed, these situations would be very common. There could be a great number of people moving about openly armed, mistrusting, defensive and jumpy. A lot of good people would adopt a very aggressive security posture, making contact a very delicate situation. In this environment it would take a cool head to avoid unnecessary shootings.

Of course it is also possible the threat will be so obvious and apparent that you will not ask, “should I shoot?” If I was being shot at, stabbed with a knife, or stomped by an angry mob, I wouldn't ask myself, “Should I?” But neither would I ask, “Can I shoot?” These are situations where your mind screams, “I NEED TO SHOOT NOW!” There isn't a lot of thinking involved. Military and Law Enforcement do a lot of training so a conditioned response kicks in and you just draw and fire, without thinking. But other than those obvious situations, pulling the trigger is not something you want to happen without making a conscious decision to do so.

People are naturally afraid of acting too late, so many say, “I'm going to shoot first and ask questions later.” If you think this is good advice think again. I know an officer who had his thumb shot off when he rounded a corner of a residence during a call. The person who shot him was another officer who thought he was shooting the bad guy, even though the officer was wearing a police uniform. Lucky for the officer, after taking off his thumb, the shotgun round struck his M4 rifle which kept the round from penetrating into his body. Shooting first and asking questions later will likely end with you shooting the wrong person. People with this mentality either have a total lack of regard for human life or are unable to control their fear. Also keep in mind, even if society has collapsed,  you will have to explain your actions to somebody.  It may be the law, your local community, survival group, family members or simply yourself. Your decision doesn't have to be right or perfect, but it should be reasonable and not careless.

It should be obvious we need to make good shoot and no shoot decisions. I hope at this point  you understand that often it involves more than just knowing when we can shoot. Knowing all of this, how do we answer the question of, “Should I shoot?” From my experience once someone has determined where they morally stand on taking a human life, they understand the law, or their survival group's rules of engagement, and have trained to be confident and capable of employing weapons and tactics, there are a few things that can assist you with deciding if you should shoot.

The first thing to do is minimize confusion by gaining better situational awareness. Knowing someone out there might try to hurt you is some level of situational awareness. But with shortwave, scanners, CBs, Ham radio, patrols, word of mouth and a number of other methods you can obtain a much deeper level of situational awareness.  With these tools it is possible to know what the bad guys look like, where they were last seen, what vehicles they have, and how they carry out operations. With this information not only can you attempt to avoid problems, you will be more likely to recognize known bad guys and be mentally ready to engage if appropriate.

Here is another example of how situational awareness speeds up the shoot or no shoot decision process. Imagine a scenario where you hear a gunshot in the distance, thirty seconds later you see a guy come over a hill. The man is carrying a gun, and running in your general direction. Should you shoot? It is hard to say, you really don't have enough pieces of the puzzle to know what is going on. Did he fire the shot? Was he shot at? Is he a threat to you? Now take the same scenario, but this time, after hearing a gunshot, another member of your group radios and tells you he was just shot at by a guy wearing jeans and a camouflage jacket. Then you see a guy, matching that description, come over a hill and run in your general direction with a gun. Armed with a deeper level of situational awareness you have many more pieces of the puzzle and can very quickly decide if you should shoot.

Even if you suddenly find yourself in the middle of something and you are initially confused, you can still rapidly gain a deeper level of situational awareness by quickly observing body language, facial expressions, weapon position, clothing, gear, and things they say or do, in order to determine someone's intent. He may be holding a weapon, but the look on his face, his posture and everything else about him might be submissive and non threatening. While it is conceivable someone might try to trick you by acting submissive and non-threatening, in the real world things usually are as they seem. Of course you still want to use caution in these situations, but often you will have to trust your instincts.  Experience and quality training is the biggest factor in being able to size people up and make quick but accurate decisions about what is going on.

If you still can't figure out whether you should shoot, the trick is to establish lines in the sand. Basically you are saying, “If he does this, I will shoot.” An example on how to use this would be a situation where you see a stranger on your property, who is walking casually towards you. You notice he is carrying a machete low by his side. Although you might possibly feel at risk of being attacked,  you really don't know if he intends to hurt you at all. You raise your weapon to a low ready position, and yell, “Stop! Stay Back!” You then draw a mental line in the sand and tell yourself, “If he raises the machete, or takes one more step towards me, I will shoot him.” Lines in the sand greatly assist you in making quality, quick shoot decisions, that allow you to articulate your actions. Just realize that situations are dynamic and always changing. For instance the guy with the machete may not do either, but might instead start walking in another direction, towards other innocent people. This would require you to quickly adjust to his unexpected actions and make another line in the sand decision. Real situations are complicated, but drawing lines in the sand will help you decide if you should shoot.

Sometimes you just can not decided if the situation warrants lethal force, or the situation hasn't quite reached the point where you believe you should shoot. Yet you know you need to do something. In these situations don't just stand there, start moving.

Creating distance and seeking cover is something you should do in almost every high stress confrontation. Unlike pulling the trigger, which usually requires a conscious decision, moving to cover should be trained so it is a conditioned, automatic response. If while moving you decide you should shoot, then engage on the move, stop and shoot, or get to cover before firing. It is usually a lot easier to figure out what is going on, if you are not right in the middle of it. If the shooting starts, or you identify a valid threat, you are in a much better position with cover and distance. Often just by getting out of the immediate area changes the situation so that no lethal decision needs to be made.

Family members and other survival group members need to learn to key off of your actions. If you move to cover or drop to the ground to create a low profile, your family and other survival group members should know to do likewise, without any further direction. While it is good to verbally communicate, you shouldn't need to say anything, they should learn to watch and match your actions.

Communicating is a great option when it is not yet time to pull the trigger, or you can not figure out if you should pull the trigger. Communicating is best done from a position of distance and cover. Communicating with a person who is a potential threat is a great way to recon and obtain insight about his intent. In the above scenario with the stranger holding the machete, by saying, “Stop. Stay back!” you are communicating to the person that you see him as a threat. Your weapon position, stance, commanding voice, and the fact you moved to cover, tells him you mean business and are willing and able to defend yourself. Upon seeing that, I guarantee he will start communicating with you, letting you know if he is a threat or not.

While we are talking about communicating it is imperative that you don't communicate the wrong message to him. Unless you are convinced the situation will end with shots fired, don't point your weapon directly at the person. If he sees this, he will likely feel in great fear for his life, and might easily feel that he has no choice but to shoot. I know everyone wants to gain every advantage they can, but muzzle sweeping someone you are not ready to shoot only obscures your view of their hands, and really amps up the situation.

Communicating also involves communicating with family or other members of your group. Family members need to learn to respond to simple commands that you may give in these moments. A simple  command like, “Bug out” should be all they need to hear. They should run, with or without you, without any questions. Communicating with other group members to alert everyone to something you see, or to obtain backup, is also very important. The bottom line is if you are not shooting, move and communicate.

The preceding information has greatly assisted me in making these very critical and important decisions numerous times. I hope you find it useful. By all means if a bad man threatens your life, and you have the means, snatch his soul. But lets not let our trigger fingers get in front of our good sense. Be safe, and God bless.

As an international war correspondent, my work takes me to more than a dozen far-flung war zones every year. In my travels, I am often reminded just how thin the veneer of civilization really is, and get to meet many families caught in crisis and see the different ways they manage to survive.
A recent trip to Africa brought one of the most powerful examples, where I met a family of missionaries who have built their lives in one of the most harsh and inhospitable corners of the planet. While for most survivalists, prepping for “TEOTWAWKI” is a “what if” scenario, for these missionaries preparedness is an everyday, life-or-death reality.
They are what you could call "extreme missionaries;" Christian families who move far beyond the end of the pavement to bring the good news of God's love to people who have no concept of things like peace, forgiveness, redemption, grace or even civilization.

When my oldest son, Mason and I landed in Nairobi, we were picked up by the T. family. They've been working in Kenya for four generations, and live in the far northern part of the country on the shores of the world's largest desert lake - Lake Turkana.

When they moved there twenty years ago, the four tribes living in the area (Rendille, Samburu, Turkana and El Molo) were all at war with each other. They would often raid each others' villages and steal each others' camels, goats and women. There was little fresh water, (the lake is barely potable, since it has no outlet) and since the tribes considered fish to be unclean, food was also scarce. The ground is volcanic rock, and almost nothing grows in the infertile soil. Temperatures often top 130 degrees in summer, and rarely get below 100. To call it a hard, inhospitable place would be the height of understatement.
The trip to their home took 23 hours of driving from Nairobi - most of it on desert two-track and much of it requiring 4-wheel drive. We made the trip heavily armed, as Somali bandits are known to ambush vehicles in that area. Not long ago another mission family was ambushed and the wife shot in the leg. We kept a sentry posted on top of the truck at all times to keep an eye out for bandits and make them think twice when they saw a man with a shotgun. Jim has worked with the Kenyan government to be able to legally carry a firearm wherever he goes. This is necessary because of the large number of wild animals – both human and otherwise. Lions were the biggest danger, but during our drive to Loiyangalani, we enjoyed seeing camels, dik-dik, topi, and many others. Mason and the T.'s daughter spent most of the trip riding on the rack above the truck's cab, spotting wildlife. It occurred to me that such a thing would probably get a guy arrested back in the states, but here in Kenya, the nanny state was nowhere to be found. A refreshing feeling, to say the least.
After a grueling two-day trip, we arrived at the mission station. When the T.'s first moved to Lake Turkana, they lived in a shipping container and camped out in front of it. They cooked on three rocks, like the locals. Eventually Jim identified a spring near the only stand of palm trees in the area (which all the locals used as a bathroom since it afforded the only privacy for miles). He talked the local elders into allowing him to fence off the area and then dig out the spring. He installed a cistern once he hit bedrock and then put in underground piping to four water points - one for each tribe. The spring today pumps out 230 gallons a minute of water so pure you could bottle it, and serves almost 10,000 people. Without the spring to fight over, the four tribes now live in relative harmony together in the village, something which previously would have been unthinkable to them.  It's a great lesson on survival - working to make allies of one's neighbors, thereby making everyone safer.

Jim and his family must be completely self-sufficient for up to four months at at time.  They have a larder which can sustain them for over a year, but gardening is impossible due to the high temperatures, desert climate and volcanic soil. Camel meat is available from time to time in the village, but other than that, they must plan, and shop for only a few trips a year to the nearest grocery store – in Nairobi. Jim's wife, Barb, has become an expert at planning, cooking from scratch and coping with unexpected visitors from time to time. Jim and his sons supplement their the family's protein by fishing Lake Turkana for giant nile perch.  He says they have enough fishing tackle to survive on fish for "at least a thousand years."  They took Mason and I fishing during our visit. We spent two hours trolling the lake in a tiny john boat, which made me a little nervous since the lake is known for its giant salt-water crocodiles. Our afternoon on the lake yielded two “small” Nile perch, which fleshed out to about forty pounds of meat. We feasted on the succulent fish that night and Barb canned or froze what we couldn't eat.

An engineer by trade, Jim has built a very comfortable and secure fortress for his family in this desolate place. A year after moving to Loiyangalani, Jim identified a seam of limestone that protruded from the lava rock in an area near the village. He then taught two local men how to quarry the limestone and make building stones of it. He then agreed to purchase all the stones they could make until his home was built. Those men are today two of the most prosperous (and hardworking!) men in the village.
From these stones, Jim constructed a two-story home that is a model of a secure survival retreat. Built in the shape of a squared-off horseshoe, the main part of the house holds the sleeping quarters (upstairs), kitchen, bathroom, living and dining areas, and a large pantry. Beneath the larder is a large “panic room” accessed through a blast-proof metal trap door. Inside are supplies for at least six months, camping gear, etc. The air vents for the panic room are disguised around the house, and built such that if some Goblin were to get the bright idea to drop a grenade down one of them, a hidden trap at crotch-level would absolutely ruin his day.
The windows are secured with built-in iron bars, and the doors made from plywood laminated over plate steel thick enough to stop small arms fire, machetes, et cetera. The stones from which the home is built would stand up to anything up to rocket-propelled grenades.

The home is situated on a knoll above the village, and Jim has made use of an old bulldozer and backhoe to ensure that there is only one way into and out of his redoubt by vehicle. The third-floor rooftop of the home is constructed with four-foot crenellated walls with flip-up metal firing ports, commanding unobstructed fields of fire in every direction. The roof also holds two 1,000-gallon potable water tanks which gravity-feed the plumbing system in the house. Two more 1,000-gallon tanks sit in the back of his old Mercedes deuce-and-a-half truck, and every month or so he drives to the spring and pumps them full, then uses them to re-fill the tanks in his home. He keeps all four tanks full at all times. His plan is to eventually dig a well on his own property to further secure his water supply.

Jim has two wind turbines (Lake Turkana is one of the most consistently windy places on the planet) and a solar array, from which he generates his power. The battery bank sits in a small locking closet in the laundry/guest bedroom.

There is a garage attached to the house, fully stocked with tools and other supplies. Between that and the laundry on the other end of the main structure, a large raised concrete patio provides shaded outdoor living space with gorgeous views of Lake Turkana in the distance. A shortwave radio enables periodic communication with other missionaries around the country. A detached petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) shed holds drums of fuel, oil and other petroleum products, enough for at least a year of use for vehicles and back-up generators. Most of their local transportation is accomplished on the four Honda ATVs which are always kept in top running condition, and are customized with winches, spotlights and small air compressors.

The T.'s have worked hard over the years to improve the lives of the people to whom they minister, physically as well as spiritually. Jim recognized that security was an absolute must for the local populace before he could bring them the good news of God's love. So he set out to train and equip the men of the village to protect their families. By working with the Kenyan government, a local police force was established, and the men of the village were recruited into a kind of “neighborhood watch.” He taught them how to use the same limestone block he used on his own home to build stone huts for their families. For about the price of a camel, the villagers can replace their mud-and-stick huts, which are unsanitary, fire-prone and give no security, with stone huts that are much better in every way. He taught them about sanitation and convinced them that fish from the lake were safe to eat. Jim and his family are all trained in EMT and wilderness medicine, and his sons became the village ambulance service in their early teens. They constructed an ingenious “floating” litter trailer which is pulled behind the ATV that enables them to transport an injured or sick villager the six hours to the nearest clinic, run by fellow missionaries.

They started a church by holding a family Bible study every morning in front of their home. Curious tribesmen and women would come and listen as they had their devotions, eventually asking questions and one by one being converted to the Christian faith. Today the church has nearly 100 members, who have pooled their resources to build a limestone church building, which Jim designed in such a way that it also serves as an emergency shelter for the villagers in case of attack. It is flame proof, highly secure and boasts a three-story tower with firing ports covering all angles of approach.

The first night of our visit with the family, I was jolted awake at 3am by the sound of gunfire in the village, about 300 yards from Jim's front door. I sat up in bed, but before I could react further, I heard Jim's voice booming out of the upstairs window, “Holton! Get inside quick!”

My sleeping teenage son was exhausted from our two-day trek to Loiyangalani. Tired enough that the gunfire failed to rouse him. I jumped up and dragged his limp form the fifteen yards or so to the main house. (we had been sleeping in the laundry room). By the time we got inside, he was awake, though may not have yet remembered what country we were in. He was further perplexed when Jim appeared at the bottom of the stairs dressed in level-III body armor, kevlar helmet and boxer shorts, carrying two pump shotguns. He tossed one to me and the other at Mason, and stationed each of us near windows overlooking the front and rear of the house. That cleared the cobwebs out of Mason's brain in a hurry.

Tense minutes passed as the sound of sporadic gunfire drifted up from the village below. Jim was back upstairs, calling the local police commander on his cellular telephone. I marveled that there was cell service this far from civilization. After a half hour or so, the firing had subsided and Jim was able to piece together what had happened: Somali bandits had raided the village intending to steal a herd of camels. To their credit, the men of the village had driven the bandits off with some well-controlled bursts of gunfire from their personal arsenals of aged AK-47s. Jim commented that several years ago, the men had no weapons other than spears and knives, and likely would have abandoned their camels, homes and families and run away. Jim's example of preparedness has led the villagers to be much more willing to stand up for themselves and protect their families. In so doing, he has made his own family that much more secure.

Loiyangalani is still a dangerous place to live. But Jim has done just about everything possible to safeguard not only his own family, but the entire community. In addition to that, the T. family has established a training center in North Carolina called “The Master's Mission,” where would-be missionaries spend eleven months learning skills like construction, alternative energy, animal husbandry, civil engineering, auto maintenance, personal protection and more. This enables them to survive and thrive in a third-world ministry field. But it's not just missionaries who need these skills. Anyone serious about being prepared for uncertain times could learn from the example of this intrepid missionary family.
For photos of our trip to Kenya, visit this Flickr page. I also made a news feature about our trip which aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). An extended version of this video is available here.

JWR Adds: You may recognize Chuck Holton's name from some of his reports on CBN (like this one), or from his web site Homesteading Today.

Mr. Rawles,
During my train up for my deployment to Iraq, we were taught how to properly document evidence for prosecution of suspected insurgents. Formerly, this was known as Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE), but was renamed to Tactical Site Exploitation (TSE) a few years ago. One of the biggest things drilled into us was they did not want any American soldiers in any of the pictures. There are probably a myriad of reasons for this, but it made sense. My suggestion with taking pictures to document anything would to not have any people in the pictures to begin with, if at all possible. When taking photographs of the scene, I would recommend when starting with any bodies, to not move or remove anything from it(except for moving any weapons out of arms reach when you initially come up to them, as to help maintain the safety of you and your group). Then, once you have the initial pictures taken, search the bodies(while documenting it), and take a picture of each individual item found. Put it in a pile. Once you are complete, organize all the items next to the body, then take a photograph of the body with the items(be sure you clear all weapons, accidents happen). Then, bag it all up in a bag (we used heavy duty black trash bags), and tag it with a date, time, and if the person it's from had some sort of identification, the name. Tag the weapons the same and store them separately, such as a gun safe.

As far as a written documentation of the event, I would normally go with a DA Form 2823, which is a Sworn Statement. However, at the bottom of the last page, it needs a signature from "a person authorized by law to administer oaths". Quite frankly, if all you have is a neighbor to sign off on it, then so be it. Or, use it as a reference to make your own. This form is at a .mil web site, but you do not need to log in.

And I agree with Mr. Rawles: It is better to over-document it and not need it, than to not document enough and wish you had, down the road.

Good luck, God bless, and God speed, - Z.R.

Mr. Rawles,
I respectfully disagree with your response to Scott P. on how to act in the aftermath of a shooting in a SHTF scenario.

I am a law student in my final year, and though I am not an attorney yet (this is not and should not be considered legal advice), I would recommend treating each shooting on a case by case scenario. The worst thing you can do is provide the dead person's family or an overzealous prosecutor with more evidence and ammunition. Let's say you do document the scene, you are not a criminal investigator, you don't know about body positions, ballistics, and the applicable legal issues. You can make a mistake that will make the pictures look worse than they are. You may mistakenly write something in an after action report that is damning to your case. You do not have an attorney with you to counsel you on what to say or not say. You are not an expert in forensics and prosecutors and plaintiff's attorneys can twist things to make them look very bad.
 
I think that the best way to deal with a self-defense killing in a SHTF scenario you need to leave as little of a trace as possible. Burn bodies where possible. or dispose of in swamps or with chemicals if available, or bury them in unmarked graves (health concerns should govern first followed by leaving no trace). If you live in a place with lots of carrion-eating wildlife (coyotes, wolves, bears, vultures, foxes) then leaving the bodies a very far distance from your homestead could also work. I'm sure there are other and better ways, but the key is if there is no evidence then there is "no evidence." Beyond a reasonable doubt is an extremely high threshold and without a body or any evidence there is very little of a case. However, if there is a great deal of evidence the chances of being charged with a crime increases. This is of more of a concern when dealing with politically motivated or populist prosecutions in the aftermath. 

When in doubt, do not document.  In fact, destroy any and all evidence that you may have. It is the killings with no evidence and a closed-mouthed family/retreat group who never talks to police (because you never legally have to) that will pass scrutiny, but give them reams of potential evidence and that is another story.

Regards and keep up the good work! - G.

JWR Replies: It seems that were are at opposite ends of the spectrum on this issue. In my estimation, the approach that you propose could only work for someone who lives in a very remote wilderness area with no neighbors. Even here in the relative hinterboonies at the Rawles Ranch, we have a some neighbors that live within a mile. I suspect that the majority of SurvivalBlog readers have neighbors that live a lot closer than that. So, odds are someone will hear the commotion of rapid fire shooting and they will come to investigate before you have your chance to "burn the bodies" as you suggest.

Let's face it, even if you had a lot of time, there would be too many loose ends to tie up. Here are a few instances:

1.) Most modern guns are automatics, which means that they eject fired brass. If you were to miss finding just one piece of brass (and there might be dozens in a serious shooting affray), then there is evidence for prosecution--or at least a civil suit.

2.) Most Americans travel everywhere by motor vehicle. What are you going to do with the bad guys' vehicle(s)?

3.) When someone dies of gunshot wound, there is a tremendous amount of blood that gets spilled and in most cases it gets splattered around liberally and at surprising distances. (When people die they tend to thrash around.) Real life gunshot wounds are not at all like you see in television shows--with just a quaint little dribble of blood and then the bad guys drops instantly to the ground and dies with a sigh. In the real world, expect to hear people screaming their lungs out, expect to see people running or even crawling for considerable distances after getting shot, and expect to see a veritable Technicolor paint job of several gallons of blood, brain matter, bone marrow, spittle, stomach contents, and feces spread far and wide. Trust me on this. In college, I worked as a security guard at a hospital emergency room. An emergency room can best be called "A place of fluids"--just one notch below a cattle slaughterhouse. And, FWIW, consider that we typically saw the patients 15 to 60 minutes after the initial bloodshed. There, the larger portion of the fluids were left behind. Places where people die of gunshot wounds are rarely tidy. (And, BTW, when they are found looking tidy, there is usually a lot more to the story.)

4.) The predators in our society tend to travel in packs. Unless you are incredibly lucky and shoot all the bad guys dead, then there probably will be a living witness, and odds are that he will be a hostile witness. You may need all of the supporting evidence that you can muster.

5.) Not only do we live in a litigious society, but we also live in a society where cell phones with integral digital cameras have become ubiquitous. Whenever there is deep drama and trauma, then out come the cell phones.

6.) Do not trust in promises to "keep quiet", by your neighbors. History has shown repeatedly that people rarely keep such promises in capital crime cases. People do talk. Eventually the truth will come out.

7.) Modern forensic science has removed the need for 200 pounds of rotting corpus delicti for evidence to secure a murder conviction. Just one human hair with a root intact or one dried blood droplet providing DNA evidence could been deemed sufficient to corroborate testimony from eyewitnesses.

Lastly, consider that the standards of evidence required in a civil suit are much lower than those needed in a criminal case. Just ask O.J. Simpson. (Some have claimed that he "got away with murder", but then he lost $33.5 million in the civil suit filed by Ron Goldman's relatives.)

Nothing is more damning in the eyes of a jury than a defendant's attempts to conceal or destroy evidence. I stand by what I wrote: If your actions were righteous self defense, then document your evidence, don't try to destroy it.

Mr. Rawles,
I recently saw another preparedness site pose a question: “what happens after the crisis is over…???” The question was this: Once the SHTF and the world “resets itself” and the rule of law is re-established, certainly some form of government will start asking  who shot who, what crimes were committed, and generally start prosecuting the bad guys. I feel very certain that I can now keep my family and I safe and sound through your educational efforts. But I am not clear how I will defend my efforts weeks, months, or years after the fact.

If possible, could you discuss what your thoughts are, not so much in the surviving, but “cleaning up the mess” after things most certainly will return to normal? I know this is a broad topic, but I cannot see where it has been talked about very much. I don’t intend to loot, steal, or rob anybody… but I am prepared to defend what is mine. Thanks, - Scott P.

JWR Replies: While there are bound to be some inquiries, the chances of them focusing on you are slim. But just in case it does happen, my recommendations for my readers in The United States are as follows:

1.) If you live in a "Castle Doctrine" state, then post lethal force warning signs in both English and Spanish, immediately after the onset of a crisis.

2.) If there is a shooting incident, then do you best to end it forcefully and decisively, but show restraint. Don't continue to shoot once a group of attackers begins to retreat. Entry wounds in the back are hard to explain.

3.) If you take a life in self defense, make every effort to report it and get a law enforcement officer to come and take a report. If the police, sheriff, or coroner can't come (for any reason), then work your way down the list of civil servants until you get down to National Guardsmen, fish and game officers, and the local dog catcher. Some sort of official report is better than no report. (The lack of a report might later cause suspicion of foul play.) Be sure to ask whoever takes the report to also draw a diagram of the scene, and to take digital pictures. They might someday prove crucial to avoiding an exhumation.

4.) If, because of the disaster situation you can't get any official to come and take a report, then ask you neighbors to come and assist you. You and your neighbors should draw a diagram of the scene, and take digital pictures. Take pictures from all angles, and roll the body (or bodies) over and photograph the exit wounds. Avoid taking any grinning "gory glory" shot, or making any demonstration of glee or "good riddance". Look appropriately somber and be respectful of the dead.) Write a detailed account of the incident, and have your neighbors sign and date it. Do this as soon as possible. If there were any witnesses, have them also write an after-action report and sign and date it. Once any semblance of law and order is restored, have all of the statements notarized, and file them with your local police or sheriff's department office. At the same time, turn in any captured weapons, identification, personal effects, or vehicles as evidence. (You do not want any appearance of having profited in any way from the incident.)

5.) If circumstances dictate it, the burial of any bodies of deceased looters should be done with as many witnesses as possible, in full daylight. Be sure to photograph the event. Give them a proper Christian burial, and mark the grave site. Record the GPS coordinates in your report.

If and when there is any subsequent finger pointing, I suspect that it will be the ambiguous incidents that will warrant investigation. Those that properly document self-defense shooting events will face little scrutiny. The foregoing may sound a bit extreme, but never forget that we live is a very litigious society. Even if you a cleared of any criminal wrong-doing, there is always the threat of a civil suit, by relatives of the deceased hombres malos. If in doubt, over-document what happened.

Prepping on a budget is quite important to my family as I am sure it is to many avid readers of this fine blog.  I have purchased the book, "How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times" and am following it to the best of my ability and financial means.

However one aspect that is woefully lacking is my nighttime surveillance capability.  Sure I have strong LED flashlights with rechargeable batteries, solar panels ready to recharge those batteries at a moments notice, and enough batteries to last a lifetime.  I have solar powered motion sensitive lighting on each corner of my house just like any good Prepper.

However in many instances that I can envision, I would want the capability see what is going on in and around my area of operations (AO) without alerting what I am attempting to observe that I am attempting to observe it.  Whether it is shooting that feral hog out of the garden, observing the deer that are eating my grapes, or seeing what that two legged predator is doing walking my fence line on the back of my property.

I have been looking and reviewing various night vision scopes and binoculars, however of the ones that I reviewed, none that were in my price range seemed worth owning and the ones that were barely in my price range had marginal reviews. 

With money being so tight just to make ends meet, let alone prep, I simply could not afford to roll the dice and take the chance that a particular night vision scope would fulfill my purpose.  And, even if it did, with the" two is one and one is none" philosophy; I certainly couldn't afford multiples of any of the scopes that I had seen.Not only that, but even if I could find an affordable (to me) night vision scope and I could afford to get multiples of that scope, I would need one that could fit multiple uses as well.

For example, I would need one that I could fit as a head-mounted unit to use as a hands free unit that would allow me to keep my hands free for other things and still see good enough to scout.  I would want a handheld one that I could have on me at all times just in case I get caught out after dark.  I would want one that I could mount behind the iron sights or scope of my ARs.  And, to make it all worse, I would want several of each to allow each member of my family and group to have the same capabilities.

With all of these things on my checklist, it certainly appeared that I was going to have to sacrifice and either have one that I squeezed into many roles, or spend more money than I could really justify on trying to cover all of the roles that I needed to.

Then Christmas rolled around and I went shopping for my children.  As I was walking down the toy aisle of my local big box retailer, I came upon a infrared binocular toy from Spy Net that had been marked down.  So I took $20 out of my prepping budget and made the purchase.  With the caveat that if I didn't like what I was seeing through them in a test, it would still make a cool Christmas present for a 10 year old boy.

Now I might lose some readers here, but please bear with me.

This night vision toy functions only as an IR viewer--it does not have an light amplification intensifier tube.  It uses any ambient light source and two built in infrared lights (if there is no sufficient ambient light source) to light the way.  Instead of an intensifier tube, it uses a tiny CMOS camera that transmits to a small LCD screen.  The upside to the CMOS camera is that it will not be damaged by a sudden bright light source like some early intensifier tube night vision equipment, and can still function during the day.  The downside is that they are not as durable as intensifier tube night vision devices and they rely on a lot of circuitry to operate.

When I brought it home and test it as soon as it was dark, outside. The first thing that I noticed is that it does an amazing job of using any ambient light source.  The small CMOS camera and screen showed decent detail and I could mostly identify people at a decent distance (25 to 30 yards), not just as people, but also some facial features allowing recognition. 

The second thing that I noticed is that the two built in infrared lights were woefully inadequate at lighting anything beyond 15 feet.  The good news is that I was only looking for the first thing, because I had no intention of using the built in lights anyway since they had no control to turn them off if they were not needed (or desired).

I had purchased this with the specific intention of taking it apart and modifying it to increase its capability and increase its durability several fold.

As I took it apart, it amazed me on how compact and small the actual functional unit was.  About 90% of the size of the binoculars was just empty air surrounded by plastic that was made to look high tech for a kid's toy.  The actual unit was able to fit in the palm of my medium sized hands with room to spare.

So after disassembly, and removing all of the extraneous controls (it has the ability to record and playback video and audio which I didn't need and just added extra bulk), so those circuits were quickly cut and removed along with their corresponding wiring and controls. 

I was left with just the CMOS camera, the circuit board, the attached video screen (about .75îx1î) the power switch and the battery pack. 

My next job was to fashion up a durable housing to place this in.  Since it is so small, I was able to make the housing a bit larger for durability. 

I was originally wanting a cylindrical tube, however because the rest of the unit was square, using a round tube would increase the size of the whole unit too much, so I used a thin walled square cross-section aluminum tube and placed the circuits inside.  To help increase durability and protect the circuits, I poured clear resin inside the square tube and let it dry (keeping the resin away from the actual camera or screen of course).  This will help reduce any shock that it might endure as well as protect the circuits and wires from damage.

I used a very small section of square tubing to house the unit itself, then I added in a shade on the backside (between the screen and the users eye) to help cut down on the glare from the small screen.  Lastly I added on a rubber eye piece from an old scope, so the user could get a good "eye weld" onto the scope for optimum viewing.

Since I had removed the very inadequate infrared LEDs, I replaced them with a Solar Force flashlight with an infrared emitter.  The flashlight is mounted to the outside of the unit, so it could be removed and replaced if necessary.  The final step that I used was wrapping the entire thing in Kydex and heat forming it around the aluminum tube.  This made it easier to handle and added yet another layer of protection.

So for a bit under $50 for the entire thing (which unfortunately entailed some trial and error with the aluminum tube and Kydex forming) I have a functional, seemingly durable night vision scope (durability testing will come after I have made a few more and established a solid methodology of how I am going to use these).

My next version (which I have already ordered) will be a bit more compact with a smaller housing and I will use it as a single side head mounted unit.  This will allow me to use it as both a hands-free unit for observation, but will also be able to use a rifle or pistol in the dark (after much practice of course).

My intermediate plan is to have one of these for each member of my house as well.

I have not tested these extensively for durability yet, but I can honestly say that it works better than I had could have hoped for.  This first unit is just a bit unwieldy, but I am not discouraged at all since this is my very first unit.  I am certain that I will find many ways to improve it as I discover the ways that I will use it and how it can be modified.

In my humble opinion, this could never take the place of a dedicated, purpose built night vision device, but like the old saying goes, "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

I would rather have limited night vision capability than money put back saving for a better unit.  And for the very limited amount of money that these cost, it could be a great intermediate step and backup as needed.

JWR Adds: Most night vision monoculars are not up to the recoil stresses of mounting on a rifle--even a light-recoiling 5.56 mm. Also, the mounting interface for anything other than a purpose-built rifle scope tends to be problematic. Even a scope without a reticle (depending on the reticle of red dot scope mounted behind it) can still be a challenge to mount with reliability. The "duct tape and bailer twine" school of gunsmithing (also known as WECSOGing) is fraught with peril. In essence, re-purposing a toy IR scope can work with very limited reliability, but don't expect it to work for you as anything more than just a hand-held monocular.

The next step up from a toy IR scope like Robert describes is buying a Bushnell Gen 1 night vision monocular. For under $180, these are sturdy, reliable, relatively weatherproof, and they have a decent built-in IR light. They operate on two standard AA batteries. They can sometimes be found used on eBay for less than $90.

Beyond that, purpose-built rifle starlight night vision scopes start at around $400. A fairly decent civilian model is made by ATN: the MK350 Guardian. But keep in mind that there is no true low-cost substitute for mil-spec quality. Sadly, that level of quality comes only with a high price tag.

If you already own one or more night vision monoculars (such as a Yukon), then a low-cost alternative is to wear a night vision monocular in a head mount or helmet mount, and attach an infrared laser to a Picatinny rail on your rifle. The rifle is then shot "from the hip", using the the laser pointer for aiming. (Sort of a "Poor Man's PAQ-4".)

The bottom line: I recommend that you buy the best night vision gear that you can afford. As Robert pointed out, that can begin with a miniscule budget. Watch eBay closely for used Russian night vision monoculars (such as the Night Owl Brand.) These sometimes sell for as little as $60. They are better than nothing. Even after you eventually save up and buy the PVS-14 of your dreams, be sure to retain your older, less expensive, night vision gear. Those will be useful for spares, or worth their weight in gold, for barter.

What follows is a collection of tips, tricks and strategies that I have personally tested/evaluated and passed on to students within my capacity as a survival and tracking instructor working with responsible civilians, military and law enforcement. Some of this has been around for years, some of it is very recent wisdom, most of it is just common sense. This is not an exhaustive study in any way, but rather a useful primer designed to inspire creative solutions while adhering to time worn tactical truisms. Note also, we are not covering SERE, as survival and resistance are truly separate topics.

Setting Out

Assuming we find ourselves in a sufficiently hostile environment such that we must immediately begin to manage our physical and psychological responses to extreme external pressures, the following recommendation might strike a person as counter-intuitive. That recommendation: sit down, have a cup of tea and relax.

The tea is optional of course, however the sitting and the sentiment are not. Common sense dictates that first steps lead to later consequences. Recent research shows that as human animals under stress we are literally subject to our hormonal and biological responses. Let it be clear: you must take this step.

Techniques such as tactical breathing (breathe for four, hold for four, exhale for four) have become standard training for EMS, public speakers and elite soldiers alike because they work to balance the fight/flight response and gain leverage on the adrenaline dump that accompanies survival situations.

Specifically, sitting down forces a person to acquaint themselves with the environment, let go of the urge to bolt wildly into the unknown and--in many individuals--contributes to and facilitates the calming effect of conscious breathing.

This whole activity might last two minutes or twenty. It all depends on you, the urgency of the situation and related factors. But to forgo this step defies both conventional and cutting-edge wisdom. Consider learning a few mantras, prayers, yoga positions or whatever else you can use to bring you back down to earth and center your mind. Cause you’re going to need it in a major way.

Taking Stock

This is not the time to wish you had studied, procured and trained with your survival kit so let’s pretend that anyone reading this has taken it upon themselves to arrive to the moment in question with at least the barest of essentials--the big five of food, water, fire, shelter and security. So those are covered, but what else do we have at our disposal? What are we missing that we might need or might come in handy? If we need to travel fast and light, what can we ditch or stash for later retrieval?

This is the step where you must come to grips with your situation. You have taken a moment, at least, to calm yourself and manage those primal instincts now you must force logic and training to the forefront and make choices based on that logic. I would urge you to explore the concept of the Trivium, as well as the related topics of logic and rhetoric as such activities and tools can only strengthen your mind and add tools to your toolbox.

Moving on, just as the scope of this essay cannot cover survival kits, its scope can neither cover every conceivable escape and evasion situation. There are simply too many permutations. Therefore and due to the adaptive nature of such situations, as well as my own natural distaste for lists, we must emphasize adaptation and flexibility of thought. We are talking about escape and evasion, yet is it possible to simply lie still? That wouldn’t make for a very good escape scene in a movie, but it might very well give you a tactical advantage in certain scenarios. Again, it cannot be emphasized enough: the point here is to gather your resources, evaluate the situation and make choices.

Your resources are in your survival kit, in your environment and in your mind. Evaluation of your situation includes timing, distances, pursuit forces, places of safety and all other factors affecting your current status as well as your prospects in the immediate future. Making choices is essential--it forces a return to logic and re-evaluation of any possible assumptions you have made thus far. As well, the making of choices is an act which has within it the elements of courage, self determination and (hopefully) humility.

Pace of Movement

Movement in E&E is defined less by your wants and more by your environment. Let’s assume you have made your plan. For example: you find yourself five miles from your home; WROL environment; you’re being pursed by a force of unknown character/training; you have at your disposal a small personal survival kit, light weaponry, no effective long range communication ability; night is falling.

If you know the way home, run. Just flat out run for a mile. Take a break to watch your back trail and if it’s clear, keep running and repeat until you are to a safe zone. Yes, give some serious consideration to noise discipline but as a tracker I can tell you that the single most effective counter-tracking technique is speed. Pure and simple. Forget about dog legs, fake shoe prints or anything else. Just run and increase the time/distance gap.  

Now, let’s take the above scenario but let’s say you are 20 miles from your safe zone. Depending on your level of fitness and knowledge of the area, running may still be a decent option. However, at a certain distance or given changes in other decision making factors you are going need to examine other options. As well, you may need to seriously evaluate your pursuers.

Silent Movement

Even with night vision optics silent travel at night can be very difficult and often impossible in certain terrain. Since our above scenario involves lightweight outfitting, let’s consider things without NVGs and without flashlights, as the latter must be strictly rationed to avoid detection.

Let’s just say it: unless you’re in the desert, avoid moving at night. If you must move at night, you are facing the quandary of utilizing well established and easy to travel trails and/or roads which can be a highly dangerous proposition if you don’t know the area or don’t have a clear idea of where your pursuers are moving. Bushwhacking by day has it’s downfalls as well, however at the least you have an increased ability to control your noise.

Silent travel really comes down to choosing your route, slow movement and manipulating sound-producing debris such as leaf litter, downed limbs and the like. Put your weight into your back foot and use your forefoot to gently brush aside a clear area to place this foot on the ground. Repeat. It takes forever and one mistake will make waste of your accumulated effort. I will note that for some people the process of putting weight on the back leg, stepping forward, etc. is actually counter effective. So you need to practice this and fine tune it.

Choose paths based on topography and levels of travel resistance i.e. avoid thickets, vines, areas of dense deadfall in favor of grass, moss or triple canopy where undergrowth is sparse.

The take away points here are: move twice as slow as you think you should and actually pick up, kick aside or otherwise physically move noise producing articles in your path.

One other note from personal experience: I have found that the technique of ‘high stepping’ actually does work if you can sustain it over a series of obstacles. It is particularly useful in area of low light and prevalent exposed tree roots or similar hangups. It has something to do with the fact that the foot is striking directly down upon the earth versus sweeping forward where toes can be caught up.

Habit of Movement

Related to silent movement is your habit of movement, though this line of thinking can also include your other counter-tracking techniques as well as some utilization of day/night routines dependent on your environment as visibility factor.

In our scenario, let’s say your safe zone is on a basic azimuth heading north. Don’t start out going north, instead move east and northeast making a few doglegs and/or roundabouts along the way. Gradually pull your line of travel toward your actual destination. If you have the opportunity or if travel in any way permits, turn around and study your back trail at some distance to evaluate and monitor your pursuers. This is a place where magnified optics have their weight in gold.

In a longer term evasion you need to establish habits that both serve you and avoid detection. This seems contradictory insofar as habits of prey are what most all good hunting is based on, thus avoiding habits would appear at first to be a worthy strategy. The difference is that we are humans and have the capacity for instantaneous evaluation and adaptation. With this in mind, you need to rapidly determine what is serving you and what is not. If traveling early and late in the day and holing up midday is working, use it, habituate it but only to the extent that it serves its purpose. The survival literature time and time again shows that success often comes when a sort of rhythm is established. Whether this is literally the rhythm of your feet and breath as you run, or whether it is in your routines hastily established, if they work use them.

Most likely you are going to need to rest. You might also require water. If you need it--get it and move on quickly. If you can continue without it---go without, as every stop and every choice will have it’s consequences at some point. Speaking of consequences, if you recall when you took a moment and ‘made your cup of tea,’ keep in mind that this ethos is in fact central to your entire act of evasion. So return to that ideal of double edged calm and evaluation. Keep your options wide open; dump a plan if it stops working; continually seek to interface with reality based on its terms while seeking to establish your own foothold in continued survival.

Using the Environment

We mentioned evaluating your pursuers and rest stops. Generally speaking, most people don’t carry pruning shears in their EDC gear, though snipers often carry them as part of their standard gear and for good reason. In an evasion scenario such as we are sketching out, there probably isn’t a whole lot of use for a fully functional sniper’s hide, (though, in keeping with our ideal of adaptation never discount the option of burrowing in and hiding) however modified hides based on well established principles are highly useful and should be practiced.

Where terrain and plant life make it possible, use your pruners to carve out niches in dense thickets. Blackberry vine tangles are ideal because no one wants to touch them and no one would consider that you might actually go inside one. Evaluate the area for an escape route and line(s) of sight; make as few cuts as are needed to burrow into the mass of vines; once firmly entrenched, start to hollow out a useable space, establish a hasty exit route and check your line of sight.

This concept can be utilized in trees where gaining an immediate high-ground advantage is untenable. If you can climb the tree leaving minimal evidence of your effort, staying in the tree as pursuers pass is not a totally unfounded nor untested idea. However, even if you just ascend the tree and make a few choice cuts to gain a decent vantage point on your back trail, it might be worth the effort.

Use of the environment is also going to give you immediate feedback on the talent and tenacity of those on your trail. If your decision making matrix deems it appropriate, consider purposely taking an extremely difficult route. Certain high angles, rapid ascents, rocky terrain, open meadows and the like will allow you to study and make retro-determinations on your hunters’ prowess with respect to tactical acumen, stamina, weaponry, as well whatever else pops out at you.

Good literature on natural concealment is widely available so I won’t harp on it too much. Suffice it to say that a person need not spend more than a minute or two collecting various foliage to effectively break up the conspicuous outline of the human head and shoulders. Attached with paracord, laces or simply tucked into folds in clothing, you can even do this while you’re moving. Avoid leaving obvious traces of your activity such as the white of cut limbs or mangled fern fronds.

Survival skills and their limits are going to play a role in this category of evasion, mainly with respect to what calorie sources you can utilize. I recommend adapting the old concept of the Possibles Bag here as it allows for hasty acquisition and storage of materials found without necessity to pause and rummage through gear. It also allows your pockets to remain available, clean and dry for other uses.

A long utilized method of sustenance by military evaders involves the use of livestock, goods and other useable items usurped from locals, generally in rural areas. This may or may not be appropriate given your situation. For soldiers trapped behind enemy lines and among hostile, fearful or bribe-hungry locals the risk should be weighed carefully. In other scenarios, simply asking the locals for assistance may be optimal and put a swift conclusion to your problem.

This aspect of evasion also brings up the possibility of switching roles from hunter to hunted. Classically, traps and related devices as well as sniper work are brought up in the discussion at this point. It goes without saying however, that these and other tactics and techniques cross a certain line which may or may not be appropriate based on your personal situation. Evaluations such as legality, rules of engagement and morality all must be read in here with their appropriate caveats.

Tips/Tricks/Etc.

I will leave you with a short recap of the high points and a selection of handy tips to keep in your mental back pocket. Recall that when the adrenaline hits, take time to make tea, breathe or whatever else you find forces you to humbly and quickly square up to reality. Like setting the table for dinner, now that you’re tuned in start evaluating, making decisive, logical decisions. Move at the fastest and safest possible pace, utilizing terrain, foliage, weather and anything else possible to your greatest advantage. Stealth is directly related to speed so consider trade offs and continually force yourself to re-evaluate your decisions and assumptions based on the feedback reality is offering you along the way. Ultimately, deliberate action coupled with common sense and perhaps a healthy dose of humility is going to fair you pretty well.

-Don’t follow obvious terrain features such as rivers, rims, tree lines.
-Take care of your feet. If you feel a hot spot, then stop and evaluate.
-Smoke is an effective scent mask.
-Learn how to make a Dakota fire pit. It gives off low light, and when burning certain barks and woods it is near smokeless. Use it only if you absolutely must, to live.
-Keep a 5x7 earth-tone survival tarp in your kit. Cord pre-attached to tie offs.
-An inexpensive monocular or set of binoculars kept in the car or in a pocket can be very handy.
-For calories on a mid to long term evasion look to insects, grubs and fish. In that order.
-Cardiovascular stamina cannot be overestimated.
-Smear dirt+spittle on the stumps of cut limbs or trees.
-Hopping from rock to rock to log, doglegs, walking back in your tracks and other counter-tracking techniques have their price---they tell your hunters something about you, so use them sparingly if at all and never the same technique twice.
-Do a web search: ‘Etymology of red herring.’

Preppers consciously devote a great deal of time and resources toward their families or groups, preparing to defend themselves, building better stocks of supplies, creating communications links, and planning for contingencies. It's not a coincidence that these all mirror elements of a military staff; they're the essential elements of surviving and operating, whether under the best of circumstances or the worst. In normal life, they can be fulfilled without much conscious thought. Your personnel (J1) are your family, coworkers, neighbors, and friends. Your daily operations (J3) are your work or other activities that you build your day and life around. Your logistics (J4) are filled by the gas station, grocery store, highway department, and Wal-Mart. Planning, such as most people do (J5), is devoted to vacations or preparations. Communications (J6) is filled by the cable guy, Geek Squad, or cell phone store.

If, however, these externally decided and performed functions break down, you have to do them yourself, and some knowledge of the fundamentals of each is an essential part of preparing for the worst. The careful reader may have already noticed, but I have only named functions 1, 3, 4, 5, & 6. The J2 function is intelligence, and in my opinion, many preppers are leaving serious consideration of  that essential function out of their plan (there is not an “Intelligence Techniques” category listed between “Home Schooling” and “Land Navigation” on SurvivalBlog, for instance). Normally, people get their actionable information as easily as breathing; press a button and a news radio or television program will tell you if a natural disaster is developing or gangs of mutant zombie gerbils are roaming the prairie. However, obtaining good information after a breakdown of communications and order could be as difficult as obtaining gasoline or batteries. In other words, you need to plan to fill your information needs as carefully as you plan your logistical needs.
Intelligence as a function (as opposed to a trait- can't help you with that one) is the collection,  analysis, and dissemination of the information needed to make a decision. Notice that there is no mention of laser beam watches, martinis, or code-breaking supercomputers in that definition. For your purposes as a prepper, gaining intelligence in or after a crisis is simply a matter of replacing the information flow that you enjoy today. However, since there might not always be a global network of reporters, analysts, and bloggers flowing the data to your car or home via cable or satellite, you need a plan to collect and analyze for yourself. You also need a plan to get that intelligence to those in your group that need it.

For preppers, there are really two categories of preps: those you can stock up on now, and those you have to produce or perform in or after a crisis. Intelligence is the same. The military uses the term Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment (IPOE). You can learn more about IPOE in Joint Publication JP 2-01.3). IPOE is a continual process in four parts: 1. Analyze the operational environment, 2. Assess the effects of the operational environment, 3. Analyze the adversary, and 4. Determine adversary courses of action (COAs).

In step one, you define the area in which you will operate. This means bounding the geographic space where you will live and work in order to limit your analysis to where it matters. Then you research all of the physical, meteorological, social, legal, and informational aspects of that area. You collect maps, census data, weather information, lists of radio stations (don't forget ham frequencies), lists of important people, and anything else you can think of that you need to know about the area itself.

In step two, you analyze the effects of that environment on the operations that you intend to conduct. If you need to disinfect water in Alaska, the weather report for January should be a good indicator that solar disinfection isn't going to work. If you are planning to go about your business armed, researching weapons laws in your area is essential to building that plan. If you intend on moving around, you need to assess what the effect of local roads will be on your vehicle.

In step three, you look at your potential adversaries. In this step, you determine who might do you harm and conduct the same sort of analysis as in step two. Who are they personally? How many of them are there, and how are they equipped? From what do they draw their strength (centers of gravity or COGs)? As an example, if you are considering relocation to an isolated ranch near the US/Mexico border, you might include drug trafficking gangs among your potential adversaries. Their centers of gravity could include the lucrative sale of illegal drugs, weapons, reputations for ruthless violence against their enemies, and wide networks of group members. Under normal circumstances, if you are conducting IPOE to harden your home, your adversary might be the common burglar, and his COGs could be darkness, knowledge of your personal schedule, and simple willingness to act. Try not to mirror your   adversary; remember that they likely will not think or act the way you would in the same circumstances, and try to get into their shoes. Don't limit this analysis to just one threat; consider the full range and spectrum and complete the process for each.

In step four, you try to come up with your adversary's most likely and most dangerous courses of action (COA). In the case of the general threat of a burglar, if you have made your home a hardened target with lights, spiky bushes, and a noisy dog, the most likely COA might be to move on to an easier house down the block. His most dangerous COA might be to switch tactics and attempt a home invasion as you arrive home from work or just after you have left. As in step 3, conduct this analysis for each potential threat. Refine your own actions in response to your analysis of the threat's courses of action, and realize that as you change your posture, you need to update your analysis.

Once you have completed all four steps, store all your information in a place where you can always get to it, just as with stocks of beans and toilet paper. A hard copy binder containing all of your relevant maps, frequency lists, weather charts, and other information would be invaluable if the power went out and you couldn't use Google Earth to find the best route to grandmother's house. Update this binder regularly; just like food, information gets stale with time.

The second broad category of prepping is that which has to be procured or done in a crisis. Unfortunately, you can't stock up on bullseyes at the range for the day the zombies show up; you have to take your shots in the moment they're needed. The same rule applies for some information that can only be gathered in relatively real time. Since preppers assume that they can't always rely on the normal systems of daily life, they need a systematic approach to collecting that intelligence. Collection of intelligence is generally divided into categories, or disciplines, and each helps provide a potentially essential element of information. The most important disciplines for the prepper are open source intelligence (OSINT), communications intelligence (COMINT), human intelligence (HUMINT),  and imagery intelligence (IMINT).

OSINT is what we do every day when we turn on the news and watch what is prepared for us by the networks. It is the collection of information of intelligence value from the openly provided media. Reading the newspaper can provide essential information that can drive action: yard sales, weather approaching, volcano erupting, etc. However, the consumer of that information needs to realize that it is being provided in order to benefit the broadcaster; that is, that it is produced by people who know it will be consumed and used to drive decisions. In the event of a crisis, you may need to consider that traditional sources of OSINT could be unavailable or that the people deciding what to broadcast may be trying to shape your decisions in a way that you would otherwise disagree with. As an example, after the Chernobyl disaster, Soviet news broadcasts sought to minimize public relations damage more than to urge people to evacuate. 

COMINT is a sub-division of signals intelligence that focuses on communications between people, as opposed to other data. This is analogous to eavesdropping on a conversation in a restaurant. In order to do this for yourself, you need a means of monitoring a wide swath of radio broadcasts. A simple AM/FM radio is a start, but that only lets you gather what is broadcast on the traditional dial; that is to say that it contains mainly OSINT. A CB radio can pick up conversations among ordinary people that can be very useful, especially to travelers. A scanner or ham radio that can receive a wider range of signals can enable you to hear weather reports, emergency responders coordinating their actions, other ordinary people, or broadcasts from outside your local area or country. Importantly, remember that if you can hear people talking on the radio who aren't talking to you, other people can hear you when you broadcast to your own selected audience as well.

HUMINT focuses on that information gained from other people. If your friend who runs the electronics store tells you that they'll have a big sale on Saturday, you have gained actionable information via a human source (trench coat, hat, and sunglasses optional). Preppers should build their network of sources now; get to know people who work in important places or who otherwise have access to information of value. In the event that you need to ask a question of your source, be discreet so that you don't ruin that source of information by getting your source in trouble. Also realize that people who are telling you something might have their own agenda and that it might not be the same as yours.

IMINT is basically the use of photographs or video for intelligence purposes. If you use Google Earth to find sources of water around your house for fishing, you are conducting IMINT analysis. Imagery provides a powerful tool for surveillance and reconnaissance of an area of interest; a camera can be your eyes in places that you cannot always be. For instance, if you want to watch a feed plot for a huge buck, you can place a camera there and leave it for analysis at your leisure. The same applies for watching your driveway or neighborhood with a security camera. Kits are even available to turn model airplanes into video camera-packing drones that can observe an area from above for hours without needing any control.
Each discipline of collections provides raw data. In some cases, this could contain attempts at deception (your source at the electronics store may just want to see you again) or require interpretation (as in the case of police calls using 10-codes). In every case, raw data requires processing and validation before it can be rolled into your ongoing IPOE. If you receive an indication through one discipline, try to verify it with another: check the newspaper (OSINT) for sale announcements if you're unsure about what your source (HUMINT) said. Ask a police officer (HUMINT) to explain what a term you heard on the radio (COMINT) meant. Look at your security camera (IMINT) to verify what the nice man on the other side of the front door (HUMINT) has to say about his identity. 

Once you have your intelligence, you need to [analyze it and] disseminate it to the people you care about, or at least coordinate with. Normally, this would mean a telephone call, text, or e-mail. In the event of these services not working, you need a means of passing the word that is not reliant on that infrastructure and that provides some security. Some information has value inversely proportional to its distribution outside of its intended audience. For instance, if you know that a certain highway out of danger is clear while the interstate is packed, you obviously want those you care about to know and be able to act before everybody else finds out and clogs that route too.

 Amateur radio is an obvious method of communicating over long distances, as is the humble CB radio. Neither is secure, but you can obtain some level of communications security by using obscure frequencies or other methods, as Mr. Rawles describes in some of his books. Few media are as secure as a runner with a memorized message, but they are also very slow compared to radio. Satellite phones will work whether the local service does or not. The bottom line is to make a plan now and share it with those with whom you need to communicate. It would be horrible to learn of danger approaching and be unable to warn your loved ones.
In summary, intelligence collection and planning are as essential to your preps as beans and bandages. Store and rotate data the same way that you do food and other supplies. Figure out what your needs are for information today and then figure out how to obtain the same data in a crisis. Build a systematically analyzed and arranged set of essential information to store in case it's needed, and build a means of collecting that same data if your normal methods are lost due to a crisis. Create a plan to disseminate valuable information in such a way that it doesn't lose its value by being intercepted by others.

I am an American in Ecuador, and I have a story to tell.  This happened in July and I should absolutely be dead. 

A little introduction to the kind of person that I am.  Growing up in Alaska and playing in the great outdoors has always been a huge part of my life.  When I was a couple of years old, my wonderful father would strap me on his back and take my sister and I fishing.  I absolutely love him for that.  The beauty and serenity of the great outdoors has always been a stress reliever for me.  My other hobbies, which of course involved the outdoors is organic gardening and gold prospecting.  My life in general has been one of a hermit.  I have lived in many states, but most of those years were in Alaska.  I always had a pretty great job as a carpet installer which allowed me to work all over the US.  One day I landed a pretty nice job in Whitehorse, Yukon Canada and decided I wanted to get out of the rat race.  I would work during the day and research on my dream destination during the evening.  Gold was skyrocketing in value the last few years and it is a passion of mine.  I had spent six weeks in Belize and Guatemala, and I really loved the tropics.  Throughout my research, I always came across Ecuador and as a very unexplored region with massive "golden" opportunities.  To top it all off, the small village of Vilcabamba is known for its fertile soil and perfect climate.  I decided this would be my mini-base from which to explore. 
 
I have always been a huge adventure fan and I feel like I had a past life as an explorer.  I always loved ancient history and the Inca culture especially fascinated me.  I worked continuously for eight months, enduring the insane weather of the Yukon territories to save up for my trip to Ecuador.  It was a pretty exciting day stepping on the plane to Ecuador. (Partly because I was still freezing my butt off in Whitehorse).  The only negative I could think of was having to learn another language.  I am still working on that!
 
Entering the third month of my trip, I had the worst day of my life and will most likely be my worst day until I die when elderly.  I had been making some multi-day trips into the jungle outside of the Amazonian town of Tena.  Before my final trip, I had completed two other trips of three days each.  I was sampling for gold by crevicing.  This particular river is very fast flowing and has eroded the area of the river all the way down to bedrock.  Gold is very heavy and will sink down to this layer of rock and it gets trapped inside the large cracks.  My job was to clean out the cracks in search of the elusive shiny stuff.  After my third trip in, I made a conclusion.  This river is very rich in gold! I managed to scrape out 2-3 grams of gold a day.  On the evening of the third day on the third trip in, I suffered through some
pretty heavy rains.  So heavy, that my special Clark's Jungle Hammock that was supposed to be torrential rain proof actually started leaking on me.  That entire night was very uncomfortable for both my little puppy and I. (I had been given a cute five month old puppy as a gift from a friend).  I was up most of the night trying to stay dry and had to get soaked rigging up a second cover over my hammock. 
 
The rain continued all night and the water level was quite high.  I decided to call it quits and pack up and head to my room in Tena.  In order to get to my area I was working, I had about an hour hike on a decent trail.  This area is absolutely beautiful and very pristine. I packed up and headed back up the trail.  I finally made it to the entrance of the trail system and noticed just how quiet the surrounding area was.  The entrance to the trail system is at the "Piscina" which means pool in Spanish.  It is a beautiful natural pool caused by a smaller river entering the larger one.  Usually the place can be fairly hopping, but not a soul was around due to the high water level.  I pulled out my cell phone and had no signal.  I didn't realize there was no phone signal for a couple of kilometers.  My phone's battery was dead, and I had felt downright stupid when I discovered I had forgotten to turn it off.  I knew there was a village only a few kilometers away, so I started my small journey.  About halfway to the village, I saw a couple young adults riding a single silver bike.  It had pegs, and one of the guys was standing on them. 

I greeted them and they waved back.  I asked them if they could call a taxi for me, not realizing there wasn't a signal in the area.  One of them said no signal.  I said thanks, and they both rode on ahead of me up a hill.  It was about 9:30 am at this point and I saw the same guys looking down at the river ahead of me on top of the small hill.  They waved again, and one of them pulled out his cell phone to check again and shook his head no.  They rode on ahead again around a curve in the road. This is the point where I started to feel a bit nervous.  Small alarms were setting off in my head.  I noticed on the ground there was a pretty pathetic stick, about the size of your average walking stick.  Just having the stick in hand relaxed me a bit.  There was a slight curve in the road, blocking my view ahead of me. I again saw the two guys looking down at the river.  The one who had a cell phone earlier again had his phone in his hand and nodded yes to me with a bit of excitement.  Yes, he was calling a taxi.  He had his phone to his ear as if he was calling one and they both approached me.  My puppy ("Tequila") started freaking out on me and I had never seen him act this way.  He was yipping in fright and this is where the nightmare began.
 
As the two guys got within five feet of me, the one without the phone charged me and closed the gap in a split second.  He was unloading punches on the right side of my face. I was completely focused on blocking as many punches as I could.  I had three things working against me at this point.  There were two of them, and one of me.  I had a 60 pound backpack completely strapped to my back, and lastly I was beyond tired from the crazy night I had.  In addition to having punches rocking my right side of my face, the second guy was working on securing my arms.  The one unloading punches managed to assist in tying up my arms and now the second guy started strangling me.  I was so focused on trying to avoid as many punches as possible, that it was almost too late before realizing I was being strangled and losing consciousness. I knew if I didn't break the strangulation, I was dead.  It isn't until a life or death situation like this that you gain tremendous strength out of adrenaline.  I managed to use every last bit of strength that I had to fling the man strangling me off.  I knocked him back a good five feet.  This is the point where the two guys realized they had to put me down or they would risk getting seen.  Between the two of them, they managed to drag me over to the edge of the cliff and heaved me off.
 
(An aside: As a kid, I used to spend half my life tree climbing.  When I was about 7 or 8, I was climbing a great oak tree.  I was about 60 feet up, when I slipped and fell all the way down.  As I was falling, I managed to slow my fall by grabbing branches, as well as slamming into them.  Believe it or not, I walked away from this with only cuts and bruises and not a single broken bone.  This experience I believe is what assisted me in saving my life.)
 
They dragged me to the cliff and threw me over.  I had a distance of about 20 feet free fall to a out jutting lip.  I slammed into it and started rolling down the very steep cliff.  As I fell, a combination of vines, tree branches and shrubs somehow slowed me down a bit.  I continued to roll, occasionally slamming into to bushes and trees but unfortunately gravity worked against me.  At this point I saw the river getting closer and closer to me.  In addition to the river, I also had a very large tree approaching.  I knew grabbing that last tree was my only hope and managed to grasp for it.  Slam!!!  With my wind completely knocked out of me I stopped the fall a mere 15 feet above the massive class 5 river below.  I later found out the total distance of this fall exceeded 100 feet. 
 
I laid there in disbelief marveling at being alive.  I am not a religious person, but I felt like some divine guidance had a part in keeping me alive.  The odds of surviving a serious beating and surviving the fall was nearly impossible to imagine.  Enduring this trial, I made a decision to give a little prayer of thanks to whoever was looking out for me.  After my little prayer a sudden realization hit me. My two attackers might still be above me and there is a chance they might be able to see me still alive! I then proceeded to drag myself up and to hug the side of the cliff as best as I could.  After about five minutes of catching my breath, I then heard the horrible sound.  The frantic yip of my puppy descending.  It is a sound I will remember for the rest of my life.  After a few seconds the sound ended in one final yelp and
never again did I hear my wonderful puppies yip.  My two very evil attackers threw an innocent puppy to his death while still conscious.  The realization of that hit me as hard as the actual attack.  These guys had no conscience and were absolutely evil.  Another couple of minutes passed and I saw my torn shirt get tossed over and join a pile of other bits of clothing and odds and ends. 
 
After about 10 minutes of hell, I decided to carefully explore area where I'd halted my fall.  There was a fairly scattered pile of rubbish laying in the area, from water bottles to torn clothing and boots.  Others had died here, most likely getting chucked down and into the river.  My survival-oriented mind told me a couple of things.  I can scrounge up some odds and ends from this pile of trash to assist in my survival.  I knew there was no hope of white water rafters coming down the river from the point I was.  The main entry into the river system was still another mile+ at the village I was originally heading to.  I thought maybe I could tie some of the torn clothing items together and hang it off the tree in case it could be seen from a distance.  I knew it was early, and due to the numerous water bottles I could
survive at least a night.  This is the point where I had a decision to make.  Stay here for the night and wait the murderers out, or go ahead and try to climb out. I couldn't even see upper part of the cliff above me, but had to make up my mind.  I knew once the adrenaline was gone, I would be hurting and had only a single eye to work with.  Time would be the enemy, so my decision was made. 
 
I am an experienced climber, from my boyhood tree climbing to some rock climbing.  I started out trying to scale to my left, but I came across a large area that was completely open, with absolutely nothing to grab on to.  I had no choice but head to my right.  There were numerous obstacles in my path, from massive, dense bushes, to again, large open areas.  I had to scale up and down over and under the numerous obstacles.  Throughout all of this, I was being stung by many dozens of vicious fire ants.  When you are clinging to shrubs and anything else to save your life, a little ant bite is nothing.  To top everything off, all branches and footing was completely slippery from the recent rain.  I had quite a few close calls and near death experiences, one being a situation where I slipped, fell another few feet and racked myself.  If that tree hadn't been there, I would have fallen all the way down into the river to my death.  After a good hour of scaling, I started to grow weary and desperate.  One point I reached an area that had no branches, shrubs or anything to grab onto.  A big open patch of dirt.  After a minute of resting and trying to clear my head, I noticed the area was dotted with decent sized trees and i know just how extensive the root systems of trees needed to be for survival.  I noticed a root looping out of the ground not too far away and it was this that gave me the idea.  The soil was fairly loose in the area, so I used one hand to dig as best I could.  It was actually a bit spongy and I was able to dig in fairly
deep. I found some solid roots within 6 inches and it was perfect for grabbing onto.  I could pull myself up a bit, but then what?  It was about 8 feet across to more trees and a continuation of my nightmare journey up and out. 
 
I knew I could continue digging for roots, but how would I know where to put my foot?  I broke off a few sticks and put them in my pocket.  I could use these sticks to mark the roots I dug out to provide some footing, albeit treacherous.  Success!  By pushing the stick into the hole, I was able to mark the very important locations for my footing.  My plan worked quite well, and I reached the area with more plant growth.  Keep in mind, I only had a single eye through out this entire climb.  I had to look over as best I could using my left eye only.  I was scaling to my right.  Another useful tactic that worked for me was grabbing the root base of even small bushes, branches etc.  I was able to continue pulling myself along on these rather small shrubs and in some cases branches.  Never, ever grab the middle, or even worse, the end of a branch.  You have your best chance of survival by grabbing towards the base of the branch.  It was a good 90 minutes or even a bit longer that I came across a miracle and my first real hope. 
 
A huge landslide had occurred quite some time ago and left some large trees uprooted.  I was able to use these trees like a ladder, climbing upward to victory.  I slowly climbed up, rejoicing at the sight of the road.  A sudden fear entered me, slowing down my celebration a bit.  What if my would-be murderers were still around? I made the decision to crawl into a pile of high brush that would conceal me to get an idea on the dangers of moving forward.  I rested in the same spot, unmoving, for a good 15 minutes or so.  The adrenaline was starting to wear off, and pain was returning at a very rapid rate.  As I was climbing up, I heard the sound of a motor heading from my right to my left heading to the direction of the touristy pool.  I knew wobbling back to the pool and hoping someone was there was my best hope.  I had this nagging fear that my would've murderers would be at the village I was originally heading to.  So I made up my mind and as quick as possible hobbled to the tourist pool.  I was constantly fearful or running into them, or having them sneak up behind me.  Eventually I made it to the entrance of the pool and saw the light.  A motorcycle was parked outside!  I quickened my pace and made it to the picnic area where I saw the most wonderful sight ever!  A family was having lunch.  They looked at me in shock as I approached, a bleeding mess.  I explained my situation as best I could in my broken Spanish and they quickly led me to their motorcycle, and to the rest of my life!
 
This ends my story.  In the end, I ended up with a massive black eye, a very sore chin, massive lacerations to my neck, a sprained leg and about 100+ ant bites, scrapes, and dozens of bruises.  Not a single broken bone throughout my body and no permanent injuries.  I made a full recovery from this physically, except for a strange flash in my right eye.  It only occurs when it is darker, but it is bearable.  For those who have helped me, physically and emotionally, a very grateful thanks.  I have dozens of other stories to tell, though none quite like this one. 

JWR Adds: A.'s story is a sharp reminder that traveling unarmed is foolhardy. As I've described before in SurvivalBlog, there are weapons options including walking sticks and folded umbrellas that can be kept close at hand in even to most legally restrictive environments. And keep in mind that the training to go with them is just as important.