Like most of you I have been preparing for the bad times to come. I have made plans with food stores, water, guns and ammo, etc. In my desire for knowledge and to be as prepared as possible I've read anything I can get my hands on and I surf the Internet nightly, I also have an impressive library. I have gleaned what I could from all this and fortified where I can. My major concern now lies is in how to protect my family and supplies that I have worked so hard and diligently on, along with personal sacrifice to lay up, from others. The problems are two fold, first the men in the black suits and secondly are our friends and neighbors who have scoffed at our ideas of being prepared for so long and who's plans are solely to allow the government to come to their rescue and take care of them in their hour of need. I have made preparations to hide what I have stored from the men in the black suits. But if any refugees have a hint you have food stored, or even the perception of possible food this becomes a problem. What can we do about the unprepared who are hungry and will come in force to kill you then take what you have once you are dead? Even if my supplies are hidden refugees still pose a real threat if they believe you have food.

I am a proponent of "bugging in". This is my best bet for sustainable survival. After the great Society Ending Event (SEE) begins and after the lights go out my plans spring into action. I won't implement my plans every time the power goes out! Within the first three to four days, after enough time for reality and permanency to set in, then my implementation begins. I then plan on making my house look abandoned and already looted to the potential looter walking by on the street. We have all seen houses that have the look we are discussing. This house is abandoned and has nothing of importance left inside, so why would anyone want to go in that place and waste their time looking for food? I want them to think..."Someone has already beat me too this one, let's look at another house down the street". This is the look I am trying to achieve. Perception in everything.

After Hurricane Katrina, when search and rescue went from house to house looking for survivors they devised a system to let other searchers know this house had in fact already been searched. A large X was painted on the house close to the front door. In the top section is listed the number of people living in your home. In the section to the right would be the number of sick removed, while the bottom section would show the number of dead found. I would put a 1 in the bottom section while the rest of the family are listed in the sick column. This will probably not mean a whole lot to those passing by other than some official person has already been there.

Next take old pallets and break them apart, then board up the windows and doors on the outside. Do this in an uneven and hurried fashion. Do not use all the same type or size lumber. The idea is to make it look as if this was done in a hurry and with supplies on hand, you don't want a look of pre-planning in your efforts. The purpose is to act as if some official person was wanting to seal this house in a hurry and move on to the next one. The reason to do the outside and not the inside is mainly so looters walking by can see this, and secondly if I do the inside and some one tries to open the door they will hit something solid. To the looter this is a red flashing arrow pointing at my house indicating I have food and other supplies.

Inside you will need to cover the windows with black sheets or black plastic, then cover them with plywood and secure to the inside wall to completely block the light. If Mr Looter is brave enough to look through the slats all they will see is darkness. Cover all the windows and doors both inside and out. This will allow family movement inside with light and such without being visible outside. This is a pain in the daytime due to the loss of ambient light but extremely necessary at night. Note: This goes without saying but...This will offer protection from people looking in and seeing if any one is home, it offers very little protection from noise inside being heard outside. This will negate any effort to appear abandoned if I'm making a lot of noise inside. Lastly on the front door slap a bio-hazard quarantine sign. This is the cherry on top! These can be found on the Internet and be printed for now and saved for later use. Now your house has a look of a medical disaster like the deadly new bird flu - H7N9. Perception is everything.

Lets take it up one more level, if there is no power I will have no need of my television. Throw this in the front yard and even shoot a hole through the screen or at least bust it up some (you don't have any need for this any more). Throw trash in the yard and make your house look as if it has already been looted before the house was quarantined. Another idea is If you have more than 1 vehicle take one and bust out the driver side window, destroy the steering column, and empty out the glove box. This has the look of someone trying to steal your car or looking for food. All this combined together makes the house look less desirable to looters and what they are looking for, I don't believe you can go over board. If you have the time take some flat black spray paint and spray around the tops of windows and door ways to make it look like smoke escaping from the inside making it appear there was a fire inside. Perception is everything.

To the casual refugee walking by, or even the more observant looter, this house has the appearance of having already been looted, or someone possibly even died in this house from some disease. Why would anyone want to waste their time there when the neighbors house looks untouched and loaded with possible food and supplies. The average looter will be in a hurry and not willing to spend any more time than is necessary taking a closer look. Remember perception is everything.

If someone is still determined on getting inside your home after all the work you have done to make it look as uninviting as possible go to your back up plan. In a closet in the master bedroom ( if it is on the first level and you don't have a concrete slab floor) remove the carpet and cut a hole in the floor. This will lead under the house. This will provide a place to safely hide from looters, provided you remain quiet. If you are inside your home don't be fooled by the movies and believe sheetrock walls will stop a bullet. [Unless your house has thick masonry walls,] there is no safe place in your home to hide if those outside are shooting at you inside your house. The prudent looter should be concerned about conserving their ammo but we are talking about hungry, desperate people. When people are under great stress they will do unpredictable things. [Unless it is burned,] hiding under the house will provide a safe place to hide and emerge later, alive.

Getting my plywood cut for each window ahead of time and having my pallets stacked behind the shed now will have me prepared for my deception once the great SEE begins. A note that is obvious but still needs to be said, this work will need to be completed under the cover of darkness. This ruse will have little effect if others are watching you complete the work. A little prep work on your part can make your home safer and appear less desirable for the enviable refugees and possible looters. Perception is everything.
Keep safe. In His Service. - W.K.R. in Kansas

JWR's Comments: Psychologically, there is a fine line between making a house look undesirable and a making it look like "fair game." Be careful about the impression that you make.

In my estimation, creating large and convincing-looking Quarantine warning signs is probably a good use of your time and money. If your signs are worded carefully, then they could give anyone except a semantics expert the impression that the Quarantine is to keep people away from sick people inside, rather than to keep sick people out. (When the goal is the latter, rather than the former.) These signs would need to use official looking typography and biohazard emblems, substituting the words "QUARANTINE AREA." As W.K.R. mentioned, these are even available commercially. If you live in a Mexican border state, then the sign could include, for redundancy: "Medida de sanidad poner en cuarentena", or more simply: Zona De Cuarentena." But I must caution that you will first need to research your State's regulations of what would constitute impersonating a government official, before creating any signs. (These laws vary widely, from state to state. In Texas, for example, their law is written quite broadly and inclusively. Contrast that with Iowa's terse statute.) There is also a Federal statute, but that seems to center around wearing a uniform or carrying a badge or credentials. If you word a quarantine declaration sign carefully, choose the correct type font, and include biohazard symbols, but omit using any words like "by order of ______ (an agency of government)" or the name or initials of any agency, then you will most likely still be legal. (You can probably vaguely use the words "It is declared"--with no agency named--but again you need to research your own state's laws.) As the property owner and head of a household, you can of course "declare" a private quarantine. Just don't impersonate a government official, in doing so! And if there is a doctor in your retreat group, the wording on the sign could truthfully end with something like: "Joe Smith, MD."

It is also wise to research your state's laws on "No Trespassing" signs. Creating various signs was discussed in TMM Forums, a few years back. And some useful links to printable signs were included in a Backwoods Home Forum thread.

One more thought: Don't overlook the human sense of smell, which triggers deep psychological reactions. Depending on the circumstances, simply leaving a large animal gut pile to rot (hidden under some loosely-piled leaves or straw) in your front yard could do much more to deter invaders than anything else. But this would of course only be appropriate if you don't have neighbors who live close-by!

The bottom line: Fear is a stronger motivator than disinterest or indifference.

Jim:
A few comments on Mountain Man Virgil's letter titled "Be Prepared to Fortify." I would like to offer a few alternatives to his plan to "hide security measures in your garage until you need them." I am assuming that he is referring to items such as barbed wire and sand bags. There are many things one can do which offer very good security and still blend in with the neighborhood. Large decorative rocks, strategically placed or large treated logs as garden or flower beds can offer excellent cover and concealment. Large livestock water tanks of metal or heavy plastic can be painted to make them "cute" additions to the landscape. When filled with sand and dirt make great garden boxes and ballistic protection. Fox holes can be incorporated into landscaping along with hedges of thorned bushes to keep intruders out of certain areas. Small ponds may also serve to limit movement in certain areas . I'm afraid that if you leave your security hidden until needed, you may not have time to deploy them if things start to unravel quickly. Good luck. - Montana Prepper

Sir,
One thing I often hear from folks who live in the suburbs is, “Oh man, you’re so lucky, you can totally take your mountain cabin and make it an armed fortress.” 

That’s not exactly true.  While I do have a retreat in a rural area, I do still also have neighbors up there.  We are on acre+ lots, so there is space.  But if I started stringing barbed wire and digging a moat, it would raise a few eyebrows.  Not only might I get a visit from the DHS (or the People’s Republic of California equivalent), but my neighbors would have advanced notice that I was stocked up when it all hit the fan. 

So what I’ve done is gathered all the materials for that time when fortification will be necessary, and just have it in sheds or stacked discreetly on parts of the property. 

Then when the flag goes up, our first few days will be spent erecting the fence and stringing it with barbed wire, setting up the noise-making trip wires on the upper back side, setting up my solar-powered motion sensor lights, etc. 

You folks who live in a suburban neighborhood can do the same.  Just figure out what defenses you have in mind, get the stuff, and keep it in your garage until the balloon goes up.    

I feel bad for anyone who has to make a go of it in a suburb, but you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess.  Plus, be grateful it isn’t an urban area.  Probably your best bet would be to figure out how you could close off a set area (cul-de-sac or both ends of a street), and get enough material to do the whole area.  The plus side there is you’ll have instant allies and people to work with.  The down side could be that after a few weeks and hunger starts to set in, they may say, “Hey, if he had all the security equipment ready to go, he probably also stashed away food.”  One way to help throw them off the scent would be to now buy clothes from Goodwill that are a little too big for you, so they hang slack like everyone else will be wearing.  Another way, if you could afford it, is have extra food for them, too. 

Or perhaps a way to go would be to make an encampment of all the properties that touch yours, and leave it at that.  Anyone beyond that would be an outsider. 

I know there is a lot to think about on that, and I don’t envy you that task.  But I’ll close with the original point of this note, and that is to say you can hide security measures in your garage until you need them.  Good luck, get prepared and stay safe.  - Mountain Man Virgil

Mr Rawles, thank you for the service you provide.

A comment on the dual ring village concept. If it is advanced as a defense tactic, I would urge remembering that the walled-town versus siegecraft dynamic is thousands of years old, and the survival of walled towns and cities is only possible if they are:

1. Provisioned to last longer than the besieging force, which is of course free to forage and be resupplied
2. Fireproof
3. Relieved by a friendly force from outside.

They are also utterly obsolete since the development of artillery bombardment, still more so since the airplane and missile. Sad but true.

IMHO, safety today must rely on:

1. Invisibility or insignificance to possible enemy
2. Effective surveillance of a wide perimeter
3. mobile defense force to engage potential enemy at a distance

War is not only Hell, but quite expensive!

Thanks again! - Ben F.

James:
A good friend who has own three acres at the end of my dead end road rented two 40 foot-long shipping containers eight years ago, paying $250 a month for the pair, and filled them completely up with stuff that he moved from Ohio.  I recently built a two-storey barn for him. When we opened the containers, which had been sealed for eight years [to shift the contents to the new barn] we found that holes had rusted through the top of the containers and everything inside of them was totally ruined.  Nothing inside was salvageable.  He is depressed and heartbroken. He had spent $24,000 in rent but yet he had to haul everything to the dump.  So if you use shipping containers make sure they stay sound and waterproof. - Jim W.

JWR Replies: Over the years I have heard from many readers about issues with Continental Express (CONEX) containers. While they have their advantages, there are substantial risks involving moisture--both rain leaks and condensation. It is essential that the contents of CONEXes be stacked on horizontal pallets and that no boxes are allowed to contact the walls or ceilings, which could be damp with condensation.

When buying, or renting a CONEX, I recommend that you get CONEXes made from Corten (or "Cor-Ten" steel. This is a weathering steel with a specially formulated metallurgy that will last many years longer than standard steel if comparable gauge.

Regular inspection (inside and out) is a must. In most temperate climates, moisture absorbers (such as DampRid tubs) must be replaced frequently, or continuous power must be supplied to several GoldenRod or Everdry electric dehumidifiers.

The other risk that I often hear mentioned is security. It is not unusual for CONEXes to be pillaged by burglars. Even the very best padlocks will not stand up to attacks from cutting torches or abrasive cutoff wheels. And if the locks themselves are not attacked, then it is often the hasp loops or other door hardware to that are attacked. The bottom line is that there is NO sure substitute to having a watchful eye on your property. So in the case of absentee landowners, you need neighbors who you can trust.

The archives of SurvivalBlog have many articles about CONEXes and their many uses. And for anyone who is toying with the idea of burying a CONEX, we have posted many warnings about the potential for CONEXes to collapse. (They are designed to take heavy weight only on their corners.)

Coincidentally, the editor of Prepper Resources recently posted a good summary guest article that was written by one of the owners of ContainerAuction.com.

Sir,
I've often wondered what the "typical" home-invasion victim's house looks like.  Does it have high fences; does it sit perched on a hill with a beautiful view; are BMWs seen entering & leaving?  Perhaps.  I wonder if home invaders (or burglars, for that matter) even bother with modest homes that have 20-year-old cars parked in front?  Probably not so much.

What I'm saying is that, even if you have the means to live well, part of OPSEC should probably include maintaining the appearance of being a low-value target.  Making your home into an obvious fortress will naturally cause those with malign intentions to think, "Wow, now this is the place to hit!"  Perhaps that will keep you from living your idea of the "good life," but if that's truly your philosophy, you should probably re-think that anyway.

Regards, - Geoff B.

[JWR's Introductory Note: I'm presenting this book excerpt as a guest post. His book is available at Lulu.com.]

The prospect looms of an economic collapse caused by the enormous sovereign debt of the United States and moves by China, Russia, Brazil and others to dump the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. If they succeed, America will be dethroned from its position as the middle-man in world financial affairs and the dollar will begin to reflect America’s true financial position. In short, America will become the new Zimbabwe.

This devaluation will create massive disruptions in domestic economic activity, banking, public services and food distribution. In turn, the lack of purchasing power will cause rioting, looting, arson and mob violence. After that, expect armed gangs and the end to the world as we know it. What we don’t know is how soon, how long, or how generalized, the disruption is likely to be.

A few years ago, I wrote a book about home invasion prevention, called just that: Home Invasion Prevention. It was based on more than two years of research and interviews with gun owners, police, and security experts. I was thinking about normal society in peaceful times, but a lot of the advice in the book still makes sense in the apocalyptic scenario I’ve just sketched.

So what I’m about to say is aimed at the period between the start of the economic crisis and the point you bug out of town in the middle of the night with a backpack and a 9mm.

Home security is really composed of two elements; symbolic protection and physical protection. It’s because Canadians and Americans don’t discriminate between these two concepts they’re continually surprised at burglaries, robberies and home invasions when they occur.

Symbolic protection is made up of objects and procedures that speak to the ownership of a piece of property, or a dwelling on that property, and which say or imply, that this ownership should be respected. Physical protection is made up of objects or procedures which prevent or deter entry onto that property or into that dwelling. Let’s look at some examples.

Remember the kind of low picket fence surrounding suburban front yards in movies from the 1950s? The fence would rise from a height of two feet to gate posts about three feet high on which a swinging gate would be latched. To enter a home, you would have to walk along the sidewalk until you reached the gate, then unlatch the gate and walk up to the front door. Once there you would use the bell and wait for the door to be answered.

This is an example of symbolic protection. The fence is not physically stopping you from stepping over and onto the lawn, but symbolically asking you not to do so. The gate doesn’t stop you from entering the yard, but symbolically reminds you that you are going onto private property. And the door bell is not just to call the resident inside, but also to force you to wait for the resident to open the door. It’s all symbolism. You could, if you wished, have stepped over the fence, ignored the bell and (this was the 50s after all) opened the door.

Consider, on the other hand, a traditional home in North Africa. It presents a smooth, solid wall on four sides, broken only by a small and sturdy entrance onto the street. The entrance door leads through the house to an iron gate which blocks access to an inner courtyard. From the courtyard you can see an external staircase that goes up to the flat roof of the rooms surrounding the courtyard. This roof runs around the house and is bordered by a wall about chest height with a rounded edge.

Here we have an example of physical protection. The lack of external windows means an invader would have to scale a 15 foot wall to gain access. The rounded edge of the wall would prevent a grappling hook from getting a purchase and, in any event, a night watchman, stationed on the upper level, would immediately be aware of an assault. Down on the ground, the narrow door would prevent a large group of men from attacking the door altogether, while the inner gate would allow the residents to fight back against an armed attack. The upper level would also provide a firing point to defend all four quarters of the house.

The basic difference between the two concepts is that in the mid-century American setting, the homeowner expects other members of society to understand and respect the written and unwritten rules governing private property. The North African, on the other hand, expects raiders will ignore the rules and that, as a result, he will have to fight to enforce his rights.

Canada and the United States, at the start of the 21st Century, present a mixed picture between these two extremes, less socially uniform than  fifty years ago, but not as lawless as, say, modern Afghanistan. This means that while most North Americans respect the social and legal norms regarding property rights, a significant minority does not. This, in turn, means that relying exclusively on symbolic protection is no longer sufficient for home security.
Some people reading this will say they have never been the victim of a home invasion and they never expect to be in the future. I sincerely hope they’re right. However, it’s universally the case that actual victims of home invasions, if they survive, express exactly the same sentiments. They say they had never been victims in the past and they are amazed and astonished to have been targeted this time.

The key question you face as a homeowner is deciding how far you wish to go along the physical protection route before your security measures become oppressive or even obsessive. While you consider this, consider your front door. You will be surprised when I tell you that a front door locked with a consumer-grade deadbolt is more symbolic than practical. The same goes for typical window locks and sliding door latches. All of these can be smashed or jimmied open, in seconds.

If you want to provide real physical security, you will have to do more.
Home invasions invariably fall into one of five types, with the first three being by far the most common.

• Force
  In this scenario, the home invader approaches the front or side door and simply kicks the door in. A well-aimed kick just below or above the door knob will break open most doors, even those with a properly installed deadbolt. This approach can take place day or night.
• Deception
  The home invader approaches the front door and poses as someone needing assistance, wanting to use the phone, or go to the bathroom. He, or she, may say they're doing a survey, have a parcel for you to sign for or may tell you a tree branch has fallen on your car. There are any number of reasonable excuses that can be used to get you to open your door. Once open, the invader or her accomplices, push the door in. This type of invasion usually takes place during the day or early evening.
• Stealth
  This is a more traditional approach where a home invasion starts much like a burglary. The assailant uses a lock pick or pry bar to defeat a door or window lock, slips into the house and surprises the homeowner in another room. Again, like invasion by force, this can take place at any time, but is most frightening at night.
• Garage
  Invaders first drive around a neighbourhood looking for a house with a garage door open, or a homeowner in a garage with the door open. They then come back, drive up the driveway, get out and assault the individual in his own garage. With him under control, they close the garage door and continue the assault inside.
• Abduction
  This is extremely rare, but has occurred in both Canada and the United States. The home invaders first carjack an individual and force him (or her) to drive home. Once they get there, the home invasion proceeds in the same way as a Garage type invasion.

Clearly these are five very different techniques, but a defence is possible for each one. I’ll sketch out the responses.

• Force
  Defeating the force method of entry involves hardening the exterior of your home. This means security film and deadbolts on the windows, an anti-kick strip on the doors, cross-door reinforcement, double deadbolts and reinforced hinges.
• Deception

The key to beating the deception form of attack is a security doorstop. This device, which you can make yourself or purchase commercially, acts as an invisible barrier after you open the door. The assailant has no idea the door is braced and will then make his move.

• Stealth

Dealing with a stealth attack is similar to preventing a burglary; external hardening. However, our wrinkle on this is another device you don’t hear much about, an internal security gate. Even after you harden your home, you have to assume a clever and persistent home invader will find a way to defeat a window or door somewhere in the house. An internal security gate gives you time to collect your thoughts and take other actions as necessary.

• Garage

Because homeowners don't expect to be assaulted on their own property and in their own garage, and because the neighbours don't see, or hear, anything amiss, this kind of invasion is one of the easiest for home invaders to pull off. The short answer to the problem is to keep your garage door down and locked.

• Car

A very few home invasions start with a carjacking blocks or even miles from the home. You need to create a response plan now, before it happens.

There was one phrase in the last group of points you may have passed over without taking it in; an internal security gate.

You need to put a steel gate attached to steel plates attached to wall studs in a position between the public part of your home and the private part. Usually it should be at the start of the hallway to the bedrooms. The gate needs to have a push-button mechanical lock on one side accessible to the other.

The point of the gate is to set up your home invaders. Because you have your gun in your bedroom, you can retrieve it, load it and get into position at your bedroom door while the home invaders try to get through the gate to attack you. If they do, you can open fire knowing the range down to the inch.  It’s polite to have a solid wall at the other end of your hall so overshoots don’t exit your house and injure neighbors or passers-by.

As I said earlier, this advice is adapted from my book, Home Invasion Prevention, available from Lulu.com as a paperback or eBook. Good luck to you, and to me; we’ll need it, no matter how well we plan things.

James Wesley:
A thought about securely storing valuables:

Have several hidden storage areas/caches with the bulk of your valuables and some smaller “bait” caches.  If ever overwhelmed by thieves or the government, give up the smaller stashes to satisfy the varmints.  In the case of registered firearms, a government grab will expect to find all the registered weapons and some associated ammo so it is imperative to acquire (legally) never registered weapons and ammo for the long term if you do not already have “free” weapons.
Of course in the case of thieves, the best option is vigorous self-defense.

Thanks much for SurvivalBlog. - Ed, The Lone Prepper

Sir:
We have had cash on hand since Y2K, which became 9/11 cash, then 2008 crash cash. I agree with the author to be careful, because depositing/withdrawing or spending large amounts of cash can trigger a report to the authorities due to the Patriot Act, or cause other problems.

My own example is: In 2008 I withdrew $7,500 and closed an account at a failing bank. This money sat "under the mattress" so to speak, until just  a few months ago when I decided to purchase a small second home, using this cash as part of the down payment. I had about $5,000 left of the cash and put it in my current bank account so the mortgage company could "see" the money to be used for the down payment. (The teller indicated that $10,000 was the reportable level.)

However, since my cash deposit was within three months of its planned use for the down payment, the mortgage company would not let me use it!  All funds must be completely trackable, not cash, due to the Patriot Act. Even though I had banking records documenting my old bank closure and withdrawal, they would not accept this money in down payment. I was forced to obtain a money gift (completely documented as to the bank it came from,etc.) from a relative to get approved for my mortgage.

I don't know what would happen if I tried to buy a vehicle from a dealer with cash over $10,000 - it likely would be reportable.

Cash purchases, even smaller amounts, are becoming more restricted in Europe. And the Cyprus great depositor rip-off  increases the risks of banking your money. Credit card purchases are set to be mined and monitored by the US government, I have read. We are between a rock and a hard place.  

Here is some of what I have done for financial preparedness:

1. Transferred all of my IRA in 2009 from a big institution to a Self-Directed IRA (Unless you are very savvy, you must get a custodian - Entrust is a well-known one.) This enabled me to put my IRA into rental real estate, with an associated small bank account to receive rents and pay for expenses. I have chosen not to have precious metals in this IRA, because you cannot have custody. There are many other investments you can make through a self-directed IRA.

2. Junk silver. I do not trust that any recent purchases of gold will not be reported and later confiscated ala FDR in 1931.

3. Small amounts of money in my bank account, and small amounts of cash secured outside of the bank.

4. Purchase tangibles when I can. Next purchase is a truck. I have a whole list of things such as water storage, to spend any extra money on. Nothing is going to get cheaper in the future. I am a physician, so when I can I am also stocking up on medications.

Thank you for your great blog. - Colorado Doc

Mr. Rawles,
The other day I visited my local bank. I asked what the rate was for a certificate of Deposit (CD) or their various interest-bearing [passbook or checking] accounts. I was told the best rate they offered was .7% (Seven-tenths of one percent!)   That surprised me. Then it got me to thinking: What is the advantage of keeping my currency in the bank?  There, it is subject to being stolen by an identity thief or withdrawn from my account using fraudulent means. It is also within reach of the government (Think: Cyprus.)  If, for some reason, the bank fails my currency will be tied up for months as the FDIC pays the claim. So I reasoned it would serve me best if I withdrew my currency and kept it hidden on my property. I have a retreat of 80 acres that we now live full time on. I have over 850 [1-ounce] Silver Eagles and I may buy more. I don't feel comfortable putting all my eggs in one basket.  What do you think of my reasoning? - Tim P. in Oklahoma

JWR Replies: Your reasoning is sound. I recommend that folks keep just the minimum that they need in the bank for their monthly expenses. Cash and precious metals kept at home should be in a fire-resistant box that is hidden in a well-camouflaged wall or floor cache, or better yet in a concealed vault room.

Hello Jim,
You have had a couple of good articles about having dogs for retreat/home protection recently. I couldn't agree more that dogs are a wonderful resource in many ways. I have two German Shepherds who keep my farm and home safe from humans and predators.  There are a couple points I would like to add.

First of all, not all dogs will fight to protect their pack. I had a German Shepherd several years ago who would try to hide behind me if there was danger. He was a complete coward, in spite of his attack training. When picking a protective dog, a person should size up the personalities of both parents, if possible. If the parents are rather laid back and unprotective, the puppies will probably grow up with a similar temperament. I have noticed that two dogs seem to be four times as good for protection, but they are also more difficult to control.

And once you have a protective dog, it is important to recognize that the dog doesn't always know when not to bite. A dog bite can be a death sentence without antibiotics, as infection is almost a guarantee. If your dog accidentally perceives someone to be a threat and bites him, there are numerous bad things that can happen to the you, dog, and the victim. My dogs are very protective and aggressive. I have to "protect" them from being in situations where they could get themselves in trouble. Although they are definitely my buddies, I have to handle them more like weapons than pets.

And lastly, dogs are not bullet proof. If there are desperate people who want to raid your retreat, do not believe they will hesitate to shoot your dog. In this situation, the dog will need to be protected too.  - Hobby Farmer

James,
Regarding the recent post "Dealing With Mentally Unbalanced Trespasser, I'd like to begin with a relevant Bible passage, Matthew 25:31-45, King James Version (KJV):

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Having dealt, one-on-one with many folks like the "Mentally Unbalanced Trespasser" in many positions over the years, I offer some insight.

1.  We naturally fear the unknown.  Jesus invites us to engage that fear and recognize that "unknown one" as him.  Easier said than done.

2.  Here's the "done" part.  Offer the stranger food.  If he ignores you or refuses, offer it again.  How many times would you offer Jesus food if he initially regarded you with suspicion?  "Hey brother, have a cookie."  "Would you like some water or lemonade?"  I have seen people who you might think were crazed from bath salts or meth (a diagnosis best left to the pros) relax and engage with me.  A little kindness calls the fellow to "wake from the trance" and perhaps remember he is one of God's children.  Of course, we have to remember that he is one of God's children first.  Of course, you can wear a sidearm as you offer the cookie.

3.  Hearthkeeper notes,  "The man went with the officers with no struggle thank goodness and we then gave our statements."  Note especially the words "with no struggle".  Peace officers are more and more being trained to calmly offer help to people "in the trance" (Drunk, drugged, possessed, or whatever.) When you approach the stranger with kindness, as if you are addressing Jesus, you are preparing for a time when there may be no 911.  Take turns, as part of your prepper practice,  play the role of the stranger and of the one offering kindness.  As we used to say in the Marine Corps, 'Practice makes prepared."   

4.  I'll quote Hearthkeeper once more,  "We pressed charges for trespassing simply because the man otherwise would have been let go to terrorize some other family."  Based on the description of his behavior, the stranger was simply pulling on the chicken wire and threatening no one.  We human beings often claim, in our fear, that someone has "terrorized" us.  This serves to detract from out power to respond to a situation.  In tactical situations, the better we can describe what is going on without ascribing power or intent to the other, the more effective is our response.  I'll paraphrase Mother Theresa here, "Our challenge is to show kindness to Our Lord in all his repellent disguises."

5.  I am in no way suggesting you become a bleeding-heart liberal.  I simply invite you, if you choose Jesus, to heed his words.  Certainly, you can keep the option of violent response ready in your hip pocket--or holster. - Dancing Marine

Should you shelter-in-place or move to a retreat?  Lots of pros and cons about this, and most of it depends upon strength in numbers.  Obviously, the more remote and inaccessible your castle is, the harder it will be for intruders to discover or invade.  But I’m 65, and I don’t own any remote property.  My house sits on a very defendable cul-de-sac, essentially surrounded on three sides by water – my “moat.”  I could pull stakes and move to a national park or wildlife preserve, but it would be a simple campsite with tent and no walls, and I would need several families to go with me for security.
 
When our civilization collapses, which seems inevitable with our current insane government, I plan to do all the right things to ensure my home and area are secure.  There will be perimeter alarms and felled trees for roadblocks, trip wires and night vision.  But one thing that people overlook may be the very best alarm system ever known to man.  A dog.  But, better yet, two dogs.

I’ve been a veterinarian for over 30 years, and I’ve owned, seen and worked with a lot of dogs, including military working dogs and police dogs.  Recently I accompanied an incredible Labrador retriever, “Buster,” in search of World War II Missing In Action (MIA) Marines and soldiers.  Buster can sniff out bones that have been buried up to 100 years ago, detecting the miniscule amounts of aromatic organic compounds still leaching up through the soil from what’s left of the body.  Incredible, but just an example of “superhuman” abilities of dogs’ senses that include hearing, sight, and, perhaps, a sixth sense or even seventh and eighth senses.
 
We’ve just adopted two 5-month-old female German shepherd littermates into our household.  Or, as they would see it, our “pack.”  Although people try to treat pets as human members of their families, the dog will always consider the family a pack, with an alpha male leader, and alpha female head of the female members of the pack, and a definite peck-order of all. 
 
Detect fear, evil, danger, “something wrong”
 
The stories about military working dogs (MWD) and other extraordinary dog-related events are endless.  Dogs have been used by military units since Roman times and before.  Soldiers and Marines who served in canine units during World War I and II, Vietnam, and more recent conflicts tell about being alerted of the enemy long before approaching an ambush.  Some tell about doubting the dog, that the handler couldn’t see or detect anything wrong, but the dog was always right.   The handlers learned that no matter what, you always trust the dog’s judgment.  If not an ambush, then it was a trip wire, mine, dead enemy soldier, or something wrong. Nothing yet has been invented that can do a better job.
 
Regarding a sixth sense, I’ve heard stories about cat owners who have a group of people over to their homes, and if there is one person in the group who doesn’t like cats, the cat will find that person and focus on them!  Unexplainable.  Then I’ve heard mothers say their child brought home some friends from school and the dog growled at one of the kids when introduced.  I’d trust the dog, that there’s something to be cautious of about that one child.  Always trust the dog.
 
On Alert 24/7
 
In a home or retreat, it would be ideal to have a “dog door” so that the dog(s) can come and go as they feel the need.  We have a fenced yard and our dogs can go in and out of our heated garage, where they stay when we aren’t home.  I prefer that they be with us always, but I do have to go to work.  This brings up another issue:  separation anxiety.
 
Dogs are pack animals, and now you and your human family are the pack.  With just one dog, when you leave them alone to go to work, some dogs become stressed.  “Where are you?  Are you coming back?  Why did you leave me?  I’ve got to find you!  I’ve got to find you NOW!”  You come home to the door frame chewed up, with scratches all over the door (the one you left by).  Or there is other destruction due to frustration and anxiety; general freaking out.
 
I don’t think animals other than man have a concept of time.  They truly live for the moment, and don’t understand, “I’ll be back in an hour.”  Alpha (the pack leader) must be kept track of in case he/she needs me.  “Where’s Alpha?”  “I’ve got to find him/her!”  There have been medications to help with separation anxiety, but who wants to have their pet on meds all the time?  I usually advise obedience school and another dog for companionship (part of the pack is still here), or at least a cat friend.  Dogs aren’t fooled by leaving the television on, even if you run “Lassie” on it.  Sometimes this is more of a puppy thing than with an adult dog, but all dogs (and cats) seem to have a “fuller life,” and are more content with another dog to relate to.  I say, “Cats speak French and dogs speak German, so the same species is always better.”
 
Since dogs don’t understand time, they are “on guard” 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  They probably don’t know what day it is, either.  They learn the sound of your car coming down the street and are at the door to greet you.  Common sounds, scents, and sights are recorded as “normal,” and everything else becomes suspect and in need of investigation.
 
Don’t need to be attack trained/naturally protective
 
Attack training would be a plus, but I’m a firm believer that all dogs need to go through at least level one obedience training.  That includes learning to, “Heal” (on and off leash), and unhesitatingly respond to the commands, “Sit,” “Stay,” “Come,” and “Down.”  Remember, these are COMMANDS, not requests.  If you have to repeat the command more than once, the dog needs more training (generally that means more assertiveness or “alpha-ness” from you).  In a bad situation, this may mean the dog’s life or yours if they do not respond immediately.  I’m always impressed by a dog with good manners.
 
Try to find a dog training club near you.  We have a local volunteer organization that offers basic and advanced courses at reasonable prices ($90 for 8 weeks/8 one-hour sessions).  Be involved in the training yourself, don’t give your dog to someone to train for you.  The dog will learn to obey the trainer very well, but who are you?  The trainer should be teaching you how to train the dog, not doing it for you.
 
Dogs are naturally protective of the pack, and will fight to the death to protect any and all pack members.  That doesn’t need to be taught.  Dogs seem to have the ability to detect evil/danger/threat, either through a sixth sense or from pheromones given off by the subject.  Pheromones are invisible clues that most animals live by.  A dog can walk out to the patio, sniff the air a couple times, and know that there are three dogs upwind; one a female (estrogen/progesterone), one a male (testosterone), and one “not right” (neutered).  Like the story of the male moth that can find the female moth on a tree miles upwind, they pick up on the ever-expanding “plume” of scent from the source.  By staying within that plume and moving toward increasing strength, the animal or insect can locate their quarry.
 
On patrol or translocating
 
When traveling, dogs tend to enjoy the trailblazing part; they like to run on ahead.  They are your “point” when patrolling or moving out.  Again, two dogs afford twice the sensory strength and can scan better than one.  Dogs can be trained to “alert” by lying down or freezing on point.  Down would be better, if you have to fire over them.  More training beyond the level one obedience will give you better control and more options.  In any situation, dogs are tremendous “force multipliers,” extending your eyes and ears well beyond human capacities.  Most sensible people also fear big dogs, and some ethnicities abhor them.  Because of this, dogs are sometimes shot first.  You don’t want this to happen, but it will put you on maximum alert and make you more than willing for payback.
 
 
Feeding
 
Long before there were pet foods in bags and boxes on the grocer’s shelves, pets ate what we ate, or the scraps.  In general, if there is a balanced meal for us, the dogs can eat the same foods.  Commercial dog foods contain enough fat to go rancid if not kept in oxygen-low or vacuum storage.  Preservatives help delay spoilage, but all foods eventually degrade.  Certainly the dog will hunt on its own and eat wild game, as well as vegetation.  Eating a whole rabbit provides meat protein, some fat, calcium from the bones, and vitamins from the liver and organs.  But they are also eating everything the rabbit ate in the previous 24 hours, providing other vitamins and some roughage.
 
There are numerous dog food recipes online today to make your own balanced diet, but realize that all the ingredients may not be available in a future situation.  Share your vitamins and what you are eating, and the group will probably survive.  I won’t mention eating your dog in a survival situation!
 
Vaccination
 
Keep your dog’s vaccinations current.  Nine-way “distemper” shots are good for a year or more.  Rabies vaccine is good for one year the first time given, then should be boosted every three years thereafter.  Some states don’t recognize a 3-year rabies shot, but that doesn’t mean it won’t last that long.  Lyme disease (Borrellia) vaccine is also available, as is kennel cough (tracheobronchitis - Bordetella).  The nine-way shot includes canine distemper, hepatitis/adenovirus-2, parvovirus, parainfluenza, coronavirus, and four types of Leptospirosis vaccine. 
 
Post-collapse it will be hard enough to find human vaccines, let alone veterinary ones, so keeping your dogs away from other stray dogs will be important, too.  Some of these diseases are more deadly for puppies under a year old than adult dogs, such as parvo and kennel cough.  Mature dogs that have had several annual vaccinations should be well protected for years beyond their due dates, but anything is possible.
 
Flea/tick/heartworm/intestinal worm control
 
Many of the preventive products for dogs have very long shelf lives, and some have no expiration date.  In general, medicines and preventive products are good for at least five years beyond their expiry dates.  Mosquitoes carry heart worms, so basically all dogs are susceptible to infection.  The infection takes about three years to debilitate and kill a dog, but it is easily prevented with monthly heartworm medicine that you can stock up on and rotate annually.  Many heartworm preventives also contain intestinal worm medicine to kill roundworms and hookworms as well every month. 
 
Flea control is necessary to keep your abode from getting polluted with fleas, and monthly liquid applicators do a great job of keeping these bugs down.  Be sure to get high quality (98+% control) flea products from your vet, rather than over-the-counter look-alikes that are about 50% effective.  Some flea products also control ticks, but there are some very effective tick collars available that do an even better job.
 
Not From Pet Stores
 
I’ve been battling the puppy mill-pet store connection for more than two decades.  I didn’t know what puppy mills were when I graduated from vet school, but learned about them when I worked for a humane organization.  Pet stores (and now enterprising individuals who set up a puppy sale web site) buy puppies directly from the puppy mill breeder, or through a “broker,” who cleans up the puppy, vaccinates, de-worms them, and creates a “pedigree” of sorts.  The broker generally has the puppy for two or three days, then they are shipped out to the pet store.  The pet store pays $25 to $50 for the puppy (some breeds are more), then adds a zero or two to the price and has them on sale the next day.  People who say they, “rescued the puppy from the pet store,” are simply perpetuating this industry and creating an open pet store cage for a replacement puppy to take their place.
 
Not all puppy mill puppies turn out to be “lemons,” but quite a few have problems from inbreeding and neglect.  Realize that puppy mills (intense breeding facilities, dogs kept in “rabbit hutch” confinement, no vet care, minimal overhead investment) are the only consistent source of puppies for pet stores.  No matter what the pet store owner or staff tell you, the puppies are coming from mills.  One pet store chain was proud to proclaim, “We do not buy from puppy mills.”  That was a legally true statement, because they bought from a broker, not directly from the puppy mill. 
 
Puppy mill dogs are more likely to have genetic problems due to inbreeding.  When a mother dog is no longer producing sizeable litters, a female puppy is often kept to replace her.  When she comes into heat, she’s bred back to (guess who?) her father dog.  The pedigree is fudged, and business continues.  Congenital defects include bad hips, trick knees (patellar luxation), eye problems, epilepsy, and other issues not immediately detectable.  Ear mites, Demodectic mange, intestinal parasites, eye infections, lack of socialization, and exposure to distemper and parvo viruses are also common.  If the puppy is exposed to a virus, then vaccinated the same day, it’s virtually a race to see which wins.  Incubation time for the virus and the time it takes for a puppy to develop immunity against it are about the same, so it’s a gamble.  Also, if you take into account that many of the mother dogs are unvaccinated or behind in their vaccination schedule (overhead, remember), then the puppy lacks adequate maternal immunities.
 
Today you can find hundreds of online web sites that sell puppies, but the situation is the same; they buy from brokers or directly from mills, and only have the puppies for a few days to weeks before they are sold.  It’s all smoke and mirrors on the web site.
 
Here are some red flags to help prevent a puppy mill purchase:
 
1.    The mother dog is not on the premises (don’t believe, “She’s at a show” or some other excuse).
2.    There are a bunch of different breeds for sale by the same person.
3.    They’ll “meet you halfway” to complete the transaction (that’s because they don’t want you to see their facility or lack of one - all a sham).
4.    If registered, it is not through the American Kennel Club (AKC).  There are many “registration” companies out there that provide phony “papers.”
5.    The comment that “She was rescued from a puppy mill.”  That usually means she was bought at an auction or directly from the mill owner.  The source is the same.
 
People are making six-figure incomes by selling puppy mill puppies.  That’s why they do it, not for love of dogs.  Some will offer a lower price for cash, because they don’t claim the cash to the Internal Revenue Service.  So you are picking up some of their tax burden as well.  You are generally better off adopting a dog from a humane shelter or dog pound than buying one from a pet store or web site. 

Choice of Breed
 
If you want a particular breed, check with local kennel clubs about reputable breeders in your area.  You may have to drive a few hours to visit a breeder, but it will be due diligence.  Don’t be in a hurry to get a puppy.  Sometimes the breeder won’t have any puppies available just then, but have a litter or two on the way and you can put a down payment on one or get first choice.  It will be worth the wait to get a sound dog from a reliable breeder.
 
Breed rescue organizations should not be overlooked.  We’ve adopted three Dobermans from a rescue source that places adult dogs from various situations.  One of ours came from a home where the young son developed extreme allergies to the dog.  He turned out to be the best one ever.  Google “rescue” and the breed you’re looking for, and you might find a great match in your area.
 
Recommended breeds (personal choices): German Shepherd/German shepherd crosses, Belgian Malinois, Akita, Border Collie, and Doberman
 
Now, I know some of you are going to say they had a Jack Russell that was incredible, or a Staffordshire terrier that could hear a leaf turn over in the yard, but there are reasons why the military and police forces choose certain breeds.  Size is intimidating, and with size comes strength.  Herding breeds are more conscious of their surroundings and are always scanning the horizon and listening for clues.  Some breeds seem to be easier to teach than others (Irish setters come to mind at the slower end of that scale).  There are always exceptions to the rule, such as an occasional Lab that makes the cut, or beagles for airport sniffing, but the best overall dog, in my opinion, would be a shepherd or shepherd cross.  The smartest/sharpest/most alert dog I ever owned was a 65-pound German shepherd cross (3/4 shepherd by appearance).  She was $20 at a farm home with a hand-lettered sign out front. 
 
No reason to reinvent the wheel here.  Pick a breed that’s now being used for security work.  I’ve had several shepherd crosses over the years, three Akitas, and four Doberman pinschers.  Also a collie and a couple dachshunds.  Never owned a malinois or border collie, but I’ve worked on quite a few, and I totally respect the malinois.  The border collies are just high-energy, super-alert dogs that are anxious to work and anxious to please you.  I take care of a family of champion Rhodesian Ridgebacks, which are sight hounds, and they are very alert, fast, and powerful, but they’re going to cost you more.  Remember, you should get two.

Dear Mr Rawles,
We are looking for a good security system for our land. Animals and IR alerts aside, we are now in the market for a good multiple camera system. As the area is heavily wooded and vast, cables are out of the question. We would like purchase something that requires little maintenance, in order to prevent continuous activity in the area; blackout technology is a must. We were wondering if you or other SurvivalBlog readers have any recommendations? Thank you for your time, and May God Bless you and yours. - Mary B.

JWR Replies: These days, wireless web cameras with audio pickup and IR lights are inexpensive. I recommend buying several inside your house. (Outdoor webcams are also available but note that these are not completely weatherproof, so to cover outdoor areas such as porches they should be placed under the protection of eaves. And by placing them in faux birdhouses or clustering them with floodlight fixtures they won't attract much notice.)

Just be sure to locate the computer that these cameras feed in a hidden room, in a wall cache, or completely off site. Otherwise, if burglars steal your computer, they will take with them the evidence that you would need to get them convicted.

James,
In Hearthkeeper's account of the man arrested for trespassing while attacking a chicken run, she mentions that they had decided to “press charges” as it seemed the cops were aware of the guy, but nobody else had wanted to press charges.  Her rationale was that now he would get some kind of evaluation in jail.
 
Well, he probably won't.
 
I don’t work in a jail environment anymore, but when I did it wasn’t that long ago.   What they did was well-intentioned and the right thing to do, but let’s point something out...
 
Under every state law I’ve ever seen, a person who appears to be unable to care for themselves can be taken into custody for their own safety if the arresting officer witnesses the person acting in a manner that would lead the officer to believe so.
 
Let’s examine the facts as we know them.
 
1.  The man acted out in front of the cops
2.  The homeowner wanted charges pressed
3.  The cops indicated that they had had prior contacts with the guy but nobody wanted to press charges.
 
So, it begs the question, why didn’t the cops simply use their power of detention for the man’s safety?  I’ll tell you why.  They would have gotten counseled for wasting taxpayer’s money and leaving their beat unnecessarily.   Depending on your jurisdiction and accessibility, the average time a cop will spend just processing someone “for their own good” is from 1.5 to 3 hours.  Why?  Because he needs to be medically cleared first.  That means the cops have to take him somewhere where a doctor can evaluate his medical condition, the guy might actually need intervention medically and the “crazy behavior” might not just be mental illness.   So, I take him into custody – and then I call the jail to ask them if they have a room for the guy (since I’m arresting him for a purported mental state, he cannot (by most state law) be housed with other inmates until he’s evaluated.  This means solitary confinement in most cases, and it means he has to be under observation 24/7 some jails set up for this by putting the person in a cell with a big window that jailers can look through, some use video cameras – but in all cases this means special treatment and you have to call the jail to see if them have the right facility.   Next step – you think he’s whacko?  Are you a doctor?  You can’t know, so, again – before involuntarily committing someone you have to have a doctor sign off on it, the jail nurse doesn’t count.  Remember your reason for arresting him was for his mental state not that he trespassed (nobody pressed charges, remember?)  In most jurisdictions this is a policy issue not a legal one, policy is set to help deal with legal issues in a fair and proper manner.  Mentally ill people are not “prisoners” in the legal sense of the word, they will have no judicial review of their case unless they are held longer than the state mandate.  Anywhere they are held, they will be held alone – and that’s resource intensive – you will have to get permission from someone to do this.  So, that’s the purported reason for why a cop might not arrest someone “for their own good”.  The biggest reason is cost.  Once you’ve undertaken to seek treatment for this person, guess who foots the bill?  The Sheriff or city that employs you.  So, there’s the Emergency Room (ER) visit for evaluation... The bill will come to your department, since once the guy is in your custody you are responsible for any medical care he may need, your status as a peace officer makes this seem easy.  Your employer, however, may not see eye to eye with you on the matter.  In many cases it will be impossible for you to do what’s right because you will need to watch commander’s specific permission,  many times you’ll summon the paramedics to let them “evaluate” the guy, and they will ask the guy if he wants to be treated – if he says yes, you’re off the hook – because once he’s in their care your hands are clean.   
 
While you’ve been doing the right thing by this crazed citizen, your entire beat has been doing without you, officers who work alongside you have been doing dangerous things alone because they have no backup, in some cases calls may not be answered because policy may dictate two officers responding (like with a domestic violence case) so it’s entirely possible that some wife out there is getting whacked around for a lot longer than she should be, all because you had to do the “right thing” and tie yourself up for three hours.   Let’s also hope you’re not pushed beyond your end of shift, because overtime isn’t something your supervisors like – you might need approval for that. 
 
But let’s assume we follow this guy’s course after he gets a ride to the jail.
 
He gets booked, just cursorily medically evaluated (if he’s cooperative), and since it’s simple trespass (a very low quality misdemeanor) after processing he’ll be given a summons and released, usually within the first eight hours.  Then he’s back on the street.  It can be quicker if the jail staff decides he’s no real danger and they’re overpopulated (a constant problem) and he could get released without four hours.  Now he’s back on the street, and he’s received no medical intervention – because he’s no longer under your control, the jail staff now makes the decision and remember, you didn’t bring him in for mental evaluation, right?  They absolutely will not try to create a bigger thing out of it, they’ll process the trespass and release him if no bail is called for – and even IF bail is set, it’s almost always a release upon personal recognizance (so you become your own bondsman).   I would estimate that there’s less than a ten percent chance that the jail staff will go out of their way to find this guy treatment, commonly in a setting like a jail a mentally ill person will become quiescent and not exhibit any of the behaviors that you found crazy, they’re sorta in a “happy place” and don’t feel very stressed – which in many cases will just make them quiet and non-threatening. 
 
How an arrest is conducted and the reasons for it are many and complex, it all boils down to dollars and cents, you’d like to think a cop is a caretaker for your community – but he’s not and there are probably policies in place to keep him/her from becoming one, because it creates liability and big medical bills for the jurisdiction in question.  
 
Let’s not forget that now they’re witnesses/victims and they’ll have to go to court to testify – unless he takes a plea bargain.  But guess how many times that happens to someone who’s mentally ill?  It’s actually about 50/50, compared to the 95 percent plus of normal people who just take whatever is offered in way of punishment for a minor crime like trespassing.    True story.  Local hotel did a local homeless shelter a favor by taking in one of their “overflow” people for a night for free.  Well, the guy orders a couple hundred dollars worth of room service, and when he leaves refuses to pay.  Arrest (defrauding an innkeeper) and it’s revealed he’s a heavily addicted bipolar heroin addict.   Hotel staff gets subpoena’d.  Hotel staff shows to court.  Defendant is supposed to get his meds in the morning, but since he’s getting transported to court he misses his morning pill and the judge continues the case because the guy isn’t in the right mental state.  This happens five times over a period of three months.  Each time the judge sends a note to the sheriff about getting this guy his pill before ending him to court.  The reason?  You must be able to understand the judicial proceedings and participate in your own defense – this is not a competency hearing, you have no court assigned guardian.  Finally seven months later the guys gets his pill, says, “yes I understand” takes a plea deal and it’s over.  But in the meantime five staff from the hotel have taken six half-days off to appear in court because they are subpoena’d to do so.  You should be ready for this if you’re going to “press charges” it can happen.  It will happen. 
 
But let’s get another thing clear, I can’t speak for other states, but here’s what I’d need to arrest someone in my state.  The person would have have to enter into a property without permission and then refuse to leave when asked to do so.  If they jumped a six foot fence to do so, and the fence was locked, then they don’t get the “leave or else” thing, they can be arrested without being given the opportunity to leave.  What do I mean?   I mean that the cops showed up at another place under the same conditions, they should have been able to arrest him without the other parties “pressing charges” they witnessed his uninvited presence in someone’s back yard – they didn’t need to – but used a convenient out to stay in service “citizen declines complaint” and they move on hoping the guy wanders into someone else's jurisdiction.
 
Liability for prisoners is becoming a very big headache for most communities.  Putting someone in jail and keeping them there can create liabilities that get a city sued, most cities that have jails routinely pay out a couple million a year for petty complaints for mistreatment or bad conditions as the cost of doing business, we don’t hear about it because there is no access to the information within a court system, and all settlements become confidential.   Sheriff’s have a different problem, they’re elected and responsible for their own budget, reducing costs is a big thing – and if you don’t have the $5,000 per patient for a 3 day mental evaluation, you’re going to put a stopper in the possibility that your deputies do this. 
 
There is no good way to deal with mentally ill people who become violent, in many cases they don’t even know they’re breaking the law – having to shoot one would be something too horrible to contemplate.  My advice for anybody investigating an intruder outside of your home (but still on your property) would be to not do it alone, ever.   If you do decide to do it you need to do it from a far enough distance that you can retreat behind a locked barrier – bad guys can move fast, for most people this should just be their doorway with the screen closed and a loud voice.   

It’s not a matter of you having the right to defend yourself or your property, it’s a matter of never knowing if you’re willing to be killed or kill someone in an unknown situation like that described.  I’m pretty certain they’re glad they didn’t have to hurt the guy, and that the husband didn’t get hurt – I’ve committed so many stupid-brave acts in my lifetime I know exactly how it happens, and never judge someone for doing it – but if you can plan for it better, it’s always best to never do it alone and never get within running and grabbing distance of someone like that.  What the police have is civil immunity for their official acts and even if it does lose them their jobs, individual cops generally don’t have to pay money for what they do – we do not have civil liability, any act we commit against someone may get us sued, because as you all know – lawyers need to eat too, and sometimes it’s just not convenient to put on the roller skates and snag the bumper on a speeding ambulance. 

The biggest weakness in preparedness planning is not a forgotten survival item, or too few cartridges.  The invisible weakness is lack of real time experience   It's one thing to say your going to raise your own food, and maybe you have all the seeds and tools to do it stored away.  But if you have never actually planted a huge garden and tried to live off it your first year is going to be full of failures (see: learning opportunities) that could be potentially deadly in real survival time.  The same goes for every aspect of survival and emergency situation response.  Personally I have always wondered how I would react in a real SHTF situation.  Would I freeze?  React too slowly?  Freak out?

Police agencies recommend that you think out potential dangerous situations frequently and plan how you would react.  Such as an intruder in your house, or someone trying to break through the door.  This helps when you actually are confronted by the situation.  My husband and I have talked about what we would do, and even discussed it to a certain extent with out daughter who is 15 so she can be safe and help keep her younger siblings safe while we deal with the situation.  She often complained about it because we have always lived in the country or in small rural towns.  I have tried to tell her that drugs are still just as much a problem in these kind of communities, but like most people, she thought that if you live in a small community is must be safer.  Most people do not realize that while the population is small, the statistical drug abuse rates and alcohol rates are as high or higher than large cities.

As a woman moreover, my concern is how I would react and effectively defend myself against a man coming onto my property or into my home and threatening me and my children while I'm alone.  I am a home-maker so I am alone with the children most of every day.  This is one reason I keep firearms as protection.  Guns have been called The Great Equalizer and for women this is especially true.  I know that when it comes to a confrontation with a man I am not going to win.  Men are bigger and stronger and no Politically Correct foolishness is going to change that fact.  My father stressed that women should know how to handle guns and carry one because violent crimes against woman are common.  He taught his daughters how to use all styles of firearms with proficiency and safety so while I wish that I lived in the world of puppies and rainbows I see the necessity to posses guns.

Yesterday morning started out just like normal.  I was making breakfast for my four children and drinking a cup of coffee.  Everything was fine and dandy when suddenly my four year old son said "Mommy a man just walked through our side yard!"  I was surprised and concerned since it was 7:00 in the morning and nobody should be in our yard.  I called to my husband, who was luckily still home.  If it had been 15 minutes later he would have been gone.  I told my husband what our four year old had said and after asking which way the man had gone, which was towards the back yard, he went out to take a look.

While all this was happening our amazing guard dog golden retriever was snoring gently in corner!  My husband first looked out that back window and sure enough a man was out at our chicken run.  He let me know that and then walked out to talk to the man.  Almost instantly he was back in the house.

"Lock the doors and call 911, he said, this guys is off his rocker"  The man was at that time trying to pull down our chicken fence and when my husband asked him what he was doing he said "This is a mirror and it must come down".  He had no slurred speech and was walking just fine but my husband said the way he looked was extremely creepy.  The man was obviously on some sort of drugs or in the grips of a psychotic episode.  

My first thought was bath salts or spice, as both of those have been in the news allot.  People in the grips of these drugs are extremely dangerous as it can cause violent psychosis to the point where they strip off their clothes and attack people.  There have been constant and increasing reports across the country of people on these drugs not just attacking but also trying to eat other people!  They do not respond to pain and have unnatural strength.

Needless to say neither my husband or I wanted to get into a physical altercation with this man.  My husband monitored him through a window while I immediately got the children upstairs and into a secure room.  Our back door is very unsecure, I could probably break through it with one kick so I was concerned what would happen if this man tried to come in.  I also considered that this man may be armed and wanted my children as far away from flying bullets with as many walls between them as possible.  This took about 20 seconds and then I was calling 911.  I felt no fear or panic, just an eerie calm with very clear thinking.  Every thought of mine was to  keep my children safe and remove the threat from my family.  As soon as I got to the phone my husband went and got the pump action shotgun loaded with slugs.  He stood by the window and continued to watch the man and report what he was doing so I could then tell the 911 operator.  

After trying to rip down the fence the man was now hitting his head repeatedly against it.  I told the operator to warn the responding officers that the man appeared to be hallucinating.  Now my husband told me the man was shaking and twitching and had again switched to trying to tear the fence down.  

Within four minutes of the initial 911 call the officers were on our property, which is one of the great things about living in a small town.  As soon as they arrived and had engaged in conversation with the man my husband went and put the shotgun away.  No need to get into an uncomfortable discussion on our firearms.

The man went with the officers with no struggle thank goodness and we then gave our statements.  Apparently the man had been causing trouble all night but since the previous people had not wanted to press charges he was allowed to walk.  We pressed charges for trespassing simply because the man otherwise would have been let go to terrorize some other family.  In jail he would be evaluated and not let go till he sobered up off of whatever he had taken.

All in all I think we handled the situation just right with only a few mistakes.  The first mistake was my husband going out and confronting the man without any defensive weapons.  Due to the fact that people hyped up on street drugs are often impervious to pain and display extreme strength this could have been really bad if the guy had gone after my husband.  My husband is very physically fit and strong.  He also is pretty confident on handling dangerous situations, but if taken by the element of surprise he could have been overpowered before he could react.  I of course would have gotten the shotgun immediately and dealt with the situation but my husband would have been injured.

Also I should have been armed as well.  That way if the guy had gotten through my husband and the shotgun he wouldn't have gotten through me.

The after-effects of this incident were what you would expect.  There was much soothing needed for my children, and we had to explain why the man was acting the way he did.  That night both me and my husband had a hard time sleeping.  Also my husband came up and hugged me right after the police left.  We had been having an ongoing marital debate about locked doors.  I always keep the doors double locked even though we live in a small town and this annoyed my husband when he would come home at night.  My statement every night was the same.  "I don't want anyone able to just walk into my house!" to which he would then blow off as unnecessary paranoia.

After this incident however he told me that if he ever gave me trouble about the locked doors again I was to punch him in the face!

During this whole incident I certainly felt concerned, but not panicked   The main reason for this was because both my husband and I are armed and know how to use them.  This man was not getting into our house.  This gave me a real calmness.  I cannot imagine what I would have felt like if we had not been armed and had to rely on nothing more than a locked door to protect us.  I have been teased often by anti gun family members about my penchant for carrying defence weapons.  But as I have heard stated many times before you don't need a gun until you really need a gun.  And then if you don't have one you are screwed.

What really disturbed me was what would have happened if one of my children had gone outside to feed the animals like they usually do while that man was out there.  They would have tried talking to him not realizing he was unbalanced.

I definitely recommend planning out what you would do in situations like these. It is so important to think out your priorities and who does what in a crises.  From our previous discussions it helped us spring to action and not panic.

As a last note we are this very weekend re-enforcing our back door so that it will take more than a hard tug to get through it.

Dear Editor:
Congratulations to TJ and family for getting connected with a great dog. I love German Shepherds!

Allow me to offer a couple of additions to the concept of survivalists utilizing guard dogs.

Food; When you ask people my grandparents age how they fed dogs “back in the day” you are likely to get the answer “the dogs ate table scraps” or the dogs ran around and found their own food. In a survival scenario there aren’t going to be any scraps nor is there going to be much to “forage.” Therefore if bringing a dog on to the team is your plan then you need to ensure you will be able to feed them. “Dog preps” if you will.

Vaccinations;  In addition to food preps it is a good idea to have a years worth of de-wormer on hand. How often you de-worm depends on the environment the dogs are in. Meaning in the suburbs once or twice a year should suffice however if they are around livestock they should probably be de-wormed every three to four months.

In a Schumer scenario rabies and “rabid” dogs will likely be rampant.  Have your dogs vaccinated with a three year rabies shot every year. 
Breeds;  The author mentions “watch” dogs versus “guard” dogs and there is a third category frequently referred to as “working guard dogs”. Working guard dogs sometimes referred to as “livestock protection dogs” do just that.  The litmus test amongst goat and sheep people of what breeds qualify as working guard dogs is breeds that can kill a cougar and run off a pack of wolves.  Much as I love German Sheppard’s and agree that “dobies” and Rottweiler’s can make excellent guard dogs, they are, on balance, no match for a cougar or wolf.

There are a good number of breeds used around the world as working guard dogs most of them are in the extra large breed category (German Sheppard’s are a large breed dog). The two most common working guard dogs are The Great Pyrenees’ and the Anatolian Shepherd.  The Great Pyrenees is an awesome breed but we opted for the Anatolians for two reasons. First where we live (within the American Redoubt) gets very hot in the summer and we felt that their thick bodies and long hair would not do well in such heat. Secondly the Anatolians have more of an “edge” towards people protection so they can function as both a guard dog and a working guard dog. These are very independent and head strong animals so don’t expect to teach them to attack on command but they are highly intelligent and fiercely protective so you don’t have to.  They are a 6,000 year old breed of dog from the Anatolian region of Turkey. In fact I was looking at some of the maps in my Bible and you can read about the area called "Anatolia" in the days of Moses.  With 6,000 years of breeding a “guard” dogs they know what to do instinctively.

The AKC web site states that the Anatolian is “a working guard dog without equal”.  However these dogs need space and are not for the uninitiated dog handler.  You can love these dogs up and play fetch with them etc but they are not pets. They do not go to the dog park ever, we have the veterinarians come to us or if they have to go to the clinic they go in through a side door directly to the exam room. These dogs are not to view any person or animal who is not part of the “pack” as anything but outsiders who need to be chased off.

Lastly any survivalists who decide to employ dogs should have a perimeter fence. That is your line in the sand and keeps your dogs from running away which helps insure their safety.

There are many great dogs and breeds out there and the German Shepherd may well be the best fit for TJ and family but I wanted to throw these ideas out there as a compliment to his article. - Peter P.
 

JWR,
I read the recent post about guard dogs with interest, as I'm a new owner.  I agree with most of the points submitted.  A guard dog can be a 'heightened sensor' so you can rest as well a fierce opponent of aggression toward you and your family.  I have owned mine for a year and to be truthful never had an interest in dogs beforehand.  Even though I am a prepper, and practice stocking up on the 5 Gs (Gold, Guns, Ground, Gas, and Grub  - a Robert Kiyosaki-ism) I never gave considerable thought to a guard dog. 

Recently a friend of mine was very generous in that he gave me a puppy.  The breed was Black Russian Terrier and was shipped to me from the Ukraine.  As stated, I never had an interest but felt compelled to accept this gift if for nothing else that show appreciation for the immense generosity.  After being around this dog I quickly grew attached.  I also saw just how intelligent and quick to learn this breed is.  Even though I have limited knowledge of dog training, I could teach him basic commands in a few hours or no more than a day.   He is big and strong - tops out at about 130 lbs.   He doesn't slobber and doesn't shed.  I had him house broke in a few days and now he guards my family while I am away on business.  After saying this I guess I was a bit disappointed that this breed wasn't even listed in Caesars Top 10.  It's possible that it wasn't listed simply because of rarity and many Americans never heard of it (my vet included).  Even so there are several kennels in the USA that raise these unique canines and I would encourage those in the market to research them before making a purchase.  I would also encourage them to study the breed.  It's beginnings were founded in the Soviet army.  It was a highly classified project to make the perfect working dog/Guard dog.  Roughly 20 breeds were mixed together to produce what is now a Black Russian Terrier.  Such dogs as the Giant Schnauzer, Rottweiler, Newfoundland, Yorkshire Terrier etc were mixed together in an attempt to make a working dog that was durable in the diverse  terrain and climatic conditions of Russia.  My friend showed in various Ukrainian competitions it almost always outperformed the German Shepard.   And I personally watched them in attack drills - seeing them perform immediately on command.   

The only breed that was close was the Belgian Malinois.  I have also seen where the breed is used to pull small carts which could be useful if you had some walking to do.  Of course there are pros and cons to everything, and with me the maintenance of it's fur is the big drawback.  Keeping him groomed properly is a continual task that I usually do every 90 days.  And monthly I brush him out.  Other than fur maintenance, I find nothing negative and would recommend him along side the 10 submitted - and feel confident to say he could even outperform them.  In a TEOTWAWKI situation he would be a force multiplier. - S.K.

Jim:
I enjoyed the posting by TJ about getting a dog to help out with protection during the long emergency, especially when you are "out of options".  There were many relevant points made, and I congratulate the writer's decision to add a protection dog to his limited preparation supplies.  That said, in my opinion, no dog will replace the necessity for other forms of self defense and home security.  More importantly, it is not as simple as it may seem...it takes a great deal of repetitive training to keep those dog-skills finely honed.  The addition of a dog to your mix is an augmentation, and a good one, if you have the right dog.  Chances are that even with zero background and training, a dog who has had the right exposure will come through for you.  A good chance exists that in the event of an attack upon your home, your dog may unfortunately be the first casualty, but in the meantime, we all have an inherent fear of getting bitten, and even a small dog's aggressive bark when we least expect it, can make us jump out of our skin.  I would also not recommend a "junk yard dog" that never gets the benefits of human interaction or controls.  The risks far outweigh the benefits...unless of course you actually have a junk yard.

I am a  former K-9 handler with a medium-sized Sheriff's Department in California prior to my retirement;  I was blessed to have lived and trained with the Danish Police, the source for my k-9 partner, "Sheik" (pronounced "Shike").  We worked night patrol and trained hard, for 5 + years, until I promoted out of the unit.  We lived together in my bachelor years, and became very close buddies.  We handled many high-risk situations together, from crimes in progress to felony car stops, and I miss him, to this day.  My only complaint?  That dog never wrote one report or testified in court even one time!. 

Needless to say, I have many fond memories.   His nickname among our squad was "John Wayne" because he was such a hard charger.  If he could talk he would say that I was a knucklehead and a pain to work with, but I had never been loved by an animal more.

It took a while before I was competent, and even longer to become really good at being a handler;  that came only after I learned from Sheik, and learned how to read him.  One of the enduring traits of Shepherds is that they are very loyal and forgiving.  I also witnessed and played the decoy or "bad guy"(taking bites or being a hidden suspect for the dog to find) for lots of K-9 teams, from departments all over, including the Danish Police.  I saw lots of dogs and lots of handlers, in all stages of training.  Most of the teams here in the states had dogs that were "Shutzhund".  More on that later.  Compared to the Europeans, who have been at it much longer, Americans were in the infant stages of understanding how dogs tick, and utilizing them  to their full capacity.  Our military has a much better grasp than the civilian/LE world, but of course the mission is entirely different.   I will also note that there are scientific studies going on now that are opening up whole new realms of understanding about man's best friend, and how he got to be so.

 A word about the mission.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with having an "alarm dog", even a sissy-pooch, who will notify you whenever anything goes bump in the night.  Know that you will have many false alarms, but he is just doing his job, and to the dog, a possum intruder, a butterfly intruder, and a man intruder are equally suspicious, and worthy of sounding off with an alarm.

Most if not all dogs are naturally suspicious, and protective, of their territory, whether that is the car, or your yard, some more than others.  Keeping your dog kenneled, or confined to your fenced yard, will make that suspicion grow.   He will become extremely suspicious of anything that makes a move or a sound on your property, which he views as his own.   I am a fan of kenneling, because it helped to protect my dog from the outside world, not the other way around.  Encouraging him to "watch him" when the moment presents itself will also help him in knowing what you want from him.  The right dog desires to please you! While his senses will be heightened outdoors, if the dog lives in your bedroom, frankly, his alarm will be too late coming, his sense of smell will be less sharp, and his sense of natural suspicion will be dulled...in short, he will get lazy!

 In no case, ever, should the animal be allowed to wander the neighborhood.  That is a death sentence for him, not freedom.  Remember that dogs are pack creatures, their DNA is identical to wolves.  Don't let those floppy ears, wagging tail and soulful eyes fool you...they are pack animals (and you  must become the pack leader!)  Capitalize on the keen sense of smell that the dog is blessed with and that has proven itself time and time again, the acute hearing, his instincts to identify and neutralize dangers, and his physical fighting attributes, to your advantage.

On breeds.  Naturally I am biased toward Shepherds (the term "German" Shepherd is not used in Denmark, where they are known as Shaeferhunds, or "Shepherd dogs").  Of the 250 dog teams in the country at that time, there were only two that were not Shepherds, a pretty good indicator that the Danes did their homework on which breed would be best suited.  With respect to my Rottie-owning friends out there, just be aware, that Rottweilers require special handling, because they are stubborn!  One very major factor is the physical characteristics.  Shepherds have great endurance, and are able to withstand harsh climates.  Like some other breeds, there is an undercoat that acts as an insulator.  In my area, the short haired breeds are probably not the wisest choice for an outdoor dog.  A down side to having a Shepherd is that in certain parts of the country, they can be mistaken for a wolf or coyote, at a distance.

Nor does the dog have to be huge. One of the best working dogs I ever witnessed was a female Shepherd no more than 50 pounds...but you did not want to be on the receiving end when she hit you from six feet out on the run (and you will not outrun most dogs);  the "decoy" would hit the deck like a sack of potatoes, and without protection, would have been out of the fight, period.   The same holds true for the Belgian Malinois;   wirey, fast, and tough, now a leading figure for our military's combat needs.

Larger dogs have more physical problems, and of course can be expensive to feed as well.  They die sooner, and invariably suffer from joint and bone problems.  Never allow your dog to jump into car windows, crawl around on ladders in the air, jump over limbo sticks, all for the sake of "trials" that have nothing to do with the real world.  This will shorten the life of your dog and/or subject him to injury;  all of that pounding on the joints and tissues are not good for the animal, just like it is for us.  Yes, I did open the car door for Sheik, and no, I never competed in trials.  We would have received poor scores, undoubtedly, but I was more interested in the patrol dog attributes than what some judge determined to be the perfect "heel".  I would put my dog up against any other, any day.  We were actually one of the few teams who were always asked to do the "call off" drill during public relations "demos".  Why? because I had every confidence that the dog would call off in the midst of a full-on attack, even on a decoy without protective gear.  But it took training.

All of that said, folks will make up their minds on which dog to choose, much like firearms and motor oil, so let's move on.

Shutzhund dogs are impressive!  Just keep one thing in mind.  Shutzhund is more or less a sport, or competition, that tests obedience, scent work, and aggression, mainly.  It takes place on flat ground, usually a soccer field or similar setting, and is entertaining, as well.  Anyone would find it thrilling to watch.  Not to say that Shutzhund dogs will not "transition" to law enforcement or protection work, believe me, I have seen some fantastic dogs with a Shutzhund background.  But not always.  Put the dog and handler in a real world setting, on rural ground or an urban environment, like the roof of a department store as my memory serves me, or a pier jutting out into the ocean, and all of a sudden it is not the trial, or competition setting.  Stress enters in, and if the dog has what is known as "trained courage", and his heart is really not in the real world, you may have a problem if this is your sole source of protection.

I remember testing, and then rejecting, a police donation from a couple whose dog had a lineage to be proud of, and a high ranking in the dog show world and Shutzhund arena.  A beautiful animal with perfect conformation.  However, once away from his handler, on his own and early on in the test, the dog showed signs of extreme stress, i.e. diarrhea, straining to escape, etc.  I shut the test down immediately to avoid trauma, but at the owner's requests, brought the dog back a few days later for another round of different tests.  Unfortunately, when the handler was absent, the dog freaked out, clearly unable to handle a threat coming his way.  Perhaps his training was too harsh in the early phases, who knows.  The couple were miffed and bewildered at the same time, but could not but accept that their (expensive) prized animal was not even close to Rin-Tin-Tin status.  He was, undoubtedly, a great alarm dog, and a loving pet, and a dynamite show dog.

Some dogs are actually what is termed "sleeve happy", which can be attributed to misdirected training or just a dogs' obsession for the fight...it happens when a decoy can simply slip out of protective garb when the dog is hanging on during a bite, and run off, leaving the dog to wrestle with his prize, having torn the suspect's "arm" off.  Or "ball happy";  he loves to retrieve so much that he will leave the bad guy on his own, in order to go chase a thrown ball or other object.  These examples beg the questions...how will the dog perform under stress, multiple assailants, gunfire, around a female in heat, or offered food?  These are all things that must be included in training routines, constantly, so that the dog is always thinking.  Do you have the time, energy, or expertise to really tackle that?  If not, then settle for a giving, energetic, forgiving, and loving dog that also has protective traits, and suspicions of what he senses.  In other words, a good alarm dog.  That training is a lot less intense, and you have a good tool in your arsenal.

You will find that most "dog people" readily admit that they do not have all of the answers or pretend to have the correct fix for a problem each and every time.  The "dog whisperer", Caesar Millan, gets it.  He knows that the dog has a prey drive and other natural instincts, that he wants to interact with his human master, that he wants to have a job in the order of things, and above all, that the dog owner/trainer must be the pack leader in order to be successful.  Until our canine friends learn how to talk in order to tell us where we go wrong, then we will never be sure, at least this side of Heaven.  

Bottom line?  Choose the right dog for your mission, at least give it your best shot.  Do not pick up a freebie with "issues" and expect to change the animal to your liking.  You will, through love and patience, bring a traumatized dog "back to life", but you will not turn that dog into the hero that you may be seeking.  Dogs are much like children, they react negatively to trauma, but unlike children, they do not learn how to cope  as they mature.  Trauma has a huge negative impact on the dog's life, throughout his life.

So what would be characteristics to look for?

Besides the obvious health issues, look for a natural inquisitive nature.  Which pup chases the toy tied onto the fishing line, which one actually grabs it, and the ultimate, will he give it up to you when you ask him for it?  This is the classic retrieve, which in the form of a game will tell you a lot about the dog.  It goes against his grain to give it to you, but if he is willing to do that, this is a major plus...the desire to please, to make friends, to share his new-found bounty when he doesn't have to.
Test him with like models, just never demand at this stage, or frighten him.  Know this:  the dog who will not retrieve will usually not meet your demands of him.

Look for the leader of the litter, one who displays confidence.  Size is not the issue here.  How many times have we seen a Chihuahua-sized dog rule the roost in a group of dogs?  We hear, "he doesn't know how little he is".  This guy is the alpha, and dogs respect the leader.

Does he react with curiosity to noise, like some pebbles inside of a tin can that you have rolled into his world.  Does he chase it, poke it with his nose, bite it, bark at it, or, does he run away to the safety of the litter, never to return to that vile thing that makes a strange noise.  Does he show no ambition to check it out?  The ideal youngster is the one who cautiously approaches, perhaps barks, and grabs it!  This is a trait of courage, and overcoming his prey.

I personally like a pup that is mouthy, a big mouth.  Usually these are happy fellows.  This usually ties into that trait we seek, the alpha, the fighter jock, the confident one who wants the world to know that he his there and does not intimidate easily, that the world is his kingdom.  Dogs that bark on command are a huge plus, and keep in mind that once this command is mastered, and he knows exactly what it means to follow it, it is far easier to then teach him "Silence!" when the time for silence is appropriate.  

As previously stated, size is not necessarily the number one aspect of why you should choose a particular dog.  As Americans, we love everything big...big cars, big guns, big horses, you name it.  Just remember, the bigger the dog, the more problems you must deal with, not to mention that the larger dog is usually slower, and agility suffers as well... just as in the human world.  Picture that nimble Border Collie vs. a tank like a Mastiff, moving that herd around.  On the other hand, if you have ever wandered into a sheep pasture being guarded by a Newfoundland or similar livestock protection dog, you quickly realize this guy's capabilities, and will, to crush you like a rodent.

Male or female?  The facts are, that males are usually chosen for their fighting spirit rather than the females for their nurturing spirit, in the world of K-9.  That said, I have broken up my share of dog fights (a dangerous pastime that also gets real tiresome) to know that one usually does not suffer the same fate when handling the ladies.  Ditto for cat chasing, peeing on everything in sight, and other knucklehead things that, okay, males do.  Sheik, bless his heart, even went out of his way to drink from another dog's water bowl on the training field, and then, with a look on his face as if to say, "...bring it dude",  he peed in it.  The choice is yours, but just know that many of the same attributes are there for males and females alike, but with less aggression for the females who do not have the testosterone that the males do.  

A word on nutrition.  We have a 16 year old Dachshund, with Cushing's Disease, which is in essence a benign cyst on the pituitary gland.   Her weight ballooned, and with her severe diabetes-like symptoms,  I was preparing myself to say good-bye to this beloved little pet.  A friend told us about "Honest Kitchen" food, which is dehydrated, all natural, organic, USA-made dog food.  It comes in varieties depending on needs, and is easily prepared in small batches ahead of time.  It completely turned our little girl around.  The Cushing's has taken it's toll, and she has little muscle left now, but she is pain free, and for being the age that she is, gets around, at least for now.  We were blessed to have been given the gift of having her around for a little while longer.   The vet was amazed at how quickly she got back to her 8 pound ideal weight.  So I highly recommend it, and will keep it in my larder from now on as a nutritional, and tasty, protein-rich main source of dog food.  I read where it is actually approved for use by humans...if you were so inclined of course.  The poops, normally a messy and smelly chore, come out quite different with this food, easy to pick up and with far less unpleasantries, I am supposing due to the high fiber content and all natural ingredients.  Even in the case of occasional indoor "accidents", it just picks right up with no stains, smears, or intense odor.

At a cost of $50 or so for a 10 lb box, at first glance this stuff sounds unaffordable for most of us.  Keep in mind, however, that it is dehydrated, so in adding water, it is equal in duration to a big bag of high quality kibble.  It would be a great food for a working security dog.

Don't forget one final aspect of all of this: People who have dogs have a happier and more adventurous life, with less stress.  They live longer, and just enjoy their existence more.  Dogs are even taken into nursing homes and cancer wards, with fantastic results.  These animals can be our companions, our friends, and can make our tasks a bit easier.  In a world where chaos and social unrest are the rule of the day, I would say that owning and caring for animals, especially a good dog,  just might put a smile on your face.  As one pastor put it, the "Goodness" and "Mercy" mentioned in the Psalms, that follow us all the days of our life, are just the names of our four-legged pals. - L.R.D.

We came late to the prepping party.  We didn’t own any guns.  We lived paycheck to paycheck in a suburban area.  We couldn’t afford to buy property in Idaho, while it’s still a dream.  We have slowly stocked up on short term and long term food and water, bought heirloom seeds and learned to garden, loaded up on firewood for two huge fireplaces for cooking and warmth, but that’s about it.  Recently our son, honorably discharged from the Armed Services, came home to start his life as a civilian.  He owned a 9mm and promptly proceeded to purchase a .22 handgun for ma and pa.  The problem was, we couldn’t find any ammo, anywhere.  We are a long way from being prepared, but better off than most people we know.  We decided to get a guard dog.  The difference between a guard dog and a watchdog is the guard dog is trained to protect the family using aggression, while the watchdog will alert the family by barking and making a fuss (with not much to back it up).  Our Brittany Spaniel is a good watchdog.  She barks at every new sound, when she needs to outside, and when she thinks it’s time to eat.  I think she trains us.

After searching for the right dog, we stumbled upon good fortune.  An acquaintance, a breeder and trainer, was looking to place her prized purebred German Shepherds trained in Schutzhund (google it or youtube it) with good families for personal reasons.  Schutzhund trained dogs learn to control their drive and learn to obey the owner even when very excited.  We gratefully met the dogs and selected a lovely 5 yr old gal who had won awards in self-defense, provided puppies over the years, and who was ready to relax with a good family.  If you didn’t know this gorgeous animal, she would scare the daylights out of you if you met her in a dark ally.  Our experience with her so far, is that she is obedient, playful, loving, and loyal.  She bonded quickly with our small family, including our existing family dog.  Our Brittany Spaniel was quite put out with the very big Shepherd invading her space, but the Shepherd helped her along by being respectful and careful.  They now can eat and nap in close proximity to one another.  It only took 48 hours for the dogs to come to terms with one another.

Our goal is to ensure our new dog doesn’t forget her good training and we have some planned exercises with her former owner to learn the Schutzhund commands and routines.  It is amazing that you don’t need to collar or leash this dog.  She responds immediately to voice commands and hand motions.  One afternoon she decided to explore the neighbor’s backyard (we have very low fences between yards).  With one firm call of her name, she turned around immediately and raced back to me, almost apologetically.  Impressive.  I’m not sure my Brittany Spaniel would have been so obedient.  She would have played hide and seek for a while first.

Schutzhund training includes tracking, obedience, and protection.  The most important part to understand about protection is that the dog has been trained to attack upon command, but more importantly to quit the attack by command.  The bite force of a German Shepherd, depending upon size and ferocity, is quite strong as compared to other dogs.  However, this is not an out of control attack dog.  This is a dog that works on command and quits working on command.  She only barks if confronted with a threatening situation.  She hasn’t made a peep since we’ve had her.  We are learning the German commands, but were assured by the trainer that she is very smart and will adapt quickly to our version of the commands without a problem.  This gave us a great sense of confidence. 

Some people believe that getting an aggressive-tempered guard dog is the right way to go, but how do you know that dog will not attack one of your
sweet grandchildren, the mail carrier, or a neighbor walking his or her dog?  One of my daughters is terribly afraid of German Shepherds having been bit by the neighbor’s Shepherd when she was a young teenager.  That dog took a huge bit out of her thigh, requiring a trip to emergency and many stitches.  She still has scars and is terrified.  The dog was not teased or threatened in any way; it just decided to attack for no good reason while the children were playing in the front yard.

One of the web sites I found that provided good information on what type of dog to get for personal protection was Cesar's.  Cesar listed the top 10 dogs in this order from best to least protection dogs:

1.       Bullmastiff – very big dogs
2.       Doberman Pinscher – need room, very fast, very smart
3.       Rottweiler – big, loyal
4.       Komodor – needs socialization to become a family pet
5.       Puli – very active and love to bark
6.       Giant Schnauzer – requires strict training
7.       German Shepherd – calm, smart, reacts quickly to threats
8.       Rhodesian Ridgeback – strict training required
9.       Kuvasz – very territorial
10.   Staffordshire Terrier – requires strict training and socialization

You can do your own research and talk to other dog owners.  Our choice was to find a highly trained and skilled German Shepherd for family loving and protection since we didn’t have the fortitude or experience to train one from puppyhood.  Every family is different and has different needs.  We wanted to snuggle by the fireside with our protection animal, as well as expect her to attack an intruder.  Purebred Shutzhund trained shepherds can cost into the thousands of dollars.  We were graced with a great deal by a loving trainer after searching for months online for the right dog, so I don’t suspect you will find the same kind of deal.  However, selecting a guard dog should be part of your preparation plans. 

Should SHTF, home invasions are expected to commence by the have-nots. The CCW By State web site provides home invasion statistics for 2011.  According to the web site:

“…1 in 5 homes in the US will be broken into or experience some sort of home invasion – in other words, more than 2,000,000 U.S. families!”  Other statistics cited: 8,000 home invasions occur every day in North America, 720 forcible rapes occur every day (that’s 1 every 2 minutes), 1,440 robberies occur every day (1 every minute), 4,320 violent crimes per day (1 every second), 2,468 grave assaults per day (1 every 35 seconds), 8,640 burglaries per day (1 every 10 seconds), and 28,800 property crimes (1 every 3 seconds)."

You may live in a low crime area, as we do, but should SHTF expect the aforementioned statistics to skyrocket.  These statistics cover all of North America, but just think about it.  I confessed to my husband that I had slept better than I had in a long time, since we brought the Shepherd home.  She hears what I cannot and is alert even while resting.  We all need our sleep to remain alert and make good decisions.

While you, like us, wait out the ammunition shortage, think about investing in a guard dog.  I would rather have our dog scare off would be intruders prior to using what little ammunition we have and save those bullets for worst-case scenarios.  Do your research and understand your family needs.  Understand your own limitations in regards to breeding, raising, and training a guard dog.  It is a huge commitment.  Don’t think you can go to the pound and pick up a Doberman or Pit Bull (which are plentiful at the pound) and hope for protection.  The dog may turn on you, your family members, or neighbors if not properly trained and socialized.  And the neighbors will sue.  You don’t want to stick out as the one house in the neighborhood everyone is afraid to walk by and be subject to a police visit for suspicion of having an aggressive and dangerous dog.  We made the choice to invest in a mature, fully trained animal rather than go it alone.  Good luck and good hunting.

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the Lord. And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
Isaiah 39:5-7

God’s word to Hezekiah, king of Judah, through the prophet Isaiah immediately followed a dramatic sequence of events that twice should have led to Hezekiah’s death, but ends with his miraculous healing and a visit by Babylonian envoys bearing gifts and congratulations. Hezekiah welcomed these envoys gladly and, for some reason, decided to show them “his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.” Isaiah was not aware of the envoys or their grand tour, and upon discovering their presence began questioning the king about them and what they had seen. The king’s confession prompted Isaiah’s prophecy above, and so it was that some 100 years later the first wave of Babylonian invaders began to deport Jews from their Judean homeland into what became known as the Babylonian captivity.

My theological beliefs hold that God is sovereign in all things, and He used Hezekiah’s actions and the subsequent Babylonian invasion to ultimately point the Jewish people back to Him. I also believe Paul in his second letter to Timothy when he said “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16). It follows then that the Bible is replete with great examples of how we should live our lives daily, not just in a spiritual sense, but in a very practical sense. God used Hezekiah’s mistake as part of His ultimate plan of redemption, but that does not take away from the fact that Hezekiah made a very grave error in judgment by laying open all the possessions and capabilities of his kingdom to foreign visitors, ultimately making and giving justification to their later invasion.

So what lessons do you and I stand to learn from Hezekiah’s actions? Any student of history, and certainly any frequent reader of SurvivalBlog, should be intimately familiar with the concept, application, and importance of Operations Security (OPSEC). However, being familiar with OPSEC and putting it into practice are two very different topics. Today we face the same danger that Hezekiah faced. Relatively speaking, things are good for many of us in this day and age. We lead busy, active lives and while we know dangers exist, our busy lives have a way of lulling us to sleep and coaxing us to take our guard down because total chaos has been averted for yet another day. Just as you should not wait for a disaster to begin making use of your preparations and training, you should not wait to begin practicing OPSEC in your daily lives.

Where do you start? Any writing on OPSEC that tries to address the entire concept in a few short pages is being overly general and probably not very useful. With that in mind, I will try to focus on one specific aspect of OPSEC: the role of critical information in maintaining essential secrecy.

Let’s begin with two definitions:
Critical information is that information that is either 1) important to you successfully
achieving your objective or mission (i.e. your route to your retreat WTSHTF) or 2) information which may be of use to an actual or potential adversary (i.e. the fact that you have a deep larder when Wal-mart’s shelves are empty and never being restocked).
Essential secrecy is actually a condition that is achieved by denying critical information to actual or potential adversaries, through the combined means of traditional security (physical boundaries, guards, etc.) and OPSEC.

As preparedness-minded people, our goal is to maintain some type of essential secrecy. Note that there is a difference between maintaining essential secrecy and being paranoid. If you treat everyone in your life as a potential adversary, then you already have little hope of surviving, much less thriving, through TEOTWAWKI. This is where the often understated importance of community comes into play. It is a subject that I feel we do not emphasize often enough, but nevertheless, it is not the topic of this article.

We achieve and maintain our essential secrecy by protecting our critical information. In DoD parlance, it would be incorrect to refer to your critical information as “secrets,” but for our practical purposes it is fundamentally the same thing as few of us have a tiered system of classifying documents. To practice OPSEC is to keep your secrets secret. One of the first and most important steps in the OPSEC process is to identify information about you and your capabilities, activities, limitations (including vulnerabilities), and intentions (CALI) that you consider to be critical in nature. What is critical, you ask? Naturally, it depends.

Immediately, the size and location of your larder, the grid coordinates to your retreat, and your bug out route may come to mind. Yes, these are very important capabilities and activities, but do not stop there. Go back to the CALI acronym above. We like to focus on positives - the fact that we have made preparations and plans. Equally as critical to the things that we have done are the things we have yet to do - our limitations and vulnerabilities.

As you begin to formulate in your mind what information you would classify as critical, it is good to set a few parameters. First, you should initially limit your list to ten items. Over time and as your OPSEC practices improve, this list can expand. Trying to prioritize pieces of information in importance can become cumbersome, which brings us to the second point, prioritization. To those in your immediate circle who are like-minded and cooperatively preparing with you, your critical information will be common knowledge. However, as new members are brought into the fold, the extent of their knowledge of your preparation should be based on your critical information list and revealed incrementally as deemed appropriate by their proven level of commitment and upon approval of the primary members of your group. Next, the critical information list should be physical in form and its content and importance known by all in your group, with the understanding that its existence highlights the importance of keeping it secret from those outside. Why keep a hard copy? To serve as a reminder of what is at stake. If you cannot protect that document, what makes you think you can protect your family during a disaster? Finally, your critical information list is a living, breathing document. As your level of preparedness changes, so too should your critical information change. You should reexamine and update your critical information list quarterly, ideally at the conclusion of a rehearsal or training event (you are rehearsing and training for WTSHTF, right?).

The ability to protect your critical information is a result of the total process of OPSEC, rather than a few simple, one-time steps that will lead you down a mythical yellow brick road to essential secrecy. The fight to protect yourself is ongoing and ever-changing. This process only begins with identifying your critical information. In order to protect that, you must analyze threats against you, analyze your own vulnerabilities, assess the inherent risks, and implement measures to counter each of these areas. Each of these steps in the process have been the subject of countless pages of analysis and policy implementation, but for all the various means of implementing OPSEC, the first step will always be to identify your critical information. Without knowing your most important secrets, what use is it to plan painstaking measures to protect them?

To conclude, let’s go back to our analogy using King Hezekiah. We see that he exercised absolutely no discernment when it came to protecting the critical information and CALI of the Kingdom of Judah from his Babylonian guests. The foolishness of his actions, however, was all too clear to Isaiah when he learned of what had transpired, and God revealed to him the prophecy of what was to come for the people of Israel in the future as a result of these acts.

Now think about your own experience in taking steps to be prepared for the unforeseen. Whether you are preparing for a complete economic meltdown, an infrastructure-crippling CME event, or next year’s hurricane season, there are certainly things that are better left unsaid, especially to those who do not bother to reign in their own tongues or some who would undoubtedly turn to barbaric behavior as a result of their own failure to prepare. Perhaps you have even made an error in judgment of another’s character and trusted them with information that you now regret. Now is the time to begin systematically structuring your OPSEC plan so that it is an inherent, organic part of your preparedness plan, rather than a simple buzzword in your prepping vocabulary that you use on occasion. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” so spend this weekend identifying your critical information and start taking steps to protect it. Do not let the wisdom of the Bible as portrayed in Hezekiah’s mistake slip by unheeded.

Operational Security (OPSEC) has been around since the first Stone Age battles were fought. In an effort to provide the element of surprise and in order to keep what one had only those that need to know where told. I have always considered my friends and/or people I associate with and of what I considered similar moral fortitude worthy of my trust when it came to discussion of prepping. However I have recently discovered that not everyone is of the same mindset.

First a little back ground on me. I moved out at 18 and went on to higher education like many. I worked part time retail jobs and went to school then I was in a motorcycle accident and couldn’t get thing back on track. I joined the U.S. Army and served 2-1/2 years as an Airborne Infantryman (11B1P) and unit Armorer. After an Honorable medical discharge, I moved home and after two months living with mom and dad and not being able to find a job. I worked in the retail firearms industry for some very big names for more than eight years. I then followed my dream of a career in Law Enforcement where I have been for the last five years.

This is not your typical OPSEC that we are talking about. You know where you don’t let the boxes from your favorite long term storage company or the new big screen television stick out of the trash can. This is OPSEC regarding people you invite into your home. Whether they are family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, business professionals you deal with on a regular basis people you share common hobbies with and that may seem to have the same ethical way of thinking. The people who given the opportunity do the right thing do the right thing in our non-state of emergency day to day life. They buy the homeless person a burger, help the little old lady put the gallon of milk in her car, are in a job that is for the benefit of society, they may be Doctors, Law Enforcement, Military, or Fire Fighters. You know the types people who help people in their day to day lives.

I was recently told by an individual that I held to a higher standard than most people in the community, that he and another person on my list of Friends that I thought were like minded and trusted confidants were Prepping. You can imagine the joy these two individuals are well respected in the community that I participate in and many of my friends participate in. The first is a Sales representative for an international firearms company (Mr. Gun) and the other is a Successful business owner (Mr. Business). Names withheld for OPSEC and they are after all still friends, however they may never know what hides behind door number 1 at my house or where my family and I will end up if the Schumer does Hit the Fan.

As I’m sitting in the office of Mr. Business and we are discussing our two biggest common interest shooting sports and guns. He drops the bomb that he and Mr. Gun are Prepping for when “The Stuff Hits The Fan.” At this point I’m thinking alright I have just added two very important people to my pool of resources and possibly to my group should anything happen. I may also point out that both are in my opinion and in the opinion of many exceptional well trained, practiced, and experienced with engaging multiple threats at close distance with a handgun. Mr. Gun is also very capable with a rifle and shotgun at distance. Then he says those dreaded words “we are making notes of people we know who are Prepping and we will just go to their place and take what we need.”  I had to use every ounce of strength in my person to keep my jaw from hitting the floor and letting my secret be known. These two have told me that if I ever need anything just ask and if they could they would. In fact Mr. Gun loaned me $50 no questions asked which was paid back after my lunch break. We worked together for more than years. Chances are they have a good idea what I have for defense and my capabilities.

"Wow!", right? Here we have two respected individuals that I have known for over 12 years talking about just taking what they need/want from their own friends. Then my mind goes into overdrive what have I told them, what do they know, what if they come to my house will my kids just open the door for them. Heck my kids call Mr. Business “Uncle.” How do I tell them not to tell them what we have or what we are doing to Prepare. I now have to figure out a way to tell my family that some of the trusted people in our lives are not to be trusted when TSHTF and that we really don’t know who these people are. I also now have to figure a way to have my kids go about as nothing has changed when we are around these two individuals.

Sounds like just a bad day right? Well it gets worse I’m at work later the same week and talking with one of my partners we are discussing firearms, as they pertain to our current profession and which ones we like. He starts talking about the television show Preppers and how he thinks it’s a good idea so he’s trying to stalk up on ammo but with the current state of things it’s difficult. Again I start to get that happy felling of finding another like-minded person. Then the conversation from earlier that week flashes to the front of my mind. So I tell him I have about 400 rounds of this so I can practice for re-qualification later this year and 100 rounds of that just to have around and a few .22 LR around. I seriously down played the amount on purpose trying to feel the waters. Then he comes out and says he just wants enough so he can go take more ammo and food from other people he knows that are stalking up. What did I just hear this is a guy I work with, a guy I trust my life with on a daily basis. I think to myself maybe I didn’t hear him correctly so I asked if he had any food set aside like they do in the show. The answer I was hoping for did not come he just stated that he would eat what he had and when that ran out just go and take it for people who told him they were prepping or those that he thought may have extra. He was adamant that he would take it by force if need be. At this point I am about to fall out of my chair here is a person who is supposed to uphold the law talking about taking other peoples life for food.

While discussing how my inventory was going and that I am close to a goal anther co-worker entered the area we were working in and started asking questions because we were looking at some new tactical gear for our personal use luckily the gear could have been for work also. I was fending off the probing questions with great flair.  Here is how the conversation went and a few example questions from that day:

Question 1: Are you guys preppers? Answer 1. I Look at my partner with the OPSEC look and ask in reply: "What is that?"

Question 2: "You know like the television show 'Preppers' on National Geographic." My reply: "Never heard of it. I will have to check it out."

Question 3: :"Do you have any food stored? My reply: "I went to the store last night and bought steak for dinner is that what you mean?

Question 4: "No. You know, like stored water? My reply: "I have a 10,000 gallon swimming pool, will that work"?

"Yes that should be good."

Needless to say I felt bad about misleading hi. He sounds genuine but with my recent let down of learning that close personal friends and having no real way other than sarcasm and a poor attempt at wit to try and weed out the true prepper from the fisherman looking for the next Honey Hole to add to his list of house to hit when things get bad. I may get back with him and do some probing of my own. He has no skills that are of benefit to me or my group but that won’t stop me from making an ally.

I am now stuck with the dilemma of how to weed out the people who seem to be of the same mindset from the people who are of the same mindset. The question of how to let my kids know that it’s ok to trust Mr. and Mrs. Soandso right now but when things go south they are not to be trusted ways heavy on me and I have yet to do it. Telling them that they only want our food and don’t care how we survive after they take it is going to be difficult.

The fishers need to be turned be careful in how you approached this. Take time, pray, and talk to others that it will effect if these people come knocking when TSHTF. If you don’t think you can turn them don’t give them a reason to come to your door.

Thought for the day. They may be lifelong friends but are they friends for a long life? Be careful divulging to people you trust they may just be the ones coming to take what you have when the chips are down and TSHTF. If they want your help, help. Be cautious when the probing questions start get good information take some time turn it around and ask them questions make it seem as if they just planted the prepper seed, when the time is right and your sure OPSEC is good let them in to your little secret.

As always stay alert and Prepare for the Worst and Pray for the Best.

When was the last time you pulled an all-nighter? I’m not talking about coming home at 2am on New Years. I’m talking about staying awake and alert, for an entire evening, before sundown to after sun up. Has it been a few years, or maybe never? With all this excitement about “bugging out” and prepping, there’s a lot of talk about security and self defense, but I have yet to read an in depth article about the practical application of watches. Kind of boring maybe, but in a TEOTWAWKI, scenario keeping a watch is essential, so let’s dissect it in detail. First, the watchman.

The watchman is the first line of defense for the entire community, be it a small family or a Rawlesian 20+ acre Ranch in the Redoubt. One must be ready to respond to any threat or emergency immediately on contact. This is not a chore, it is a duty. The difference is that you can listen to your MP3s while you do the dishes, but you should not even be whistling while on watch. Consider this, while you were whistling Dixie, you didn’t notice the obvious rustling in the bushes an hour ago; that was a scouting party from a group of camp raiding, cannibals down the road. Now a full assault is minutes away and you will be completely off guard, and so will everyone else in your camp. Had your tune not obstructed your hearing you could have sounded the alarm and either moved camp, or mobilized the rest of the fighters and been ready. Most of you reading this don’t have to be convinced that this scenario sounds funny, but is not outside the realm of reality for a society who allows stampede deaths on Black Friday for sales on pairs of socks, and this is all pre-starving feral masses! This is a serious position, and must be treated as life or death because it is! You must be responsible for getting proper rest in between watches, personal hygiene, and relaxing during your down time. You are responsible for keeping your mind clear and ready; all of these elements can affect your ability to keep the camp safe, so again, take it seriously!

Every watchman needs equipment. You can have 1 designated set that every watchman uses, and they should all be accountable for it, i.e. a checklist inside a bag that everyone reviews before assuming the watch. Especially when resources are scarce. Here’s a short list to consider:

- Weapon: Lethal or non-lethal, or preferably one of each. A pistol is good, and a rifle is excellent. A large can of 18% pepper spray can dissuade animals or disperse a gathering crowd, but even a big sharp stick is better than nothing.

- Foul weather gear: A poncho, wool cap (there’s a reason it’s called a watch cap), gloves, etc. Keep it simple.

- Communications devise: To stay in contact with other watches or base camp. At random hourly intervals every watch should check in. Random is the key; you don’t want to give away your system to an enemy. This could lead to predicted watch paths and holes in security. Just remember you never know who might be listening. This devise could be a radio, but another kind of signal devise can work also, i.e. a bird call or whistle where a known code is used, 1blast all secure, 2 blasts need assistance, 3 blasts wake up the camp the hordes are descending upon us!

- A good flashlight, notebook and pen, First Aid Kit, and a multi-tool. This is just a basic kit, but a well equipped watch is a ready watch. Every watch needs to consider their own needs beyond the basics i.e. an extra jacket or sunscreen.

Now for watch rotation, the concept is simple, take a 24 hr day and divide it into parts. Assign each part to a qualified body and execute! This gets more complicated in practice. An average man cannot be an EFFECTIVE watch for longer than 6-8 hrs maximum, and less than that at night. You can’t afford to run your watches so hard that they become ineffective; and fairness is a crucial element in these acronym scenarios. So, let’s take a 3 family bugged out scenario, with 4 able watchmen between them, and create a watch bill.

We have John, Jacob, Hiemmer, and Schmidt. John is the unofficial leader of the pack, and Jacob is his son. Hiemmer and Schmidt are best friends from college, and unimportantly Hiemmer is the only female watchman. It’s Monday and John says he’ll take the first watch, so here’s what it looks like:

6am-12pm John

12pm-6pm Jacob

6pm-12am Hiemmer

12am-6am Schmidt

Easy enough right? Since John’s the leader, he should never have to pull an all-nighter, and since Jacob is the youngest he can’t be expected to stay up during the night, it’s too big a responsibility! See how this doesn’t quite even out? John gets to be with his family every night while the buddies battle to stay awake. This erodes unit cohesion over time, and a short time at that. So let’s try it again, this time with shorter evening watches to ensure watch effectiveness and every able watch considered equal or otherwise unsuitable.

6am-12pm John

12pm-6pm Jacob

6pm-10pm Hiemmer

10pm-2am Schmidt

2am-6am John

6am-12pm Jacob

12pm-6pm Hiemmer

6pm-10pm Schmidt

10pm-2am John

2am-6am Jacob

And so on. Now you see the thought process and what a real rotation looks like. This would be a sweet set up really, imagine having less or more watchmen though and you can see how tough or easy this could become! Draft one up for practice; use 2-4 hr night watches and 6- 8 hr day watches to figure out how they all mesh. Now let’s delve into the worst case scenario, 1 man and his little family, as we move onto our last discussion: the craft of the all-nighter.

An all-nighter will test you, whether you have or haven’t planned it. Yet how often do we get to prepare for a full on nuclear fallout family bug out? Probably 1 out of 100, but that’s why we prep, practice, and stay sharp. Yet this isn’t something I hear a lot practicing, and it is, just like everything else, a perishable skill. So I’m proposing we correct this, next weekend or within the month, take the opportunity to plan and practice an all-nighter. I’m not saying a full on bug out, not initially anyway (you’re doing that 2-3x a year anyway right?), but just stay up, all night into morning. Watch the sun come up and an hour or so later, get in bed. Let’s try to do it 2-3x a year, and maybe somewhere down the line we’ll combine the bug out and the all-nighter. This is a more realistic scenario anyway, I can’t imagine gathering my family and bug out pals, fighting our way out of the cities, making it to our bug out locale and then we all sleep like babies. Have a plan, have a watch bill, and practice. There are a few things you can do to help you through the night, here’s a few I’ve learned over my time in the military, law enforcement and security contracting:

- Drink water: H20 will curb your sleepiness more than you think. I’ve drunk coffee for hours and head bobbed the entire time. I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t drink caffeine, because you definitely can (should?), but staying hydrated will keep you more alert than dehydration. Also, if you have to urinate often  your even more awake (note that each situation is different and frequent urination might not be your friend.  In this case ensure you are properly hydrated but not overly so). 

- Stay uncomfortable: Think of it as setting yourself up for success. If you put on a nice thick coat, hat, and prop your feet up you might as well be in bed and you WILL fall asleep. Is it fun being cold, or standing rather than leaning, or doing push-ups? Not exactly, but that’s the point. Don’t let yourself relax, remember, this is life or death for the whole camp. Stay alert by wearing a thinner jacket, or taking your hat off when you feel sleepy, doing a few push-ups or jumping jacks. Stay moving and keep the mind alert!

- Scenario role play: Use your weary thoughts in a productive way to picture a dire scenario. What was that in the shadows? It was a raider scout, and he’s collecting information about your camp. Stealthily defend your people from the evil cannibals! Seems silly, but so does dry firing and reloading your pistol, and if you aren’t dry firing your pistol bi-weekly I kind of hope you don’t carry it. It and you become a liability rather than an asset, and the same goes for the watchman. Do this and time will pass more quickly, and this is a good thing in the all-nighter.

- Make it fun but not too fun: For the practice all-nighter stand small watches and break them up with something fun you like to do. Play an instrument, or a video game. Do something to keep your mind active then go back to “watch mode”. Even watch during the acronym can be fun, kind of like how the most important game of the season is fun. Always remember to de-stress after watch, clear minds are more capable.

The watchmen have a crucial task ahead of them, but with proper planning and willingness, families in the acronym world will sleep well knowing someone’s got their eyes looking out. (This article was written entirely from midnight to 7:30 am, and later edited for excessive crazy babble.)

James,
I am not an RC aircraft enthusiast, but I am a pilot and an engineer, and have a few comments regarding the article "Helicopter and Fixed Wing Drones for Retreat Security", but Long Jim.

I suggest folks consider fixed wing aircraft rather than helicopters for this mission for a number of reasons:

1. Helicopters have more moving parts, and therefore more places for a critical failure to occur that would take the aircraft out of action. This makes them less reliable (or requires higher maintenance for same level of reliability.)

2. The main advantage of a helicopter - the ability to hover - makes them an easier target.

3. Helicopters tend to be noisier than fixed wing aircraft.

4. The learning curve to fly a helicopter is steeper and more error prone. You can get around this a bit with RC helicopters by adding electronics, but this adds expense, more places for failure, and reduces the useful load of your aircraft.

In general, I would suggest the following:

1. Go with a fixed wing design, preferably something similar to "free flight" models, as these require little to no active management. This means less sophisticated electronics (less expensive, less weight) and reduces complexity.

2. Go with electric motors rather than glow plug fuel. It's quieter, and the on board power can be used for multiple purposes.

3. Put the cameras/instruments in an external pod slung under the fuselage. This way, you are not constrained by the shape of the fuselage, and can shift the mount point to keep the center of gravity just forward of the center of lift.

4. Get your ham radio license. If you use ham radio to control the aircraft and receive the live TV signal, you can legally use more power to do it, and potentially give the aircraft much greater range.

5. Look for a camera which produces MPEG-4 data, and consider using the 1.2 Ghz ham band for the down link. Check for bandwidth compliance.

6. Consider adding a microphone to the instrument package. Hearing gunshots or vehicle noises could be useful.

- B. In the High Desert

I recently stopped by our local farmers market, and while ambling along with a fresh home-made fig newton, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw what one vendor offered.

There amongst the crafts, and farm produce, was an enterprising fellow standing behind a table with a large three rotor drone helicopter. Marketed as the “Draganflyer” it has 3 dual sets of rotors stacked in pairs atop each other.

It was equipped with a gyroscope-stabilized digital video, and still camera, set-up. He was contracting with folks to fly his drone over their property and take very detailed pictures of their homes. He then sold them DVDs, or large crisp pictures suitable for framing. Which, by the way, he also offered to provide, so one could proudly display the photographs in the parlor to ones guests.

This drone was surely on par with those that the film industry uses for fly-over views in production. It was the largest one I’ve seen. The fellow was charging up to seventy-five dollars for the service, plus twenty dollars and up for big 24”x 24” or so color prints. He was so busy answering questions, and signing people up that I didn’t get a chance to ask him any technical questions, or get additional info on his setup.

The development of small drones, both fixed wing, and  rotor-craft has virtually exploded in the past few years. Companies are springing up all over offering these easy to fly platforms for film,  and surveillance, some designed for covert, as well as conventional operations. Like the many newer small arms manufacturers who, with their own input from their combat experiences, flooded the battle-rifle market niche’ with variations of M4s, and calibers such as 6.8, and  .50 caliber Beowulf, one looking for a drone to supplement their LP/OP has a lot of choices. The range of choices, thankfully, include so many options, that one on a limited budget, all the way up to a prepper who isn’t constrained by price can pick the drone that will be of best use in his particular area of operation (AO) when TSHTF.

 The U.S. military has clearly been pushing the limits, and using every new state-of-the-art technological breakthrough available in surveillance devices since we began the war on terror. Their un-manned drones have steadily gotten larger and larger, and went from being eyes-only camera platforms, to now being armed-to-the-teeth with virtually every missile that can be fixed to an aircrafts under-carriages.

Going in the opposite direction, the military now supplies ground units a variety of  hand-launched fixed wing RC aircraft on the squad level for special operators to use as they gather recon on the battlefield. Like the “Falcon UAV”. which I saw being demonstrated on a recent episode on the Military Channel. These are small, virtually indestructible, carbon composite aircraft that are easily deployed out of a pack by one or two soldiers.

Coupled with hardened military field lap-tops and satellite links, forward recon teams can collect, and pass on, an amazing amount of real-time information, inconceivable to reconnaissance units of even a few years ago.

A quick Google research trip came up with an unbelievable number of companies offering three, four, six, and even EIGHT engined rotor craft, like the  “Hexacopter”  and the “Octocopter” .

I couldn’t guess how much money and man-hours these guys used up, in trying to outdo each other by adding on engines, and other upgrades.

These companies clearly have some tech-savvy R&D guys, who have incorporated not only the gyro-stabilized mounting systems for cameras, but have utilized software that has taken the actual flight controls to another level. The copters in even the moderately priced end of the cost spectrum have auto-pilot, built-in GPS systems, and ground sensing features. The auto-pilot and ground-sensing features allow an operator to hover the craft for many minutes, with almost no effort. Some have thermal, and/or I.R. imaging systems, and even F.L.I.R. capabilities.  Most of the drones use a LiPo battery pack, and flight times, usually depend on how much extra software and systems are drawing power aside from the motors, varies, but is usually around fifteen to twenty minutes per full charge.

Some, like the Parrot Quadracopter 4 rotor RC offering, are controlled by WiFi, and a free downloadable APP allows one to use an I-pod, I-phone or other smart device to fly the copter. This device sells on the lower end of the cost spectrum, approximately $300 USD. The others mentioned in this article are upwards of $1000 USD, and more depending on features. These machines, for the most part, are way easier to control and fly than most of the run-of-the-mill hobby/toy RC mini-helicopters one sees in Wally World-type stores.

Now I know that laying out, or budgeting, an extra five hundred to a thousand dollars might be pushing it for some of us, but I firmly believe that these RC helicopters equipped with camera capabilities are well worth the investment. Imagine a scenario where you and others in your neighborhood “bug in”, and you are faced with multiple points of entry into your subdivision via roads. You’d have to have several OP/LP’s, manned by 2-3 persons, rotating on three eight hour shifts to cover each 24 hour period. Unless you had blocked off, or made impassable, most of those ingress/egress points, that’s a lot of manpower dedicated to advance warning and perimeter protection. With a single drone, or even two or more in rotation, one person could have the helicopter or fixed wing drone hover, or circle, virtually undetected, giving a 360 degree view of the entire neighborhood. That’s a big savings, in terms of manpower hours, and supplies in not having to keep the checkpoints and OP/LP’s manned every moment of every day.

For those who plan to bug out into the wilderness, or to a primary or secondary location, especially in a heavily timbered or forested area, a high-flying set of eyes seems ideal. Combined with the possibility that there is only you and your spouse and maybe children, or just another   few couples for security, I would think that the drones would be a God-send.

If you take the time to watch the flight videos, or have had the opportunity to see close-up just how quiet these things are, you will surely appreciate their quiet-running capabilities. I have seen these being operated from the distance of half a football field away, and wouldn’t have given it a minutes notice. In an “hunker-down” situation, if there’s roving bands of bad-guys, they most certainly will approach in vehicles, and then these drones are virtually silent.

The other clear benefit to employing drones to keep watch, is that even if the device is
spotted, and even engaged and disabled, it’s much better than risking losing a member of your team, or family. Machines are expendable, and replaceable, while people clearly are not.

A much better scenario would be to be sitting snuggly in a central command area equipped with CCTV monitors, powered perhaps by a genset, or re-chargeable solar/battery banks. Or even streaming into your laptop, I-phone or I-pad, regardless of your location relevant to the drones area of observation. As to the possibility of someone actually firing on, and taking out one of these drones, I would say that an adversary would have to be a pretty good shot, if not a military-grade marksman in order to hit and disable the craft. I’d also think, that with the ability to see the bad-guys from a long way off, or at least a distance, you’d have sufficient time to exfiltrate the drone if it came to maintaining OPSEC or remaining undetected. If you took the additional measure of deploying an LP/OP a distance from your main AO, then that would give those in the primary camp a good amount of fore-warning to prevent being located and overrun. 

 This brings up another point. That being  that the drones are only as good, as the users ability to keep them powered up. There are many options available to pair the drones with solar or conventional on-grid, or off-grid recharging set-ups. One can purchase extra battery packs, and along with that, extra spare replacement parts in kit form, in case of damage to the wings, rotors, frame or other hardware or software on the units.

If you follow this link from RC Helicopter Fun, the author, using a Parrot, proceeds to give a thorough tutorial for employing that specific device, while the site also answers many of the questions a beginner may have.

My plan is to pick up a couple of the less expensive multi-rotor helicopter units, along with spare batteries, and a solar charging array. I don’t know if our plan to “bug-in” in our neighborhood will suffice when TEOTWAWKI happens, or if we’ll have to go to “Plan B” and bug out in our mobile configuration, either way, having an “eye in the sky” looking out for our security regardless of the situation, is safer, easier solution for us.

Hi Jim and Readers,
My Dakota Alert works great, as long as I can keep the batteries fresh, I find that they really use the current up fast.
I did paint the outside of my "bird nest" box with paint that looks like bark and green leaf color that I purchased in the paint department at Wal-Mart. It really helps camouflage the box, and when hanging it on a tree, most people never notice it.
As for protecting the antenna, I covered it with 1/2 inch black adhesive-lined shrink tubing available from Mouser Electronics. By shrinking it on the antenna is more resistant to  moisture, and it covers the shiny antenna and gives it better concealment.

I have also adapted and camouflaged another 2 meter band yagi antenna so that when the SHTF I can place the unit much further down the road and yet still hear the signal in my receiver. - Dave in Oregon

Dear Mr. Rawles, 

Greetings! I have enjoyed your blog site.  I noticed you have mentioned several times your use of Dakota Alert systems for your ranch.
 
This is why I am writing. I would like you input and thoughts.
 
I was viewing some customer comments on Amazon from those who had purchased the units.  Some complained about rust-out due to moisture (rain) after a few months. 
 
I then followed this up with an e-mail to Dakota Alert manufacturer. 
 
Bryon Pedersen of Dakota Alert responded by stating that most of the moisture issues have been resolved-except for moisture seepage into the antenna of the MURS system If the antenna is not attached properly.  Bryon stated that they cannot correct the flaw completely, but are happy to replace any item under warrantee.
 
I am in New England and face downpours and freezing winters.  I really could use this early warning technology-but do not wish to buy stuff that will fail within 12 months.
 
Also, heck, I can also make the “bird house” used to hide the detector unit-seems simple enough of a design.
 
I am asking you and other preppers their options as I want to keep my family safe in the face of SHTF or other intrusions.
 
Can you provide any updates on the use of this system?
 
Have you had similar problems?
 
Have you been able to overcome some of these problems?
 
Have you found alternative systems such as the Chamberlain CWA2000 Wireless Motion Alert a good substitute?
 
I would appreciate any or all thoughts.
 
Best wishes, - L.F.R.

JWR Replies: We have used a Dakota Alert for several years here at the Rawles Ranch. We live in a wet climate where we have snow for two to four months each winter and rain can be expected in any other month of the year. We have had not moisture problems with our Dakota Alert, which is mounted in one of their wooden "bird house" discreet hide/shelters. I think that the bird house keeps most of the moisture away from the black plastic case. This can be improved if you used a coat of RTV silicone around the antenna, to form a gasket for the portion of the antenna that passes through the hole in the top of the bird house. That will greatly reduce or eliminate having water drip down the antenna and get to the antenna base.

The only problem that we've had with our Dakota Alert is false alarms. In one instance this was caused by a spider that was repeatedly trying to spin a web directly in front of the IR sensor. If you find false alarms annoying, you can always always substitute an inductive loop to bury in your driveway. That way, not even deer will set off the alarm--only vehicles.

One last bit of advice: DO NOT but the junky Dakota Alert clones that are made in Mainland China, such as the Chamberlain. I've had numerous bad reports about their reliability and longevity.

James,
I had the same problem that Matt in the Evergreen State did with my doors.  I inherited a house from my family here in The Tar Heel State and after my recent marriage, my wife and I decided to make it our home for a few years.  It was a typical warbaby house, built in the 1940s and remodeled a time or two.  It has a mix of plaster/paneling/drywall walls, a handful of fireplaces, and lots and lots of glass windows and doors.  In fact, when I moved in all someone would have to do to take a stroll through the house was break a small pane on the door and reach through to turn the lock.  Since then, I have been replacing locks with double-sided deadbolts and replacing doors.  My front door was mostly glass pane with floor-to-ceiling windows on each side, like Matt's.  I replaced the door, left the glass in the windows, and took half-inch plywood, cut to fit, and screwed a piece in on both the inside and outside of the glass.  On the outside, I covered it with vinyl siding to match the exterior of the house, and on the inside I covered it with drywall so I could paint it to match the room color.  Presto, not a piece of glass anywhere around the door someone could break through.  I have left all of the windows untouched, but keep a stash of plywood handy in the barn so I could cover them quickly if need be.

Thanks for all you do. - A.

James,
After the Sandy Hook tragedy I got thinking of my own personal security . From limited information in the press the perpetrator came though the window because the doors were locked . After  sending a few rounds through the tempered glass , the glass pulverized and he simply stepped though and started his killing spree . Question , where was the window located ? If it was a side-light to the door then it would be a double paned tempered glass window . Question, if it was a side-light window why no laminated wire mesh? That would have slowed him down trying to bust out the mesh . Was it a standard school window with all it's double paned shards of glass. As you can see so many questions and no answers yet. 

We are a nation of glass . We use glass in our homes ,schools, hospital, offices, but just how secure is glass? Safety glass is not security glass , the very nature of tempered glass makes it poor for security . I just installed two security doors but right next to the doors is floor to ceiling glass, now what do I do. Below is a link to a video of a fellow walking through 15 panes of tempered glass in little over one second each.  As a nation we need a low cost solution to this glass problem.  - Matt in the Evergreen State

I have nearly thirty years of law enforcement experience. That experience was gained as a local police officer, a deputy Sheriff and finally as a state trooper.  The last decade or so of my trooper career was spent as a crime scene investigator for a state police agency.  I only tell you this for you, the reader to weigh the opinions and statements that will follow.  This experience serves as my only true “skill” as I’m a terrible carpenter, plumber, cook, welder, gardener or nurse!  What follows is my small contribution to the “how to” lessons for a prepper that are contained within this blog.
           
Law enforcement experience has shaped my preparations.  I always had a “storm kit” ready as I lived in an area that is prone to summer tornadoes and severe winter storms.  But after working a security and anti-looting detail in a city of 35,000 people that had been devastated by a tornado, I rethought my preparations and increased the food, water and medical supplies that it contained.  I saw first hand that rescue, recovery and a return to normalcy takes time. In addition, after 9/11, we were required by our agency to keep water and emergency rations in our patrol vehicles.

Even so-called routine occurrences such as a traffic crash can take on survival tones if it occurs in a remote area or during a blizzard.  I once helped search for an elderly woman that simply ran off a road and moved down a steep embankment into a grove of trees. All she had with her was a cell phone but after phoning the police, but she couldn’t tell them where she was. She only knew that she was somewhere between two towns that were twenty miles apart.  We had difficulty using the phone company to triangulate her position so we drove in the area with our sirens on until she heard us and advised the dispatcher.  That was a decidedly low tech solution to an everyday problem.

The woman was not physically able to leave the car and it was winter.  If she had not been able to call for help, she might have succumbed to hypothermia before anyone discovered her car.  What would happen if this same situation was after TEOTWAWKI?

While as a police officer, I was always conscience of security matters in and around my home and my focus was anti-crime.  In other words, I prepared as best I could against a burglary or a home invasion scenario.  It is only within the last few years that I have given considerable thought to major civil unrest due to an economic situation, the likes of which most of us have never seen.  Another prime concern is a grid down scenario for an extended period of time. Both of these threats seem to become more real each day.

Within the last five years or so, many things have changed globally, nationally, locally and within my own family.  I took a friend’s recommendation and read Patriots and it changed me deeply. I have shifted my thoughts and energies to serious preparations that I would not have even thought of before.

Another significant personal change was my retirement.  I was lucky to be able to retire early and moved to a retreat area that due to OPSEC will remain unnamed.  My wife and I built a home with an eye toward growing older and the changing social landscape.  I began making personal choices for my family’s safety in the long term.

First, our house appears to be “normal” and does not attract undue attention. No heavy duty gates or fencing or anything unusual.  A closer inspection does reveal a heavy gauge metal roof and fiber cement siding for some fire protection (we live in the woods). A looping perimeter lane provides a three hundred sixty-degree firebreak around the house.  Hose bibs and hoses are found on all sides to provide some water for minor firefighting. Rain water collection barrels are also present.

The house is situated on a commanding hill (always take the high ground) with a large, cleared area between the house and the dead-end road we live off of.  A gravel drive is the only way into the property.  Ever try to sneak up on someone surrounded by gravel?  I’ve also installed some “force multipliers” such as driveway alarms to cover different routes and a house alarm system.  A whole-house generator was permanently installed and is fueled by a large, underground propane tank.

Another force multiplier is a dog.  Don’t be so worried about which breed, you only need to be made aware of noise or movement you can’t readily detect.  About any healthy, trained dog will do. Few people are willing to have a “guard” dog but any dog can be a “watch” dog, they just need to let you know that something requires your attention.  A dog is a cheap, reliable security system.

Our home armory consists of twelve gauge pump shotguns, identical service rifles and forty caliber semiautomatic pistols.  Others have their own opinions, but I have chosen these weapons for performance, reliability, simplicity, parts and ammunition availability.  I have sold fancier and more expensive guns to purchase these choices.

Any cop will tell you that a 12 gauge pump shotgun is an awesome attention getter and a truly devastating weapon at 50 yards or less. Buy a couple and get a variety of shot shells for everything from hunting to home defense.  Two and four-legged squirrels have fallen to this time-tested weapon!

As for service or patrol rifles, I’ve opted for .223 as I can rarely see farther than 200 yards in our hilly and wooded environment. There is no real need for a long range rifle in my region.   In addition, I can throw plenty of .223 downrange if needed. This choice would change if I lived on the Great Plains or in the middle of a flat cornfield.

I will not argue about a .45 Model 1911 being a good combat pistol.  I just like a .40 to have a few more high velocity rounds available that also do a tremendous job of creating a huge wound channel. I’ve attended many, many autopsies and base my choice upon that experience.  I also remember my department’s transition to a Glock sidearm and seeing all the shooters on the range line shooting consistently better groups with the well-fitted Glock. Whatever firearms you decide upon, you MUST be familiar with the weapon, how it functions, how to clean it and how to shoot it.  Post-TEOTWAWKI, you will also have to know how to fix it.

Political winds blow in different directions.  Buy ammunition. Buy extra magazines for the guns you now have. Do it now. Read this paragraph again!

Of our preps, water, food and fuel take the most space, time and effort.  We have endeavored to stock for a year but are you ever really done?  I used the LDS web site as a baseline for our food preps.  We are to the point now that we only purchase more supplies if it’s a bargain that we can’t pass up.

We have bug-out-bags stocked and ready but given our situation, we will probably “bug in.”  We can go mobile if we need to however and I have stocked our vehicles with “get home” bags as well. No one knows where they might be at a crucial time.  If you live in an area that does not allow concealed carry or vehicle carry of a loaded firearm, consider pepper spray or other alternatives.  Be innovative, how about a can of foaming wasp spray? It’s legal to have in a car, it sprays several feet and administered at an attacker’s face, would give him pause to reconsider his plan and time for you to escape.

Mental preparedness is the most important. You must know that there are people among us that are just simply evil.  Most folks are securely insulated from crime and it’s ugliness.  My guess is that the tougher things get, the more evil will become apparent to us. I cannot overemphasize the cruelty that some among us possess.  We must be prepared to deal with viciousness and violence in a most extreme manner. Ever wonder what will happen when prisons cease to pay their correctional officers? Governmental units may stop paying law enforcement entirely, placing us on our own in confronting crime and criminals.

While stockpiling food, water, ammunition and precious metals are important, perhaps it is time to communicate with your family about security and their response to attempted attacks.  Spend some quality time learning about the firearms that you have and practice using them at a range environment with an emphasis on safe handling.  Please, no accidents now or especially after TSHTF.

Like fire safety drills, conduct intruder drills if the front door is breached, or the rear door, or the dining room window. What should you do if you arrive home to obvious signs of a burglary? At least run some scenarios in your head and use the phrase; “What if?”

Lastly, lets briefly discuss communication.  In my experience, communications are usually the weak link of any operation.  If anything can go wrong, it will be with some aspect of communication.  This can be low tech such as not repeating exactly what is to be relayed to someone else or high tech like a hand-held radio not working and thereby isolating its operator from receiving or transmitting any further information.

Our special response team had a series of hand signals to fall back on if our radio communications went south.  Our patrol officers had verbal cues to alert other officers to a dangerous situation without being overt.  My point is to develop a communications plan that certainly includes some sort of radio communication for distance and backed up with additional visual signals to relay vital information to others in your family or group.

I am a law enforcement officer by trade. The area I work, as more and more areas often do nowadays, has an unfortunate problem with Meth. Most often, Meth is carried in 1.5”x1.5” plastic baggies that are usually folded up. As you can imagine, people get awfully desperate when trying to hide them.  As you can also imagine, a large portion of my time is spent trying to find them. If you imagine something about the size of a postage stamp or SD card that will give you a pretty good idea of the size we are dealing with. I also have investigated countless burglary calls, so have seen firsthand not only the patterns that thieves follow when searching for loot, but the patterns people follow when hiding things. I also happen to be a prepper, so in addition to needing to find stuff in my job, I understand the need for discreet storage in my personal life. I will approach this article from two ways: First, I’ll go over some of the more imaginative places I’ve seen things hidden, and hopefully share some tips and tricks that will open up more storage/hiding places for you. Second, I’ll go over some steps and methods to help you find things if you are the one looking. The better you get at finding things, the better you get at hiding them. Whether it’s hiding something quickly on your person or finding something on someone you are searching, or creating a long term cache, I hope this helps open up some new avenues to you.

Part 1- Hiding things-
So what are you hiding? I agree with JWR whole-heartedly that it is a lot harder for people to steal (or seize) what they cannot find.  Gold/silver, guns, ammo, USB drives, documents, etc. Anything of value to you.  Maybe you just need more room for your food storage.  Hiding places are truly only limited by your imagination. Shape, Shine, Shadow, Silhouette etc still apply when hiding objects as well as yourself.  This article will mainly focus on hiding areas and compartments.  So let’s begin…

ON YOUR PERSON: From the bottom up, let’s start with the shoes. Many of the new skate style shoes have a thick tongue. This tongue can be cut (along a seam) and items inserted in this. In addition the insole can be removed and items placed beneath. On crocs or even sandals, the sole can be split, filled, and glued back. On regular shoes, the sole (think where the air pocket on Nike’s is) can usually be cut and hollowed out. The heel of a shoe tends to have a lot of padding, and this provides some area to work with.  Shoes can be bought with both tongue and heel hiding places already constructed.

Obviously, anything can be tucked into a sock. For pants, the bottom cuff of pants can store items. You can also fold the cuff internally and sew or Velcro shut. Hidden pockets can be sewn anywhere on pants.  Seams are good places for these, as the thickness of the material will provide support and break up any imprint of the item, and if being patted down, the hard seam may hide the object from touch.  The edges of cargo pockets are also viable options, as well as the flap of the pocket. Most pocket flaps are double thickness, and can be opened, filled, and resealed easily. If you are doing this, make sure the objects are silenced and cant jangle against one another. Hidden storage belts are very common, and easily missed during a quick pat down.  Likewise with the back of a belt buckle or one with a removable object on the front. The same hiding places for pants also apply to shirts, with the addition of under or inside of a collar or thicker sewn in tag. For hats, inside of the sweat band, or tucked into a slit in the underside of the bill. Foam front hats can be altered in this way as well.  Belts also do not just need to be for holding your pants up.  You can tuck a gun into a belt that is worn up closer to chest level (up to your arm pits) on your body in a pinch, or have a knife taped to your inner thigh or upper hamstring area. Both the Keltec P3AT and the Ruger  LCP have available belt clips for them. The clip extends higher than the back of the pistol, so all that appears in a pocket is a clip that looks like a knife.

BICYCLES: Obviously, tires can be used as storage places.  The frames on bikes are hollow, and can be accessed from the seat, handle bar, or even crank area on some brands. Seat stems quickly remove and provide hollow storage, especially on newer bikes with quick adjust seats. You can tape items to the underside of the seat. Or buy a seat cover and keep items between the cover and the seat. On bicycles with straight grips, you can make a thin lit in the flat distal end of the rubber grip. Items can be inserted, and the hole is self-closing. Bicycle helmets are also options, with both padding that can be removed and foam to work with. Bicycles are also stolen, so be sure to guard against this and keep this in mind when using them to store items..

VEHICLES: A whole book could be written on this, and smugglers are coming up with some pretty ingenious methods. Cars are stolen, so I don’t advocate storing long term items in them (IE Guns), but there may come a time and place. Every vehicle is different. Anything with padding can be stuffed, and any dead space can be taken advantage of.  I strongly encourage you to look through your vehicle, both inside and out, top and bottom. After market tube bumpers can be filled with items. Stock  bumpers can have things tucked inside. Speakers can be removed. Again, tires can be filled. In the engine compartment, you can remove the air filter or fuse box. Or install a false fuse box. With all of the aftermarket items inside of cars now, it’s hard to tell what is stock and what is not (think about the K and N cold air filters). Get some large radiator hose and attach it to random spots in the engine compartment for some pretty secret storage. Anything that has to be bolted down is highly unlikely to be unbolted during a search, and provides a good starting point. Engines also have a lot of undercarriage armoring or protection that can be removed and used. Wheel wells usually have some storage space, and most vehicles have body panels that provide a lot of room to work with. Under a dash board, you can access vents as well as a lot of empty space. Door panels can be removed, as well as seat cushions (or slit and stuffed.)  In the glove box, there is an area under the box on the door, as well as below the dash if you remove the glove box/door fully. If you have a sunroof, the area between the glass piece and the interior padding can store things. In the console area, you can remove the plastic housing. Most ashtrays remove to empty, and provide access to a dead space behind them. The soft boot on a parking brake or manual transmission can be removed and filled. Airbags can be removed.  Dome lights can be removed and have the headliner accessed. The actual trunk portion that lifts up provides a lot of room, as do most light housing areas. Under any carpet in the vehicle.  Behind a license plate. Under a truck bed liner. Under a false floor in a tool box in the bed. Between the tool box and bed.  People can go so far as to install a smaller gas tank with a hidden compartment in the unused space.  In general, the more you can return the appearance to standard, the better. If you slit a seat, install Velcro or stitch it back up. If you lift the carpet, glue it back down. Do not leave pry marks on the dash board or door panels. Old vehicles are somewhat easier to work with, as they do a better job of disguising things as minor wear and tear.  If you have a rundown vehicle in the yard, you have more options. Park it on a buried 55 gallon drum. Remove the valve covers, hide things there, and replace them.  If the vehicle is not running, any hoses can be filled.  You can remove the wheels from a car, jack it up, put stuff where the gas tank was, then lower it down.  Let your imagination guide you.  Anything in the engine compartment will get hot and dirty.

THE YARD: With anything stored outside, be sure to weatherproof your container. Underground storage areas are very difficult to find, especially if you conceal them well. Metal detectors are becoming more commonplace, so be mindful of this. If it is a long term cache, leave it. Don’t check it every month and leave telltale signs or a path in the grass or freshly dug dirt. If you are concerned about metal detectors, place some old pipe fittings in the dirt above your cache and below the ground level. Fence tubing can be used. If building a wall, you can fill a cinder block with goods for long term storage. If you need easier access, remove a specific cap piece on top of the wall. Like wise with a 4x4 fence post.  These can be drilled nearly hollow then capped with a decorative piece.  Bird houses can be filled, or built with a false floor.  If building a raised bed garden, filled PVC tubes can be laid in the bottom. How many times have you seen people searching/looting a house dig up a garden? On a deck or play structure, any number of compartments can be fitted to the cross beams of the flooring. Don’t overlook a child’s sandbox. If you build your own, it is very simple to simply install a double floor for your goods, then fill with sand.  Old cars (see above), garden hose rolls (the roller), decorative yard art or sculptures, junked appliances, again let your imagination guide you. You can remove a brick from a wall, construct a fake brick out of floral foam that can be hollowed out, and paint to match your wall. Buy an outdoor speaker rock, and remove the guts. Hide something under your wood pile.  Be creative. Think like a kid again. Ask your kids where they would hide things.

HOME EXTERIOR: This is one of my favorites. Most people overlook the exterior of a home for any worthwhile goods. People know that spare keys are under mats, plants, etc, by the front door. On a patio/porch cover, if you have exposed beams, install new paneling pieces in the space between them. If you use spacers, you can still have exposed beams and hide the appearance of your cache. If you have a flat patio cover, you can hide a great number of items on top of it, against the roof. Have you ever looked behind the bird blocks on your roof? There is space there as well. Look at all of the pipes, vents, chimneys, etc, coming off of your roof. It would be very simple to construct a false vent pipe, sand to fit, paint to match, and no one would be the wiser.  Likewise with the random cable, phone, sprinkler controller boxes on houses now. How many does your house have? If you can’t name the number, someone looting won’t know either.  Buy an extra, set it up, and store away!
You can also landscape for success here too. Plants that drop a ton of leaves can hide a lot of ground work, and if you do bury something in a garden, it’s a great spot for your cactus collection.  Hide something inside your dog house when you build it. Or your chicken coop.
 
HOME INTERIOR: This is where it gets interesting.  Most burglaries I have seen people go through all of the usual hiding places. Drawers, cabinets, closets, nightstands, mattresses, under beds, behind pictures on the wall, book case. If something can get pushed over, its going to. So don’t hide things there. Let’s get wiser.
 
Let’s start with the laundry room. Do your cabinets go all the way to the ceiling? If not, consider a fascia piece and Velcro or screws to hold it in place. Now, they look like they go to the ceiling and you have a lot of storage. The same with a toe kick piece on the bottom of cabinets. Remove it, and reattach with Velcro, magnets, or screws.  Most cabinets also have an overhang on the bottom and top. You can fit a flush (horizontal) top or bottom and have a lot of storage. On washing machines and dryers, especially older models, there is a lot of dead space that can be accessed by removing the paneling. Obviously, be careful of what you are storing there, and the machine’s effects on it and its effect on the machine.  How many hoses and vents come off of your washer and dryer? Would a looter notice an extra 6” vent piece on the back of your dryer?  Do you use powdered laundry detergent? You can hide a lot in the bottom of a five gallon bucket of powder or large box of tide.  Same thing with bleach. Empty a bleach container, wash, dry, and fill with goods. Store in the back behind a couple other full bottles of bleach.

THE KITCHEN:  How many decorative containers do you have on the cabinets in your kitchen? Try putting food storage in them. How about under your stove?  How about in the warming drawer? What about the vent above your stove?  Remove the fascia piece on the bottom of your dishwasher? Do your cabinets have dead space around corners?  Do your counters have an overhanging lip? Could you flush mount a thin veneer under them? Some of the more amazing hiding places I have seen constructed involved water filters. One was a screw in water filter in the fridge that was hollowed out.  The other was an under the sink water filter, again, that was just the shell and had been hollowed out.  It is easy to overlook these, and if the power and water is off, its easy to excuse them not working. It Is also easy to install an extra piece or two of PVC pipe under a sink that are going nowhere. Unless you take the time to look, most will not notice an extra pipe.  How many chemicals do you keep under your sink? Can you store something in your ajax container?  How about where you store all of your plastic bags?  Be careful of hiding things in food (IE bottom of rice bucket.) Depending on how bad things are and who is doing the looting, that may be what people are looking for.  How about your pantry?  What about installing a 2 inch shelf above the door jam on the inside? How many times have you seen the wall above your closet door from the inside? Exactly….that is what makes it a great place to hide things. Depending on how small the pantry is and how high your ceiling is, you can go so far as to install a false ceiling. Because the lighting is usually different or non existent in the pantry/closet, false ceiling are a lot harder to pick out. Put a 2x4 so the 4” side is vertical on either short edge of the ceiling. Cut a piece of plywood to fit, and screw into the 2x4. 3.5” of storage space will fit most guns. Paint and texture to match. This works very well for a long term cache, when you can tape/caulk the seams, etc, and just leave it alone.  How about a decorative backsplash behind a sink or stove? Can you use one to hide a between the studs cache in the wall?  How about the inside of chandelier glass? Or screw in light covers? Add lots of dead bugs to hide any shadows cast.  How about where your ceiling fan attached to the ceiling? Or your smoke alarm? If you take them out, you have access to a lot of space under your ceiling insulation, and can put back a functioning item to hide your entrance point.  How about the dishes you have stacked up? How many coins could you tape to the bottom of your plates?

Moving on to the living room/dining room…Couches make great, but obvious places to hide things. But how about a lamp base? How about a curtain rod? How about sewn into the fold on the bottom of a curtain? Can you install a false bottom on your dining chairs? How about your dining room table? Coffee table? Are there angled support pieces in the corners?  If you do store stuff in a chair, be sure to pad the contents to keep them quiet, and do it to all of the chairs so it looks factory. How about speakers?  When looking at furniture, try to figure out where the dead space is.

Then, figure out how you can build a compartment to take advantage of it. Indoor plants are great too.  A nalgene bottle will hold a lot, and is waterproof enough to put in the bottom of a plant pot and leave under a plant and soil.

File cabinets are usually opened up, gone through, and tipped over. Most drawers are not removed. If you do remove the bottom drawer, you have some pretty good space below the drawer. An even better spot is secured to the inside of the top (above the top drawer) if the item is small enough.

Beds are common places to hide things, usually under them or in the mattress. So be different. Hollow out a bed post or leg if you have a wooden bed. Install a second piece of wood to the back of your head board to create a spot.  Dressers drawers will get pulled out and dumped out. If you must hide in a dresser, build a spot above the top drawers on the inside of the top, or to the side of the edge drawers. Take advantage of your dead space.  For bookcases, most have with a decorative fascia on the top shelf or below the bottom shelf. Don’t just hide things there. Screw a sheet of board onto it to really secure it.

Bathrooms are great too. Does your bathroom have two sinks? Use one and convert the plumbing in the other to storage. Tampon/Pad boxes are good for hiding things. How about a spare trash can with opened feminine products on top? Have a shower or bath you don’t use? What can you fit in the drain? What about in the faucet/water fixture. How about that costco sized bottle that used to have shampoo in it? What about your shower or bath itself? Do you have a seat in your shower? How about the entire frame of your bath? All of this is dead space waiting to be used. What can you attach to string or wire and put down the toilet? What about fitting things in the float ball in the toilet tank? Is there a brick in your toilet tank? Can you hollow out the bottom of the brick?
What about the closet? People look behind clothes hanging in closets. People don’t look in the pockets of clothes hanging in the closet. Or pinned under the collar of a jacket. Do you have shelves in the closet? Under the bottom shelf, up against the wall is a good place. Closets are great places to remove the base board and create a cache. You can attach it back with Velcro or magnets, but screws work better.  If your closet is wider than the door, can you build a partition against one wall? Again, if you take the time to finish it right, the lighting and presence of things in the closet will help to hide it.  Will 4” of wall space missing stand out amongst old clothes and Christmas decorations?

Attics make great places too. Under insulation is always a great option. If you have spray in insulation, it is very hard to make it look untampered with. Roll insulation is easier. With the amount of venting going around, is the searcher really going to confirm where each duct is going to? Consider adding a false duct for storage.  Bury one end in the insulation somewhere, and have the other go off into a dark corner.  Get to a corner of the attic, and screw a sheet of plywood between (not to the beams, but between) two beams to create a compartment against the roof. Basements are great places also. Think of structural dead space, and choose the nastiest, darkest corner you have. Put a cardboard box of water damaged magazines in front of it.

For true cache type hiding places, you need to think construction.  Install a new shower with a seat and take advantage of the dead space. When framing a wall, door, or window, put an extra few 2x4’s on the base plate. Drill out a space big enough for coins, USB drives, etc. Understand these are not going to be accessed easily. When installing flooring, think about a floor safe. I helped a friend build an addition onto his house. When pouring the foundation, we sank a tube safe in the concrete. It got filled, covered with Thinset, and tiled over.  Do you have a bay window? Build a seat to fill in the angle, but have the seat lift for storage. You can frame out a rectangular storage area under the hinged seat, but will still have the triangular areas on either end the are accessed by taking the whole thing apart.  Have an interior wall where insulation doesn’t matter? Replace the drywall with plywood on either side and have a great storage area between the studs. Any electrical outlet, surround sound speaker, phone jack, cable hook up is a great access point. Or install a few fake ones. Newer houses have drain access points on opposite walls from the plumbing, and these make excellent spots also.

In the garage, make things look boring. No one goes through a bin of old newspapers. Or looks in the bottom of a bucket of rusty bolts.  Or looks under the salt pellets in a water softener. Or looks under the wooden shelves you built to see the double plywood layer with storage space between.  Or dumps out the 5 gallon bucket of off color paint on clearance at home depot to find the Nalgene bottle in the bottom of it. Most commercial metal shelves have a lip on the bottom front, and you can store things under them.
One last thing is your safe. I assume you have one, it is bolted down, and kept locked. Better yet, you have a cheap throw down safe in your closet and the real one in a hidden room.  What about storing stuff under the carpet in your safe? Or on the inside edge of the lip in the front frame piece around the door, on the sides and top? If the safe is bolted to the concrete, did you put a cache in the wall it is up against? How about in the ground under it?

Another option is hollow core doors. The top can be removed, and lots of things stored inside. How about inside the decorative crown molding on the ceiling?
There is a thought that you can build armor to defeat any bullet, and can build a bullet to defeat any armor. Hiding things is like this. Someone can find any hiding spot you have given enough time and effort.  You want to make it as boring and horrible a process for them that they stop well before they find what they are looking for. If you have something hidden in the yard, put the trash can with the dog poop by it. And get a skunk to spray it. And plant a cactus by it. Make someone searching take one look at it and mentally give up before they start. People often look IN things, but rarely look AT the thing itself. Take advantage of this. People also look in places where they themselves hide things, and you can learn a lot by watching someone search. If you alter something, repair it as close to original as you can. Or alter everything the same way. Once you hide something, LEAVE IT THERE. Every time you check on it, you are creating an opportunity to leave a trail or alter something that will make it show.  Maybe today is the day your hand is dirty and will leave a hand print, or you will break a branch on the plant.  Maybe you will be in a hurry and not put things back right.

Part 2 Finding things-
Let’s start with a little on human behavior. Police are not trained to find criminals. We are trained to look for patterns, and notice when something breaks a pattern, or follows one we have already recognized. When I stop a car and the driver instantly lights up a cigarette and starts puffing away like a steam engine going uphill, I instantly think of two options. One, the person has been drinking and is trying to hide the smell of alcohol. Two, the person has a warrant, and is trying to get in a last bit of nicotine before jail. This is just from watching people over a long period of time. Next time you are carrying a gun, pay attention to how often you subconsciously touch it. When you get out of your car, when you go into a business, when you stand up, or sit down. Some people want to keep their drugs as close to them as they can. Others will do their best to stay as far away from them as they can (IE drugs are in the car, and they meet you at the trunk of the car when you stop them they are out their door so fast.) People are creatures of habit. People also tend to be lazy by nature. These two things come in handy when looking for things. When hiding things, people tend to want somewhere quickly accessible, and within reach.  When searching, people tend to get lazy, and look where they would hide things. You must be methodical and systematic. Don’t be afraid to take a break during a search for something if you find you are losing focus.

SEARCHING A PERSON:  So you are manning your LP/OP and you contact someone. In the course of the contact, they need to be searched. First, have a minimum of two people to search anyone. Safety and awareness are paramount. While one is doing the tactile portion, the second should be looking at the person’s body language, etc. A third and fourth person would ideally be providing cover.  The safest way is to have the person undress, and to go through their belongings inch by inch. This is not always possible. First, look at the person. Do you see any obvious bulges, or unevenness anywhere?  Have them interlock their fingers on the back of their head, with their pinkies up. Grasp their hands, and pull them backwards, so they are off balance. If you have the manpower, have one person hold them like this and have another search them. To search, you must touch everywhere, with enough time and pressure. You are looking and feeling or anything out of the ordinary. Go Slow. You are looking for a handcuff key under a seam of their pants or something of the like (In the academy, we were taught to look for a handcuff key. It’s the smallest thing that can kill you. Spend time with your spouse hiding a hand cuff key and trying to find it. Truly believe the person has a handcuff key or a mini SD card on them every time you search. Actively search. DO NOT GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS) IF ANYTHING FEELS OR LOOKS DIFFERENT, INVESTIGATE FURTHER! Did something crinkle? Did it not bend how it should? Go all the way up the inner thigh. Check inside the waist band. When going through clothes/shoes away from the person, look over and touch every inch. Look at the seams. Look at the thread used, the stitch pattern. Bend the item in your fingers. Take the insoles out of the shoes. Compare the two in weight.  Compare the two or the left and right side in feel.  Look at the belt buckle. Look at the belt. Look inside the hat. GO SLOW.  They sell handcuff key zipper pulls, as well as paracord bracelet clips that have them in them. VERIFY EVERYTHING, AND DO NOT ASSUME.
When searching a car, a good place to start is to sit in the driver’s seat.  Remember, people are lazy. What can you reach? Where do your hands go to when you reach under the seat?  To the visor? Under the passenger seat? Account for the dead space in the car. Look in all of the places mentioned above. Turn the wipers on. Turn the AC and heat on. Does it all work? Is the head liner loose? Are their pry marks on the door paneling? On the Dash board? Is the ashtray full or was it recently emptied? Is the CD holder full of CD’s? Look in the trunk. Look where the spare goes. Look in the actual trunk portion of the car that lifts up.

SEARCHING YARDS AND RESIDENCES
For the purpose of this article, searching means after the fact, when any gunplay is done, and you have ample time on your hands. This does not pertain to any area that is not fully secured and under your control.

As mentioned , you can see that is is nearly impossible to search every rock tree and bush. So you play the odds. Try to look, listen, and feel. Look for patterns of travel. Look for dead grass, or trimmed bushes. Look for disturbed dirt. Look for loose bricks. Look for missing cobwebs.  Listen for footsteps that sound different, or for the section of fence that sounds hollow. Or sounds dull if everything else sounds hollow.  Feel for the floral foam brick, or the loose capstone.  Divide the yard into a grid. Go through methodically and systematically. DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING, VERIFY EVERYTHING. Open the lawnbird control panel on the house. Turn the sprinklers on. Turn the hose on.

Inside of the house, account for every inch of space. Look for things that don’t fit, are not original, or were recently or frequently moved. Look for grooves and wear patterns in paint. Listen. Knock on walls, Knock on floors. Get out a stethoscope. Feel the wall texture. Turn on the sinks. Feel the pipes below while the sink is on. Is water draining where it should? Feel the ductwork with the AC or heat on.  Is air moving? If not, VERIFY why not. Do not assume.  Imagine objects are made of 1” cubes. You need to verify what each cube is or is not either by touch or sight. By both if possible. Think of a book case. This means everything within the edges of that book case is on a 1” grid. The books. The space behind the books. The shelves. Under the shelves. The wall behind it and the floor under it.  Open each book, not just one or two. When looking at containers of things, do the same thing. 1“ cubes. You can’t verify them all by looking at it from the outside. Dump them out if need be.  The person playing mouse went to great lengths to make everything as boring as possible, as disgusting as possible. They forgot to flush the toilet intentionally. They clean all their fish in the same pile for a reason.  Coincidences do not exist when you are searching for something. Get out a tape measure. Measure the ceiling height. Measure the wall length. If something doesn’t ad up, VERIFY it. Account for all structural dead space both in the house and in the objects in them.

Be mindful also of what people are searching for and what looters need. Right now, the bottom of a bucket of rice may be a good spot to hide a few coins. Food theft has not started yet. Likewise, a computer printer that may be stolen is not a wise place to hide said coins. But six months post-crunch, when the printer is a paper weight because the grid has been down and rice is as valuable as gold, the priorities for hiding places may be reversed.

I hope this article helps open up some new thoughts for you on hiding places, and finding them. When you look at your house from a different perspective, you will find limitless storage. And the better you get at finding things, the better you will be at hiding things. Search objects, not just in them.  If you are the deer hunter, look for deer from the moment you open your eyes in the morning, not just when you are in your tree stand in the woods.  If you are the deer, don’t just hide in the woods. Hide in the bushes by the front window of the hunters house, where he will pass you by before he even realizes he should be looking for you.

How do you balance the secrecy needed when prepping with letting your friends and relatives know that you are a prepper and encouraging them to become one too? Because when SHTF, you want your loved ones to be safe too. Wouldn’t it be wrong to prep in secret and not afford your favorite people the opportunity to prep like you? I know it is not wise to advertise to non-preppers that you are a prepper. But I did it anyway. I just wanted to start a conversation about prepping with my best friend. I was excited about prepping and I wanted her to start prepping too. I wanted to know she would be ok in an extreme situation. And let’s face it; I wanted to brag a little bit too. And that pride, that hubris, can get you and your family killed.

This conundrum was recently brought into sharp focus for me when I was telling my best friend about the new five gallon buckets and bulk grains I had recently secured. I was so proud of myself. Her reply was not “Where did you get the supplies from?” or “How much did it cost – I’ve been saving up and I’d like to get some grains too”. Her response was “If anything ever happens, I know where we’re going”. She meant her family would come here. I was literally stunned into silence. Because I let her know I had secured provisions for my family and about my preparations in her mind I was now responsible for her family too. Rather than plan for her own family’s safety and food security, she let me know her plan was to come here and try to claim a portion of my provisions. How did I feel about this? Would I really turn away my best friend and her husband? Would it depend on the situation or was it just a resounding no? I had screwed up royally. Not only did I fail to inspire her to prep, I jeopardized my family’s food security so I could show off. After she left I realized I had a lot of thinking to do.

And this line of thought, this failure to prepare, it’s not unique to her, and it’s certainly nothing new. People all around our country would rather rely on the government to take care of them, or burden their friends and family who are prepared, than prepare for themselves. Just look at the aftermath of any major natural disaster and you can see that outlook on life manifested. Not only will you have the Golden Hoard to deal with at The End of the World as We Know it (TEOTWAWKI), but some of that hoard will know you personally and will be headed directly to your home. So the bottom line is, are you prepared for that aspect of TEOTWAWKI? Do you have the extra provisions to take these people in? Or would you have to turn them away, with brute force if necessary?

The conversation with my friend made me realize I had talked a lot about prepping and specifically about my family’s preparations to a couple of people. I was trying to help encourage them to prep too. But in the process I had made myself very vulnerable to the people I cared most about. And what would I do if SHTF and they started showing up expecting food, water and shelter? Could our little home and provisions stock pile really stretch to accommodate more people? I didn’t think it was even adequate enough for my family yet, let alone for two or three more people. And if my best friend were coming here wouldn’t she want to bring her sister and her sister’s husband and their son too? What about the grandmother with medical needs that lives with them? Now the hoard in my head was getting bigger and bigger. And what would we do? My best friend comes over every week on Friday to watch television and catch up with me. Her sister’s family are our friends too. Could we shoot these people if that’s what it came down to? We have barbecued with them, been to their weddings, to their parties, their Sunday night dinners. Don’t we owe them something; shouldn’t we help them in an emergency? And wouldn’t they feel that way too?

I decided to make any progress in this thought process, emotion had to tone down and logic needed to be cranked up. What advice would I give to someone else? What if these weren’t people I knew – what if they were random strangers? Well, the ultimate goal is taking care of your family first. But if you have extra provisions or a bountiful crop from the garden, then wouldn’t you want to give them away to help others? That would be nice and it seems like the right thing to do, but it could also be dangerous in a post-TEOTWAWKI world. If you get to be known as the place people can go for a handout, you will soon have more hands than goods to put in them, and that leads to trouble. When the shops run out of food, people often break things and tear up the shops, fighting with one another to grasp at the last few provisions left. Shortly after that comes riots and looting. What do you think they would do to your home? If they don’t respect someone else’s store, why would your home be any different? And in a survival situation people lose a lot of their rationality and morals. Just because you have spent a lot of time with someone, and they are your friend, it does not mean they will not put themselves and their families first. In fact, you should expect them to. And this is the part of it you have got to wrap your head around: no matter how excited you get about prepping and the little stockpile you are amassing, keep your mouth shut about the items you have got! I could have easily told my friend I had picked up a little extra grain and asked her if she did any prepping yet. The recent storm in New York would have been a perfect reason to bring it up. Telling her specifics about the quantities was foolish and could be something that really comes back to haunt me later in life. I was proud of myself for what I was accomplishing, but broadcasting exactly what I was doing could drive people right to my front door in an emergency. Possibly more people than we could afford to help.

My husband and I talked about it and decided we could take in her and her husband in an emergency. He would make a great addition to our security team and she could help with the chores and the baby. The only problem would be what happens if she brings her sister and her sister’s husband and their son too? Could they be a helpful addition to our group? He knows about plumbing, but would there be enough resources to go around? With that number of people we could try to requisition more food and water, but that now takes our home from defensive to offensive, and I am not sure we want that. But that may be where my big mouth has landed me. My friend may be guilty of the folly of failure to prep, but I am guilty of the folly of hubris and letting it run away with my mouth, to the point that I made have inadvertently put my family in danger.

Be smart and keep the particulars to yourself when encouraging others to prep. Answer your friend’s and family’s questions on how to prep, but never reveal exactly what you have. If they ask something innocuous like “Well how much wheat do you have stored?” Always answer with something like “Well it’s recommended you have…” or “In the books I’ve read they say…”. Refer people to web sites and books they can get advice from so they can decide how much to store based on good data, not just by what you have stashed. And it is okay to tell your friends and family why you won’t give out specifics. Explain you aren’t trying to be rude, it’s just not something preppers do. If they really start prepping for themselves, they’ll get it, and they won’t be mad about it. Only get into more detail with other people who are actively prepping who will be in your post-TEOTWAWKI group and even then I wouldn’t tell every little thing. To those in your group you might indicate you have so many months worth of supplies, or more than so many pounds of something, but I wouldn’t list out every amount of everything you have. It is always wise to keep a little something back, especially the specific quantities and locations of your supplies. You want to encourage your friends and family to prep, but be sensible in the way you do it – you do not want to end up jeopardizing your family’s safety and food security by telling the whole world what you have squirreled away. 

The rustling came again from the back of the shotgun-style apartment. Was it squirrels? We had a few of the little gray buggers living in the trees around us and they made quite a racket. I assured my wife via text that a squirrel wouldn’t come through our window screens.

She got up and looked into our bedroom just to make sure and saw a head and back sticking through about half way onto our bed. Letting out a blood curdling yell, she screamed and ran towards the window as the perp backpedaled out and ran off down the alley. Slamming the window, she called me at work, had me call 911, and waited for the police who quickly arrived on the scene. Everything worked out well in this case. The guy, homeless, was arrested within half an hour and booked on an outstanding bench warrant and for burglary. He plead guilty and did time for misdemeanor trespass.

We live in St. Louis, a city known for crime, and at the time lived in an area which is well on its way to gentrification. Still, on the edges things were a bit spotty. Case in point our apartment where across the alley stood what we later found out was a house central to the local heroin trafficking market. Over in our ground-floor apartment, we didn’t know that. All we could tell is that it was pretty busy with high school age looking kids most days.

The week of the robbery, we were moving in having just gotten married and hauled my wife’s stuff in from out of state. We had boxes all over the place and they were still there the week after the honeymoon. We also didn’t fully realize that our landlord had left the master keys to our apartment building on the front porch the week I was gone to the wedding; someone had already been inside to case the joint and steal my Glock.

It was the perfect setup for a burglary or robbery. Our apartment was at the end of the road by a busy intersection and was beside the major footpath connecting our road with the alley and the road behind it. Many folks walked that path daily to cut the corner and some would stop and sit in the chairs in our back yard enjoying the shade. It was hot, above the century mark for most of the previous month, and everyone had their windows open…especially those of us trying to move. Out back, we had a pile of boxes stacked in and around the dumpster. The inside of the house was such a mess that I wasn’t even sure if my gun had gone missing. And, worst of all, our land lord, experiencing the early stages of Alzheimer’s left the keys out for the taking.

There are so many things that went wrong which set us up so well to be the target of Maurice that day. Each one is something that is small in itself, but when added up, can in the blink of the result in horrible things. Everyone survived that day and although traumatized, my wife and I have come away better for it, I believe. The important thing is that our experiences be used as a lesson for others. Being newlyweds and just starting off in a new city in a cheap apartment is no excuse to allow your safety or alertness to be compromised.

Situational awareness, or the act (or art?) of being alert to your surroundings in a way that allows you to react appropriately is not one of the sexy parts of prepping. However, it is one of the most important. It is a skill that needs to be both practiced and utilized daily. Situational awareness can be seen on numerous levels of time scales. In our case, we were moving into a new apartment and we needed to practice both short term and long term situational awareness. This article will examine both of these in detail providing some general ideas on how to better prepare yourself. Each situation is different and every second changes your individual needs. Use this as a guide and build up your own system depending on what your life requires. Remember to keep alert for any need to change your system. Don’t wait for a failure to revamp; you might not get the chance.

Long-term Situational Awareness
Long-term situational awareness deals with things that are not an immediate threat. In these days of collapsing culture and declines in neighborliness it is even more important to know your neighborhood and those who live near you. Our neighborhood had an online email list as well as regular meetings. We utilized these fairly well and we knew that there was a crime spree in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there was not enough data before the week of our robbery for even a map-geek like myself to pinpoint the source of our problems. Interestingly, within a few weeks of our break-in, the crime spree focused around a few blocks of us and the correlation was painfully obvious, even to a casual observer. Find out, preferably before you select a place to live, where the problem areas are. Get updated on the neighborhood situation before you even move. The same applies to areas where you work or often frequent. Prior planning is a good thing.

Once you’re in place, keep an eye out on neighborhood traffic. We probably could have spotted people who didn’t belong if we had been more attentive. I should have especially noticed that people walking by our windows had an easy way to look inside and make sure to make that impossible for them and also to deny them access to the chairs in our yard. With them being moved often, I did not think anything of it when one of them was moved under our bedroom window just hours later to be used to vault up into our life.
Most importantly, don’t let your awareness get displaced by something like moving. When you are moving, you are perhaps at your most vulnerable. Trips to and from the moving van provides anyone around a perfect view of everything you are moving and a good idea about where you are putting things, even if all of your blinds are shut. With doors open and air conditioners useless, windows being open in such heat are very tempting. However, this just adds to your advertisement power!

Short-Term Situational Awareness

Short-term, or immediate, situational awareness, is what most people think of when they hear the term. This is not paranoia, it is remaining alert for any potential threats and mounting your guard accordingly. In his book Combatives for Street Survival, Kelly McCann discusses the effects of a surprise attack on the victim: loss of fine motor skills, shaking, tunnel vision, rapid heart rate, etc. These responses make dealing with any threat more difficult, which is why Kelly stresses the importance of seeing the attacker before any attack can happen. As McCann notes, many times just making it clear that you are aware is enough to deter an attack. This is where your short-term situational awareness comes into play.
There have been many systems developed to help people logically process one’s situational awareness in a systematic way. Jeff Cooper’s color code, which he introduced in his classic Principles Of Personal Defense is an easy system to use in today’s world of TSA rainbow threat levels. Cooper’s color code is in essence a categorizing of a person’s mental state (roughly alertness/preparedness) given their ability to respond to various potential threats. The code is as follows:

• White: You are walking down the street with ear buds in, music on, looking down to text. Basically, you are blissfully unaware of anything going on around you and you are in total denial that anything bad may happen to you. Stress, tiredness, and intoxication all help push you towards this level.
• Yellow: Often described as “relaxed alert,” this is the level where one should strive to be at even the “safest” times. There is no observed or suspected threat, but you are alert to your surroundings and are minimizing distractions.
• Orange: At level orange, you are on alert. You have spotted a potential threat and are ensuring that the source of this potential threat has your attention. At this point, should the potential threat become a real threat you move to level Red. Should the potential threat show that it is not a threat, you will return to level yellow. For example, you are walking along and a dog starts growling at you. Were it to charge you, threat level red comes into play. Were you to notice that it is chained and behind a solid fence, threat level yellow may be your choice.
• Red: The potential threat is now a threat. Actions must be taken to nullify that threat. “Fight of flight” is in play and it is likely that things will get ugly.

Col. Cooper’s system does not directly translate into a system for situational awareness, rather it alerts you to the most important element of surviving a threat- your mental state. No matter how good of a shot you are or how “tacticool” your carry weapon is, if you are caught by a mugger at level white awareness…well, you’ve got a big hole to dig out of at best. Evaluation of your mental state using Cooper’s system (or another that you prefer) should become second nature. It should be a process that runs quietly in the background allowing you to focus more on potential threats and how to deal with them.
Using the example of our break in, let’s walk through how this works using the clarity of hindsight to see what should have happened. Given the presence of known criminals and a drug house, my alert level should have been at a level yellow when my wife and I left the house that morning. Walking to the car, I should have been scanning the house for broken basement windows, “self-walking furniture,” moved plants, loitering strangers, etc. I would have noticed that a chair was placed under our back window and gotten suspicious and moved it, thus denying entry to our windows.

To this day, I do not know where our robber was, but I suspect that he could see us getting in the car and driving off, but couldn’t see that my wife re-entered the house a short time afterwards having walked back from a coffee shop. This means he was somewhere in back of the house (where our cars were). Could I have noticed him? Maybe. Perhaps he was inside the drug house? Regardless, lines of sight work both ways, if he could see us, we could have seen him.

Let’s say I had spotted him standing watching us behind the drug house in the alley as we drove out. He posed no direct threat to us, but he was out of place. I’d be moving my mental state to orange. Driving back around the block and calling the cops in the process giving them his description would likely have sufficed in this case, he had a bench warrant outstanding and wouldn’t have stuck around long if the police showed up. With the potential threat gone, I would return back to yellow.

While looking for potential threats is a topic that would never be completely covered no matter how much ink is spent on it, there are some key points to remember. First, your situation is unique. Much of situational awareness is intuition and gut feeling. If it feels wrong, don’t. It’s much better to be wrong and leave a non-threatening situation needlessly than it is to go against your gut and wind up dead.

Secondly, if you see someone who doesn’t seem to have a reason to be some place, be careful. McCann demonstrates this by using the example of a guy standing in the middle of the parking lot just looking around with no keys out. What’s he doing there? Most people who lose their cars have their keys out and this guy doesn’t even look too confused. This rule can be expanded in any number of ways. Another example: unless you’re a kid playing hide and seek, most people don’t have a very good reason to be hiding behind bushes. Trust your gut and use common sense.

Third, be on the look out for bottlenecks and cover. Most of us do not daily have to worry about armed ambushes. However, criminals like to take advantage of situations which make their job of jumping you easier. The old “dark alley” adage applies here. So does the “don’t be foolish, trust your gut” theory.

Lastly, be aware of how you present yourself. People at level white are obvious to spot (for a fun exercise, go out on the street and count how many people you see who are clearly at level white) and make great targets for crooks. It’s also very easy to make it clear that you are not at white. Why take a hard target when there are so many easy fish out there? That’s the crook mentality. Most of the time, they would prefer not to have to work…that’s why they’re involved in crime in the first place! Walk with purpose. Don’t have your arms full if you don’t have to. Don’t be distracted. Make it clear you’re not a tourist (even if you are). Give off an air of confidence and alertness. It is always better to avoid a confrontation than to have to win one the hard way. This one simple step almost certainly is the one thing that keeps more people safe than anything else.

Situational awareness is clearly a subject about which much has been written and all of us could improve each day of our lives. It is a skill which is improved with exercise and one on which there are many views out there. I don’t feel that any view is mutually exclusive of the others. In this article I have presented Cooper’s color-based system of mental states because it is easy to remember and makes sense to me. There are certainly others. The US Government uses a system known as TEDD (Time, Environment, Distance and Demeanor) which is discussed in an article at STRATFOR: “Threats, Situational Awareness and Perspective.” There is also Col. John Boyd's OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) loop. For further information on this topic, I would recommend, in addition to the works already mentioned the following sources:

• “A Primer on Situational Awareness” (Stratfor)
• “How Police Training Can Help The Survivalist: An Officer's Perspective” by N.D. (SurvivalBlog) - good discussion of reading threats
• Female Self Defense: Situational Awareness (Survival Cache)
• Situational Awareness (Self Defense Blog)

Home defense is about more than a shotgun or that security system and decal. It is a part of our lives that requires active participation on our part. With the lingering depressed economy, raging drug problem, and criminals with no respect for life, it is a sad fact that we must face this reality. Best of all, these key steps to home defense are free; it only takes a few seconds and alertness. So, for those readers who live in urban areas especially, take some time to reassess your security strategy. Do not let yourselves grow complacent, even if you have a security system. Let our lessons learned the hard way be an example to get you thinking so that something similar doesn’t happen to you. Oh, and if your landlord starts leaving keys out, move.

About the Author: B.D. lives with his beautiful new bride in St. Louis where they are expecting their first child in May.

There are many varying opinions on what makes a prepper prepared. After listening to my contemporaries for some time, and giving their opinions due credence, I always find myself arriving at the same conclusion. I know that food, water and shelter are staples for not only prepping, but also normal everyday life. I understand the importance of self-reliance and sustainability. Topics like alternative energy sources, shelves stocked with supplies, ponds teaming with fish, underground hideouts, rainwater collection, and so on all make clear sense to me. I’ve found that the term SHTF seems to be frequently taken out of context and often misused. I must draw a line in the sand at the notion I’ve found of some people rationalizing how a couple thousand rounds of .22LR in a backpack can make a Ruger 10/22 a serviceable "combat" weapon. While storable food and water are both mission critical, it is apparent to me that arming yourself with the proper weapons, training, and equipment is the most essential part of prepping. I am certainly not regarded as a subject matter expert, or an authority in prepping, but I have been part of an invasion force. I am a combat veteran, a sharpshooter and machine gun expert. I have priceless real world experience and training that many of you will never attain. It seems that time is running out, that is why I have chosen to share my own personal insights.
   
In an economic collapse, the loss of utilities will be a disruption to your daily life. A collapse such as this could unleash waves of armed criminals, rioters, and looters looking for easy targets and a free meal. The events unfolding on the East Coast following hurricane Sandy are a good reminder of this. The worst case scenario is losing your food and water stores and the creature comforts of your dwelling. Even if you plan to hunker down, situations change and what used to be relative safety can become certain death. Your storable food, water supply, and shelter may all be compromised in an instant by an armed adversary. Far easier is it to disengage a hostile force carrying your weapon and as much ammo as possible, than to carry your food and water supply. The last thing you want is to get shot in the back running away with water jugs. In combat, I have never run to grab MREs when our perimeter was being probed. However, I have never passed up the opportunity to procure extra magazines when an insurgent was in the wire or when I was heading out on a mission. When my convoy was hit with IEDs, my thoughts were not ‘where are the cases of water?‘. That’s something- having no regard for water in the desert. When your life is in immediate danger and you are protecting your loved ones, you will not have regard for it either.

Undoubtedly the .22 LR is a handy piece of kit. Accuracy, affordability, utility, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ammunition are very persuasive arguments for any firearms enthusiast that can’t leave a gun store without a new piece. For many preppers, it is impossible for this venerable platform to evade your interest or collection. Limit your .22 LR rifles use to the role of plinking practice and acquiring small game. If this is your go to weapon in a SHTF scenario, you may want to revise your strategy. Here’s why…

I grew up and lived for the most of my life in a large urban center located in FEMA Zone 5. On any given New Year’s Eve, an assortment of automatic gunfire is rampant. Police officers are admittedly ordered back to the precinct for their own safety. It is likely that most, if not all of those weapons are illegal and possessed by individuals under weapons disabilities. Whether legal or not, those same weapons could show up at your door during a collapse. Another aspect to consider is the proliferation of armed criminals who possess bullet resistant vests. Combine the two and you have quite the formidable adversary. To dismiss this threat is suicidal. If well-armed, armor clad men show up at your door with sinister plans for you and your family, you don’t want to find yourself gripping a .22 LR, period. You don’t want to find yourself outmanned and outgunned. Your stockpile of ammo is of no value to you and your family if you are outmatched by the bad guys.

Whether you anticipate bugging in or bugging out in a TEOTWAWKI scenario, you may not be able to avoid a physical confrontation or fire fight. It is of my opinion to always bring enough gun. Take into consideration that you will have no say in who your enemy is or when they will assault you. Unless your survival group is actively scouting the ‘enemy’, which is offensive in nature (subject outside the scope of this article), you will not be able to predict the nature of your enemy’s weapons, armor, equipment, or level of training.

Training

Your training is the cornerstone of all things survival. It is the umbrella that protects all of your other life sustaining preparations. No matter how bad the situation gets, nothing is a SHTF scenario until you are literally fighting for your life. An armed force on force encounter is nothing short of combat. You need to be intuitive, decisive, and deliberately lethal. Your mindset must allow you to freely dispatch your foes, one target at a time, effortlessly transitioning to the next target of opportunity without fixating on a previous target that is no longer a threat. Be prepared to cause serious debilitating injury and take human life.

Regardless of which weapon system or caliber you invest in, it is completely useless if you cannot effectively place rounds on target. It is an utmost priority that you become proficient in marksmanship. For beginners, I recommend acquiring some basic training. Books, videos, and courses have become quite prolific:  www.magpuldynamics.com, www.vickerstactical.com, and www.gunsite.com. Military manuals are also a wealth of knowledge. Any book you find authored by the late Col. Jeff Cooper should be a no-brainer purchase. Another great place to look for help is the programming on the Outdoor Network and Sportsman Channel. You should find those channels to be very informative, as they demonstrate a multitude of realistic training drills, tips from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, expert advice from the nation’s most prestigious firearms training institutes and top national competitors. Study land warfare manuals (MOUT), scouting, land navigation, camouflage, etc. ‘Train hard, fight easy’ was the saying. Well, no fight is easy, but it is certainly better to sweat in training than to bleed in combat. An important aspect of training is that it gives you a realistic sense of your group’s overall mission capabilities. It will help identify your group’s weaknesses and strengths, create discipline, and help build confidence amongst the team members. Establish a chain of command. I recommend the most experienced person in regard to a specific task take charge in those activities. Otherwise, with no leadership your group may fail to react to a threat in a timely manner. This will compromise the mission of your survival. Unit cohesion is a prescript for any organization to perform the duties in which it was designed. Training will allow you to identify the strongest shooters in your group. These individuals should be appointed the role of designated marksman. At the same time it will allow your proficient shooters to coach the others and get them up to speed. Consistently training in small unit tactics will enable your group to move with precision and drastically reduce the risk of fratricide.

Never become complacent. Complacency can get you dead in a hurry. Never take short cuts in training; it will undermine the intended purpose of training in the first place. I am reminded of a story about police training. A SWAT team attending a training session zeroed their weapons to a range in which they would ‘like’ to fight. They were only expecting to engage hostiles in close proximity and this led them to believe they had no reason to train and zero to the maximum effective range of their weapons. I assume this dangerous habit might have been acquired by becoming complacent after numerous house search warrants. The argument (excuse) they presented was that it would be difficult to remember the different points of aim (POA) and points of impact (POI) at different ranges, especially under the stress of combat. Shortly thereafter training was interrupted. They were called out and responded to an incident, in which they found themselves in a field with an armed suspect at a range of 100 yards. They were unable to safely engage the target. Luckily for them he was apprehended and nobody lost their lives. After that close call, they changed their training doctrine. Had the event been more severe and the team been unable to carry out their mission, they certainly would have come under intense scrutiny, or worse. Their own complacency sabotaged their mission capabilities, and it could have cost innocent lives, or widowed their own wives.

Police officers have superior training compared to average citizens (including CCW holders). It is noteworthy however, that police shooting statistics show they aren’t very accurate. Data suggests police accuracy to be in the neighborhood of 17% or so. Remember the Empire State Building police shooting in New York City not long ago? Bystanders were needlessly injured by the barrage of police gunfire. Perhaps some of you will recollect the shootout between Ohio State Troopers and the Kehoe brothers in 1997, where the exchange of gunfire took place at a distance of ten feet. The result was nobody being shot. Well, when the SHTF and you get an adrenaline dump, you’re going lose fine motor skills. If you think you’re going to be able to do any better than police with inferior training you’re dead wrong. You will be half as good in real life as you are on the range, and that’s being optimistic. The bad guys aren’t going to stand there like the targets of a static range, and you had better be moving too. What’s worse is they are trying to put bullets in you. 

When you’re on the farm post-TEOTWAWKI, don’t mope around in condition white with your head attached to your third point of contact. Keep your head on a swivel. If your rifle is not within arms-reach, you don’t have a rifle. When you find yourself completing mundane tasks, pulling long hours of perimeter guard duty or gate guard, your mind has a tendency to wander. You must overcome this tendency and remain focused at all times. It only takes a moment for the uneventful day to day grind to erupt into chaos. While serving in Iraq in 2003 as a member of the 101st Airborne Division, boredom would set in quite often. An order would come down and off we’d go pulling convoy security again. It beat guard duty and guard duty beat handling prisoners of war. The surroundings became familiar, as did the flow of local people. Even the ambushes at a bustling nearby intersection began to seem commonplace. I remember a group of insurgents randomly firing small arms and disappearing before someone could get a bead on those SOBs. As it turned out, that proved to be a poor career choice for those individuals. Sniper rounds often found their way into the airfield in Mosul and a man I know caught one of them. He was lucky, it only shattered his femur, and he was able to keep the limb. IEDs happen and there is no warning. Two of my brethren are very blessed to be alive; especially considering one sustained a shattered shoulder and multiple fractured vertebrae. They both suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). I have also had my share of close calls and near misses. I have seen firsthand the damage military small arms can inflict. These kinds of things happen fast and you need to ‘stay alert, stay alive’. Familiarity breeds comfort. Being comfortable in your surroundings gives a false sense of security. Complacency is a mass murderer.

Your inner circle should only consist of a small and limited number of deeply trusted individuals. You must actively attempt to make additions to your small group based on experience, specialties, and high value skills. Your training will bridge the gap between fear and mission effectiveness. Force multipliers must be identified and properly employed to gain every advantage for your well-trained dedicated force of do-good patriots. If you have never seen firsthand the barbarism of combat, you cannot fully appreciate the suffering it induces. Your survival completely depends on your ability to wage asymmetrical warfare against your enemy. Your ability to promptly overwhelm an enemy with firepower, decimate his ranks, disappear, and live to fight another day will be the key to your survival. None of this can be accomplished hiding in your basement, or foolishly engaging a superior fighting force with sub-par weapons and laughable training. Get real and get in gear. Shoot until it becomes second nature, then shoot some more. Make sure the personnel in your force are cross trained in each other’s skill sets and equipment to an effective degree. Everybody in the group must be familiar with all weapon systems that are deployable in your arsenal. Get the training you need. Keep shooting and prepare for the worst. Choose not to be a statistic, but rather the exception.

Firearms

Procurement of weapons and ammunition far exceeds the purchase of other seemingly important items. You will have to make choices that are tedious and might push the limits of your financial situation. It is a difficult proposition, but when your life is hanging in the balance spare no expense.  In a real life SHTF situation the only important thing is firepower. It is the only thing. You must absolutely overwhelm the enemy with superior firepower.

In close quarters the 12 gauge is arguably king. However, as effective as it is, if you step out into the street where ranges easily exceed 100 meters, you may quickly find yourself outgunned. Yes, that also includes your slug gun. Your .22LR will fit thousands of rounds in a backpack, yes. However, if this is your weapon of choice, then your plan will inevitably fail. If you can show me a military that fields a .22LR, I can show you a defeated army. Nations around the world have sought out solutions to maximize the number of rounds their soldiers can carry while considering weight limitations. It is not an accident that they haven’t arrived at the .22LR. You are depending on your weapon to keep you alive. Select your weapon’s chambering wisely, and make sure it has enough horse power to do its job of protecting you effectively.  Think in terms of maximizing your capabilities in any scenario. If I only could own one weapon (not recommended), it would be a carbine. Generally speaking, it easily transitions from close quarters to medium, to moderately long range offering far more security than a shotgun. Be aware of your specific weapon’s limitations and capabilities. Understand its intended purpose and keep it assigned only to tasks in which it excels, if possible. An M4 is not an M16 for all intents and purposes. While the M4 is more suitable and controllable in close quarters, your maximum effective range on a point target is limited by its shorter barrel. With the M16, you extend your effective range at the cost of cumbersome handling in confined spaces. If you anticipate longer range encounters in your area of operation you may opt for a different weapon system altogether.

In recent combat in Afghanistan, Taliban fighters have been utilizing .30 caliber weapons to engage our troops at ranges of ,1000+ meters, well outside the effective range of the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge of the M16 family of weapons our soldiers carry. Those engagements have prompted the United States military to take another look at the fielding of .30 rifles. Don’t just buy a firearm because of its CDI (chicks dig it) factor. Purchase them according to your threat assessment and the unique demands of your specific environment and situation. A firearm vetted at failing in cold weather environments is a poor choice for a defensive roll if you spend 4-5 months out of the year shoveling snow. Those climates are more demanding of you and your weapon. It is important to learn how to maintain your weapon in such environments.

Handguns are highly utilitarian, as your long gun is unlikely to accompany you to the store, to and from work, or anywhere else you are likely to end up. Choice of caliber is up to you, but the bigger the hole, the more bleeding it will cause, and the larger diameter bullet is more likely to hit a vital structure causing greater tissue damage. In context, your handgun should only be used as a back-up weapon, or to fight your way to a long gun in a SHTF scenario.

Keep spare parts on hand for parts that are likely to break with hard use of your weapons. Consider enrolling in a gunsmith course to personally enrich yourself, and to pass on acquired knowledge to your group members, because somebody has to keep those weapons serviceable. Keep your weapons properly lubricated and well maintained. Take care of it today, and your weapon will take care of you when you need it most. Your group should select weapons chambered in readily available calibers. Yes, the HK7 is one cool PDW if you can get one, but how do you plan to feed it? Proprietary ammunition has its niche, but the difficulty in amassing ammunition for them is too great a burden to bear. Limiting your overall ammunition requirements simplifies logistics for your group. It is also likely that your group will be able to barter with or for common ammunition more readily than the fancy stuff that only you have a need for.

Force Multipliers

Once you have become the master of your weapon, you need to keep training, and train harder. The addition of force multipliers to the equation is in order. Red dots, holographic reflex sights, magnifiers, and medium range scopes manufactured by EOTech, Aimpoint, and Trijicon to name a few are excellent choices. Magpul also supplies a number of gizmos for your shooting pleasure. Their PMAGs have become an industry standard and are stocked exclusively in my collection. Lasers are also a welcomed addition to my tiny arsenal, as they serve two purposes. The first is target acquisition. The second is the red dot that it produces on a target is universally recognized and has the intimidation factor that has caused assaulters to stand down in the past. I currently use and recommend Crimson Trace and Insight Technologies lasers. Trijicon also manufactures the tritium night sights that have made their way onto my service pistols. The ability to see your sights in any lighting condition is obviously advantageous. The life span for green and yellow sights is 12 years. Orange sights putter out after five years.

Edged weapons are also important. A hearty blade like the iconic Ka-Bar has numerous applications. You can find great deals on Ka-Bar knives at www.manventureoutpost.com. Combat tomahawks are well suited to the task as well. I recommend picking up a ’hawk’ from the folks at RMJ Tactical www.rmjtactical.com. Their products have been used extensively overseas and are credited with taking out the trash and keeping our boys safe. They are designed to pierce a Kevlar helmet, which is a pretty nice feature if your proximity to an assaulter momentarily takes your long gun out of the fight. I recall this story airing on television. A bright reliable flashlight should already be part of your daily routine. Surefire is the apex predator in that arena. I have carried several of them on deployment and highly recommend their products. Night vision devices are an absolute must, as they allow the viewer to see in near total darkness without breaking light discipline and giving away their position.

Buyer beware! Simply attaching as many accessories as your rails will accommodate makes you no more a sharpshooter than purchasing a scalpel makes you a surgeon. Likewise, stockpiling ammunition and owning several weapons does not make you a soldier, sorry fellas. They are tools to use in conjunction with, not a supplement to, skill. Keep in mind, every additional piece of kit demands more training. You will have to work hard and train intensely to develop your skill sets.

Regardless of your chosen weapon platform- high capacity magazines, magazine couplers, drum magazines or beta mags should always find their way into your home. Surplus ammo is fine if your chosen weapons will put up with it. I have found that old steel cased ammo, even the moderately rusted kind, still allows my weapon to run like a sewing machine. While not an ideal scenario, it’s better to know that now than to find out otherwise when my life is on the line. The relevancy here is that more ammo allows for extended fighting periods (horse power included). That means I don’t have to cringe if I blow through a mag or four laying down suppressive fire. This may be unlikely, but I‘m planning to win in any scenario. Because surplus is cheaper, you can acquire a whole lot more for the money. You will need a way to carry all of your gear. Load bearing equipment goes hand in hand with weaponry, so be sure to choose quality gear that is able to handle your mission critical load out.

It is important to consider force multipliers when defending against the aforementioned rogue criminal elements. Several companies offer bump fire stocks on the market for weapons such as the AR, the infamous AK series, and even the Saiga 12 gauge and others (www.slidefire.com and http://fostechoutdoors.com/index.php). These stocks increase your standard semi auto weapons cyclic rate to mimic full auto fire. More specifically, around 900 rounds per minute with the AR platform. It will spit out an entire 30 round magazine in under 2.5 seconds! While the criminal hordes have select fire weapons illegally, we have the option to purchase these stocks for mere hundreds of dollars and all approved by the BATF with no tax stamp or waiting period. Your assaulters may not know the difference, or care. But they will know somebody on the other side of the door or down the hall is not to be trifled with.

I believe in fighting fire with fire. This ideal extends to the use of body armor. With so many options available to the consumer, bullet resistant vests are everywhere and can be had for reasonable prices if you look in the right places. And why not? The criminals waste no time acquiring these items to use against you. Make educated purchases as the vest’s bullet resistance degrades over time and with everyday use. Surplus Kevlar helmets are pretty much everywhere as well. There are many more force multipliers than mentioned here, but I believe I have outlined a practical foundation for you to be well prepared and well protected. The people aiming to harm you will be well prepared. It’s up to you to determine the level of threat you face, and how best to protect your family. We’re definitely not talking about the run of the mill home invasion that is seemingly innocuous by comparison.

Being geared up for combat is an intelligent approach to protecting yourselves against the inherent risks of outsiders when TEOTWAWKI arrives. It is the only way to stay alive when the SHTF. Your goal should be to emulate law enforcement and military training, tactics and arms. These brave people risk their lives every day and know very well how to protect themselves. If you are well armed and trained, you have a degree of sustainability. Your weapon can produce food. Your food and water supply cannot protect or defend you when engaged by enemy forces. Your mind is the most dangerous weapon you possess. It is up to you to hone the mind and prepare it to keep you safe. “Safety is something that happens between your ears, not something you hold in your hands” - Col. Jeff Cooper. The weapons are simply an extension of your mind. All excuses will fall silent when the brass meets the grass. There cannot be enough emphasis placed on proper equipment and training. In the end, it is all you have to fall back on.

As the Halloween season came and went, I had to accompany my  boys to the seasonal Halloween store that opens up for about 2 months in some obscure, rented building. My trip with them looked at masks, costumes and an aisle or two dedicated to make-up supplies as well. I passed by the face paint, the hair coloring and the fangs, but then my eyes spied a series of tubes containing “blood”, and then small bottles of it and even a couple of very large containers all containing the bright red, sticky, usually non-toxic theatrical blood. Being a prepper at heart, my mind usually runs items I see through a mental rubric for deciding if something has any “prepper value” for my survival or my ability to barter. Through this mental maze, there exists a matrix of questions that falls under personal defense and tactics. Could theatrical blood have any tactical value to my survival situation? Yes, I think it could. Knowing that the day after Halloween the products would be 50% off helped make it all the more affordable.

My first idea was for first aid training. My sons have practiced bandaging a large wound, pressure points and even splinting a compound fracture of the humerus or femur. All of these events were practiced clean in a very unrealistic setting where they were told to “imagine” the wound that they were working on. The addition of the fake blood would add a note of realism to the scene. The nice clean area they were bandaging gets transformed into a gooey, sticky red mess with sand, leaves and other debris from the ground worked in. As preppers, first aid could include puncture wounds, gunshots or even an accident caused by broken glass or twisted metal after a natural disaster are not farfetched at all and should be considered. Some theatrical blood, suitably applied could up the realism of the simulation by a notch or two. Emergency first aid may not give someone the time to go put on latex gloves and they may have to get the blood of a family member on them. Would they be squeamish about this?  Now is a good time to work through that. Other damages can be simulated as well. Step on an old nail and it goes right into the bottom of your foot? Cut into a finger while using a knife or hatchet? The addition of the fake blood just adds one more level of realism to the training procedures.  Beware though! Some brands of this kind of fake blood mixture warn that they can permanently stain clothing and fabric so keep that in mind when you decide what clothing you want to practice in or you may have an unexplainable red stain on your new set of Multicams  (or whatever type of clothing you practice in). It’s a good idea to do this outside to avoid any kind of stain on the carpet inside of your home that cannot easily be removed.

Secondly, I believe that theatrical blood could be used tactically. I am well aware that as preppers we might face all kinds of opposition from those who lack the foresight to set aside money and time to stock up on needed items and prepare for the worst beforehand. Basically, we want to get out to a spot, set-up a base or a retreat and just be left alone by everybody else. The truth is, the hills will eventually be swarming with all the unprepared who have some kind of notion that to survive they must flee the city and miraculously find everything they need out in the woods. These folks may have only one tactic available to them and that would be to try to take what I have worked so hard for away from me and my family. They may come at me with guns (perhaps the only plan that they have for survival) or they may have numbers on their side. They may have the advantage of better or more firepower than I can muster or a much bigger defense force than what I have available, so any advantage I have could be a lifesaver. I can imagine scenarios where I could use the theatrical blood to appear severely wounded, diseased or even dead. Situations similar to ones I have seen in Enemy at the Gates and The Road depict a desperate scenario where these ways may be the only way to be spared being shot at or harmed by marauders. If temporarily being taken prisoner or being put under guard by someone as the rest of the horde searches through your meager supplies (the rest are cached, right?), how much threat would you pose to them if you already had a horrible gut injury or a bleeding head wound? Would they pay you as much attention as they would if you were perfectly fine and uninjured? They may not even worry about you running off or suddenly rising up against your guard and overpowering him to make a getaway. Coughing up “blood” could convince a group that you are ravaged by some kind of biological malady that they don’t want any part of. A false “blood” trail could lead a tracking team expecting wounded or dying prey directly into a well-planned ambush.

These are the tactics of deception that can be employed by the disadvantaged defender. Some might take offense at these ideas and say that these kind of tactics are not very warrior-like but I would reply that when the chips are down, it’s life or death and fate has left you little choice between living another day or getting yourself killed by some half-wit who wants your can of Spam, a little deception could easily save your life, your family’s and maybe even your supplies too. - Art X.

JWR Replies: Theatrical blood is indeed useful for training moulage, but I would be reluctant to try most of your mentioned "tactical" uses, other than as a last resort. As much as possible, I advise that you keep your encounters with strangers at far shouting distance, rather than "improv theater" distance. There is always the risk that someone who is otherwise moral and upright might choose to "put them out of their misery" with a shot to the chest or head. But your mileage may vary.

Also, keep in mind that most people know that real blood dries to a brown color (because the iron in blood oxidizes), while fake blood dries to a fairly bright red.

Dear Editor:
Although land, sea, and aerial [unmanned vehicles] are available, for the purpose of survival ‘hobbyist’ surveillance from an aerial vehicle is the best option.  A land or sea based homemade ‘drone’ would have to be large to navigate even moderate terrain or choppy water and the larger the vehicle is the more costly, dangerous and obvious it is.  Aerial ‘drones’ on the other hand can be much smaller and unobtrusive.   When we refer to drones, what we are really speaking of just a radio controlled vehicle with perhaps some fancy telemetry.   Aerial drones come in two basic flavors, fixed wing and multi-copter.   I have experience building both as well as automated lawnmowers and snowplows. 

Fixed wing
A fixed wing UAV is really a radio control airplane.  There are thousands of models available, from palm sized to nearly full scale.  Power can come from a battery or even a small scale jet turbine.  The best format for a drone would be an inexpensive expanded foam model.  These foams can withstand full speed impacts with the ground with really no damage other than a broken propeller (trust me I know).   Skillfully built and operated, the fixed wing drone could stay aloft for hours and several thousand feet up.  Operation is nearly silent when at altitude.

Multi-copter
A multi-copter is just a helicopter with more than one rotor.  A Chinook is an example of a full scale multi-copter.  Multi-copters come in several formats, having from 3 to 12 motors on arms extending from the center. Kits are commercially available, or a good multi-copter can be scratch built at home.  Design can be very robust if proper materials are selected.  The strongest units are made from carbon fiber or aluminum, with motors oriented for redundancy.   My multi-copter is about 4 feet across, weighs 6 pounds, and can lift a 4 pound payload.  These are very versatile.  I can follow a car, land on a roof, even fly to my front window and look inside the house.  Multi-copter electronics are much more expensive than their fixed wing counterparts.  Careful consideration must be paid to electronics protection.

Autopilots 
This is a bit of a catch all term and can best be divided into stabilization and flight control.  For a fixed wing vehicle, stabilization can be done inexpensively with hobby gyros.  This will automatically correct the flight to straight and level after any deviation.  Flying is much more simple.  Flight control is added on top of stabilization.  Generally flight control is via GPS radios with waypoints programmed via a computer.   You end up with a radio controlled airplane that once launched will fly, to a point(s) and circle, take video, etc. and fly back.  Video feed is also possible, but even a cheap video camera will record nicely from the air.

For multi-copters stabilization is absolutely necessary.  Humans can not control anything this complex alone.  For a multi-copter  the stabilization essentially compiles  normal inputs, from a radio or flight controller,  along with gyro and accelerometer data from the vehicle.  The stabilization computer then calculates the desired speed for each motor.  Multi-copter stabilization is very effective.  I can literally shove my x8 multi-copter in flight and it simply autocorrects back to its original position and heading.    Multi-copter flight control is very similar to fixed wind control, via GPS waypoints, although ultrasonic range finders can be used indoors.   The stabilization in my multi-copter is capable of controlled flight in 25+ mph winds.
Please keep in mind that there are FAA and FCC rules governing radio control aircraft, drones and video downlink radios.

Uses
After months of tinkering, crashing and spending probably thousands of dollars, you will have a drone that will fly in a stable manner.  You will be able to control it with your radio and maybe you invested enough for a flight controller and video down link.  What do you do with this new toy?
Due to payload and range restrictions, an aerial drone is not suited for really anything other than surveillance/reconnaissance.  Honestly, in a survival scenario, my multi-copter in not even on the bug out list.  That is not to say that these things are useless to a prepper though.   I have video of my house and neighborhood.  I can easily fly above and look down undetected.  If I wanted to, I could peer into window on a high rise.  Whether bugging in, or at a retreat a bird’s eye view of your environment is very much a force multiplier, although I sometimes think a camera on a $10 kite with a long sting is an equivalent option. Regards, - Rockhound

Why should tyrannical, oppressive governments have all the fun with advanced technology?  How many of you reading this knew that for about $1,000 (about the cost of a good AR-15) that you could buy all the parts you needed to build your own drones?  Did you know that there are cutting edge companies that are even selling “all in one” kits to make your own drones?  Everyone is well-aware that drones have become a force-multiplier on the battle field.  They grant a lone ground force the ability of a degree of air-superiority, even if that superiority is only that of surveillance and the ability to see through the fog of war to a certain extent.  Imagine the implications this can have on the safety and security of your homestead?  Not to mention what a fun hobby this could be!

This essay is written to serve as an introduction to everyone about the possibilities of civilian drone technology.  You will need to do technical research on your own.  Please note, what you choose to do with your drone is your own business.  Make sure that you obey all local, state and federal laws regarding this technology.

What do you need to get started?
Head on over to DIYDrones.com.  This is a great web site that was created with the sole purpose of investigating the world of drone technology and how it can be utilized by the average civilian.  It has a great community to help you with all your questions.  According to the web site's editors, here is a list of what you will need to start your own DIY drones project. 

1.  You will need a vehicle.  DIYDrones.com there are instructions showing how to incorporate planes, helicopters, land-based and even water based vehicles into your drone system.
2. You will need an autopilot.  Autopilots are computer boards that control the mechanical functions of your drones.  You will need this item if you want to be able to program your drones to be autonomous and function on its own.  Autopilots typically include mission planning software to program your drones.
3. You will need a computer or laptop.  Most of us already posses one that can serve the purpose.
4. An optional payload system.  This could be anything from recording cameras, video transmission equipment, radio duplexers, to a message in a bottle.  More on this later.

It’s as simple as that.  The macro-components listed above are simple to gather and can be done under $1,000 (excluding computer).   This is enough to get you started in the world of drones’s.  Let’s take a look at highly suggested support equipment.  If you are really broke, take a look at AirHogs.  I know, they are toys for kids.  But how valuable could this simple “toy” be as a force multiplier?  I wouldn’t stake my life on them, but they could really make a big difference.

1. Off-grid power source.  drones’s need electricity to run.  They don’t use much, so a big system isn’t necessary.  Ideally you would want a system that could allow you to re-charge your drones within one day.  A great no-fuss, all-in-one system is Goal Zero’s Escape 150 Solar Kit.  A system like this could be exclusively used to support your drones and isn’t too hard on the pocket book.  An alternative is a Biolite Homestove  (if you can get your hands on one) is another great option, as you can tend to your cooking duties while charging electrical systems.
2. Spare batteries.   Spare batteries for your drones and all support equipment are highly recommended.  Batteries will wear out with constant use. 
3. Spare autopilot.  Your autopilot is the brain of your drones.  If you only have one and it dies, your drones has become useless.
4. Spare parts for your vehicle.  Consider the parts that might break the most.  Ailerons, rudders, rotors/propellers, wheels, chassis, suspension, etc.  Stock up on a few extras plus additional materials that could be substituted for broken parts.  Model airplane wood, glue, plastics, metals, paints (for camouflage).
5. Spare payload parts of your choice.

It is highly recommended that any primary and spare parts for your drones be stored in some sort of Faraday cage when not in use.

So, now you’ve got your own homemade, DIY drone/drones.  What next?  How can it be useful?  The possibilities are endless, but here are some uses that might interest Survivalblog readers.  There are three main categories of use than a drone could function in; surveillance, communication, delivery/transport.  While examining these three categories, please keep in mind that drones’s can come in land, sea or air based systems.  Conduct some critical thinking exercises to see which system could serve your unique situation best in your environment.  These are just a few possibilities, I’m sure you can think of more!  Keep in mind, the mission planning software that you get for your autopilot will often come with the ability to program your drone to the below tasks.

Surveillance
Static Observation

Imagine for a moment that you require the ability to observe a field a view from a higher elevation or vantage point.  A quad copter type drones could be suited very well for this task since it is capable in functioning in a hover mode.  Imagine your field of view from an altitude 100’ above your ground-based observation post?

Roving Patrol
Programming your drones or drone to conduct a patrol on a pre-designated route can potentially save you man power.  If your homestead is under-staffed, you may be able to send out patrols to survey your area of operations without sacrificing critical staff at your base location.

Reconnaissance
If there is something in particular you would like to get a closer look at, you can send out a drones to have a closer inspection without putting personnel in harm’s way.  Let’s say you are in a vehicle convoy and are coming up on a blind curve.  Wouldn’t it be great to send out a drones to reconnoiter the curve to determine if it is safe/free of an ambush?  Anything that is dangerous that you don’t want to get close to is perfect for a recon mission.

Communication
Homing Pigeon
Imagine that you are out on a patrol and need a way to discretely send a message to someone?  If you had a drones that was preprogrammed to head to a designated GPS location, you could then send the drones on it’s mission to deliver a written message, flash drive, or other small object.

Aerial Repeater
UHF/VHF handheld radios suffer from the unfortunate consequence of being line of sight (LOS) radios only.  Depending on the terrain, this could limit radio communication on these frequencies to just a few miles.  Repeaters provide the ability to extend the range of these frequencies by basically putting a radio on a big-tall tower (or other high elevation) that re-transmits a signal.  The problem is, you can’t always build a tower in a remote location.
Here’s a solution.  If you have access to a duplexer, it could be installed on a UAV.  By flying the UAV at an extreme altitude in a holding pattern, you could potentially extend the range of a UHF/VHF radio network up to 50-60 miles.  Think that could be useful?  The drawback to this usage is that a fairly large UAV will be required in order to carry the heavy payload a duplexed repeater system.

Delivery/Transport
This is an all-encompassing category and the possibilities here are endless.  The limitations of this category are base solely on the cargo capacity, in both weight and volume, of the particular vehicle you intend on using.  The larger the vehicle you intend to use, the more cargo capacity.  Keep in mind to, that the vehicle does not necessarily have to land in order to make the delivery (if you are using a UAV).  A package of MREs could be dropped via parachute eliminating the need for the UAV to land.  It can simply be programmed to fly out, make the drop and fly back. Use your noggin to think about this one.  They sky is the limit (pun intended).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Drones

Advantages
In addition to the aforementioned advantages and uses, please consider the following.

1. Drones can function autonomously.  This requires an autopilot and uses GPS to navigate.
2. Drones can function manually, in the same manner that an RC hobbyist controls his vehicle.  By attaching a camera the “pilot” can fly in 1st person.
3. Drones in autopilot mode can be deployed at night.
4. If a drone gets damaged or destroyed, that’s better than a human being injured or killed.
5. Drones can be programmed to function in fleets as a unit, or individually.

Disadvantages

1. Drones require a support system.  See above.
2. Drones can be hacked or spoofed.  Whether in manual or autopilot mode, drones are sending and receiving radio frequencies.  These frequencies could potentially be hacked into with devices like these.
3. If you plan on making repairs or advanced modifications to drones you will most likely require extra spare parts and materials in addition to an understanding of aerodynamics, electronics, and radio frequency communication.
4. Drones are almost impossible to operate in bad weather.
5. Drones are not a tool to base your life on, but they can be a boon when working as designed.

JWR Adds: Drones are also fragile, so you would need to store many spare drones and parts to make your DIY drone capability viable in the long term.

Payload Considerations
Here are some considerations for payload.

1. Video recording camera (requires download and analysis at a later time).
2. Video streaming camera (requires radio frequency transmission system).
3. Night vision for above devices.
4. Thermal vision for above devices.
5. Supply delivery system (such as parachute drop cargo bay).
6. Radio relays such as repeaters/duplexers.
7. What else can be carried?  Put your thinking cap on!

I hope the above information has sparked some interest into the potential uses for such great technology.  Remember to obey all laws when operating such technology.  It’s your responsibility to know the law so that you don’t do anything illegal. Enjoy your new hobby!

When the power goes out, the lights go out - simple as that! Many people will then reach for a flashlight, only to find, that the batteries are dead, or dying - assuming they can even find a flashlight at night, when the power goes off. I have to admit, in my younger and dumber days, I fell victim to this many times. Living in a rural area, especially during the winter months, our power goes out several times due to trees falling over on power lines. Last time, we were without power for several days, in the winter when a huge snow storm knocked down hundreds of trees onto power lines. We have electric heat, too - but we keep a kerosene heater on-hand, and it really heats our house nicely - thank you!
 
Look, let's be brutally honest here, old-style D-cell flashlights, that cost a buck or two just don't cut it any longer - they don't through much light, and they aren't very durable, unless you go to some of the better "police" flashlights, even those aren't as good as they should be. Over the past half dozen years or so, technology has really gone wild when it comes to small flashlights, that throw a tremendous amount of light, using nothing more than A, AA or AAA batteries - which are still fairly inexpensive. When my wife and I were first married in 1979, I worked two full-time security jobs, one of which was, patrolling around the wooded areas around Trojan Nuclear Power Plant (now dismantled and gone) all night long, with a K-9 companion. I carried a "lantern" style flashlight, the ones that take those big and expensive rectangular 6 Volt batteries - that only lasted an hour or two. Needless to say, it didn't throw a good amount of light, and I was buying batteries several times a week - and it was big and bulky to carry and handle. I would have paid anything to have had one of the new hi-tech flashlights that are available today.
 
Leatherman Products recently purchased a company called LED Lenser which is producing some very affordable, hi-tech, super-bright, small flashlights. I received three samples for test and evaluation for this article, and I'm totally impressed with them all. Up first is the LED Lenser M7. is only 5.39" long and weighs a mere 6.81-oz, and runs on 4 AAA batteries. We're talking a little flashlight that throws as much as 220 lumens (with a boost to 235-lumens), at a distant of 650-feet. Living out in the country, I had ample opportunity to test the brightness of all the LED Lenser flashlight samples sent to me, and I'm here to tell you that, the M7 does as advertised - I can easily light-up the distance of two football fields. Power time for the M7 at 220 lumens is 1-hour, however, there is another setting on it that gives you 30-lumens that will last for 11-hours. Yes, you read that right eleven hours - and that will easily last you all night long in your dark home at night when the power goes out.
 
The LED Lenser also has Rapid Focus which allows you to go from reading to searching by using the thumb on your holding hand to simply slide the bezel away from you (pushing forward) in one seamless movement.  Many flashlights you have to use two hands to adjust the focus, assuming you have the feature on your flashlight. I could easily light-up my entire front yard by focusing out, instead of focusing in, for a tighter light. The M7 is made out of aircraft grade black anodized aluminum for a lifetime of rough use, too. The M7 also has what is called "Smart Light Technology" and this gives your 8 different sight functions, including a strobe for blinding and disorienting someone who might be a threat to you - and this works as well in daylight as it does in the dark, too. Ok, I have to admit it, but I did have to go to the instructions that came with the M7 to figure it all out...I was playing around with this light, and it kept doing "different" functions for me, and I couldn't figure out what I did wrong. You don't need a PhD to figure it out, but you really need to read the instructions and practice.
 
One more feature I'd like to mention is the Advanced Focus System is the patented combination of reflector and lens to create a light system that provides both a focus beam for long-range and a homogenous split-beam for u-close reading - easier to see than explain, but it's one of those "gee, why did I think of that" things. Also the M7 comes with 4 AAA batteries (nice) and a polymer clip-on "holster" that allows you to carry the M7 on your belt or pants. There's a small lanyard ring on the butt of the flashlight, right next to the push-button on/on button. You can also lock the flashlight head so as to not move it from long-distance to up-close reading. I really like the M7, it will get the job done if you are in law enforcement or a home owner who needs to see what went "bump" in the night. While not really designed as a non-lethal weapon per se, it will easily temporarily blind an attacker with the bright 220 lumens that it emits - giving you time to escape or find a weapon with which to defend yourself with. Full-retail on the M7 is $100. Yes, that is a little bit spendy, but I've had other hi-tech flashlights, that easily cost more than twice this amount, that didn't have the features the M7 has...it's a best-buy in my book for a flashlight that has so much to offer.
 
Next up is the P7  that is only 5.24" long, and weighs in at 6.77oz, and it also takes 4 AAA batteries (included). Now, the P7 doesn't have all the same features as the M7 does, it doesn't have 8 different functions, and you may not need all those functions. However, you do get 175-lumens, with a power boost up to 210-lumens for a one hour run time. Or you can power down to 27-lumens for 13-hours, if you don't need a super-bright light all the time. The P7 also has the Advanced Focus System as well as the Rapid Focus, plus the Dynamic switch that Pros want to switch at lightening speed and adjust brightness equally fast. This baby would make a great flashlight for around the camp fire, walking the dog in low-light or whatever chores you have that require added light. At only $60 full-retail, its worth checking out.
 
The last LED Lenser I received was the P3 AFS P  - and this little power house is my favorite of the samples I received. The P3 is small, really small at only 3.66" long, and it weighs a mere 1.48-oz. We're talking small, very small! The P3 has 75-lumens, and a one hour run time on a single AAA battery. Yes, one hour at 75-lumens with one AAA battery! And, believe me, this is a lot of light in a little package. The end of my driveway is about 80-feet from my front door, and I could easily light-up that area, as well as across the road to the mailboxes, and onto my neighbors pasture with this little light. Again, it is made out of aircraft grad black anodized aluminum, and it has the Rapid Focus feature as well as the Advanced Focus System. It comes with a battery, and a small Nylon carry pouch that you can slide onto your belt and have this little baby with you all the time. There is also a key ring attached, so you can add your house and car keys to it. There is also a pocket/clothing clip, if you want to carry it attached to your pants or shirt pocket.
 
Without a doubt, the P3 is a keeper, and anyone and everyone can benefit by having one of these itty-bitty flashlights on their person, in a purse or any place. You will have a hour of light in an emergency, and we're talking 75-lumens of light, not 15-20 lumens that the average 2-D Cell flashlights give out - that don't throw the light very far, and they don't last very long. And, it really isn't a problem to carry a spare AAA battery in a coat pocket, either. Full-retail on the P3 is only $40.00 and this one is the best-buy of the three I tested, in my humble opinion, and I like the fact that it is soooooo small and handy, you can have it with you all the time, even clipped to a shirt pocket or pants pocket.
 
Back to my days patrolling around Trojan Nuclear Power plant...I couldn't tell you the number of times I had to use a flashlight to light-up an area when I heard something go bump in the night, or when the interior guard company could call on the radio and report an alarm went off on the fence surrounding the plant. I worked for a different company than the one providing security inside the plant. There were usually two of us patrolling around the outside of the plant - usually in wooded areas. We worked from sundown until sun-up - we're talking a long shift, walking all night long with a K-9 partner, with no back-up other than our K-9 partner or the other officer - and it might take them 20-minutes to reach me if there was a problem. One of the biggest "problems" we had was the head of security at the plant, he was always "testing" us, to see if he could sneak into the plant. That never happened, we caught him every time, and would hold him on the ground with our K-9 partner barking and on high alert, until our other human partner could assist. I would have loved to have had one of these LED Lenser flashlights back then. It would have been much easier holding someone at gunpoint, with a smaller, hi-tech and super-bright flashlight, than with an old "lantern" style flashlight. I could have seen a lot farther in the dark with a super-bright flashlight, too. And just think of the money I could have saved by buying AAA batteries over the old big rectangular flashlight batteries.
 
On more than one occasion, I shinned by flashlight on a momma black bear that roamed the woods where we patrolled - and she had a cub with her. So, we were always on alert for the momma black bear and her cub. The LED Lenser flashlight shinned into her eyes might have given her cause to roam some other area. In short order, I started carrying a Remington Model 740 .30-06 semi-auto rifle, as a back-up to my .38 Special revolver after my first encounter with the momma black bear. We also had packs of feral dogs that caused us a lot of problems - again, a super-bright flashlight, like one of the LED Lensers would have been nice to have on-hand. A good flashlight can make all the difference in the world!
 
Look, if you're still using a dollar 2 D-cell flashlight from the dollar store, get rid of it - simple as that. Get yourself a hi-tech flashlight, that throws a lot of light, is light-weight and will give you a lifetime of service. Your life and the life of a loved one might just depend on a really good flashlight. When I hear something go bump in the night, or one of my German Shepherds starts barking, the first thing I reach for is a flashlight - then a firearm, before I go investigating in the dark. A person can't hide from the bright light emitted by the LED Lenser - even the small P3 with the 75-lumens. Once you go hi-tech flashlight, you'll wonder why it took you so long. You can pay a LOT more for a hi-tech flashlight than the LED Lenser line-up has to offer - by why pay more? Check out the complete line-up of LED Lenser flashlights on their web page, and I'm betting good money, you'll find more than one you've simply gotta have. BTW, all LED Lenser flashlights are also waterproof, too! - SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

You stocked supplies with plenty of beans, bullets, and Band-Aids.  You have backup plans to your backup plans and know your family can survive months without any contact from the outside world.  You are ready for just about any cataclysmic event, should one happen.  But are you really ready for the most important decision of your life and the life of your family members?  How far would you go to protect your life and the life of a family member? 

Preparing for disaster doesn’t necessarily mean you prepare for armed combat, but practically, disasters create an environment where the aggressor takes all from those unable to maintain control of their possessions.  Those that have not prepared and find themselves with nothing to lose will do whatever it takes to survive, even robbing, stealing, or killing others to take their supplies.   In a time where laws cannot be enforced, the primal law of the land is king, for whoever is stronger than another, owns that which he can take by force.  This not only includes your supplies and food, but also your family members.

Some people refuse to consider preparing for the possibility of horrific violence that may be placed upon their family members.  By rationalizing fear with excuses of “we’ll be too far away from the city for this to happen”, or “I’ll just shoot whoever tries”, will only increase the odds of failure should you or your family face threats of death and  violence.  The first step of surviving a violent encounter is accepting that it can happen no matter your preparation or denial of the possibility.

As you read this, you are now preparing yourself to defend against this potential violence.  After you read this article, you need to rise from your chair and make plans to save your life and the life of your family members by following two simple rules; (1) Physically prepare to fight for your life and (2) Mentally prepare to take a life.    Unless you have experience in the military or law enforcement, you need to do a lot more than convince yourself that the solution of “I will just shoot them” is all you need to do.    Easy in theory, but in practice, not so much.

The easy part is preparing now for physically defending your family in the future.  This does not mean purchasing an armory of weapons and a ton of ammunition; although if you can do this, you’ll be the envy of many and possibly the focus of a government investigation.   You also do not need to spend years earning a black belt in martial arts.   You do need to know what constitutes a weapon and how to employ it.  This includes items specifically designed as weapons, such as a shotgun or handgun.  It also includes items not specifically designed with a self-defense purpose, but can be effective improvised weapons.  Something as innocuous as a rolled up magazine used as an impact weapon or a power cord of a lamp used as a garrote can be considered improvised weapons and not under the control of any law as weapons.

If you have chosen to not be around firearms, nor touch them, or even teach your children how to be safe around firearms, then you really need to know how to use a wide range of firearms.  Those that regularly carry and practice with firearms are comfortable with their firearms, in the loading, field stripping, and cleaning of the weapons.   The more varied types of weapons used the more versatile ability in using different types of firearms.  Someone without firearms experience may one day have to bear arms and use that weapon immediately, or face certain death.  If you cannot even find the safety of a firearm, load it, or fire it accurately, the weapon is useless in the defense of your family.  At a bare minimum, without even purchasing a firearm, classes exist where you can learn the operation of revolvers, handguns, rifles, and shotguns.  By at least knowing how firearms operate, given a tragic scenario where you may have the good fortune to find a weapon or take a weapon away from your attacker, you just might be able to use it effectively.  Before thinking this may be more than you want to take on, consider that the operation of all weapons is really quite similar in basics.  Learning how to operate one type of revolver will allow you to figure out another type when there are slight differences.   Remember, it’s not like Hollywood.  Firearms need to be loaded and re-loaded.  They jam.  And if you don’t aim or use an accurate pointing system, you will miss.  Just because you may not want to handle firearms does not mean your future attackers feel the same.

From now on, if you haven’t been doing so already, you will look at ‘things’ differently.  Walking into your office, you will see the lamp on your desk a little different.  As you look at the lamp, you ask yourself, “If I were to use this as an impact weapon, how would I hold it?”    Loose items on your desk will be looked at as if they were items of lethal force or at least a distraction when thrown at an attacker.  Your home will become an armory without firearms.  Anyone’s home can become an armory.  Beyond kitchen knives, any item can be used as an impact weapon, penetration weapon, as cover or concealment, or as a distraction thrown at an attacker.  Your basic training need only consist of thinking of how you would use these things, not actually trashing your home and office by practicing. 

After you learn the fundamentals of common firearms operation, where you can safely load and effectively shoot a wide range of firearms, you are still not ready.  Even after you look at everyday items as improvised weapons habitually, you are still not ready to defend your family against violent attackers.  There is the non-physical aspect of preparation; you need to prepare your mind for the potential violence and just as importantly, prepare for the psychological effect of the aftermath of violence.  The end of a violent encounter, doesn’t.  It continues for years and sometimes for a lifetime.

There are many facets of violent encounters that affect the outcome of the encounter, especially when your life is at stake.  During a life and death encounter, where one or more attackers may be intent on taking your possessions, your life, and maybe assaulting your family members, you will endure the highest stress, ever.  This stress will negatively affect your (1) physical ability to respond, your (2) mental capability to think, and your (3) coping measures for the aftermath.  You can lessen, but not eliminate, these negative effects with preparation.

The immediate physical effects that you will experience during a life and death encounter will affect your motor skills along with altering your audio and visual perception.  Your heart rate and breathing will increase and you may have uncontrollable trembling and potentially, a loss of bladder and bowel control.  You might experience tunnel vision, where your field of vision becomes restricted so narrowly, that you may only be able to see the attacker’s weapon.  Your audio senses might block out all noises or even intensify certain sounds.  Examples of this would be the person that saw the barrel of a .22 handgun look as large as a cannon barrel, or the noise of a .22 sounding like a cannon.

Seemingly easy tasks such as unsnapping a holster becomes more difficult with trembling hands and a loss of fine motor skills that require precise movements to find a snap or lever.  The passage of time may also feel distorted, in that everything moves quickly or in slow motion.   Although there are researchers that dispel the notion of slow motion, there are also many accounts of persons that distinctly remember thinking to themselves, “why is he moving so slowly?” during lethal force encounters. 

The physical reactions to a life and death situation are instinctive to the human body.  Increased blood flow through a rapid (higher than normal) heart rate, increased oxygen through rapid breathing, increase in gross motor skills, and perceptional changes in focus all contribute to life saving skills…if you are being chased by a lion and need to run fast without thinking. 
In our world of defending against human attackers, we need to maintain our dexterity in handling weapons, our control of bodily functions to fight, and our mind to think.  The only practical method of doing this is through self-induced practice.  Shooting competitions, as one example, condition the mind and body to automatically perform several key movements, with fluidity, under a time pressure to achieve a goal of accurate fire.  Practicing the manipulation of a weapon to the point that thinking is not needed to perform will check one box off of worry in a lethal force encounter.  

Scenario based training, such as with paintball guns or lasers, can also imprint a consistent response to a perceived threat through repetitive practice.    These practical training scenarios can reduce your reaction time and train your mind as to how people act and react.  As an example, continually reacting to a role that reaches for a weapon in a specific manner, such as reaching in his waistband, trains your mind that a certain movement implies a certain result.  Reaching into a waistband implies pulling out a weapon.  Training yourself for these small gestures gives you more time to identify the threat and react. 

Perfect practice makes perfect, and by training your body to arm itself automatically when a threat is perceived will allow your brain to focus on other important issues.  Some of these issues include identification of the threat and decisions on how to react, when to react, and if you need to react at all.  Maintaining control of your body and mind, as much as can be possible during this time, allows you the most effective means of defending yourself and family.  Knowing that you may be suffering from tunnel vision might be enough to calm yourself to expand your field of vision.  Knowing that the trembling you feel does not have to do with being afraid, but a normal reaction to a life and death experience allows you to concentrate on the more important issues facing you at the time. 

Although you cannot control the effects of an adrenaline dump, you can recognize the effects and control your reaction to them.  As long as your brain continues to think, you can reduce irrational decision making, or an uncontrolled fight/flight response.  You may also prevent your mind from simply freezing and not knowing what to do, other than hope for a divine rescue. 
One of the most effective means of training for lethal encounters is through visualization.  Simply visualizing a scenario and your correct response will give you positive results in the future, in similar situations.  If your work requires you to fly constantly, you can constantly visualize scenarios during flights and think of reactions to threats.  Over time, you’ll have a bank account of many responses to many types of threats should it ever happen (again).  Again, thinking is of utmost importance, as you need to be able to quickly identify if there is a threat and choose an option to deal with it, sometimes within a split second.

Another important consideration to prepare is that of the aftermath of a life and death encounter.  Regardless if you had no choice but to take a life or if the attack was prevented through other means, there are long lasting effects.  As each person is different, there are different reactions.  These reactions range from elation of surviving a lethal encounter to revulsion as to what transpired.  Regret, anger, aggressiveness, nightmares, loss of control of emotions, trouble concentrating, flashbacks, and just plain not feeling ‘right’ are effects of being a survivor (or winner) of a lethal force encounter.  Denying that these can happen to you may only make the effects that much worse.  This has nothing to do with being ‘tough’.

Some of these effects can be reduced or eliminated through the physical practice mentioned in this article and others reduced through visualizations, all of which need to happen BEFORE the incident.  After the incident, therapy and counseling will help cope with the negative effects.  By not preparing beforehand and certainly by not taking care of yourself afterward, you can expect the full effect of a post-traumatic stress disorder.   Those that have trained for their career in deadly force encounters, such as those in the military and law enforcement have an edge of training and experience.  They even may have an edge in delaying the after effects of deadly force encounters.  But, we are all human and suffer from the human condition.  Eventually, everyone, including the most experienced combat veteran, will experience these life changing effects, whether it be days after or decades later.

The intention of this article is not to convince anyone to avoid taking a life should that be the only recourse in protecting yourself and family.  The intention is to push you to prepare yourself now for that horrific event in the chance that it comes to your door or into your home.  It is also to help you to help your family member that may have to go through this to save your life as care and understanding does help.

So as you prepare with supplies, prepare for winning a lethal encounter.  As much as you try to avoid it, and as much as you hope that it may never happen, you just never know.  The odds of a lethal encounter are higher than you may imagine, even as you shop in a grocery store, fly on a plane, or stop at a traffic light.  Avoid that what you can; gain control of that which has gone out of control; and take comfort in your faith and family to support your traumatic experience should it ever come to that.

Know your environment - getting the maps ready now

In a world full of google, yahoo and portable navigators, the art of using maps kind of gets lost. In a SHTF situation, you will probably not have much of a technological tool kit for navigation, or planning. Knowing how to use maps from a tactical perspective then becomes critical skillet. Sand tables are not the most portable item to help identify and understand a terrain, but using plastic layers over a map can be very portable, and useful for viewing an environment. The layers I talk about below are a starting point, you can add whatever you want or remove those that are not important to you.

On a side note the Army has an excellent manual that contains instructions on mapping: Combined Arms Operations in Urban Terrain (ATTP 3-06.11/FM 3-06.11) don't let the title fool you, "Urban" to the Army is a settlement 2,500 people or more.

• Using maps and clear plastic layers
• Map Basics
• Start with a basic terrain map of area; if you are in a rural or homestead area include one of nearest town. 
• I recommend hard copies for all, but you can start using downloads from google/yahoo maps, and using the terrain and other options. This map should have both land elevations and man made structures on it.
• Also available are software tools such as Visio, OmniGraff, and some near free diagram generating software programs, if you choose to create your own maps from a computer first.
• Don't forget to think three dimensionally - subways, sewers, basements, high-rises etc.
• When mapping out layers, it is key to have an index including category (layer name), location (grid, street, landmarks), common name, and supplemental information for that specific item documented and easily referenced.  Having a number next to the item on a map will also aid in the lookup.
• Check colors for map layers against your chemical light sticks, or your red or blue flashlight filters - make sure you can read them at night [under a poncho].
• Mark layered items with icons based on categories: triangle for first responder buildings, x'ed boxes for restaurants, etc.
• Have a map protractor to help identify distance, and bearing 
• Creating overlapping layers: 
• Use clear plastic layers for each of the following to aid in area understanding. Using plastic layers allows for easy removal or adding, one onto of the other, to gain a better understanding of the environment, and to remove clutter from information that is not currently important. For neighborhood resources you might want to think about not using a corner to corner overlay, but for known locations this might not be a high risk.
• Infrastructure layer - highway, streets, service roads, hiking paths, fire breaks, electric line easements, bridges, dams, main water pipes, electric power lines and sub stations, water towers and primary connection pipes, and local/state evacuation routes. 
• Subterranean layer - If town, urban or congested: subterranean infrastructure such as water and drainage pipes, location of manhole covers, underground garages. If marking subterranean infrastructure and you do not know if two manhole covers are to the same pipes use a different line from known when mapping. 
• Areas of Gravitation layer: these include any stationary location where you think people might congregate during a SHTF. Remember, in the world of google maps, many of these locations will have a street view. For high risk/high congregation areas you might want to include a side folder of street view images.
• First Responder locations: local fire stations, police stations, hospitals and clinics, national guard posts
• Food distribution centers:  supermarkets, restaurants and other stores
• Fuel: public gas stations, public works fueling locations
• Hardware and tools: Home Depot/Mom&Pop hardware stores, automotive shops, electrician shops, etc.
• FEMA (possible and known): state fairgrounds,  sports centers, high schools, large fields, etc.
• Population centers: apartment buildings, townhouses, high density neighborhoods, etc. 
• Wild Game layer - location of game, type, time of day and time of year where spotted. Animals tend to move in cycles, so keeping note throughout the year is a great reference point. Don't just go by location during hunting season for post SHTF.
• Environmental layer -  including time of year changes for common drought and flood locations, seasonal water holes, streams, marshes, and ponds. Also mark down farms, ranches, common hunting areas, etc. Also any area with a clearing of more that 100m square (potential helicopter landing site). If possible, note changes in background colors, locations of good concealment and at what time of year.
• Neighborhood resources -see "Neighbors skills and immediate neighborhood resources" below.
• Technology layer - using both google/yahoo maps and a car navigation system place the starting point on the major highways around your town, and see what routes it will take you to your local hospital, supermarket, and police station. If traffic stopped, how would you expect to continue on foot? These are bound to be hot roads and short cuts.
• Keep blank layers - also non-permanent markers for use with the blank layers. 
• Remember, when using a hard copy of a map on a table, you can use other items for mobile reference points, and adjust as they move.
• Using maps to generate "hot zones."  
• Depending on population you may choose to adjust the distances for red, orange and yellow zones, however I recommend using rifle ranges, likelihood of population congestion and probability of violence as the main lines of demarcation.  Remember, in a city and congested suburban, line of site dictates rifle range, not always ballistics.
• Red Zone:  draw a circle around any object in the "areas of gravitation" layer. Depending on your environment, it should be around 700 meters to 1 mile. Do the same around highways, streets, and other areas of traffic out to 200 meters on both sides of the road. If roads have a line of site from them to any item in the areas of gravitation layer, mark those red too, out to 200meters on both sides of the shortcut. Remember, when people are walking, they will take shortcuts. 
• Orange Zone: these are the areas that people start 'grouping' together on their way to or from an area of gravitation - easements where power lines are, should not be forgotten. Also any potential helicopter landing sites not covered in a area of gravitation layer. I map these out to 2 miles from any red zone. 
• Yellow Zone: this is basically anything not covered in Red or Orange.
• Personally, I color coordinate these areas based on Jeff Cooper color code, that way when planning movement, it is clear what alert level someone should be at.
• Identify possible areas of interest and possible scouting routes
• For areas where you might not have a choice, but to go to, it might be best to outline potential ingress/egress routes, ORP's, location for security halts, all within the context of "hot zones". At least in a pre-SHTF environment, you can print out pictures of possible routes ahead of time. Having a layer for each objective could be very useful. Most common areas to map out a scouting route are:
• Hospitals/Clinics
• Food distribution centers
• hardware and tools
• Fuel
• High ground / observation points
• Around your retreat

• Neighbors skills and immediate neighborhood resources
• Most of this is more applicable to suburban landscapes, however knowing ahead of time who has what experience will aid in any kind of SHTF organization. Each of these items and locations should be on a map layer. I really want to be clear on this though. The intent is to identify key people for skill set training and possible organization and consolidation of efforts.  

• Identify neighbors skill sets
• including location/address on map being marked.
• Medical: nurse, doctor, dentist, veterinarian, pharmacist, health care workers 
• Electrical 
• Automotive
• Engineer  
• Green thumb; raise livestock; gardens - even just ornamental gardens.
• Hunters/Fisherman  
• Hikers, campers, those used to living without normal public services
• Prior Service (ex and current military/law enforcement)
• Armed to various degrees
• Teachers 
• Canning, and non-refrigerated food preservation skills
• This list could just keep going on, but those are the main points
• Identify neighborhood resources
• Location of private/public wells, rivers and other water sources including pools
• Location of common areas for cultivation
• Natural food sources: fruit and nut trees, berries, etc.
• Natural barriers for use in defense
• Manmade barriers 

Collecting information post SHTF

Future "current" information is the one thing you can't stock up on. Deciding on when and where to collect information from your surrounding area, and what risk it is worth, is bound to be a major area for debate. OPs only let you know when someone is about to or has discovered where your group is. The only way to really avoid the "detection" is to put small teams out at a greater distance.  This also allows for possible flanking maneuvers, or spoiler attacks, beyond the immediate defensive location. It also requires an exceptional level of stealth, and perseverance. Far from complete, here are a few tips on scouting/ reconnaissance: 

• Post SHTF Map updating considerations
• When updating maps post-SHTF, mark any changes with a date/timestamp - even if it is on a notepad only. Historical changes may present a pattern over time that will be useful. 
• For defining routes, keeping historical records becomes even more important. Over time you might loose track of previous routes and start creating a pattern of action that becomes easily predictable by the op-for.
• Identify the following while planning a route: security stops, objective rally point, should the objective rally point (ORP) be compromised or team dispersed a fallback rally point, return path different from initial ingress, and extraction points if applicable (with redundant positions). Also, identify bearings/distance between different points. 
• Document using a range card from an identified point. Each team member should do this once observing the objective. This allows for comparisons between different scouting trips, and changes during sleep cycles.
• When scouting an area and observing people use the S.A.L.U.T.E. format:
• S - Size - how many people
• A - Activities - what they are doing - what direction are they moving? is a guard moving between two points and if so how often? etc.
• L - Location - grid location or other reference points you are using
• U - UNIT - if applicable, unit, uniform or other group identification
• T - Time and date
• E - Equipment - weapons, personal gear, and vehicles
• Post SHTF Scouting Rules 
• Never use goggles/scopes/binoculars with the people being observed between you and the sun - (always try and have the sun either directly above or behind you). Glare off of the glass may give away your position. Keeping at an angle or using a KillFlash can be good, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. Just be careful not so silhouette yourself.
• Know your pace count: for slow movement, normal and fast walking
• At night, try not to look directly at something being observed with the naked eye, there is a night blind spot that will interfere with looking at an object if you stare at it. Look at the objects sides and around it to see the object more clear.
• Also at night, always give yourself at least 30min to get used to the lack of light before moving around.
• If it looks good to you, it looks good to someone else too: a bush next to a thick tree is more likely to have someone behind it than a bush by its' self. Note that professionals understand this - so that could be a cat and mouse game.
• Never observe from the crest of a high point, this will create a silhouette 
• After identifying an objective to scout try and see if from a defensive viewpoint - where would you be worried about someone approaching? Where would you place the highest number of people in a defensive perimeter? What area would you think only a nut would try and move through? Then as long as it isn't a vast open field, be the nut.
• Cary what you need, not necessarily what makes you comfortable - weight makes long walks harder, short runs much slower, and in time you will focus on your overloaded pack more than what is going on around you.
• When scanning an area try and look deep into the shadows, scan very slow. Look for the slightest difference. Start with a rapid scan, for the obvious: left to right up to 100 meters deep then back to the left in a S formation. Then the same for the next 100 meters deep, and so on. Followed by a slow scan: same process but much more time is spent on each pass - looking for items out of place.
• Always move from one position of cover and concealment  to another. Know your next position before you take your next step.
• Always know where you are and how to get out. Egress should be planned with positions of defense along the way.
• Always use camouflage from the immediate area. Don't rely on just generic patterns such as BDUs or Multicams  
• Someone must always be awake and alert (three person minimal is best)
• There is no downtime on a patrol
• Birds will give you away: avoid nesting and perching birds
• Know your rifle inside and out: know how to range with your glass and front site, know your drops for your ammo, have basic gunsmith skills at least for the rifles you own.
• Know the military movement techniques and use them (bounding and traveling overwatch, ranger file, rolling egress, etc)
• Develop good hand signal communication with your team
• Crossing lines - i.e. leaving and returning to your location where friendlies are on watch, is one of the most dangerous tasks for a patrol, scout or otherwise. Practice this, and have a proper challenge and response with identified return routes known to both sides of the line (that change per patrol).  
• There are two really big give-aways when scouting: sound and movement. Consider a deer. God didn't make them in a camouflage pattern yet can still be unnoticed with it's counter-shaded brown even against a green background. Chances are, you noticed it because a tail flicked or light reflected from it's eyes. Our eyes are designed to be attracted to movement more than from any other giveaway that is natural in color. Slow, graceful movement, and lack of sound are the two most critical methods of not being detected; it's even more important than camouflage and counter shading. 
• No glass on a rifle used for scouting - flaps make target acquisition too slow, and glass reflects light. Use iron sights or [deeply hooded] binoculars. [JWR Adds: A Killflash sleeve requires no flap.]
• Remember the time-honored Rules of Roger's Rangers.

One of the most important skills to master in any crisis scenario is situation analysis.  The preliminary situation analysis is a valuable tool in planning and preparing, while the on-scene analysis will help focus your planned response.

Developing a Preliminary Situation Analysis: Hard Factors

Hard factors are unlikely to vary much from crisis to crisis. Factors such as geography, climate, nearby population, and natural resources will be determined by your chosen location. The only way you can change hard factors is to move to another location. One of the advantages of the American Redoubt is  the set of hard factors the region embodies.

Example: Hard Factors in a Personal Crisis Plan

The planner lives in a rural county in west central Florida, USA.  Location is a safe distance from hazardous coastal weather threats and population centers.  Climate is sub-tropical, so winter heat is not an issue. Nearby population is mostly lower middle class, with large winter influx of snowbirds. Natural resources include ample water, fishing, wildlife for hunting, and sun for solar power. Other hard factors may include access roads (cul-de-sacs may discourage thieves looking for easy escape options), immediate neighbors, and neighborhood “image” (I personally believe that high-end  neighborhoods will be more likely targets for criminals.)

Seasonal and other Predictable Variables

Depending on the location, there may be seasonal or other  variables in hard factors.  In our example, seasonal weather isn’t a major issue, but the presence of snowbirds could be an important variable to consider. If snowbirds’ homes are vacant, they may be easier prey for looters in a crisis. If snowbirds are present, their age and conspicuous possessions may also make them an easy mark.

Soft Factors in a Personal Crisis Plan
                   
Soft factors include factors that you control. Because you control them, you can identify weaknesses and bolster strengths. For example, a wheelchair ramp may indicate a physically weak target. A large dog  blocking the ramp can counter that. (Another large dog barking inside reinforces the image of strength) Compare one neighbor’s shiny new Hummer and professional landscaping  to  the tipped-over gas grill and rusty 10-year-old minivan across the street. Which home is the more likely target? In a crisis situation with civil unrest, you don’t want to be in the nicest house in the neighborhood.
   
Your basic preliminary situation analysis will give you a head start on the Crisis Situation.  It then becomes a simple matter of adding in crisis-specific factors and developing a tentative procedure for planned response. 

While many preppers anticipate armed hordes of vicious urbanites escaping cities in a social crisis, most experts believe that crisis transportation will be limited.  Your greatest threats are more likely to originate within a 20-mile radius of your home.

On-Scene Situation Analysis Factors

Definition of the situation is the first step in the on-scene analysis.  Factors include permanent damages, temporary damages you will need to resolve (roof leaking in hard rain), and temporary damages someone else needs to resolve (roof missing after tornado). Are you in the aftermath of a one-time occurrence (such as a major storm) or at the onset of a continuing crisis (such as a pandemic).  Potential resources include internal ( your prep storage), extended family or friends, neighborhood, community, state, and federal assistance.

Borrow a term from business and do a SWOT analysis–Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Build on strengths; overcome weaknesses, be prepared to optimize opportunities, and be alert for potential threats.

A few years ago, Hurricane Charlie devastated our neighborhood. There were a lot of strangers around afterwards. While a few were looking to sell overpriced cleanup “services”, many were unpaid volunteers–luckier neighbors and off-duty LEOs offering a hand in clearing streets and fixing leaks.  It would have been a mistake to classify every stranger as a threat. 

Properly utilized, the situation analysis can help you deal rationally with a crisis situation. You may have noticed that I never mentioned guns or ammo or any of the dozens of expedient weapons we have on hand just in case some idiot manages to get past the dogs. One of the primary purposes of the situation analysis is to help you avoid confrontations whenever possible so you can devote your attention to overcoming the crisis.

Situation Analysis: Threat Demographics

While TEOTWAWKI may bring threats impossible to predict, other emergencies can be mitigated by recognizing threat factors.  There are three components of the Threat Demographic Analysis: history, local crime trends, and personal observation.

First, look at the history of crisis situations in your immediate area.  In the hurricane example, the overpriced cleanup scam artists were nearly always male, Caucasian, middle-aged strangers. Most had out-of-state tags and appearance ranged from scruffy homeless types to too-clean con-men types. They didn’t have business cards, local references, trade license or bonding information.

A second component of the threat demographic is local crime trends.  Most local newspapers print local crime statistics. Many local law enforcement web sites display photos of convicted criminals (may be a good idea for follow-up if a listed criminal is near your neighborhood).  Set aside qualms about “profiling” or “prejudice”. If 80% of the crimes in your community are being committed by Hispanic or African-American  males aged 18-25, then that factor should be considered in your threat assessment.

Finally, personal observation can go a long way in identifying potential threats.  A lot of law abiding people (and more than a few LEOs) know where criminal activity is concentrated in the community. Be aware of encroaching gang activity and suspicious situations.  Vacant foreclosed homes can quickly become “clubhouses” for illegal activity. 

Again, doing a preliminary demographic analysis of potential threat factors can help you respond quickly and effectively when TSHTF.       

A natural reaction at the onset of a crisis is panic. Reviewing your preliminary situation analysis and plugging in current facts helps you focus on proactively dealing with the crisis in the most effective way possible.

This subject is a much overlooked area in the survival community and sorely neglected. I hope that the following synopses of this crucial topic will inspire an invigorating awakening in this area that I feel is vital to our collective success, without which our endeavor could well be doomed.

Every country and every military around the world through the ages has employed codes, ciphers and signals as well as signets et cetera for security and authentication of messages. Sending messages via couriers, as well as during times of war and peacetime to prevent their opposition from learning their secrets and their plans. They are crucial to any groups survival and successful operations especially in matters of cover and concealment which is of utmost importance to the modern prepper/survivalist who wishes to successfully maintain operational OPSEC as well as communications security (COMSEC.)

Most apropos to the survivalist is the aspect of camp security or camp entry codes in the ares of individuals securely moving in and out of camp as well as moving securely between friendly camps as well as sending and receiving light or radio signals to members of ones own camp such as in the area of LP/OPs (listening post-observation post) and in communicating with other friendly camps to coordinate movements and plans as well as advise other of enemy actions including METT-C. and size activity location unit/uniform time and equipment (SALUTE) reports. Not to mention something as basic as your challenge and passwords.

Sadly, few have planned, employed or even consider training in the area of signal security by broadcasting encoded Morse messages  which is imperative to any group's survival in hostile territory, especially given this governments stated goals as well as those it consorts with! These  transmissions must be made carefully and remote from camp and kept very short...preferably in burst format which the receiver can then electronically slows down  to decode. This is only limited by your means and available equipment. You then establish an radio telephone operator (RTO) who would manage all frequencies, call signs master CEOIs, et cetera. Each member of the group should have a specialty, much like a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) while all members training in and being proficient in basic skills while having a working knowledge of all other in the event that person is lost.)

These signals not only encompass light and radio but human-- for instance a messenger who carries  a memorized message encoded or sends them via light or hand  signals or in the form of hand gestures to form near and far signals, again for the purposes of camp entry codes. Or he or she may be carrying hidden messages. Thee can include embedded distress signals therein in the event one is captured or compromised so that those within the camp can know that there has been a compromise. These signals/signs should be relatively simple while unique to that group but have alternate but subtle variations in the event one is being forced to do harm.

More sadly, we now live in a formerly free constitutional republic. The reality is we now live in a soviet style clandestine environment where we can only speak openly and freely to our most trusted friends and family weather face to face or on the phone or on a computer.

There are many forms of code/cipher that have been employed by all the various governments and their militaries. For instance in the 19th and 20th Centuries there was the Pigpen cipher, Play Fair (used by the Australians), and the rail fence cipher. These are just a step up from simple substitution codes, and only a bit more secure--they can be broken fairly easily. When I taught my church's and survival groups codes I would give them a breakdown of a few as here and then tell them that of course the best code is the code you conceive and employ yourself. I am not going to disclose the exact nature of our code of which I made copies and distributed. In that I have devised a combination of the military's brevity codes (which are pretty much unbreakable unless the source is known or there is repetition) as well as substitution codes embedded with Morse code, possibly in different languages common to a group.

We had a lot of fun breaking into groups and I would give them brief messages to encode and decode using just the angle head flashlight....of course informing them that once you know a form of Morse you can send it in many ways including light, radio dits and dahs and finger and motions as well as written cipher in that way. You are already familiar with certain subversives who employ such "close signals" for instance the Masons who use a variety of hands signals and shakes to identify one another and their condition as well as the dizzying array of miscreant gangs who use hand signals to ident one another and their misguided loyalties.

One brief aside: it is noteworthy to mention that as well the military are using infrared tabs on their ACUs so that from afar in their night vision scopes they can discern friend and foe. Something to bear in mind!

So I will begin with the Morse code aspect of the encryption, every country has their own and their is a international code which is very close to ours. I have created Morse in a few different languages and keep them in sort of a S1 CEOI format, so that if one code or messenger is known to be or thought to be captured or compromised then you just break into the next set. (Such as Spanish or French whatever you are familiar with or not at all. Now, after mastering your Morse code skills in sending and receiving which is best accomplished by learning them in rhythm. You then break them down to 3 character codes. You might for example take a foreign language dictionary and start at the first word in its columns and start designating every word or field appropriate word if you prefer a 3 letter designation. This can be done in an English dictionary but if so you will not want to do so alphabetically as it could then easily be deciphered if you do not then combine the traits of shift code (of which there are several). E.g., If you want to start left to right as is done here and everywhere west of Israel...you can start at the beginning of the alphabet and skip say...three letters so that a becomes c. Or you could Start counting right to left as the original Bible does and shift that direction by a pre-designated number. You could choose this number by the day of the week, so if the code was sent on Sunday, and by the definition of the dictionary that is the 1st day of the week then it would be known to your group and allies to shift left by one. The shift could then or also be know to be shifted by a word or name. There is a near infinite series of alterations that a group could use to confound the enemy cryptologist (code breaker.) 

Okay, so starting again in your dictionary of choice-preferably a concise one that would easily fit in your ALICE pack or go bag but even better in your BDUs, and of course whomever you are sending or receiving from would have to have a duplicate set to decode from. If you choose in your system, you can start at the beginning starting with aaa and let's say hypothetically that the first word in your foreign language dictionary means about so aaa is the 3 letter morse code designation for about, then the next word in your dictionary would be designated aab and the next aac etc., etc.. Now obviously your names/call signs and other words particular to your group and objectives might not be in a or that dictionary....so then you would create your own addendum where you would assign all members of your group their own 3 letter designations as well as say particular weapons or names of enemies or other actions for the purposes of brevity rather than having to scroll through the dictionary to find a particular word which is peculiar to you and your groups actions. So a 6 word message might look like this:jeb ofn pje suc jeu bhe and you may transmit them together and it be known to break them up in triads as such, jebofnpjesucjeubhe and that message might mean in your code: for enemy has captured friendly forces rally3.

Now, as you see "rally3" is not one word, in fact any 3 letter brevity code can not only represent one word but a phrase or direction such as proceed north or reinforce at 1200 hrs for example. This is why brevity codes combined in morse code configured with alpha/numeric shift is so valuable a cipher.And as you see I am only giving you a pattern in which to create your own without compromising mine! Now...once you and your group establish a platform to create your own cipher you then complete what is called a CEOI or "communications electronic operating instructions" card and make copies for your people. These cards must be laminated to be made waterproof, all team leaders and above having detailed copies while the individuals only needing condensed versions.This will serve as a baseline for you to create and employ your system in such a way that the enemy even if they capture you cannot necessarily break your code. You do this as you create your own computer passwords. This is something that is familiar to your group or established but in a regimented fashion. You should then create a system in your CEOI wher all your members names/call signs are encoded as well as a basic group of commands such as camp entry/denial codes as well as protocol for how to deal with stress signals and challenge pass words, remember it is your prerogative for these codes to move left right or vice versa! Or even up and down etc.,. In that you can employ colors or animals as authentication codes for each day of the week which may change for each week of the month...be creative!

We have covered signal security some in that those codes covered mostly some visual or radio signals now we can address some simple hand signals for CLOSE friend-or-foe or identification hand signals. Now...again...we have our established signals but for purposes of OpSec I will not give my examples. But again invite you to be creative and invent your own. As I alluded earlier as the decadent groups have their hand signals (which underlie their loyalties,) so do we. Now...it is for us to again be creative and establishing some group standards but also create alternatives in the inevitable event that one of our own is compromised and provide for that in the system!  In addition to employing hand signals for signaling and identification. I notice that everyone is sorely lacking in their hand signals for moving  as a unit or units in the field. This is underestimated as a prerequisite for successful movement and maneuvering bearing noise discipline in mind. Of course there are the pretty much standard hand signals for rally on me. Halt, danger I see...but what about formations such as traveling wedge formation and moving in bounds/bounding overwatch. There are standard signals for these as well that a leader should learn, master and impart to his or her group. But then what many may overlook is ammo count. When engaged or pinned down and the enemy is trying to outmaneuver your people need to be able to effectively communicate who has how much ammo. The team leader for instance using this signal could then decide who has suppressive fire abilities while another can take  well aimed shots to end the action. For this I use an extended hand with fingers straight out and rotate  90 degrees twice indicating an ammo count. The response from members should or could be  that of standard deaf signing numbers which all members should be savvy with anyway in indicating numbers.

Distant identification which is predicated upon environmental considerations, that is, how dense or sparse the vegetation is in your area of operations (A.O.) limiting visibility. So, if visibility of your observation post listening post (LP/OP) is a maximum of 100 yards, then that range should be considered your "long range signal." and perhaps then 50 yards would be your established "close range signal range." Now, at 100 yards small details of hand or arm motion may be confused so you want large pronounced movements that are not easily confused as your "challenge" arm signals. So you may want to employ a large circular movement mimicking the hands of a clock yet distinctive and these may again be tailored to the days of the week so that if an enemy observer is watching one day or so he may not easily determine what that long range signal is and counterfeit it to gain access to your camps mid range security threshold. So...let's say your challenge signal for Tuesday is palm out and one full circle outward or clockwise to the challengers perspective and the passwords long range signal response is the left arm beginning at the upward 12 o'clock position moving to the 180 degree downward then palm to center and across the chest. Permission is then granted to proceed to the close signal where closer observation can be made to positively ident the incoming party. When the incoming party advances to the close signal range,they are instructed to halt at which time the close hand signals are exchanged. This may be as simple as a particular hand sign as the gangs and Masons are notorious for, such as the deaf hand symbol for the 4th day of the week or the phase of the moon being between 1 and 5 or even a smaller arm signal recognized by the groups in that Area of operation which of course includes distress/"I am compromised" signals in which the camp would be alerted that an attack is imminent. They are then directed to advance to be recognized and asked the verbal challenge and password. If all signals are within code parameters and given a small degree of variance for error...up to the verbal challenge....then the incoming party may enter upon authorization of the s1 intelligence officer of the group, In other words. the person responsible for devising and maintain all codes/ciphers and challenge passwords which all teams including the foragers, hunters, water gatherers and security or LP/OP teams must be drilled on for camp security!
   

The foregoing dealt with daytime signals. The same would be true of night time operations except you would want to use a subdued light source such as the common angle head flashlight with filtered lenses. A red lens is optimal, blue under certain conditions but that is mostly just for map reading. Now I have devised ways of covering the lenses so that they are half and half, that is: half the lens is red and half blue and another is half purple being a combination of red and blue and the other a red hemisphere. I provided these for my group along with a camp entry code card sort of a mini CEOI. I also created these light signal cards for camp entry codes with my particular signaling devises in mind and distributed to critical members of my group. In this way when the situation goes hot and we invariably find ourselves struggling to rally to our pre-designated points etc..  We can then safely regroup at a future point without being compromised by those whose charge it is to pick up as they say in the military police field manuals distributed to the various defense force people for instance "stragglers."  

I also created similar waterproof cards demonstrating various hand and arm signals for this purpose...I sewed an extra pocket into my uniform to accommodate this information and waterproofed it inside and out as well. If you do not have angle head flashlights such as the GI issue, you can fashion you own favorite flashlight using red taillight repair tape. The Mini-MagLites are good and you can buy tail cap switch kits for them that allow you to tap out Morse code from the butt of the light. In my large angle head as well as the smaller ones I use rechargeable batteries. The D size rechargeables are immensely lighter. I use the solar powered battery charger to recharge them.

One last note on the use of brevity codes and your challenge and passwords. You can even use your 3 character brevity codes to designate a challenge and another for your password. Be creative have fun and get going cause the balloon is going up!

JWR Adds: As a former Army ASA SIGINTer with some cryptological experience I must warn readers that the foregoing simple ciphers are no match for any modern military or government intelligence organization. They would be able to fairly easily and quickly decrypt your signals, given a sample of sufficient length. However, it should work fine if your opponents don't have any greater sophistication than the average outlaw biker gang. Something as simple as a traditional Play Fair or Four Square code would likely confound them.

Some advice: Never re-use brevity codes. Change your codes frequently. Keep transmissions short and use the minimum power to get your signal through. And remember that even if you use strong encryption, most radio transmissions can be quickly located via radio direction finding.

James:
As a reformed "slip and fall" attorney, I would like to point out some issues related to dog ownership. I have defended homeowners and sued homeowners relating to dog bites.The article about the decision to pick a certain breed, Doberman Pincher, was well written and informative but I would like to add some additional points, too often overlooked, about dog ownership. For sure, I would check with my homeowner's insurance carrier to see if you have coverage for a dog bite, and secondly, if there are specific breed coverage exemptions. Often you will be unable to insure the risk of ownership for breeds such as Pit bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Dobermans, etc. For me ownership of a breed that cannot be inured is a deal breaker. One quick way to jeopardize your retreat and possessions is to have a dog bite victim sue you, even if the "victim" was an uninvited "guest" or even an invited visitor for that matter. A small yapping dog will alert you just as well as a Pit bull. A couple/few midsize mutts (insurers will consider Pit bull mixes the same as a full blooded Pit bull) would work well. You can't earn a living breeding mutts but there some perfectly good breed choices that can be insured. Aside from the monetary levels of liability insurance coverage, the best feature of a policy is the contractual right to have the insurer hire an attorney/law firm to defend you. This all relates to basic asset protection and if you are considering buying/breeding a dog consider the ramifications of a dog bite. Also, before you move, check out the homestead protection level of the state you may move to.

The American Redoubt states vary in degree of asset protection via homestead exemptions. I won't be moving there, but Texas is real good in this regard. Idaho $100,000, Montana $250,000, Washington $125,000, Oregon $40,000 and Wyoming $20,000 (I'm not moving to Wyoming). There is a whole lot more to this. I have been on both sides, plaintiff/defendant, and have seen people lose most of their assets. This is one of the most overlooked areas of "survival." If you want a pack of Dogo Argentinos, a great defense/offense, make sure you are not going to lose the shirt off your back. Thanks and God Bless. - Attorney John M.

Jim:
I believe Dale has hit on some great points for taking care of the dogs. But the type or breed is something I need to address, there is another breed of dog to consider, it was breed in China for one and only one purpose to be a temple guard dog of both the building and the Monks who were non-violent believers.  The Chow has a undeserved reputation of being a mean and aggressive animal, as a SPCA volunteer and a part time breeder of chows, its a false conclusion.  The chows in this country have been bred to eliminate those type of characteristics and temperament.  Having said that, a chow has a very high pack mentality as it relates to its family pack (human & critters)  I have a few over the years and those chows have been devoted to even the cats in our pack. 
 
A chow is interesting in that even though its a med to  large dog, it requires very little "space" its pad will suffice and can exist with a person very well thank you in a small apartment.  It not a high strung or hyper dog, it very seldom barks or growls, but as their nature and training intended when it does you need to investigate. They are great with small children and infants, they will want to be close and have a very social inclination. You do have to watch non-family members interacting with the pack members(your family members) even horsing around and playing will put them into attention mode.    In China as a temple guard they were very respected and with good reason, they fear nothing, including mountain lion, bear or even an automobiles, ( I lost one of my males to a late night visitor who decided to explore my fenced back yard with 3 chows on guard, my male chow was killed chasing this person out on a highway and was hit by a truck).  I acquired a small female chow from the SPCA after her owner turned her in to them because they were fearful of her because she would just stare at them and they were intimidated by it.  I had her in my life for almost 15 years and the only time she even turned into a Zombie killer was the day a neighbors male 110-pound or so Rottie strayed into our yard from its home a mile away with the intention of showing that it was the king of the hill to my 55-pound female Chow.  The neighbors were all fearful of this rottweiler as it had caused problems with the neighbors animals and the owner was proud that his dog had that reputation.   What ensued next made me a believer in a chows capability as a guard dog, the rottweiler attacked my chow and she went ballistic on that male dog, I was sure she was going to be seriously hurt or killed, but after what seemed to be minutes and before I could secure any type of a weapon the rottweiler all bloody and looked like the preverbal jigsaw puzzle with a few pieces missing, left for anywhere except where it was and into contact with this thing that ate its lunch.  

Chows have a secret weapon, which I came to understand gives it such an advantage in a fight with anything, it possesses a extremely thick double coat of long hair which in a battle protects it from a bigger an even more determined opponent, while the opponent bites nothing but hair the chow is using it massive teeth to rip and shred critters with short hair and thin hide.   The next day I received a visit from the owner of the rottweiler, who was attempting to recover some money for the vets bills from the 50 or so stitches it had incurred.  He tried to sell his story that my chows had attacked his dog, at which time I pointed out it was his dog who trespassed on my property and attacked my female chow (my other chows were with my wife at the time who was out of town)  and my chow was forced to defend herself.  He was in disbelief that my little dog had almost destroyed his  bigger and meaner Rottie, to be honest at the time I was in shock myself that she escape a major injury.   So the lesson is make your own evaluations and choose the dog(s) that fit your family and situation.  Take a look at a Chow that was breed for one thing and it does that one thing very well.  Happy trails, - John in Arizona

They can move faster than any man, their loyalty suggests an inborn canine bushido, their senses seem to border on the supernatural, and their situational awareness chart does not include condition white.  They are the creatures you want to sleep at your bedside, walk beside you, and watch your children.  While the choices available for study cover a broad range for the serious survivalist; and the options for raising animals include many worthwhile creatures, consider the canine as an early pick.  Long before we finished moving to our retreat I was already plotting the pros and cons of various parts of the property and outbuildings.  Too much woods for cows to graze, just enough grassy hills for goats, garden here, greenhouse there, new bridge over there.  The list of possible projects was, (and still is) a never ending source of satisfying improvements.  One of the earliest undertakings in our endeavors towards self-sufficiency was raising dogs.  The goal was to get far past the learning stage during the pre-collapse world and maintain a selection of working dogs in a normal society.  During a crisis, the dogs will be used for protection and barter. 

The first real choice that had to be made was in a specific breed of dog.  After much study I narrowed the selection down to three breeds; the German Shepherd, Doberman Pinscher, and American Bulldog.  All had key traits in common I found important for a survivalist dog owner.  All had a high level of intelligence, trainability, and protectiveness with the size, speed, and courage to back it up.  I considered each breed in light of how we would need to live together with our family in a long term collapse / worst case scenario.    The  German shepherd was the first of the three to be marked off the list for one reason: hair.  The German shepherd sheds once a year for 365 days in amounts that exceed all bounds of belief.  I wanted dogs that can stay by my side 24/7 but building an extra solar array just to power a vacuum lest we all drown in dog hair wasn’t going to happen.  Note that we live in Tennessee and rarely deal with bitter cold, in less mild climates I would’ve needed dogs with the German shepherd’s protective coat.  If dog hair is not an issue for your situation, that a German shepherd requires no ear trimming or tail docking makes them a stronger pick.    

I next looked into the American Bulldog (not to be confused with the more common English Bulldog), a breed once very popular in the deep South but became nearly extinct during WWII.  Despite my interest, I was unable to find breeders that I felt were trustworthy and had any puppies available within a reasonable distance.  My other concern was that they have a less well known reputation compared to the other two picks, in a barter economy I wanted a highly recognizable, commonly known breed.  Last of the top three first considered breeds was the Doberman Pinscher.  I was at first hesitant due to the need for a professional vet to trim the ears to get the Doberman “devil dog” look; but decided to pick function over form should TEOTWAWKI ensue.  A Doberman without cropped ears is readily identifiable, unlike the American Bulldog who gets a “what’s that?” response in many cases. 

I spent several months picking my first pair of dogs from separate bloodlines then training them with the help of an experienced dog handler/breeder.  The joy of living with such intelligent and graceful creatures I soon found to be a tremendous boon that transcends the planning and training of the more mundane aspects of survivalism.   Lessons learned along the way:    When one of you dogs eats an entire bath towel bed, you get to spend $1,700 at the vet.  When you quit using towels as beds and think straw is a good idea for a bed while they are in the kennel (such as when you are at work), its not.  It is a huge mess and can introduce mold, bugs, etc.  Dogs are not goats so save the straw for animals that produce cheese or steak.  A 2’x4’ outdoor panel secured over a 2”x4” frame will have plenty of give for a dog to be comfortable on.  Add a dog bed heater to the underside and your dog will snooze happily on it.  The inexpensive heaters stay about 110 degrees and draw about 40 Watts.  Use small slats of wood to keep the heater in contact with the underside of the flexible panel.       

When your female is in heat, the chain link fence dividers in the kennel will be ripped apart by your male, you will then have puppies earlier than you wanted.  When you make the chain link fence three layers thick to keep your male from ripping them apart and your female is in heat, your male will rip the door off of the kennel and you will then have puppies earlier than you wanted.  Light chain with carabineers securing the door in a “Z” pattern seems to work.       

Other than the aforementioned surprises, everything went exactly as planned; good thing we started learning sooner rather than during a crisis.  A 20’x 60’ concrete slab under a roof to the side of the workshop proved to be a perfect location for a dog lot.  I partitioned it off with commercial dog kennel panels, reinforced on each side with an extra layer of fence.  A brick at the corner of each interior kennel section makes it easy to hose things down (a big plus when one kennel is full of puppies). I added lots of insulation to the ceiling and enclosed the walls with OSB and thrift store windows.  New shingles ended some rainwater leaks.   During the first winter after setting up the dog lot, I used an electric space heater to keep the temperature above 55 degrees.  The power bill was unacceptable!  The second year I insulated the roof which was previously plywood and shingles and switched from straw to heated wooden beds.  I kept the space heater set at 45 degrees but it proved to be largely unnecessary.  A large sheltered dog lot will make life much easier.  Don’t skimp and just throw a tarp over some 6’x6’ chain link fence.  Your dogs need protection from weather and room to play.  A lone dog is a little lot will be miserable but several dogs with room to exercise will be more content when they need to be out from underfoot.  When there is company, or when we are cooking, and certainly when pressure canning; all dogs go out to the dog lot.    

Cost: Kennel and dog lot remodeling ran $2,000.  Each dog was about $1,000 after ear trimming, shots, etc.  Each dog consumes about 500 lbs. of dry dog food per year, their diet is supplemented with eggs from our chickens, leftover meat from supper, and the occasional canned food as a treat.  I use Black Gold brand dog food in the black bag from my local farm store.  This amounts to $250 per dog each year.  Dry food in the bag stores for about a year and a one year supply for two dogs will stack on two standard pallets without being so tall as to be a hassle.  

Puppies:  After we’d had a bit more than a year of training our adult dogs we started raising litters of puppies.  Since the dogs were an exercise in prepping from the start, the puppies were an extension of this.  The first litter was a learning experience but over time the puppies have paid for the initial investments.  The best idea on puppy for prepping came from my wife.  She was looking at our then current “to buy” list of gear and noticed several firearms.  “Not everyone has the money to buy an expensive purebred puppy, but some people might have some guns they would trade instead.”  Now any time we have puppies available, we let people know if the price is too high for them, we’ll consider “an old deer rifle or something” as part of the deal.  As a survivalist this has been a huge benefit.  For example, last litter I ended up with a H&K MP5A5 look-alike in .22 LR.  I took it to a gun show and swapped it for an AK for my wife.  From other puppies I kept a very nicely modified Mauser and a .243 Savage.  We live close to the border of another state so I do take care not to deal over state lines, not that I honestly suspect an alphabet agency is looking for dog breeders to make examples out of, but I feel it is only prudent to be above board.  So far I have found that most of my customers have previously owned Dobermans, and are either in law enforcement or military families.  The most satisfying puppies were the ones that have gone on to be therapy dogs for disabled veterans.  In a long term crisis, and even post crisis, I suspect there will always be a market in the barter economy for a recognizable working breed of dog.  Practicing up on breeding, training, and trading has had a high initial cost and been time intensive relative to our other prep work.  Pure “dog time” runs about 1-1½ hours a day during puppy raising months, when the puppies are sold or the next litter still on the way I focus more heavily on training the adults.   

Whatever breed you select, be sure to do plenty of homework before you purchase your first dog.  Know what health problems are common in that breed.  Find out what problems come from genetics and if the parents have been tested; don’t discover that at age five, your dog comes from a line of dogs with terrible joint problems.  Pick a line that dies after a very long life rather than one that falls apart and has to be put down young.  Get your property ready, be it dog lot, kennel, or crate for housebreaking inside.  Have collars and leashes ready with spares for the ones that get chewed up or lost.  Find out what brand of food the breeder you’re purchasing from uses and have a supply of that.  You can gradually switch over to a different brand but have plenty on hand before you get home.  AKC has plenty of good information on basic training and breed specifics that you will want to consider before getting your first dog.  If you desire to have your dog professionally trained for protection, expect the trainer to ask you to wait until your dog is 18 months old or more so that they have had time to finish developing properly strong bones and an adult temperament.    

Be good to your dogs, and before you hand over a puppy to their new master, look them in the eye and know that those brown orbs looking up at you are going to change someone’s life forever.

Digging fighting positions, trenches, and emplacing various obstacles take a great deal of time and effort.  The greatest danger in emplacing obstacles is not being thorough enough due to the difficulty involved.  Stringing out wire and actually driving the pickets into the ground not only gives you good practice as how to physically create the obstacle but also gives you an idea of the challenges you will face and how long it takes to put up 100 lineal meters of obstacle.

Triple-strand concertina wire obstacles consist of two rolls of concertina wire side-by-side on the bottom with one roll on top.  From the side, the obstacle resembles a pyramid.  I will be going through this obstacle and how to emplace it, because it is the most difficult of all wire obstacles to breach and much easier to emplace than a concrete, wood, or earth barrier.

Resources Needed
It is possible to emplace obstacles by yourself, but it ends up taking much more time alone than it would with a group of two or three people.  Concertina wire or razor wire tends to snag on itself, so it’s better to have one person on each end of the coil instead of letting one person struggle through stringing out wire on his own.  If you have another person willing to help, he can get ahead and lay out pickets every five paces or five meters and dropping coils of concertina wire every 20 meters. 

You need a pair of wire gloves for each person stringing wire.  Heavy-duty leather gloves will work, but since concertina wire has little nasty razors on it, it can cut up a pair of leather gloves pretty badly if you are not very careful.  If you are a novice or are planning on emplacing several hundred meters of concertina obstacles, you might want to get some reinforced wire handling gloves to protect yourself more adequately.  The military grade gloves are heavy-duty leather gauntlets with staples in the palms and underside of fingers to prevent the concertina wire from snagging the leather.  If you feel industrious, you might be able to improvise something like that with a pair of leather gloves and a heavy-duty plier-type industrial stapler with ¼” or 5/16” staples.   Otherwise, just hold onto the two handles on each end of the concertina coil and be careful to grab the wire between the barbs when you place it on the pickets, and you should do fine.  You will also need a pair of heavy-duty wire cutter pliers for each person stringing wire.

If you are able to get the military grade pickets with the built-in wire loops and the corkscrew bottoms, then that will make life somewhat easier on you in respect to tie-offs to the pickets.  However, using regular green steel "T-Post" agricultural fence pickets presents no problem whatsoever.  You would want to purchase T-Post or U-channel 2 ¼” x 2 ½” x 7’ tall pickets.  You can buy these at most big-box hardware stores or at a farm supply store.  Don’t forget to buy one or two post drivers as well.  If you have ever tried to drive a picket into the ground with a sledgehammer, it’s not fun!  I’ve seen soldiers nearly get into fistfights from the sledge head glancing off the picket and hitting his buddy’s hand instead.

The concertina wire itself is critically important.  Concertina wire is different than razor wire in that when it is expanded, it acts like a concertina or an accordion.  The wire itself is typically spring steel inside of a metal sheathing which has the barbs mechanically attached to it.  Since it is not just a single strand of wire, it is difficult to cut and in the concertina configuration, you must make four cuts to get through a single coil of wire.  If you are purchasing concertina wire, you want a medium sized blade on your wire and you will want to get it in manageable lengths of 20 meters or so.  Along with your concertina wire, you will need barbed wire for triple the length of obstacle you wish to emplace and you will need a roll of baling wire to make your ties from the concertina wire to the pickets.
Be sure to wear jeans, durable pants, or surplus BDU trousers when you string wire, since it will take bites out of your clothing if you are not careful.  Wear a long sleeve denim shirt or a surplus BDU blouse to protect your arms from nasty gashes.  If you are planning on taking down the obstacle later, the best way I have found to store concertina wire is by cutting ½” plywood to size and making a giant sandwich with the wire pancaked in the middle.  Concertina wire snags on everything including itself, and this method keeps all of the barbs between the two pieces of plywood.  And to transport using this method, just drill two pairs of holes on each side of the boards and tie the sandwich together with some parachute cord.  String the cord through the matching pairs of holes in a U-shape and you can make a handle on each side of the sandwich to make it much easier to carry. 

In summary, if you have a three member team emplacing 100 meters of triple-strand concertina wire, this is what you would need:
3 Pair Reinforced wire handling gloves
2 Post drivers
2 Pair of Wire cutter pliers
63 7’ U-channel pickets
15 Rolls of 20 meters of concertina wire
3 Rolls of 100 meters of barbed wire
2 Rolls of baling wire

General Guidance on Obstacle Emplacement
The first thing to keep in mind when emplacing and obstacle, is that it MUST be observable [by defenders]!  You can have the most formidable obstacle in the world, but if it is unobserved, the enemy also has all the time in the world to dismantle your beautiful obstacle without you ever noticing.  The terrain will dictate the routing of your obstacle.  For instance, if you were emplacing an obstacle over a ditch, you need to make sure you follow the contours of the ditch instead of going straight over it, creating a tunnel underneath your wire.  If the ditch were deep enough, you might lose visibility on your obstacle, so you might need to reroute it to get around that blind spot or what is otherwise called “dead space.”  If you can see someone breaching your obstacle, but you have no weapon that has a long enough range to stop them, your obstacle is too far from your position and is utterly useless. 
If you are emplacing an obstacle as a perimeter, you need not worry about where you start or end.  But if you are using an obstacle to slow an enemy avenue of approach, you must tie the start and end of the obstacle into a terrain feature.  If you are in rolling mountainous terrain, you might want to start the obstacle against a boulder and end it against a steep cliff.  Your obstacle does no good if the enemy can follow it and find an easy way around it. 

Which is precisely what an opposing force will do when they encounter your obstacle: try to find a way around it without having to breach it.  Keep that in mind and put yourself in the shoes of someone raiding your land or trying to loot your home.  The best obstacles channel your enemy where YOU want them to go.  And when the enemy finds that “easy way around” they run right into something else very unpleasant.  In general, you want to make it nearly impossible for an assaulting force to come straight at your position.  You want to force them to meander and zigzag through your maze of obstacles, meeting traps on the way and all the while being harassed by rifle or small arms fire.
If you are thorough in setting up your obstacle and consistently drive pickets deep and tie off your wire to the pickets, the enemy will have a very difficult time breaching it.  They are looking for that one spot where you ran into rocky ground and could not drive the pickets deep enough.  If you know where you had to fudge it, count on the enemy figuring that out too.  If you do need to emplace an obstacle across asphalt or concrete, you need to use steel posts with a bolt plate at the bottom, so that you can anchor it to the concrete or asphalt.   Generally speaking , try to avoid placing wire across concrete or asphalt if possible.  

Why Triple-Strand Concertina?
I commanded tanks during my time in the U.S. Army, and a tank can absolutely crush anything on the battlefield.  We had ammunition for bunker, buildings, and field fortifications.  So jersey barriers or earthworks were no big deal.  We had ammunition for shooting helicopters, trucks, troop carriers, other tanks, and dismounted infantry.  There were only four things that I knew of which could stop a tank: land mines, a really deep and wide ditch, a river, or a triple-strand concertina wire obstacle.  And since a tank is the most deadly threat possible, anything less doesn’t stand a chance.
You would think that a tank could punch right through a triple-strand concertina wire barrier, and it can.  It would crush the pickets like toothpicks and stretch the concertina wire until it snaps like a rubber band.  And then the nasty part begins.  The tank tracks pull the concertina wire inside the suspension, winding it around the drive sprocket, road wheels, and support rollers until the tank has a huge rat’s nest of wire tangled throughout the suspension, and it then throws a track.  A tank without track is a bunker. It is still a formidable threat, but tanks are much better at killing threats at a distance.  If you get close enough to a tank, particularly on the sides and directly behind it, there are blind spots where the crew cannot see you and you can assault the tank without receiving fire. 

Tankers know what happens to a tank when they try to breach concertina wire.  They know you can drive through single or even double strand if you are lucky, but that triple-strand barrier will mess up a tank’s suspension so badly, that it takes a crew hours to cut all of the wire out of the suspension and track by hand.  I know this, because it happened to me when we sucked up a roll of single-strand concertina wire lining a road on an airfield.  It took about three hours to cut it all out of the suspension.  We were working with our sister platoon on another airfield in Iraq, and one of the tanks actually wound the wire between the road wheels and behind the wheels on the road wheel arms, pushing the center guide of the track out of its notch between the pairs of road wheels.  When that tank commander rolled up to our tank line, you could hear the distinctive POP, POP, POP of a tank which is about to throw track.  He had not wanted to open the tank skirts and cut it out in the field due to how vulnerable he and his crew would have been to potential sniper fire.  Consequently though, he created a much nastier problem as described above.  My soldiers and I had feelings ranging from disgust to a healthy respect of what concertina wire could do to a tank’s suspension, and I venture to say most tracked vehicle operators share those notions.     

The only way that the U.S. Army trains to breach triple-strand concertina wire obstacles is with explosives.  You have to literally blow it up, because you cannot effectively cut a hole through the obstacle any other way.  A quick word on why I would not recommend just single or double-strand concertina wire obstacles.  All you need to breach a single-strand obstacle is to get a running start and jump over it!  All you need to breach a double-strand concertina obstacle is a piece of plywood that you flop down on top of the wire and walk right over it.  Neither of those methods would work on a triple-strand obstacle though due to its height and the amount of pickets and wire holding the obstacle together.

Obstacle Emplacement
You will need to lay out the first 20 meters of materials before you start.  Throw down three pickets and three rolls of concertina at your starting spot, walk five paces and keep dropping three pickets repeatedly until you get to 20 paces or roughly 20 meters.  The training manuals recommend that you use two small pickets for your lower coils and a long picket for the upper coil on your beginning and end of the obstacle, but I disagree with this method.  It makes it much easier to dismantle the obstacle at the beginning and end.  You want to drive your pickets about a foot down with all three in a straight line as if you were starting to string three parallel barbed wire fences, leaving about 2’ between each picket.  Look at the width of the roll and make sure you are not stretching the wire with your picket spacing but that it is taut when dropped onto the pickets.  Make sure your pickets have the U-channel facing the enemy and pry out your wire hooks a bit from the picket, so that you can more securely tie off your wire to the pickets with baling wire.

At this point, you can start stringing out your lower two rolls of concertina wire.  If you have standard military concertina, the coils will have two handles on each end.  And if the rolls do not, you might want to fashion a couple handles out of baling wire for each end of the coils.  Stringing wire goes more smoothly if one person stands in place and the other person walks backwards while you both shake the coil like a Slinky, so that the barbs release from each other.  String the coils outside of where you will drive your pickets down the line, so that you can more easily put the wire onto the pickets once they are in the ground. 

Come back to your first three pickets and place the end of the inner coil over the top of the inner and center picket.  Take the other coil of concertina toward the enemy and place the coil over the outer and center picket.  Now you cut a few 6” lengths of baling wire and tie the rear coil to the inner picket and center picket and the front coil to the center picket and the outer picket.  Put a couple of twists in your tie off and bend the ends down, so that it is difficult to pull apart without pliers or wire cutters. 

Go to your next three pickets on the ground and drive those into the ground with the same spacing as before.  Take the inner coil of concertina and place over the inner and center picket.  Take the outer coil of concertina and place over the center and outer picket.  Then tie off the concertina wire to the pickets.  This process repeats for the bottom two coils until you reach the end of your concertina wire rolls.  As you place the bottom two coils, go back to the starting point and attach barbed wire to the center picket about 12” off the ground.  Then you weave the barbed wire through the two coils of concertina to join them together by going along in front or behind the obstacle and pushing the small roll of barbed wire in and out between your two lower concertina rolls.  This is a pain, but it makes the two bottom coils very secure as one unit.  If the enemy tries to lift the outer coil, they will then be lifting the inner coil too and will not be able to slide under your obstacle.  This and tying off your wire to the pickets are those little things that make the difference between a formidable obstacle and something that can be bypassed in a matter of minutes.

You want to string the wire between each group of three pickets taut but not so tight that it stretches and looks misshapen.  If the wire is strung so loosely, that you can crawl underneath it by prying it up with a branch, you need to string it tighter.  Check your obstacle as you go.  Shake the pickets, jerk on the tie off points, and try to pry up the wire at the base.  If you find any weaknesses, adjust accordingly.  You might need to place your groups of pickets closer together if you have rolling terrain, or if it is easy to dig under your obstacle.

If you are putting up this obstacle in response to some crisis event, I would advise finishing the entire obstacle in double-strand concertina first and then going back to throw the last roll on top along the whole obstacle.  If you run out of time, it would be better to have a complete perimeter with double-strand than to have it half completed with triple-strand. 

Once you have completed the first section of 20 meters of double-strand, go back to the starting point and put your top roll of concertina onto the center picket.  Tie off the end of the top coil very securely to where the top of the roll meets the picket, because if someone tries to go over the top of your obstacle, this is going to be holding the weight of that log or other breaching material.  Tie off the bottom of the top coil to the middle picket as well.  Looking at it from the side, this top coil will be bisected by the pickets when you are done tying off the coil to the center pickets. String the top roll out to the next group of three pickets and secure the roll in the same way over the top of the center picket.  In the same way that you wove barbed wire between the two bottom coils, you will weave the wire between the top coil and the two bottom coils to join them.  This way, the enemy cannot try to pry their way through the middle of your obstacle by simply lifting your top coil of wire off the pickets and smashing the bottom two coils, making a tunnel to breach through it.  If you are using green U-channel pickets, it would be wise to string one more length of barbed wire to keep the top concertina roll taut by suspending it like a clothesline near the tops of the two center pickets.  Remember to wrap your barbed wire around the pickets a couple times to maintain tension as you continue to string it between the coils of concertina wire on both the lower coils and the upper coil.

When you get to the end of your first 20 meters of obstacle, you will need to start with new rolls of concertina wire.  You will notice that the ends of the concertina rolls have a convex and concave part to them.  You will have these two loops at the end of a roll, because of how the wire pattern stops.  In order to securely join the end of a roll to the beginning of a new roll, you need to place the bottom loop of the old roll over the picket then the bottom loop of the new roll over the picket.  Then you place the top loop of the old roll over the picket and then the top loop of the new roll over the picket.  You are alternating, so that you do not have one roll of wire sitting on top of another when it is placed on the picket.  Tie off both the old and new rolls to the same picket.  This will make a very sturdy continuation in your obstacle so that the enemy will not be able to exploit a weakness between your rolls of wire.  The barbed wire running through the rolls will also aid in reinforcing this transition.  Repeat this same procedure for the top roll later once you start stringing your top coil on the next 20 meters of obstacle, alternating putting the bottom loops and top loops of the old and new rolls of wire over the center picket.  Then join the rolls together with baling wire and tie both the end of the old roll and the start of the new roll off to the same center picket.

Continue this process for emplacing triple-stand concertina until you tie the end of your obstacle into a natural feature such as a boulder or cliff or you complete your perimeter.  Be sure that you tell everyone in your prepper group or family that you are putting up a concertina obstacle, because I have personally run into obstacles emplaced by soldiers during the daytime which I could not see at nighttime when I returned to the base and had to figure out where they put the entrance to the perimeter.  If you have created a 360 degree perimeter with your obstacle, depending on the size, you might have only one entrance or two if it is a larger perimeter.  Mark your entrances with a small handkerchief or a partially masked glow stick at night until everyone knows where they are. 

Your entrance should be directly opposite of the most likely avenue of approach by the enemy.  You should have the entrance at the backdoor of the property for tactical purposes.  If the road dead-ends at the front of your home or you have a driveway, you might need an entrance there for practical purposes but in cases of imminent attack, that entrance needs to be well sealed and the backdoor would become your primary entrance since it is the furthest away from the path of the enemy. 

Continuously Improving Your Position
Once you have completed emplacing an obstacle, you are never really done with it.  Over an extended period of time, obstacles need to be checked periodically and repaired as needed.   Obstacles and barriers should work together in concert in order to fortify your defensive plan.  As you continue to fortify, obstacles should be implemented in defensive rings around a position.  If we had just completed emplacing a triple-strand concertina wire perimeter around a homestead, we would continue fortifying by driving in pickets along the entrance to the property in preparation for a layered concertina wire roadblock.  We could also add tin cans or bells tied to the wire in order to hear if anyone was tampering with the obstacle at night.  We would add tanglefoot obstacles in front of our concertina, so that before they ever approached the main obstacle, the enemy would need to tiptoe through another obstacle.  If we had a long drive coming up to the house, we would emplace concrete jersey barriers, so that any vehicle would have to serpentine through the barriers toward the house without being able to accelerate.  Depending on the situation, threat, and terrain, there are numerous layers of defense which you may add to harden a position and make it very unpleasant for anyone attempting to harm those you care about.

JWR,
I thought I'd take a minute and recommend an Army Field Manual (FM) that I don't see referenced too often here. It's FM 7-92 ("The infantry reconnaissance platoon and squad; airborne, air assault, light infantry") with Chapter 9 for MOUT/urban operations. This version is a little hard to find, so here's the link.  Just don't ask why I had to go to Marines.mil to find it.

This version dates back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, so the emphasis less on mechanized reconnaissance, technology, and general eye candy - unlike a majority of the scout FMs in current publication. It covers water movement, tracking, dismounted infiltration, etc. It's also interesting to see the parallels between these older scout FMs and the newer six-man sniper teams. Having been in the scout platoon of the 187th Infantry Brigade, I'm sure that I'm a little biased, But from my perspective this is one of the most valuable FMs out there for WTSHTF.  Of course it should be read after the general infantry FMs, but the focus here is on small group operations, and helps to develop the skills needed to extend your area of influence well beyond your own personal camp-de-resistance.

Enjoy, - Robert in North Carolina

Dear JWR:
Recent concertina wire sales at GovernmentLiquidation.com are now coming with the following notice:

"All scrap under this contract requires mutilation by the buyer prior to removal if allowed at location or mutilation must be witnessed and certified by DOD personnel at buyers facility. Title to the material does not pass to the buyer until the scrap has been mutilated. Buyer agrees to allow USG personnel to witness destruction."

So much for cheap, domestic military surplus concertina wire. :-( - Mr. C.

As a former Sergeant of Marines, terrorism awareness was second nature.  It was not until I transitioned to civilian life that I realized the average guy doesn’t have a clue what a “Hard Target” is.   A Hard Target is a target that presents the lowest probability of being destroyed or overtaken.  I am breaking it down to three basic sections: 1. You’re self, 2. you’re vehicle and 3. you’re Home.  To start you need to rethink your wardrobe.  You should purchase clothing that helps you blend in. This means no wild colors or clothes that sport expensive name brands or oversized logos. If you were going to steal a purse and two women walked by one with a $600 Coach brand and the other with a $25 one from Wal-Mart what would you choose. The same  applies to how you dress.  The second thing to consider is the colors and material. Earth tones are  best. They blend in with nature and don’t stand out on the street. If you choose to carry a handgun you should consider concealment when picking out clothing. Thinner shirts and lighter colors more easily display the outline of a firearm as well as tighter and smaller articles. You have to dress to conceal. This may mean going up a size in trousers and blouse.  If you are wearing shorts, flip flops and a tank top where are you going to hide your firearm?  Also everyone else that sees you knows that you most likely are not armed.

Predators prey on the weak and sick. Lions attack the slowest and oldest Zebras in the herd not the strong and fast ones. The same is true for the two legged variety or predator.                    

  
Next thing to think about is your vehicle. It should always be topped off with gas. I fill my truck up at a half tank so I always have at least that much gas. The type of vehicle should be taken into consideration as well. Driving a $50,000 foreign luxury car is not a good posture. It only shows off  to the criminal that you have money and at the very least a nice car to steal. A good American 4 door or Truck a few years old and well maintained will do just fine. They are common cars and blend well. Lightly tinted windows are good to keep gear out of sight as long as they are not so dark as to imply that there is something inside that you don’t want anyone to see. The interior should be clean with nothing in sight regardless of value. All GPS receivers, cell phones, chargers and electronics should be taken down and stowed out of sight every time you leave the vehicle. No bags of any kind should be visible. You want to give the impression of nothing being in the vehicle. All BOBs should be stowed in the trunk. Tool boxes that lock and are secured to the bed work well for Pickups. Even small change in a cup holder should be removed as I have heard from friends vehicles that their vehicles were burglarized over such trifling items.

Once you have your vehicle squared away you can move on to routine. You want to be as random as possible in your daily routine. This means not leaving at the same time every morning, taking different routes to and from work, not stopping at the same place  for coffee, gas etc. The more variables you create the harder you will be to track and the more difficult it will be to figure out your work/ school schedule. This will make it hard for anyone to determine when you will be out of the house or where and when you work.   While on the road, watch for any suspicious vehicles that may be following you.  When in doubt pull over and let them pass or make a U-turn. This will make it next to impossible for anything aside from a revolving tail to continue to follow. (A revolving tail is a police surveillance technique where multiple vehicles take turns following a vehicle while maintain radio contact to make the tail harder to spot.) Always be aware of your surroundings. If something feels shady or suspect it probably  is. A good tool is a pen and paper within reach in your car. Take down the make, model and plates or any suspicious vehicles you encounter. This will help you to determine if the vehicle is the same you saw the other day that was suspicious and help the police in an investigation should anything happen. Take note of any vehicles parked in your neighborhood that seem out of place and write down the plated, make color and description of the vehicle. This is to include contractor vehicles that may be doing repairs on your neighbors homes. Many contractors have drug habits and use their work to find easy targets to make easy money. They usually work while you are away at work and can very easily determining your routine. If they watch you leave every day at 0630 and return at 1700 they know the window they have to break into your property.

While at home there are several things you can do to become a hard target. First your house should never look as if no one is home. A simple light on a timer can do the trick. You should shred anything that goes in the trash with your name on it. This includes receipts and bills and even mail addressed to you. You would be surprised the information someone can gather from you just by going through your trash. All Doors in the house should have a locking mechanism that is only accessible from the inside and any door with a window or any glass should have a dead bolt with a key that can be removed and locked from the inside. A “Beware or Dog” is also a good deterrent even if you don’t have a dog. Remember the idea behind becoming a hard target is to make yourself and your property as undesirable to the criminal as possible. This will in turn lessen, not eliminate the risk of becoming a victim.

Sliding doors can be rendered next to impossible to open with a simple wooden dowel or 2x4. The same is true for regular doors that have a wall behind them. Placing a 2x4 between the door and wall will render the door inoperable even while unlocked. This is good for doors that are rarely used like back or porch doors. I place NRA stickers on key doors and windows around the house. Small enough that they are only visible from close up. Some may argue that this presents a risk as firearms are next to jewelry on the list for items commonly stolen during burglaries. I disagree with that assessment because I keep all my firearms locked in a 1,000 pound fire proof gun safe that is bolted to the floor and would require a torch or cutting tools to open with out the key or code. All jewelry in my home is stored in a safe.

Finally I want to touch on security while in the home. Don't assume that just because you are home you are not at risk for theft. Recent years have seen rise in home invasions. I keep my carry gun on me even when doing chores around the house or mowing the lawn or walking the property. Get to know your neighbors and their routines. Talk to them about neighborhood security and inform them when you will be out of town. Offer to look after their property when they are away and help them become hard targets as well. Over all be alert, be proactive and be safe. Remember complacency kills. God Bless and Semper Fidelis.

We are never completely prepared, we either are unprepared, or prepared to some degree. So I want to review the past year and see what or how far I’ve come. For those new to the game, they can find it a bit overwhelming, and do little to nothing to prepare. Then there are those that are part time preppers and those that are full time preppers. I fall into the former, but a meeting with some friends 8 months ago re-ignited the drive it takes to prepare. So my one-year odyssey in review.

First order of business is get your family onboard, and perhaps those you want to include in a group, but foremost your family, and don’t just say tings are bad, show them some of the articles you have found on the dollar collapse, EMP, etc, the real reasons you feel the need to prepare, if they are with you it just got a lot easier.

Second get organized, what do you already have? This will save you a lot of money in the long run, as you are less likely to duplicate items.

Next is your plan to bug out, or stay in place. If you are bugging out do you have a location that you can cache some of your gear and foodstuffs, or are you going with what you can haul?  If that is the case, figure out what you can haul in one trip. There is no sense in buying 50 cases of MREs if you only car is a Geo Metro it won’t fit. If you do not have a specific location to bug-out to, I’d strongly urge to plan to stay in place and make the best of it.

Next if you are new to this, start small, plan for 3 days, then 10 days, then 30 days, then 3 months and so forth.
For me my retreat is where I live, I’m not in the American Redoubt, but in the Midwest. My property is in the country, and I’m about 15 miles from the nearest city, (population about 14,000) would I like a retreat further out? Yes, but it is not going to happen I simply can’t afford to move.

I’m an avid shooter, and already have arms, ammo, a lot of ammo, and all the gear that goes with it. I was a bit light in the Battle Rifle category so I sold a few handguns to purchase an M1 Garand (I already had about 2,000 rounds of .30-06 ammo, so it made sense) and an FN-FAL, I had planned on two PTR91s (HK91 clones) but the FAL came along at a price I couldn’t ignore, the seller wanted $650, and admitted the gun wouldn’t cycle. So when I inspected it I found the gas plug installed upside down, I offered $600 and he took it I went home and reinstalled the plug properly and it cycles fine. I also managed a trade of a 1911 for a used PTR91. HK magazines are currently selling at unbelievably low prices.

If you are new to this I’d suggest a 12 gauge pump shotgun to start, and there are a lot of affordable guns out there, even a .22 rifle, and a lot of ammo should be considered. I’ve studied criminal behavior and the majority will be looking for soft targets, and when the SHTF there will be plenty, usually no one stands around and asks what caliber is that?, when you drop the hammer.

Yes there is a lot of cool accessories out there, but paying more attention to the more mundane things in life will go a lot further in insuring your survival. Watch those big box stores for seasonal closeouts, do a lot of shopping, (not buying) keep notes and get the biggest bang for your buck you can. Of further note the biggest of the “Big Box” stores is now selling AR-15s in a lot of locations, at much lower prices than you’ll find at a regular gun shop. I have seen SIG-Sauer, Bushmaster, and Colt.
Remember that it is not the gun that wins the fight it is your training and willingness that win the fight.

 I have a propane fired generator, in the 10-Kw range, and a 500 gallon propane tank I put it in 5 years ago, after a two day outage and a the loss of a lot of food. You might see these advertised as “whole house” generators but that is really stretching it, you need to get around at least a 17Kw for an average size house. Of course any generator is likely only going to be good for a short period, for once the fuel is gone that’s it.

I am a self employed firearms instructor, so for me most weeks I have no idea what my income will be until class starts. Some weeks I make $125 before expenses, and some I can much more, so in 2011, I earned the princely sum of less than $10,000 before taxes. So my income is   less than half of the other individuals in my group.

If you have a known income, even small you can prep, I so often hear people saying they would like to, but can’t afford to, and that in a word is denial, and if you live in denial it will cost you when the time comes.

My last effort at full scale prepping had been in 1999 with the dire warnings of Y2K, which did not materialize. So after a meeting a year ago, I started my prepping with research, planning and organizing. The gathering begins after the first 3 steps are met, but not completed

Research
Now once you organize things you already have, you start research, and this is vital, you can run helter-skelter and buy a bunch of stuff, but you may have more wants than needs when you are done. Focus on want you need, and if you have less you need to have intensified focus

 I first read Patriots, by James Rawles, then dug out my copy of the “How to Survive the End of the World as we Know it” by the same writer. I also went to the internet and checked a lot of the prepping web sites, making notes to links of free information. It ranged from Military manuals, the LDS Preparedness Manual to articles on how to milk goats.

I also referred to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Think on this one. Have you thought this one through? Are you prepared in each category?
Water
Food
Clothing
Shelter-Security
Sanitation
First Aid
Communication
Transportation

While the research continues every day, I began planning...

Planning
I started making lists, and I began to shop, note I did not say buy, but shop I have a limited quirky income so I can’t afford to just throw money at things. In the planning stage you have to think things through, and play what if in your planning.

For instance water, 18 years ago my shallow well pump died, and for need of water I found a small pump I could attach to a cordless drill, attach a hose to each end of the pump and I could draw water, so if the grid is down how do I keep the drill charged?, which lead to a power pack and a small solar charger being added to the list.
The lists will grow every day; make at least a mental note of what you use every day, from toilet paper to food, and think how much of this will I need to get through uncertain times of unknown length? In the planning stage do not focus on any single category above; you have to address each category as you go. If you focus on food, and not security someone can take your food, and if you focus on security you can starve behind a well fortified wall.

The preparations have to be a multi-prong effort, and you need to give yourself some leeway if you are on a budget, that while in the pursuit of certain items, you run across a deal on something else you get it instead.  I’ve seen here on the internet some preppers that focus on one subject at a time, then move on to another chapter, this could lead to imbalance. I know one lady who has been solely focused on medical and first aid, and has spend a lot of her resources on items to fill those needs, I explained to her this is stuff you might need, but no matter what happens you will be hungry, If she had spent half of her money on food supplies she would still have enough to outfit an EMS team. Not real sure how good band aids taste, although she may be able to barter.
Also pay close attention to the mundane items like socks and Q-Tips. Yeah I know night vision and body armor is a lot more cool, but feeling like you have a bug in your ear and suffering foot rot is more likely to really happen. How about laundry? Check out some of the low cost items RVers use. Take a close look at what you consume and try to make sure those needs are met
Also for the budget minded think used instead of new

Organizing
Bugging in or bugging out?  My plan is for staying put, and here is where the group will gather, so in that regard those coming here are bringing supplies here, so space is a problem, and I continue to work on getting more space to store buckets, bullets and Band-Aids
I’ve made a considerable investment in adjustable wire mesh shelving units, I did wait till they were on sale, and bought them as need arose but in the past 12 months bought  19 sets at $40 bucks a set. But it allows me access to items without un-stacking stuff to get the container on the bottom.
Also it pays to keep inventory of what you have, and not just what you want, it is easy to use excel  and simply update as you add items, once a month I print them out, and review them  looking for what I need to balance things out.
In all keeping organized with proper planning and research will help you stay focused on what you need to get done, rather than an aimless quest unsure of your destination.

So in a nutshell with less than $10,000 income, and cashing a useless IRA of less than $8,000 where am I, 12 months later? I have enough stored food to feed 8 for a year, (a mix of store bought, dehydrated, #10 cans and bulk) I have 200 feet of garden fencing the mix of garden tools rain barrels and heirloom seeds to start a garden, started a small raised bed garden with hybrid seeds, and will save the heirlooms, for later.

I have several rolls of barbed wire for security, a few hundred sandbags, and a truckload of sand I have some solar around 200 watts worth plus connections wiring controllers several 2 way radios, four Swedish field phones, a solar powered base station and a couple of emergency radios, I also have four portable power packs that I can plug into,
3 kerosene heaters and around 90 gallons of kerosene, a camping oven stove combo, and 2 camp stoves, 60 cans of propane.100 lbs of charcoal, Pressure canner and jars etc, a food saver and a dehydrator, cast iron cookware, meat grinder, grain mill about 200 lbs of medical supplies, and the training to use it all.
1000 batteries from AAA to D cell, half dozen sleeping bags, rope bungee straps, come-alongs axes 3 chainsaws one gas powered and 2 cordless Black and Decker, for a cordless tool by the time the batteries run down so do I and they are pretty quiet, and log chains, crow bars, bolt cutters, nails, boots to blades, packs, webbing, magazine pouches etc.

I even acquired about 80 ounces of silver, in pre-1965 coins, there was no sense in just leaving the money in the IRA, and stocking up on Nickels
I also invested in a small trailer; it made it a lot easier to haul a lot of the bulky items
It came in handy when I hauled in over a ton of compost, peat moss, and lumber for the raised bed gardening, also several hundred cement blocks, to build defensive fighting positions  

I’m planting evergreens and hedges to help hide the property; although with the recent drought we have had they will need to be replanted.  I’m 1,000 feet from the nearest road, and prefer to be hidden and just let those that use the road pass by, it does reduce are fields of fire somewhat, but will also lower the chances of having to use those fields of fire, which is better all the way around.
I think the key to getting what I needed was I spent a lot of time planning and looking and little time buying; I worked hard at finding the best deal for my money. So if you don’t have money, spend time.
I’m not as prepared as those in the novel "Patriots", but I’m way ahead of those in "Survivors."

During my years in the military, I spent most of my time in the military intelligence field.  Though I was specifically trained in signals intelligence, I learned to utilize a number of sources in producing intelligence products for my command.  The tactics that I learned both in individual training as well as on-the-job are applicable to a number of applications, including preparing yourself and your family for emergency situations. 
In my years of reading “alternative” message boards and blog posts, I noticed that most people in the prepper community either live in a rural community or have a desire to relocate to one.  As someone who grew up in a rural area, I would highly recommend taking such an action, especially in the light of the threats we face from economic collapse, food shortages, rioting, and other calamities, both natural and man-made.  For some of us, however, we are unable to relocate from the area that we currently reside.

My family and I reside in a suburban area of a very large city in the United States.  Most likely, we will not be able to relocate from this area in the near term, so we attempt to make the best of our situation.  Part of our preparation includes the production of intelligence reports of our subdivision and local community.  Creating information such as threat reports is useful for any prepper, regardless of residence location, but is vital when the number of persons that are nearby increases.  Using my past experiences, these are some of the tactics that I adapted for use in creating such reports for my subdivision. 

Creating the Map
In my opinion, the first and most important step that a prepper can take in developing intelligence for his or her suburban area is mapping the local area.  Fortunately, maps are easy to find.  Because my subdivision is over 30 years old, there are fully developed key maps available for purchase.  I can also utilize online mapping and driving directions sites to not only create maps of the streets, but also overlay such things as satellite imagery, points of interest, and anything else that would be necessary for my preparations.  I would create a large, laminated copy of the local area and/or subdivision map and place it on a wall, desk, or other convenient area where it can be easily referenced and manipulated.  If there is space, I would create a variety of maps; for example,  one that featured only streets, one that included satellite imagery, and one that includes locations of stores and gas stations.  I would also create smaller laminated versions and keep them in my vehicles, bug-out bags, and purse or wallet.  Many of the tactics listed in this article will refer back to studying and manipulating the larger map.

Mapping Information
Once the maps are created, take time to study the aerial view of the area in depth.  Look for places of entry and exit of the subdivision and local area (by car, motorbike, foot, etc.)  Imagine where roadblocks can be placed should the authorities implement them.  Find different ways in which you could travel from and to your home.  Study potential choke-points where gangs can trap residents.  Note the locations of homes where you could stop by and/or drop your kids off if you were prevented from being at or going to your home.  For those that like to mark up documents, you can take a marker, either erasable or permanent, and make these notations right on the map.

Make an ingress and egress plan for your neighborhood.  Determine ways that you can get in and out of the subdivision without taking streets.  Take note of places where you could hide or find cover from attack.  Make note of these locations on the map. 

Take is checking the local police blotters and statistics for crime in the area.  When I managed a crime board during my employment at a university police department, I placed different colored pins in areas where crimes were suspected or committed.  Each pin represented a different classification of crime.  This allowed the staff to quickly ascertain the prevalence of certain crimes, locations where crime was highly probable, as well as trends that may have developed.  You can place pins, colored stickers, or even dots from colored markers on areas of the map to determine areas most likely to be hit by criminals when society begins to break down.   
It would also be important to note the locations of known sex offenders, felons, and former criminals on the map.  Sex offender information is often located on a state database at no charge; information for the others may not necessarily be available, or could come at a cost.  While a person who has served their time may never commit another offense during his or her lifetime again, it is best to at least know where potential danger could lurk during times of peril.

Some subdivisions contract with local police or security firms to provide patrols during certain periods of the day.  Look for patterns among the patrols as well as the patrollers and note them on the map if possible.  For example, in my subdivision, one officer spends most of his shift sitting in the same location every time he is on duty there.  Another officer takes the same route driving through the subdivision while he is on duty.  Make note of any significant changes that the officers take during patrol; this could indicate patrolling for specific reasons or persons.  Try to engage the officers from time to time; they can be a valuable source of information about the happenings around the area.

Learn the Location
Now, let’s step away from the map and now engage the subdivision and local environment in a different perspective.  Take time out to schedule regular walks, bike rides, etc. in and around the neighborhood.  If this is something you already do, take alternative paths or go during varying times during the day.  Here, you can practice taking the alternative ingress and egress routes you found on the map, as well as searching for places to hide or take cover.  Make note of the vehicles that are usually parked in driveways or along the street.  Learn to recognize familiar faces.  Note activities that seem to be out of the ordinary for your location.  For example, I learned, in my former neighborhood, that one home was used as a drug manufacturing lab.  Many of the teenagers in the neighborhood sold drugs for the dealer that ran the lab.  I learned to be careful when confronting the teens that would vandalize areas around my home (including the For Sale signs in our yard) knowing that they possessed more weapons and firepower than I did. 

Get detailed information on your subdivision.  Learn the number of homes that are in the subdivision.  For large subdivisions, learn how the different villages are configured.  Find out the demographics that are pertinent information to know (average ages of household adults, average number of children per household, etc.)  Make regular searches for your neighborhood on the internet .Take note of information on the neighborhood web site and/or bulletin board.  Keep local emergency numbers of note, including fire, police, utility companies, homeowner’s association, etc.

You can also learn valuable intelligence information from the windows of your residence.  Find the best vantage points in your home that allow you to look around the neighborhood.  This works best in multi-story homes.  Take time to note the “normal” condition of the homes, yards, and streets around you.  Binoculars or telescopes can help you view particular locations that could normally be inaccessible.  It would be best to have a privacy screen on your window that limits others from seeing your own activities while you watch theirs.

Know Your Neighbors
Get to know your neighbors   Start or join a neighborhood patrol.  Try to engage them as you make your way around the neighborhood during your walks or bike rides.  Begin discussions about local activities, being careful to avoid the impression that you are gathering information for intelligence products.  Gossipers are a wonderful resource for intelligence analysts; they always have a need to talk to others and feel special telling every minute detail about everyone else’s lives.  In my case, I had a neighbor whom I did not know come up to me in the yard and ask me some details about my child that my wife and I would rarely share with others.  After asking her further, I found that her source of information was from another neighbor who sometimes dropped by inside our home in order to use our telephone (and I think may have overheard a conversation I or my wife had on our cell phones.)  Needless to say, the phone has not been available to her since.
Take time to learn about your neighbors in the digital realm.  Checking local voter registration information and/or property tax rolls can often provide names and addresses of the people around you.  You can cross-check their information (names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc.) through search engines, criminal and sex-offender databases, and information collection sources (such a Pipl, LinkedIn, Zabasearch, etc.) Perhaps your state may catalog concealed weapon license holders.  Look for social networking sites where they may reveal more information about their lives (and the lives of those around them.)  Do not forget to check the social networks for their (and your) children, as well as their linked friends as well.  Some people with bad intentions have a tendency to broadcast this information through these methods.

Create the Intelligence Report
With several pieces of data collected on the subdivision, the prepper can now develop intelligence reports that can aid him or her in readying for emergency situations.  The thing about intelligence products is that it is tailored to the needs of the person requesting the information.  When I developed a number of reports during my military time, I usually made them to answer specific questions that were posed to me.  Some questions you may need answered could include:

1. What are the most dangerous locations in my subdivision?
2. What person(s) can I depend on during an emergency?  How can I get to him or her?
3. Are there any persons to keep a lookout for during emergency situations?
4. What are the various ways to get in and out of the neighborhood under stealth conditions?
5. What can be seen inside of my home during the day?  At night? 
6. How many direct lines of sight lead to my property?  How can I mitigate that situation?
7. Is there something on my property that can attract “special” attention from others
8. Do I have a property feature that is outside of the norm for my neighborhood?
9. Do the police and/or security patrol near my home?  If not, how can I address that?
10. What areas of the neighborhood give me the best vantage point for spotting outsiders?
11. Who in the neighborhood may be armed? 
12. Who in my neighborhood is trained in specific skills that can be useful for my needs?
13. Are there other preppers that I can network with in my neighborhood?
14. How is the power grid routed in my neighborhood?  Can certain portions lose power while others retain theirs? 
15. What is the biggest potential threat to my subdivision?  What is the most likely threat?

Hopefully these suggestions can help preppers who, for one reason or another, enhance their readiness for surviving an emergency in suburban areas.  In a later post, I hope to include factors that can be used for those who may face emergencies while living in an urban area.

We’ve read about it in books, watched it in movies, or seen it on the news: People joining together to defend their neighborhood.  The point of this article is to review the general details needed to correctly accomplish this difficult objective.  Successfully defending a neighborhood in a societal collapse is extremely difficult, and it’s not even close to being as easy as it is commonly portrayed.  As you read this, please remember the golden rule of security: it is like being pregnant…either you are or you’re not!  Being partially secured is not much better than being completely unsecured. 

Overview and Expectations

The first part of a neighborhood defensive plan is deciding the type and size of the opposing force.  The majority of potential threats will be related to your demographic location.  Are you located close to a prison or juvenile correction facility?  Are you on the outskirts of a major city that has a high population of gangs or slum areas?  What if your neighborhood is rural but suburbs are located in every cardinal direction? 

Next, how large or small of an area is going to be defended?  The manpower and resources required vary drastically depending on the size of the defended region.  Do you need to defend a single dead-end street, or must two square blocks be secured?  As the defended area enlarges, all other defensive requirements are greatly multiplied.

Finally, how long do you plan on defending the area?  Is it going to be for 12 hours, 2 weeks, 1 month, or 2 years?  The manpower and supplies required expand exponentially the longer the defensive plan.

Knowing Your Neighbors

Now that the decision has been made that a defensive plan must be created, the question needs to be asked: who will participate?  In modern society, we seem to have lost the connection between our neighbors that we had prior to the internet, iPads, cell phones, and other technology which insulates us from each other.  Today, most people have no idea who their neighbors are.  You need to get out and build relationships with the people that live in your area.  This enables you to determine who is reliable and like-minded, who to avoid, and even if you even have registered criminals living close.

The next step is more difficult:  how do you address your defensive strategy to the people you have determined may be “Okay?”  If you are direct, will it turn people away?  Should you start the idea by forming a neighborhood watch?  With the nation becoming the Nanny State, be careful how you approach this topic.

Most importantly, be careful about personal details discussed with acquaintances.  Remember to practice OPSEC (Operational Security).  You should not tell anyone except your most trusted confidants the details of your level of prepping, the supplies you’ve stored, or your defensive tools.  You should never refer to yourself as a “Prepper.”   A good saying to remember is:  “You cannot un-ring a bell,” meaning that once information is provided, it cannot be taken back.  Be friendly, be polite, but be vague about your personal preparations.

Be aware that as a result of your quest to find like-minded people, you are by default putting yourself in the leadership position of your group.  You need to think long and hard about this detail.  Is this a responsibility for which you’re prepared or should you pass this important role off to another person that would be a suitable leader?  If you decide to continue the role as leader, be prepared for the duties that follow.  You will be the person in charge that everyone looks to for answers.  Furthermore you will also be the person that fingers are pointed at for blame.  As Shakespeare says in “Henry IV, Part 1:” “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

Who To Select For What Position
Personalities are just as important to a position as the actual position.  Do you want someone manning a checkpoint who only asks “Will we get to shoot someone”?  On the other hand, do you want someone at a checkpoint that refuses the concept of ever being confrontational no matter what the situation is?  You are looking for someone the military refers to as a “quiet professional”.  For defensive positions, you want someone that has a calm temper, sound mind, and possesses logical thought and reasoning: definitely NOT the Rambo type. 

The other consideration is a difficult.  No matter what good intentions people have during table times, you do not know what they will do in hard times.  You cannot blame them, but when faced with danger, people might choose their family’s safety over their sense of duty.  Once you know your potential group members better, you will get an idea of who man their post and who will flee.   In my professional experience, I have found that the people that talk a good game are not always the ones that will stand up and fight.  On the other hand, in many cases the person you think will run away turns out to be the most reliable person on your team.

The Plan: What Is Needed
This section is not about tactical drills, fighting techniques, or weapons handling.  It’s a general discussion to provide a concise and realistic concept for creating your area security plan.

A perimeter must be established around the defended area.  Two perimeters will actually be created: An extended perimeter (EP) and an inner perimeter (IP).  
I have found that the best way to plan the perimeters is to print high resolution screen-prints of the area using Google Earth.  These screen-prints should include the surrounding regions and be printed on true photo quality paper which is then laminated.  In this way permanent markers can be used for planning and then the printouts can simply be cleaned with rubbing alcohol for reuse later.

First you must create the EP.  This is the defensive line that intercepts the first presence of a threat.  All points of entry must be secured (roads, paths, trails, etc.) by establishing barriers & defensive fighting positions.  These positions must not be visible from a distance.  Avoid being out in the open on a road, instead be off to the side and within cover.  When possible, remove anything outside the position that can be used as offensive cover.  Do not make it easy for the possible threat!  

An additional question to consider for preparing a position or check point is what type of barrier do you want to use?  Such items as cars or farm machinery can be used to make movable barriers should you want to keep the ability for friendly vehicles to pass.  Another important detail is the need for designated areas for bathrooms and locations for rest and sleep.  If possible, a good idea is to build a shelter to protect you from the elements.  People’s motivation and enthusiasm can quickly disappear when they are made miserable by the elements.           

Once the positions are set up and all points of entry are secure, observation post (OP) is required if you have the manpower for it.  This position should preferably be in an elevated location and forward of the OP to spot threats before they get to the defended area.  Simply put, they are the early warning system.  3 people staffing the OP are the minimum requirement.  After 1 hour, it is difficult for the average person to stay 100% alert in an observation position.  You need a rotation established to keep one person watching, one resting, and one “at the ready.” 

Creating range cards is the next step to establish sectors of fire.  The last thing you want to do is be in a position where you might have to engage and risk casualties via friendly fire, range cards can prevent this tragedy.  In addition to factoring in the skill of your team members, you must consider the geography.  If you are in an urban area, there will be houses and neighboring communities outside your perimeter.  Knowing the range of your weapon is part of this as well.  For example, a bullet from a firearm as small as a .22 LR travels up to 1.5 miles.  A 5.56 mm NATO round exceeds 3,000 meters.  Keep these details in mind when planning your sector of fire. 

Outfit each OP and checkpoint with the following minimum list of items:

• PPE (Personal Protection Equipment: body armor, eye protection, etc.)
• Form of communication and signal between OP and residences inside the IP
• Defensive Tools
• Appropriate manpower
• Retreat route to IP (Primary & Secondary)
• Optics
• Food, water; stimulants
• Runner between posts (reduces the need for a guard to be absent)
• Lights

Pulling guard duty is extremely tiring.  Maintaining focus for extended periods of time becomes difficult and eventually staying awake is challenging as well.  Remember, you will be under a great deal of stress, and stress will wear you out just as fast as physical activity.  Stimulants are a good to have on hand, but there are good and bad stimulants.  Coffee and other liquid diuretics should be avoided.  They quickly cause urination, and since you should not urinate inside your position, you will be forced to leave your position which allows you to be seen and heard by the enemy.  Possible alternatives are caffeine gum or pills, natural vitamins, or similar.  In the past, as a Ranger, I found a method that sounds a little extreme but works.  Take a can of long cut snuff, add a capful of whiskey, and let it sit for a few days.  Insert the tobacco in your mouth and while the residue is on your fingers, rub your eyes.  Trust me, it is as unpleasant as it sounds, but it’s nowhere near as bad as being the person that fell asleep while on guard duty.    An important detail to factor in is the “crash” that happens after the substance wears off.  Remember, the more powerful the stimulant, the greater the crash.

The next step is to plan your IP.  The purpose of the IP is to provide the last line of defense in case the EP collapses.  In the center of it are your supplies and non-combatants.  People that are classified as non-combatants are: children, elderly, and those that are physically unable to actively defend the lines.  If you are fortunate to have medics or doctors in your group, keep them there as well.  Why risk the few people who are medically trained on the front line? 

The previously mentioned list and other details also apply to the IP.  The IP however has no defensive fallback plan.   If the EP collapses, and all positions retreat to the IP, you are in serious trouble.  At this point there are then two choices:  retreat if possible, or, re-enact The Alamo. 

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
            Think of SOPs as your team’s play book.  SOP’s are living procedures and thus always evolve.  Some details will change over time and others will not.  It is important that everyone knows what the group SOPs are, and they should always be available for reference.  SOPs must thoroughly cover all operational aspects of your group, thus they require a great deal of time and thought to create.  Listed below is a simple starter list of topics:

• Escalation of presence and force (amber, red, black)

At what point will it be decided that the neighborhood needs to get together?  Will you start by being low-profile and later have the appearance of a hard target?  How will the activation process be initiated?

• Established combat load for guard force (for each threat level)

At the Amber level, do you want people to have assault style weapons slung over their shoulder?  At Red level, do you want people in tennis shoes with only a pistol in their waist band?

• Dealing with noncombatants at checkpoints

How do you handle people that want to pass through?  What about people that want to enter?  What if they are people living in your neighborhood that do not want to take part in the defensive plan? 

• Dealing with LEOs

What image do you want to give Law Enforcement Officers? (should they still be active) 

• NEO Plan (Noncombatant Evacuation and Repatriation Operation)

If a retreat is something you see as being inevitable, how are you going to evacuate your children and elderly?  Where are they going?  What equipment and manpower will be needed for this?  At what point will this be needed before it is too late?

• Roles and responsibilities

What roles will be needed in your plan?  What is expected of them?  Will people be cross trained with a certain level of standards for skill set?

• ROE (rules of engagement)

At what level of force will you meet each threat?  Will it be able to be justified later in time?  Was it an equal level of force? 

• Outline of leadership

This is needed!  Without it, there would be no organization within the group.  Who is in charge?  Who is next in command?  Who is in charge of the positions?  Who is in charge of the people within the IP? 

• Dealing with prisoners and casualties

What will you do with people that might have to be detained?  Will they be treated humanely and have proper quarters to keep them?  What will you do with casualties (friendly and not friendly)?  What about their supplies?  What will done with their bodies? 

• Escorts and convoys

If the situation dictates the need to lock an area down, but stores are still open with what few items they have left, how will personnel move their safely and back?  Will one small group go into the store while another guards the vehicles?  Will you take the same route back and forth?

• Passwords and information security

Do you have a challenge and password made for the IP/OP?  What about a running password?  Are passwords put in code phrases or left with normal verbiage?

• Situations Dictating Actions

At what point do you collapse the EP into the IP?  When will you start evacuation (if possible)? Under what conditions will a retreat be called?

Other Considerations
Another form of protection that is usually overlooked is CYA (cover your a**).  If all hell has broken loose, and you are forced to protect yourself and the people around you, you need to protect yourself for the possible future ahead.  What I mean is that when the environment stabilizes, you may be made to answer for your defensive actions.  What if you are accused of assaulting someone who walked up to your check point?  If lethal force was used, was it justified?  Can you remember the name of the officer who visited your EP?  These facts should all be documented in a logbook.  Any and every incident should be logged, no matter how large or small.  You want to be as descriptive as possible.  When you are writing this, imagine you are trying to tell a judge your side of the story, because you very well could be using this logbook to do just that!  Ensure dates, times, who was involved, what happened, what actions were taken, and how every means possible was used prior to any type of force are all recorded.  This should be written down as soon as possible while the information is still fresh in your mind.  Details are the key to an effective report.

Another serious consideration is that after you have the area secured, what happens to the families that live inside the established perimeter that do not want to be part of what’s going on?  Will you protect them should the need arise?  What if they have family members attempting to break into the perimeter?  Are you going to deny access?  These are very difficult questions to plan for and there is a fine line between doing the right thing and self-declaring martial law on your street. 

The last point to consider is not specifically related to the previous discussion.  It is about the image you present to others.  It is not just about the clothing you are wearing.  Nuances ranging from body language, physical approach towards someone, facial expressions, and your overall demeanor can greatly affect the tone of the interaction you have with other people.  You most likely will meet more people that are non-combatants then are threats.  Is the head-to-toe camouflage approach the one you want to give as a first impression?  By appearance alone, you made yourself a potential combatant to others.  What type of reaction do you think you will get from police if they see you in all the latest tactical gear with a military style rifle slung over your shoulder?  What about the mother with kids in hand that you encounter?  At this point in time, everyone will have at least some level of fear in them.  Anybody that says differently has never been in a threatening environment.  Why escalate the situation if not necessary?  There is a time and place for camouflage and other gear, but in most cases dressing in practical civilian clothing (like cargo pants and overly large shirt concealing items you might have on you), along with a friendly but cautious personality will be most effective.  Simply put, when it comes time to decide how you want to appear and act towards others, ask yourself how you would react if you came across someone who looked and acted just like “you?”  Personally, if I was approached by someone dressed like ninja, armed, and had an attitude…I will be reacting much differently than if they seemed approachable and wearing earth tone non-tactical clothing.

Conclusion
You need to think long and hard about the realistic possibility of accomplishing this objective.  Yes, in movies and books it seems easy to accomplish:  most of the time the “good guys” always win.  After reading this article you should realize that it is much more complex then it seems.

The amount of manpower, supplies, and equipment needed are extremely difficult to obtain for a long term defensive strategy.  To provide a real life example, while living in an unsecured area (Red Zone) in Iraq, we needed a guard force of over 100 men to protect a large house 24/7.  That sounds like a lot, but as mentioned previously, a position does not have a single person; a guard rotation is required.  In our case roughly 50 men per 12 hour shift were necessary for the EP and IP to view in all cardinal directions and to provide protection for the non-combatants. 

With that in mind, how many people will you need to guard a small section of your neighborhood?   Continuing with another personal example, I was part of a force that guarded an urban compound in Baghdad which covered a space roughly 1 by 2 city blocks.  To protect it in a high threat environment we needed 300 static guards (12.5 hour shifts 7 days a week), 9 Quick Response Teams (consisting of 6 men on each team), and enough gear, supplies, ammo, water, and food to sustain everybody.  This doesn’t even consider the resources and supplies needed to establish a secured perimeter.

Another factor that hinders the ability to guard a neighborhood is the group of people available.  You will probably find more people not interested than those that are interested.  The people you do find will be in various ages and physical shape, some might have military or police training, some will not.  It will probably be a “ragtag” group.  Many will like the idea of defending their territory, but will not or cannot plan or practice.  Chances are you will not be fortunate to find yourself living in a community of ex-commandos ready to take tackle this matter head on. 

In conclusion, the reality of defending a neighborhood is that it is not practical and is better left as a fantasy.  I’ve only touched on a very few factors to consider, and there are so many more factors working against you.  It will be nearly impossible for a group of citizens in various states of health, with little or no training, even if they are enthusiastic, to successfully defend a neighborhood.

I have been a soldier for all my adult life: infantry, special operations and as a civilian security contractor. More recently, I have got into prepping for the survival of my family. I have been working slowly at it, and reading and researching a lot of the publications and related blogs. Given my background, I have a head start in the security area, but many have huge head starts over me in the other desired and required skills that will be essential to survival. I have a lot to learn and a lot to catch up on. However, I would like to contribute my two cents worth where I can.

The more I read, the more I form the opinion that certainly not all, but perhaps “some” or “many” preppers out there are making the simple mistake of thinking that with the subject of security, they can simply “tick the box”. Preparing for the protection of your family cannot be simply taken care of by having guns; not in the same way that hunger can be taken care of by stocking food. It is simply not sufficient to exercise your right to bear arms and own guns, without being tactically proficient. Even for the good shots, that is not the same as being able to perform tactically. The kind of tactical challenges that you will face post-SHTF will be in a different league to, for example, confronting an intruder in the dead of night with your handgun or shotgun. Think marauding gangs of looters, going from house to house, raping and killing. Even if you have a remote retreat, you will need tactical know-how at some point. I also believe that there will not only be a need for family and friend units to protect themselves, but if the collapse is ongoing for some time there will be a need to create tactical teams to conduct necessary operations to protect your area of operations and retreat from whatever threats emerge.

Reading through forums and articles I see many of the same questions out there about what techniques to use, how to defend yourself, your loved ones and your home, and similar. I hope to answer these questions. Also, the book takes you from tactics for survival of yourself and your family, including vehicle movement and defending your home, through to small unit tactics. These small unit tactics require the training of tactical teams and would form the basis of a group that you would use to conduct operations post-SHTF to defend your location, compound or small town. This compendium of infantry, special operations and close protection tactics would also allow you to carry out an effective American Insurgency against invading enemies, foreign or domestic, into the post-SHTF vacuum.
 
As an example, as part of my career in the military and security, I spent five years serving as a security contractor in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This included working on contract for the US Government in Iraq, a year of which was based out of Fallujah, the rest variously based out of Baghdad and country-wide, and also two years working for the British Government in Helmand Province and Kabul, Afghanistan. These roles were operational security roles that included exposure to multiple training methods and operational schools of thought, as well as both high profile and low profile mobile operations across Iraq and Afghanistan. In my book, I have incorporated a lot of the techniques and experience that I learned in both high and low profile movement in these combat theatres into techniques that you can apply to moving your family and conducting any type of post-collapse vehicle movement.
 
If you find yourself packing up your family in a "get out of Dodge" situation, then there are a number of factors to consider. The number of vehicles and personnel in your convoy will have a knock on effect to tactical potential, which will is discussed in more detail. However, to introduce the concept here: one vehicle gives you limited load carrying ability and no redundancy. If you are a standard type family you likely have a couple of cars. Take both. If you have the ability to take three cars and have a driver and security in each, then take them because you will 1) spread out your personnel so that there is less risk with the destruction of one vehicle 2) increased redundancy if one vehicle breaks down or is immobilized 3) increased your tactical options, which we will cover in detail in the chapter on vehicle operations, and 4) greatly increased your load carrying ability, perhaps without having to use a trailer which will benefit mobility.
 
One of the big threats faced in Iraq and Afghanistan is the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). We hope that this will not be a primary threat in a WTSHTF situation in the Continental United States, and the manual does not concentrate on them for this reason, but they may either be used in a limited fashion by certain groups or become a widespread threat in an insurgency type situation if one develops, for whatever reason. Here are a few interest points on IEDs:
 
IEDs come in various sizes and the effectiveness of an IED depends on large part as a function of size and placement, as well as accurate targeting. IEDs can be connected in a “daisy chain” and usually placed to match the anticipated spacing of vehicles in convoys, to cause maximum damage. IEDs can be initiated in a number of ways:
 
• Command Wire (CWIED). A physical connection between the initiation point (Firing point (FP) and the CWIED itself (Contact Point)); the need for this connection can aid in detection of the device and the FP.
• Remote Control (RCIED). The RCIED is detonated remotely using any one of multiple options. It can be anything from a cell phone to a garage door opener. This increases the enemy’s options for placement and FP, without the need to be physically connected to the device. This can make it harder to detect the device.
Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED). Simply put, the IED is inside the vehicle. This type of IED will usually be remotely detonated, or can be on a timer (exception: see SVBIED, below). The VBIED allows for mobility and placement of large IEDs. However, they can be detected: a simple example can be a car that is packed with Home Made Explosives (HME) and therefore the suspension is weighed down, making the vehicle suspicious as it sits parked at its placement point.
 
Off-Route Mine: (A targeted IED capable of defeating armored vehicles)
 
• The off-route mine is very effective and can defeat many types of armor. It uses the “Monroe effect”(shaped charge) to create a molten jet of metal that will pierce armor, causing damaging effects inside the vehicle as it passes through. The Monroe effect places explosives in behind a metal cone or dish: on detonation, the cone inverts and melts into a stream of metal. This is the same effect used by a standard RPG, with the exception that an RPG detonates on contact with a vehicle, whereas the Explosively Formed Projectile goes off several feet away by the side of the road.
• The effect of the device can be devastating but usually limited in scope. It will pass through armor, and there have been multiple circumstances of these devices causing traumatic lower limb amputation of personnel in the driver and front passenger seats of vehicles, but personnel in other compartments being left unscathed.

Victim Operated Improvised Explosive Device (VOIED). This type of IED is detonated by the actions of the victim. In order to be effective the IED will usually target a location that is known to be used by coalition forces. VOIEDs can be anti-personnel or anti-vehicle. The type of location targeted would usually be somewhere that locals could avoid, but that forms a channel for military personnel or vehicles. These devices, or the corresponding safe routes, may also be marked, often in unusual ways, similar to the way that mines are often marked in the Balkans i.e. piles of rocks, sticks, cloth tied to markers etc.
 
About The Author: Max Velocity is the pen name of a former Special Forces soldier and private security contractor. He is the author of the nonfiction book Contact!: A Tactical Manual for Post Collapse Survival.

The article about OPSEC with utility workers reminded me of some of the deterrents listed in the book, Secrets of a Superthief by John MacLean. The author was a very successful thief until he violated one of his own rules and was caught. In his book he details what vulnerabilities he looked for in a victim, and how he performed his thefts. Chances are you have taken precautions but reading his book will real to you the
chinks in your armor. The book leaves you feeling vulnerable, and is a wake-up call to fortifying your defenses against theft or unlawful entry by undesirables.

The book is out of print and copies are snatched-up as soon as they become available on the secondary market. I highly recommend the book. - Rick B.

Hi Mr Rawles,
Another tactic used by house burglars is to break in to your car.  They will steal your garage door opener and your registration.  They clip them together for identification.  Then a few days later when your car is gone they drive up, open your garage door, enter, close the door and break in to your home.  Unseen, they can load up and leave.  We found this out when our car was broken into. They dumped the glove box for the paper work, and didn't take the radio.  Luckily they didn't find the garage door opener.  When we reported the crime the police filled us in on what was going on.  Now we keep the garage door openers with us.

Another trick on the garage door is to make a hole in the door, then reach in with a stiff wire [with a hook formed on the end] to pull the door's emergency release cord.  The easy fix for that is to cut the cord so there is no handle on the end.

Have a good day. - Karl G.

I want to warn and educate my fellow SurvivalBlog readers about a growing trend of people impersonating utility workers and other people in authority to gain entry to people’s homes.  My awareness of this was recently heightened when just such an attempt was made on my home against my wife. I was truly surprised, after all the talks we have had about security, just how unprepared she was for this situation.

Several days ago a man came to our door saying he needed to look at our gas meter. This man was driving a white pickup, which he had parked across the street, with an orange cone placed behind it. He was wearing a baseball hat, T-shirt, and cargo shorts with tennis shoes and was carrying some papers. He insisted that he had to come in and check the meter and the gas connections in the house. My wife informed him that there was no need as we had the gas removed from our house several years before.  This seemed to confuse him and he started to quiz my wife on when and how could she be sure. He said he still needed to check and kept placing his foot on the stoop as if he wanted to come in.  At this time a neighbor came out of their house and started to make a lot of noise to attract the workers attention and to let him know he was watching.

Now that the worker had a witness my wife said he seemed nervous and asked to check to see if there was a meter around back. He also asked if there was a dog or a gate.  My wife told him that he could check and he then went around the side of the house for a minute and then got in his truck and left.  She then messaged me at work to laugh at how stupid the natural gas person was since we did not have gas.

I realized this person was not with the gas company. I immediately called my wife back and told her to call the police right away and tell them what had happened. She also called the gas company and found out they had no one in the area. When speaking to the police operator they kept asking if the person who came to the door had on a red shirt indicating that this was not the first call they had received with this sort of attempt.

It is very interesting to note that with something as simple as an orange traffic cone and a piece of paper this fake worker was almost able to gain entry to my home and did not set off any alarms in my wife’s head. She had totally bought his story and was going along with it. I have no doubt that if this person had gained entry to my home a tragedy would have ensued afterwards. Gaining fast access to the interior of the home is the point to either case it for later robbery or to carry out some attack right then.  Another form of this scam is to trick the occupant of the house to follow the worker to the rear of the home and keep them busy in the back yard while a conspirator robs the interior of the home.

As preppers we spend a lot of time on OPSEC and not standing out and in this case it creates a chink in our armor. If this person had attempted an assault on my home it would have been over in short order, their slow approach allowed them to get a lot closer than they ever should have been able to. This person could not have found out I was an interesting target if they had checked my internet life or even observed my home for any period of time. They chose my home to attempt this simply because they drove by and saw my wife in the yard watering the garden, most likely, and the house did not stand out. They thought they had found an average suburban home to go after because that is what I wanted them to see. I had not realized that my front door represented, with just my wife present, such an obvious breach.

To clear this deficiency I have placed some subtle but necessary changes to the exterior. First is a simple beware of the dog sign. While I don’t actually have a dog, the fear of a dog is big demotivator to the type of person who wants to try these sorts of scams. They are looking for the easiest most readily available target they can find. Any sign that your house is not an easy plum to pluck and they will move on.
The second item is the addition of a camera at my front door. People who perpetuate these sorts of scams cannot stand to have themselves documented. The last thing they want is to show up on the evening news. Even a fake camera is a deterrent to them.  With the introduction of wireless cameras installing them around your house, with built in infrared abilities, can be accomplished for less than a $500 and be done in an afternoon. Exterior cameras are no longer the hugely bulky items they once were and have become common in neighborhoods on people’s homes. So while they do mark my house as being security conscious, they don’t stand out like a red flag that I am prepping.   The idea is to be just obvious enough scam artists and home invaders will steer clear of my home but not to stand out like a sore thumb.

I have upgraded my gates and my screen door. The exterior of my fences and gates are smooth and do not allow easy climbing and the gate latches tight from the inside and has no exterior latch. The Screen door has been swapped out for a locking screen door that is made of steel bars painted white to blend in. you can now open the door and have a grate between you and anyone at the door. Once again all carefully designed to blend in, but to make sure the right level of deterrent is presented so that the fake utility workers move on to easier targets.

The biggest changes are procedural. Having a standard way of dealing with visitors to the front door goes a long way in mitigating these dangers. To help SurvivalBlog readers with this threat I offer this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for dealing with Utility workers when they present themselves. While I refer to utility workers I am also referring to any person who might appear at your door on any given day. Most criminals tend to stick with utility or alarm company workers, but even traveling missionaries should not be above suspicion. Criminals are looking to exploit the conditioned response in people with these roles so anything you might feel comfortable with is fair game to use against you.

1. When anyone comes to your door do not open it for them right away. Observe them through the peep hole or the window. Ideally have a storm door, steel barred door, or other exterior barrier on your front door that is closed and secured to slow or stop any dash for sudden entry. You want to be able to close your door quickly on any attempted rush. A chain lock is a poor substitute for an exterior barrier unless very strongly attached to the frame and the door. You want to slow or stop the rush long enough to acquire a weapon and call for help.
2. Ask the person at the door to step back from the door. Create a buffer between you and them before you open the door. Experience has shown that a legitimate door to door person will already do that as they are worried about dogs or other attacks coming from the door. Predators on the other hand will crowd the door as they are focused on getting inside.  This should be a clue as to the person’s intentions.
3. If there is more than one person keeps both of them in sight and don’t allow them to split up or for them to split you up if you have more than one person with you.
4. A legitimate utility worker or city worker will be wearing a uniform and have Identification with them. In most localities door to door vendors are also required to have ID. Ask for this ID. If they cannot present ID return inside of your home and call the police.
5. If the person at your door does have ID have them wait while you check their ID. Call their office. Look up this number for yourself. Do not accept any number given to you by the person presenting the ID on a flyer or other printable material. Often these numbers are faked so that if you call them a co-conspirator at that number will vouch for them. By finding the number yourself you eliminate this chance and make it impossible for them to spoof the number.
6. Do not give any information to the person at the door. Especially the number of people at home at the time. Also do not reveal any items such as weapons, alarms, or animals in the home. One of the major tricks for people casing homes to rob later is to pose as Alarm company technicians. They will offer a free security “check” to find out just how unsecure your home is and then use this information to rob you at a later date.
7. Inspect their vehicles. Do they have the utility or other logos on them clearly marked? Are there tools in the vehicle? Legitimate workers are driving company vehicles and will be marked as such. Due to legal issues workers do not drive their own vehicles, especially city workers. They will have tools with them as their company won’t want them to have to make two trips to do work.  
8. If the person is offering a service you might actually have use for schedule them to come back at another time of your choosing, preferably when more people will be around if you are alone. A legitimate business will return, a scam or stick up artist will not. Stick to your guns no matter how many limited time offers they dangle in front of you.
9. Know your utility easements and where they run on your property. Do not allow workers into your backyard if all your easements are in the front.  You cannot stop a legitimate worker from reaching their proper easements but you can make them verify themselves. Have them bring the police or a supervisor to the scene before they start work.
10. Take pictures. Take pictures of their vehicle and of the person. A person scoping out a house to rob will not come back if they know their now exists a link to the location. They are on your property or on a public right of way so you have a right to take pictures of them at any time.
11. If the person is using the excuse of an emergency, such as a gas leak, to gain entry to your home demand that their police escort be present. In a real emergency of this nature they don’t send one guy with a traffic cone out to deal with it, there will be hundreds of responders to verify this person’s story.

Ultimately it boils down to the fact that, even if you called the person to your home, if you don’t feel comfortable ask them to leave or arm yourself and call the police. You have every right to question a person’s authority or right to be somewhere. Don’t let people push you around or try to bully you, Stand your ground.  It is far better to be perceived as rude and paranoid than to be perceived as an easy target.

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”- General George S. Patton.

Every general would tell you that planning is necessary, but our perfectly laid plans never end up working the way we think in real life situations with a nearly infinite amount of variables.  As an Army officer, I found Patton’s quote to be very true.  Unless you have all the time in the world, you are not going to be able to create the perfect plan to cover every possible contingency.  But you can certainly prepare for the greatest threats.  In operational terms, we call these the “most dangerous” enemy course of action (COA) and the “most likely” enemy course of action.  The threat is what drives the basis of your overall plan.

To give an example of how these enemy courses of action would differ, consider a martial law situation.  For the average citizen, the most likely enemy course of action by the government would be setting up checkpoints, restricting travel, and enforcing a curfew.  As an aside, I was the airfield “pusher” (or the officer that pushes forces and resources from the main base to the objective) for a martial law scenario where we rehearsed locking down San Antonio on three separate occasions with a few hundred soldiers and associated equipment and supplies.  So these contingency plans are already in place by the government in case of a break down in social order.  And I should know, because before I was awakened to the reality of things, for a time I was an integral part of the very thing I am now preparing against.  In a martial law situation, the most dangerous enemy course of action would be aggressive raids into private homes, confiscation of stockpiles, weapons, and internment of anyone considered “dangerous” or “too patriotic” by the government.  It is important to consider both threats.  You plan mostly for the likely COA, but you have to be prepared for the most dangerous COA to a degree.  Now there might be some debate as to whether these COAs might be reversed, but that is for you to decide and requires that you stay informed and watch carefully how events unfold.

There are many types of rehearsals ranging from walking through a process on paper to actually executing your plan as close to real life as possible.  Your overall plan about whether to bug-in or bug-out should be simple enough for the children in your household to understand.  Ask your children questions about what we would do if the power went out, if water was not available, what to do if a stranger knocks on your front door, or what to do if a severe storm hits your area.  Ideally, you have the time to do the best rehearsals possible and make them as realistic as you can.  Some of the tactical types of rehearsals are limited in use, considering that you are likely in your home and are not sitting in on a tank, monitoring the radio, waiting to roll out on a mission.  But I will mention all types, because in some limited circumstances, they might apply.  The rehearsal types below are in order of preferable to least effective:

Full Rehearsal- Tactically speaking, you would mount your vehicles and physically maneuver through the operation as if it were actually happening, talking through it on the radio as you go.  In rehearsing a bug-out situation, this would involve grabbing your bug-out bags and any other equipment you would need, jumping in the car, and driving your designated route to your predetermined bug-out location.  There you would secure the area and set up your camp.  It would be beneficial to stay a while and cook a meal and even sleep there for the night, using the bug-out scenario as a kind of camping trip. 

Key Leader Rehearsal- In a tactical rehearsal for a company-sized operation, the company commander, first sergeant, executive officer, platoon leaders, and platoon sergeants would all get together and rehearse the mission.  The key leaders in turn must have smaller rehearsals with their respective units.  The key leaders also rehearse contingencies.  1st platoon is destroyed, and now 2nd platoon must become the main maneuver force.  This ensures that all key leaders understand the entire concept of the operation rather than just their part of it.  This type of rehearsal is usually done in conjunction with a terrain model rehearsal described below.  In a prep situation, this might be a rehearsal with you and your spouse or with the adults in your prepper group.  If you are fortunate enough to have connected with like-minded adults, it is important that you rehearse the division of labor that would take place if you were all in the same compound.  You do not want to wait until everyone arrives during an emergency to decide who is going to keep the generator functioning or who is responsible for providing medical care.  It is important to rehearse what might happen if you have to operate in a “degraded mode.”  Part of your group might not make it to the bug-out site or worse face internment.  If your medical specialist does not make it, someone else must be able to provide medical care.  In the Army, we accomplished this by having Combat Medics but also having Combat Lifesaver certified soldiers on each vehicle in case we were separated from the medics.  No one should be indispensable, because odds are you will need that person exactly when you cannot have them help you.  Cross-training on tasks is how you avoid having a gap in your skills sets as a group.

Terrain Model/Sandbox Rehearsal- This type of rehearsal is one of my personal favorites when limited time is a factor.  In a time crunch, you could use your child’s sandbox for this or just use different items for terrain features in a cleared area.  The terrain model does not have to be to scale but it should show all of the key terrain features and be recognizable.  Conversely though, I have seen a group of four soldiers spend half a day preparing an excellent terrain model including grid lines from the map.  The better your model is, the better your rehearsal will go.  The key leaders or all soldiers in a smaller unit would take up their positions on this terrain model and then move like their vehicles would on the field.  You would be surprised how you actually remember better when you have to physically walk through the operation, and you notice where other adjacent units are, so you can orient yourself.  Mostly, this type of rehearsal would be used to show your bug-out route from your home and show how you would set up security in your location once you arrived.  Even rehearsing a bug-in scenario, you could make a model of your home and talk through how to protect it from roving gangs of looters, refugees, or a raid.

Map Rehearsal- When time is of the essence, and you need to execute a hasty plan very soon after you formulate it, this type of rehearsal works well.  You lay out a map or make a sketch of one and walk through the concept of the plan.  This works as a suitable substitute to a terrain model rehearsal, provided that everyone can read a map.  A forest fire or even routine road construction might cause road closures and the need may arise for you to use your alternate route to your safe haven, and this type of rehearsal helps easily illustrate that contingency.  A bug-out location should have optimally two entry-egress routes.  You do not want to become trapped in your bug-out location or have only one way to travel there.  This type of rehearsal works well for contingency plans.  You might only have time to do a full rehearsal on your main travel route and do a map rehearsal of the alternate route later.

Computer Rehearsal- It would be difficult to rehearse a bug-out or bug-in scenario with a computer, but computers allow us to rehearse skills that are expensive to rehearse in real life.  The Army utilizes expansive training centers with high-tech simulators, because even though it is expensive to operate simulators, it is much less expensive than running real vehicles through a field exercise.  A single tank platoon with four tanks can totally drain one fuel truck not to mention the cost of vehicle maintenance with turbine engines running around a quarter of a million dollars when brand new.  Call of Duty does not a warrior make, but hunting and tactical games can illustrate the importance of cover and concealment, shooting techniques, and tactical movement without having to pay the price for your mistakes in the real world.  Practicing with high caliber rifle ammunition is practically like shooting dollar bills out of your barrel.  Save the live fires for when your shooters are more proficient on marksmanship basics and will benefit more from the training.  Check out magazines like Armchair General for reviews on lifelike games that could be used for tactical training and developing strategic thinking.

Radio Rehearsal- This is the worst type of rehearsal and should only be used if you have no time for anything else.  In fact, I have used this type of rehearsal just to say that we had “checked the block” if I ran out of time for a real rehearsal.  This particular rehearsal requires an emcee to walk through a scenario, and then the individuals respond over the radio describing their actions and reporting as if they were engaging the enemy.  It is useful for working out sequences and triggers for events, but there is zero visual component or physical component as with a terrain model rehearsal.  You might use this rehearsal to work out a phone tree or establish redundant contacts within your prepper group, but that is the only practical use it would provide.

Keys to Productive Rehearsals- With all training, you want to make it as realistic as possible.  Rehearsals are the same way.  Go through all the details in a full rehearsal and pretend like it is the real thing.  If you take the rehearsal seriously, so will other people in your family and prepper group.  If you are going to bug-out, make sure everyone knows what they are grabbing if you have to leave the house in under five minutes.  Make sure everyone has a role to fulfill that fits into your larger plan.  If your son is supposed to grab the mobile stove and does not know where to find it, it is better to find that out now in a rehearsal instead of in real life.   If he is responsible for setting up the stove once you arrive to the bug-out site, make him do it.  Have him set it up in a safe location, start the fire (if he’s old enough), and then cook something on it.  Maybe he uses too few briquettes the first time, so he has to add more the next time around.  Everyone should be very familiar with the equipment they will be using.  An emergency is not the time to figure out how a stove works or if you are missing some part that you need.  Break out some of your survival food for realism, and so that everyone can get used to eating it.  I can tell you from experience, if you are used to eating only fresh foods and then have to immediately switch to a steady diet of Meals-Ready-to-Eat, you are going to have a very rough transition.  There is a reason why half of the Army walks around with Tabasco in their pockets while in the field.
Differing weather conditions can affect your speed and processes as well.  Do a rehearsal during the pleasant spring months, but also do one in the middle of a cold winter.   If you are bugging-out, it might take much longer to get to your site due to seasonal weather conditions.  You might even get stranded on the way there.  Hopefully, your bug-out location is closer than that.  Inevitably, it will be the worst weather conceivable when you have to bug-out.  In the Boy Scouts, we were frequently rained on during our camp outs.  It was very valuable in showing us how you need to bag everything to keep it dry and set up measures to keep mud out of your tents.  Do not cancel your rehearsal due to weather.  An emergency will not give you a rain check. 

Remember that the point of a rehearsal is to make sure that everyone understands the plan and their part of it and to practice your plan.   It also serves to find any weaknesses in the overall plan, which can be remedied before you have to do this in real life.  For those with children, if they have never been camping or are not what you would call outdoorsy, it could be a huge shock in a bug-out situation if they have to both adjust to the crisis situation and have to learn very quickly how to function in the wild.  Do not let them take their iPods, iPads, Smart Phones, and the rest of their gadgets with them in this scenario, since they are unlikely to work anyhow during the real emergency.  At most you might consider a handheld video game if you have a solar charger with extra batteries.  It might improve their morale during a bug-out scenario, but it also might serve as a terrible distraction.  It really depends on the child and whether they are playing a game for entertainment or as a vehicle for escapism.  Escapism is extremely dangerous during a survival scenario.  You want everyone to be focused on the task at hand but also have opportunities for fun interpersonal activities with family and group members such as card games. 

You may never want to touch your equipment or reserves until the real emergency, and even though it costs more money to have extras to rehearse with, it is crucial.  Not only does this allow you to practice with the equipment you will be using, it allows you to find any broken parts that you need to fix or to find substitutes that would work in a pinch.  You might have a suture kit in an aid bag, but you need to have that practice kit too, so that you can become good at it before you need to do it for real on an actual wound.

When a main battle tank is damaged, it is functioning in “degraded mode.”  The main gun might be disabled, the thermal sights blown to pieces, the radio is inoperative, or track thrown and unable to maneuver.  You learn to deal with each of these contingencies alone and together.  Do a mini-rehearsal at home sometime.  Try turning the power off for a few hours.  Turn off the main water supply and try to flush toilets on your tri-level home by lugging buckets of water up the stairs.  Maybe you will decide that everyone must use the one toilet closest to your water stores.  Operating in degraded mode will help you focus on certain aspects and work out the bugs in your plan without having to turn your home into a war zone.  In this way, you could have mini-rehearsals for a few hours without entirely disrupting regular routines.  Though an emergency is likely to do just that, so this method just provides another way to fit in some extra practice. 

As mentioned previously, the plan has to be simple enough that the slowest soldier or youngest child can grasp it.  Backbriefing is incredibly important.  If your children can walk you through the plan, then you know that they understand all of it and not just their small part of it.  Adults and children alike are hesitant to ask questions, because they think it will make them look stupid in front of a group.  I have had soldiers nod their heads at me when briefing them to only give me a blank stare ten minutes later when I asked them to walk me through the plan.   Everyone has to get it no matter how many times you must walk through it.  That gains you peace in knowing that you communicated effectively and were understood, and confidence that the plan does not depend on your personal orchestration of it because others will know what to do. 

It would be appropriate to end this article with a paraphrase from another great general, Helmut von Moltke:  “The plan never survives first contact with the enemy.”  Your plan and the rehearsals of that plan serve as a rallying point.  The plan is meant to focus everyone on the main objective even when everything is falling apart around you.  It is almost guaranteed, that things will not play out exactly as you predict, but when you have to overcome those obstacles you will always end up coming back to the main focus of your overall plan to survive and protect those you care about.

Mr. Rawles,
Recently a reader responded to a recent post titled 'Improving Your Shooting Skills Without Spending a Fortune on Ammo' and inquired whether or not it would be a good idea to shoot without eye and hearing protection in order to get a feel for 'real world' shooting conditions if subjected to such. You wisely responded that doing so is ill-advised.

I would like to make note that in a real world shooting experience a phenomenon known as 'Auditory Exclusion' often occurs. Auditory Exclusion is the lack of awareness of the loud report of firearms one would normally hear at the range when the firearm is being used in a real life situation. Readers can do a web search on the term for more information.
Hunters, police, and military all report this phenomenon. The very sound which leaves ones ears ringing at the practice line is neither heard at the time nor is there the after effect of ringing in the ears once the event is over.
I have personally experienced it numerous times, along with the total lack of awareness of recoil from a .30-'06 rifle when shooting a deer.
The same shot that kicks violently and would leave my ears ringing at the range without ear protection is totally un-felt and unheard.
There is no reason to not wear the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment at the practice line.
Thanks for SurvivalBlog, and may God keep you and yours. Cordially, - J.S.

Sir:
To solve the SHTF hearing problem there are several products on the market that are small, lightweight, unobtrusive that let normal levels of noise in but block louder gun shop type noise.  My wife (a retired USAF Nurse Colonel with PhD in nursing) and I use Surefire’s Sonic Defender Plus EP4 Hearing Protectors.
 
As an NRA Pistol Firearms Instructor, I find these work very well BUT I always wear “double” ear protection when at the range.
( I have no financial interest in the SureFire Co other than helping their profits by all the money I have spent on their excellent line of personal and tactical lights)
 
Keep up the good work. Stay safe. - Hook

I am a retired IPSC, IDPA, Three Gun, Bowling pins, Trap, and Skeet competitive shooter. I have spent countless hours practicing in both dry fire and live fire sessions. I’ve competed at local, regional, and national levels. One of the most effective and the least costly methods I used for practice was dry firing [, also known as dry practice.] 

Dry firing is an excellent way to improve your marksmanship without expending expensive ammo. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing like live fire practice however dry fire drills can make live fire practice much more effective. The other benefit of dry fire is you don’t have to travel to the range to do it. You can do it at home. I used to dry fire in an unused office at work. My boss is open-minded!!

Dry firing in its simplest form is the repetitive activity of simulated firing of your gun by dropping the hammer on an empty chamber. At one time pulling the trigger on an empty chamber may have damaged a firearm. Not true with today firearms. I have dropped the hammer on the empty chamber of revolvers, auto pistols, shotguns, and rifles many thousands of times without problems. My IPSC guns have been dry fired too many times to count and still are 100 percent reliable. If you are worried about damage there are several types of dummy rounds (“Snap Caps”) on the market in many calibers that are designed to absorb the impact of the firing pin when the hammer is dropped. Snap caps also offer a good way to practice loading without handling live ammo.

Why dry fire? In my early days of competing in shooting sports I dry fired a half hour every night for more than a year. Dry fire practice did several things for my shooting ability.

1. I became very familiar with the handling and feel of the firearms I was using to compete. In stressful situations familiarity helps prevent firearm operator error. Have you ever short stroked and jammed a pump shotgun? Can you clear a jamb under pressure without thinking?
2. By switching the type of dry fire drills I was doing on a regular basis I built skill and familiarity in a variety of shooting situations. I’ll get into that more later on.
3. I improved my ability to gain a proper sight picture quickly.
4. My target to target transition improved greatly.
5. My shooting confidence increased dramatically.
6. I Built muscle memory, a key element to accurate and consistent shooting. Muscle memory also helps prevent operator error as mentioned in #1.
7. My point shooting skills improved greatly. Point shooting is shooting by pointing the firearm in the direction of a target and not using the sights, typically a close quarters method. It takes some practice and muscle memory too point shoot effectively.

How to dry fire: Applies to Rifle, Pistol or shotgun shooting
First and foremost is safety. Is your gun unloaded? Check again! Remove all live ammunition from your dry fire practice room. Do not dry fire in a direction where people may be or where a bullet could go through creating a danger to someone. I always pointed toward the cement walls in my basement. When you are handling your firearm you should concentrate on a few of safety practices. 1. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. This is a good practice anytime you handle a firearm. 2. Don’t ever point the gun in an unsafe direction. Yes, I know you made sure it isn’t loaded, without checking again are you so confident that your firearm isn’t loaded that you’d point it at yourself and pull the trigger? (Please don’t) Why chance it!  3. Be aware of where the muzzle of your firearm is pointed at all times. Everyone reacts to stress differently, good gun handling habits help ensure you won’t accidentally shoot someone.  

Dry Fire drills: What you do and for how long is up to you. I usually practiced for about a half hour at a time. This gave me enough time to warm up and get enough repetitions to make the practice drills worth while. Any duration of time is better than none. Keep a record of the types of drills you practice so you can repeat the drills again later. Doing a drill once and never again has no value. The following is a list of basic drills that can be used by anyone and are general gun handling skill builders.

Dry fire drills:

1. Draw and fire from a holster. Use the holster you plan on carrying. Wear a jacket over the holster and practice how you will move your jacket to gain access to your holstered firearm. If your drawing hand is injured and you can’t use it now what do you do?
2. Draw and fire off a table, out of a drawer or door of a cabinet.
3. Start with an empty gun, load and fire ….. Use snap caps! You won’t believe how long this can take if you don’t practice it or are under stress. Use snap caps not live rounds to simulate loading your magazines.
4. Draw from under a chair or car seat. Mix it up you will never know when or where you may need to access your firearm.
5. Don’t limit any practice to just pistol, work with your rifle or shotgun.
6. One handed and both hands. What happens if you have a broken right hand (or left) can you shoot with the other hand? Can you shoot one handed? Always try to use both hands as your main foundation for grip on the firearm and practice one handed and weak handed alternatives.
7. Reloading – Tactical and dropped magazine. A tactical reload is when the expended magazine from your firearm is retained in your control during a reload. In IPSC we always dropped expended magazines on the ground. IPSC is a game and not the best practice for real life self defense. Practice retaining the expended magazine as part of your reloads. The one round left in a retained magazine could save your life later not to mention you don’t want to leave a magazine behind if you don’t have to. Also practice accessing magazines from where you store them on your body. Magazine pouches? Pockets? I put a snap cap in each magazine for practicing reloads. This helps protect the feed lips of the magazine and in single stack pistols is helps guide the magazine into the magazine well just as live ammo would.
8. Practice clearing jambs. You can use a snap cap to simulate a jammed firearm or treat the gun as if jammed and clear it by working the action of the gun as you would expect to in the case of a real jamb.
9. Use small targets as aiming points. In the Mel Gibson's movie The Patriot the protagonist tells his sons to “Aim small, shoot small” when engaging a British patrol. What he meant was to pick a point of your target and aim at it, don’t aim at the whole target. The discipline of picking a point of aim a.k.a. “calling your shot” builds accuracy. If you practice this enough you will be able to aim at a target, shoot and without looking know where your bullets hit. It works!
10. When using iron sights concentrate on seeing the front sight every time you pull the trigger. The biggest mistake many shooters make (besides jerking the trigger – more later) is pulling the trigger before they have a proper sight picture. If you see the front site when the gun goes off and have even close to proper sight alignment you will likely hit the target you are aiming at. I was working with one shooter who keep missing the target (in this case a deer) so after one of many missed shots I asked him what he saw just as he pulled the trigger, His response was blue sky! I told him then and kept reminding him all day to not pull the trigger unless he sees brown. He got the next deer he shot at. When asked he said he saw brown. If you don’t see the front site you will likely miss.

A note about Electronic Red Dot Sights: Red dots sights are a wonderful invention and can make shooting much easier. I strongly recommend learning to shoot properly and effectively with iron sites and not rely on red dots as your only sighting platform. Learning iron sights first will make you a better shooter and won’t leave you high and dry and guessing if your battery dies.   

11. Trigger control. Of all shooting mechanics this is the hardest to learn and the most likely to make you miss what you are shooting at. Proper trigger pull is a combination of what part of your finger contacts the trigger and how you pull the trigger. I find that the centering the pad between the tip of my trigger finger and the first knuckle makes for the best finger position on the trigger. You want to be able to pull the trigger straight back toward the grip of the gun. Inserting your finger to far in the trigger guard causes the gun to move slightly because you are not pulling straight back on the trigger. A 1/16” shift in the gun can mean six inches or more on the target. When you pull the trigger you need to pull evenly from start to finish. The trigger should break unexpectedly, this is not the same as accidentally, squeeze, don’t jerk or yank the trigger. In other words pull slow and easy until the gun goes off. This takes some getting used to and will speed up with practice. If you practice this it is will become second nature and your shooting accuracy will improve greatly. One way to tell if your trigger pull is being done properly is to balance a coin on the barrel of the firearm you are using to dry fire and pull the trigger. The coin should stay put….yes even on a round barrel. You can practice this way if you like. If your gun is properly sited and your shots are consistently left, right, low or high of the point of aim there’s a good chance it is due to how you are pulling the trigger. If you are having this problem try different finger positions and or use the coin on the barrel to see if you are jerking the trigger. Stop and figure it out or you will install a bad habit and it will be hard to correct.
12. Point shooting. One way to practice this is to look at the target, close your eyes then bring up your firearm and point it (eyes still closed) at the target. Open your eyes and look where your firearm is pointed. Is it on target? Developed muscle memory will put your point on target with out using the sights. Point shooting can be fast reaction shooting albeit not the most accurate.
13. Shoot on the move. One thing that 10 years of IPSC taught me was how to shoot and walk (and sometime run) at the same time. Yes it can be done accurately however it takes a lot of practice. To do this you need to think of your upper body (roughly the waste or belt line and above) and below the waste as being on a swivel and independent of each other. Practice holding your sights on target while walking. Your lower body needs to work independent of your upper body to absorb the shock of foot falls and motion while keeping your upper body steady so as not to bounce your sights. It takes some practice and is easier than it sounds.

Bad practice makes for bad habits!
When you perform dry fire drills your focus should be on accuracy and consistency of movement for a given drill. In other words do the drill the say way every time. Do practice more than one type of drill on a regular basis. Doing the same drill every day, day after day will limit you and make other activities with a firearm feel awkward. Try to get comfortable doing many types of drills. Practice your drills in a way that best represents what conditions may occur in your situation. Having the ability to draw from a holster and hit a target in ¾ of a second probably doesn’t have a real life practical application unless of course you are planning a gun fight at the OK Corral. Pulling a gun from a drawer quickly and safely does.
               
Live Fire Practice:
Because ammo is very expensive I recommend having a plan worked out prior to going to the range to practice. More than any other type of practice it is easiest to practice bad habits while doing live fire drills. I pick two or three areas where I need practice and work on these exclusively. I also recommend setting a limit to how much ammo you will use during a given practice. I usually limited serious practice to 200 rounds. This may seem like a lot to some and not enough to others. I found that by the time I reached 200 rounds I was starting to tire out. Be aware of how your body is reacting. Fatigue may not be the same as feeling tired and might show up as diminished ability to accurately hit the target. When competing I was well conditioned for shooting and fired thousands of rounds annually and still would tire after a couple hundred rounds. Your fatigue point may be a lot fewer rounds or a lot more. Be aware of what your body is telling you. I guarantee that if you are tired you are wasting ammo and possibly practicing bad habits. Frequent trips to the range are better than long stays. Also take breaks between shooting drills, it will help you stay focused and get the most out of your ammo. Quality not quantity!  

A few things to try at the live fire range:
1. Shoot in low light conditions – do your sights work? What does the muzzle flash do to your vision? Low or no light adds a whole new dimension to shooting.
2. Try shooting with you rifle turned on its side. My AR hits 12” high and 12” right at 100 yards when I do this. When shot normally it is dead on.
3. Aim small, shoot small - Thanks, Mel!
4. Shoot your rifle or shotgun left handed (my left hand is my weak hand, I’m right handed) or right if you are a lefty. This is very awkward for most people.
5, Shoot pistol with your weak hand
6. Shoot pistols at longer ranges, 25 – 50 yards, doing so forces the need for good sight picture and trigger control if you want to hit anything. Aim small, shoot small.
7. Don’t just shoot .22 rimfire because it’s less expensive. If you don’t at least know what to expect from your centerfire rifle, pistol, and shotgun you are in for a surprise just when you don’t need it. Shoot at least a little of each when you live fire practice.

One final point on live fire practice; never practice without eye and ear protection. Using protection may not be real world if you have to defend yourself however not using it to practice has two dangers. 1. You could lose your eye sight and or damage your hearing. I know many IPSC shooters who have bullet fragments imbedded in various parts of their bodies from fragment bounce back. It can happen any time in any shooting situation. I’ve personally had cuts on my hands, face, and legs from fragment bounce back. I know of one guy who got hit square in the chest by a 12 gauge slug that bounced back off a steel target, fortunately it had lost most of its energy although it did bring him to his knees. Okay, enough war stories. Eyes and ear drums don’t grow back. Use protection! Finally, you can acquire a bad flinch, a bad habit built in when you shoot without ear protection. The flinch comes when you anticipate and react to the really loud and painful noise that you know will happen as soon as you pull the trigger. I was helping a shooter who was complaining that he couldn’t hit a thing with his 7mm Magnum deer rifle. I set him up at the range and told him to take a shot down range. He got set up and was getting ready to take aim when I stopped him. He wasn’t wearing any protection. I asked if he always practiced that way to which he responded yes. I had him put on glasses and ear muffs, his flinch went away immediately and he was back on target, not to mention happy that the problem wasn’t his rifle.

Gun reliability and maintenance:
A few years back I was shooting on the pistol range of a local gun club. I couldn’t help but notice the guy next to me take a shot with his Glock then bang the back of the slide on the loading bench then take another shot. Curiosity got the best of me so I asked him what he was doing. He explained that his gun kept jamming and wouldn’t go into battery (slide fully closed). On closer inspection the gun was so filthy and dry (no oil) that I was surprised it worked at all. Nice firearm, poor maintenance. Would you bet your life on a gun in that condition? A tight M1911 that dirty probably would have stopped running. A good cleaning and some much needed oil and that guy would have had a fully functioning gun that I bet would have run flawlessly. If competitive shooting teaches you one thing it’s the limitations of your firearms. I’ve spent many hours scrubbing guns before a match. Keep it clean and oiled.

Gun oil:  Don’t use WD-40 to lube your firearms. WD-40 evaporates and leaves little to no lubricating film, at least not enough to keep a firearm running under extreme conditions. Have you ever shot your firearms in 10 below zero temperatures, extreme heat or dusty conditions? I use FP-10 gun oil for all of my firearms. I’ve used this oil in below zero weather and dusty ranges and as long as I didn’t let it dry out it never failed me. Some oils will thicken in cold weather which can cause malfunctions.

Detachable box magazines:
I’m betting there is more than one prepper out there who has a pile of shiny, new magazines still in the original wrapper put away for a rainy day. (Note: Some people call magazines clips). I highly recommend taking every new magazine to the range at least once and loading it full and shooting until empty. I recently returned three new hi-capacity Glock 23 magazines to the seller because none of them would work in my gun. I also have two new 20 round AR magazines that won’t work in my rifle. One of these days I’ll try giving them a tune up. Shiny and new doesn’t guarantee function. Don’t forget to clean your magazines. Grit and moisture inside a magazine can cause malfunction and failure. Most magazines have a removable base plate that slides out releasing the spring retainer plate, spring, and follower. Use a soft brush or cloth to clean the inside of the magazine body being careful not to bend the magazine body or feed lips in the process. Wipe any grease, dirt or grim off the spring and follower. Do not oil any part of your magazines. Oil will attract dirt and dust and is not needed for function.
        

Gun embellishments and other fancy stuff:
When I first started shooting IPSC the game was basically an equipment race. From fancy fast draw holsters to custom tuned extended high capacity magazines and everything in between. This stuff is fine for fun and games but I personally stay away from it on my SHTF firearms. The more stuff you have hanging on your gun the more there is to go wrong or impede the function of the gun or shooter. Not to mention a good prosecuting attorney can turn a fancied up gun into a murder with premeditation weapon even if it was used in self defense. Keep it simple!

Recoil compensators:
Several of my competition guns have recoil compensators. A recoil compensator is a machined part that is attached to the end of a rifle or pistol barrel and has grooves cut to redirect the exhaust gasses from the burnt powder upwards helping counter act muzzle rise during recoil. Compensators do make shooting easier however they do have some negatives. 1. They are extremely loud and often redirect the noise back towards the shooter. 2. In the right conditions such as shooting with your gun barrel along a wall or through a port hole can force the gasses back in your face. Even with safety glasses it burns your eyes.

Sighting systems:
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to sights for their firearms. IPSC is hard on equipment and quickly separates what will hold up and what won’t. Sights are often a matter of opinion and personal preference. For that reason I will not attempt to tell you good from bad however I will tell you what I prefer. My personal SHTF firearms are set up as follows:

AR -15 – Flat top with EoTech (red dot) with quick detachable mount and alternative rear flip up peep sight with standard AR fixed front sight. My sights don’t co-witness although I wish they did. (Co-witness means you can use the iron sights while looking through the EoTech. This would save having to remove the EoTech if it stops working.

M1911 Pistol –  the rear sight is a BoMar adjustable rear site and the front a dovetailed blade with fiber optic. Some might say the adjustable BoMar is too fragile however it hasn’t failed me after many thousands of rounds.  IPSC is an action sport where firearms can be exposed to bangs, dings and dents. Make sure your dovetailed sights are staked so they can’t work loose. Note: my front sight still works even if the fiber optic breaks and falls out.

A note on fiber optic sights: I’ve broken many fiber optics rods that were mounted on my sights. If I didn’t bang the sight it broke from repetitive use. Best to have plenty extra fiber rod on hand or use a site that doesn’t have the fiber optic feature.

Shotgun (semi-auto and pump) – My semi-auto is a Winchester SuperX2 Tactical that has a Picatinny rear sight rail (V-notch rail) with an optional flip up buckhorn sight for more pinpoint work and a fiber optic front bead. The sights still work even if the fiber optic is knocked out. My pump (a Remington Model 870) has a factory stock, a white-painted front bead and a vented rib with a groove in the rear receiver. If it is not broken, don’t fix it.

I would have Tritium sights on all my SHTF firearms if I could afford it.

Laser and red dot sights – Personally these are not for me. I once shot a night match with my EoTech (Lighted Red dot sight) against a laser sited AR. I smoked the laser sighted rifle because I could acquire the target and fire so much faster. The laser shooter spent too much time looking for and positioning the dot on the target. Practice serves me better than a laser sight. My 2 cents.

A few shooting facts I learned in competitive shooting
1. No less than three tenths of a second is typically how long it takes for the average person to start to react to a situation.  
2. Muscle memory starts to set in after about 1,000 repetitions.
3, If you pull the trigger on a live round and your gun makes a funny poof sound, then stop! You may have a squib load. A squib is a light or no powder load that doesn’t have enough power to push the bullet out of the barrel. Shooting another round without clearing a squibbed bullet will blow up your gun and hurt you. I’ve had squibs and was lucky to never have blown up a gun.
4. Limp-wrist shooting can cause your semi auto pistol to jamb. Limp-wrist shooting is when you don’t lock (hold rigid) your wrist allowing the pistol muzzle to flip up in excess under recoil. The excess muzzle flip counteracts slide momentum which in turn limits the distance the slide needs to travel to properly eject the spent shell casing. When this happens the case hangs up and gets caught in the gun instead of ejecting clear. Not real common but it does happen.

Happy and safe practicing, hope you don’t need it!

JWR:
I am looking to purchase a really good spot light. Do you have any suggestions? I have had far too many pieces of junk that were supposed to be great. I figure that you are the man to ask. Thanks, W.P.

JWR Replies: While they have some utility in controlling predator wildlife (depending on your state's fish and game laws, of course), I DO NOT recommend visible spotlights for any retreat defense situations.  Spotlights pinpoint your dwelling and can make you a target.  There could be some utility in infrared spotlights set up a distance for your position (NOT hand-held!) , but if your opponent has any sort of night vision gear, then again you are making yourself a target.

With those provisos out of the way, this is one of the better ones.

There are literally thousands of resources out there for the prepper and would-be survivalist giving advice on the best Bug-Out Bag (BOB), Bug-Out Vehicle (BOV), or necessities to pack into your Bug-out Bag (BOG) or the well stocked first aid kit.  All of this advice is great, however, one thing most of these references have in common is that they all tell the individual prepper he or she needs to assess his or her needs and current situation in order to determine their individual needs.  One thing I have noticed is the dearth of advice on HOW to plan for survival.  I propose using a tried and true tool that can easily be learned and is actually quite intuitive.
The US Military (as well as NATO partners and others) use what is known at the Military Decision Making Process, or MDMP, to plan every level of mission from a squad attack to the invasion of a foreign country.  The tool incorporates gathering all available information, developing Courses of Action (COAs), analyzing them, comparing the results, and deciding on a plan.  The level detail of the planning is dependent only on the amount of information available and the time one has to plan.  As a 25 year military veteran, I have discovered that I subconsciously use MDMP in virtually every decision I make, often without even realizing it, and you probably do as well.
MDMP is a seven step process consisting of:  Receipt of Mission, Mission Analysis, COA Development, COA Analysis, COA Comparison, COA Approval, and Orders Production.  After the plan is developed and briefed, rehearsals are conducted and then are always followed by an After Action Review or AAR.  Each of these steps is comprised of substeps.  I will take you through each of the steps and some of the more relevant substeps and give examples of how they apply to prepping.

•  Receipt of Mission:  In the military, orders are passed from higher to lower and a subordinate staff will usually start planning off of their higher headquarters guidance and specified tasks.  Oftentimes, however, a commander owning battlespace will develop a plan on his own, based on broad overarching guidance from their higher.  This step, while simple, is critical.  The substeps include conducting an Initial Assessment, Updating Staff Estimates, and Preparing for Mission Analysis.  The outputs are generally Guidance from the Commander and a first Warning Order to subordinate units.

For the Prepper:  Obviously, you do not have a higher headquarters issuing you specified tasks, but you are a battlespace owner (your land, your house, your apartment) and you have been given guidance from such places as FEMA and other Federal Agencies, sites like Survivalblog.com, survival books and numerous other resources.  You have recognized the threat to yourselves and your families and are determined to develop a plan.  Step 1 for the Prepper includes gathering, and understanding, all of these guides, determining your basic requirement (shelter for you and your family of ‘X’, local threats (proximity to nuclear power plants or other high value/high risk targets, etc), pets, and so on.  Make a list.  Preparing for mission analysis is nothing more than gathering all your references together as well as planning tools you might need (note paper, dry erase boards, maps, manuals, lists, etc).

•  Mission Analysis:  This step, in my humble opinion, is by far the most important step requiring the most detailed analysis and time.  Inputs to this step include the mission from higher, original estimates from the staff (of in the case of the individual prepper, yourself), and all facts and assumptions.  The substeps of Mission Analysis consist of Analysis of the Higher HQ Mission/Intent (See Step 1), Identify Specified and Implied Tasks, Review Task Organization and Assets, Determine Restrictions or Constraints, Assess Risk, and Identify Critical Facts and Assumptions.  Outputs from this step include:  Initial Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB), Restated Mission (5Ws), Commander’s Intent/Guidance, Warning Order 2, Staff Products, Battlefield Framework, and conduct Preliminary Movement.

For the Prepper:  After your have gathered all your products mentioned in step 1, make a list of all the things you NEED to do (specified tasks), and think you SHOULD do (implied tasks).  For example, you determine that you NEED to defend your family against marauders.  Implied tasks include acquiring weapons and ammunition and practice your marksmanship.  Write all these down on separate lists.  Your review of your task organization is straight forward; e.g.  I have a family of five (wife and three sons), and a dog.  Assets gets more detailed: e.g. an SUV that seats 7, is diesel powered and four wheel drive, and has a range of about 200 miles when fully loaded and full tank; a semi-automatic rifle, a deer rifle, a 12 gauge shotgun, a 9mm pistol, and a .38; a house on a ¼ acre lot in a sub-development with basement and a hunting cabin on a 200 acre lot in the mountains 45 miles from home.  Make this list detailed including all equipment and assets you have.  You will quickly realize where you are short once you have it all listed on paper.  Next are your restrictions and constraints.  Restrictions are imposed upon you such as laws and regulations, constraints are things beyond your control (such as my sons are too young to drive).  Next, assess risks to you and yours.  For example, there is a nuclear reactor 10 miles straight line distance from our house.  Finally, identify critical facts and assumptions.  These are hugely important and need more that a little brain power.  Examples of facts may be that my Bug Out Location is 45 miles away that can easily be reached by my SUV in any weather, however our sedan would not make the drive in deep snow.  The primary (and quickest) route takes us through a major metropolitan area of over 2 million people, the alternate route makes the drive more than an hour longer and through very rural areas.  Assumptions are critical to identify, but keep in mind that they must be valid and necessary based upon your analysis of the situation.  It might be fun to assume the zombie apocalypse, but probably not a valid or necessary assumption.  A more valid assumption may be that I will have enough warning to load our vehicles and reach our BOL before the SHTF, or that I won’t.  If I assume that I won’t, then that whole plan is not valid.

•  Course of Action Development:  Develop at least two Courses of Action (COAs), three is better, but more than three is probably too many.  In this step the staff Analyzes Relative Combat Power (friendly  assets vs. the enemy’s  assets), Generate Options,  Array Initial Forces (where friendly forces are arrayed as well as the best information on the enemy are arrayed), Develop the Scheme of Maneuver, Assign Headquarters, and prepare COA statements and sketches.  The COA sketch is a one page (usually PowerPoint) diagram that shows a map of the plan with all the critical tasks listed along one side.   COAs need to pass the suitability, feasibility, acceptability, distinguishability, and completeness tests.  This means that the plans each need to be realistic given the assets, restraints, constraints, and assumptions listed in the previous step.  The two to three COAs need to be distinct from each other, not just minor variations of the same plan.  And they need to be complete.  Of course, they have to also be acceptable…. nuke ‘em all, is not an option.

For the Prepper:  Your COA development is very similar with just some minor tweaks from the military model.  Your relative combat power is listed in your assets (weapons, vehicles. etc) and your adversaries come from your assumptions (in a possible scenario one could anticipate groups of up to a half dozen armed marauders, well armed but poorly trained). Now is when you generate your options:  do I Bug In or Bug Out, for example?  You array your initial forces on a map:  we are here, they are there.  Developing your scheme of maneuver entails adding detail to your COAs.  If Bugging In, then you are in essence planning a defense.  What is your perimeter?  Where are your defenses, chokepoints, and vulnerabilities?  Where is your strongpoint?  If Bugging Out, what are your routes?  Where are you most vulnerable?  How are you moving (together or linking up at a rally point, for example)?  If your COA involves others, you would break individual or group tasks down at this point.  Who brings what to the party?  Who is responsible for food, fuel, ammo, shelter, and so on?  Finally, as much of this information as possible is arrayed on your sketches of your COAs so that the picture speaks for itself.

•  Course of Action Analysis.  This step is known as wargaming.  The staff have gathered all the information available, determined assets available and the assets the enemy has, identified facts and assumptions, and developed a couple of plans.  Now the plan is put to the test in a table top exercise.  There are rules to wargaming.  At all times, remain unbiased towards a COA.  If someone want a COA to “win” it will.  Approach wargaming as an honest assessment of the plans to determine their strengths and weakness.  Next, list the advantages and disadvantages of each.  This is done as the wargaming progresses and is tracked on a board.  Continually assess the COA feasibility, acceptability, and suitability.  If, while wargaming, it is determined a COA just won’t work, then we stop wargaming it.  No sense of wasting time on a plan that is impossible to accomplish.  Next, avoid drawing premature conclusions and gathering facts to support such conclusions.  This is a scientific process and picking and choosing information to support one COA over the other is not an option.  Finally, compare the COAs in the next step, not during wargaming.  When wargaming, focus on one COA at a time, from start to finish, without discussing how this COA has an advantage over the other.  Wargaming takes preparation.  All the tools used for wargaming are gathered in advance (maps, toy vehicles, toy Soldiers, methods to record actions and reactions, etc).  List all the friendly forces.  List all your assumptions so you can refer back to them for validity and necessity.  List known critical events and decision point.  Determine evaluation criteria, which means on what basis are we going to evaluate the COAs (survivability, cost, risk, etc)?  Select the wargaming method, which can vary on the COA.  Typically, a defense is wargamed in a box, whereas a movement is often done using the Avenue-in-depth technique.  Next,  the method to record and display results is selected, which is typically a dry erase board or large sheet of paper with each of the critical events listed across the top and friendly and enemy forces listed down the sides.  Finally war game the COA from start to finish.  Go friendly action, enemy reaction, friendly counteraction for each event (or enemy action, friendly action, enemy counter action if the enemy strikes first).  One member is dedicated to the enemy side, who fights to win for the enemy (could even represent the natural disaster).  And remember to record everything.

For the prepper:  This is pretty straightforward.  Take your Bug In COA and play it out from the time you determine the need to Bug In until you think it is safe to come out.  What are the threats; be they natural, manmade, or mutant, and how can they defeat you?  Discuss how you will defeat each threat based on your assets and forces that you have on hand.  When you determine a shortfall, write it down.  Do not say you will do something you have no capability of, such as “well, I will have landmines around the perimeter.”  Really?  Where are you going to get landmines?  When are you going to put them in, camouflage them, control their detonation, and recover them?  Be realistic.  After you have wargamed that COA, wargame the other from start to finish.  If your second COA is to Bug Out, play through getting from somewhere else (such as your place of work) to your house in order to load vehicles.  How long will out load take and who does what?  War game both your primary and alternate routes.  And don’t forget to war game what happens when you get to your Bug Out Location.  You are essentially Bugging In there, so war game that as well.  That might have a completely different set of threats and conditions.  When you are done wargaming, you should have a list of the strengths and weaknesses of both of your plans.  You have identified where there are risks.  Now the assumptions that you made earlier are either emphasized or discarded.  Additionally, you may have developed branches and sequels to your plans that you hadn’t thought of before (If X happens, I will do A, if Y happens, I will do B).  All of these should be written down as well.

Step 5:  Course of Action Comparison.  Now is the time that the various COAs are compared to determine which is the best and therefore which plan to go with.  The actual comparison of the COAs is critical.  We use any technique that facilitates reaching the best decision.  Start by evaluating each COA from different perspectives, using the evaluation criteria that was already established.  Now, compare the COAs to determine the one with the highest likelihood of success against the most likely enemy threat and the most dangerous enemy threat.  This is done through a simple matrix with COAs listed across the top and the evaluation criteria listed down the side.  The criteria can be weighted in order to give more strength to those criteria which is most important.  Then each COA is scored, usually 1, 2, or 3.  If certain criterion is given a weight of 3, then the results would be 3, 6 and 9 respectively, with lowest score being best.  After each COA is graded and weighted, they are totaled and the one with the lowest score wins.  You now have your COA.
For the prepper:  The process is the same.  The only real difference would be the criteria you evaluate the COAs against.  For example, the military might use such things as Fires, Intelligence, Air Defense, and Combat Service

Support.  The prepper would use criteria such as Survivability, Risk, Simplicity, Cost, etc.
Step 6:  Course of Action Approval.  Within the military, this is a formalized brief to the commander by the staff with detailing the results of the wargaming process and their recommended COA.  At the end of the briefing, the command decides on a COA and then issues final planning guidance.  Since you are the commander, it is ultimately your decision; therefore there is not much to cover in this step.

Step 7:  Orders Production.  Now that the COA has been approved, the staff gets to work finalizing the plan that will result in an order to subordinate units.  All the information gathered during wargaming is gathered, including branches and sequels to the plan, and incorporated into the plan as  either tasks to subordinate units  or coordinating instructions that apply to multiple units.  The plan also identifies risks and implements control measures to reduce those risks.  The commander reviews the final plan which is then issued via a variety of means.

For the prepper:  Now that you have your plan, and have seen where you are vulnerable, you can write everything down into one cohesive document.  This can include maps and directions, a list of division of responsibilities within the family or your group, load plans for vehicles and packing lists.  This is a good time to also list those items you identified you need to support your plan, but don’t currently have on hand.  This is your new shopping list.  This way you are purchasing what you will NEED to support your plan, not what you THINK you need and can help reduce waste.

Finally, after the plan is issued to everyone, and everyone understands the plan, comes the time to rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse again.  Time is the main limiting factor here. If you have a solid plan for TEOTWAWKI you can rehearse it with everyone involved in your plan at any time.  Try to do it under a variety of conditions such as night time, high traffic times, middle of winter, in the rain, etc.  After each rehearsal, conduct an After Actions Review to discuss what the plan was, what went right and what went wrong.  Only then can you identify faults in your plan that you didn’t realize while planning  in the comfort of your living room and further develop other contingencies to counter those problems.

The Military Decision Making Process was designed to handle any kind of operation, take all factors into consideration, and come up with the best plan in order to accomplish the mission.  Prepping for when TSHTF is no different and is the method I use to ensure the survival of my family.

Reference:
FM 5-0, Army Planning and Orders Production, 20 January, 2005, Defense Printing Office

First, a little about me. I am a Sailor and Submariner. I have spent 20+ years of my life riding submarines in various roles from deck waxer/hull painter to Communications Division and Operations Department enlisted leader. I have taught Communications, Electronic Signals Intercept (ES), OPSEC/Security, leadership and a myriad of other courses.

I really started reading SurvivalBlog and other sites after experiencing a deep dissatisfaction with the course our country is heading. I have experienced first-hand the gross inefficiency of the government and the lack of will/strength/backbone to stand up and change things. “Staying the Course” seems to be the direction our bloated bureaucracy is going.
Being a Submariner I have had the privilege of serving in a tight knit community that prides itself on OPSEC and the ability to adapt, improvise and overcome. There is a wee bit of craziness in all of us to willingly lock ourselves in a steel tube with no windows and a nuclear reactor.

OPSEC – Submarines are known as the Silent Service for a reason. We do things and go places nobody else can. We remain hidden and lay in wait. We stalk, we observe and we gather data. As such, we generally do not talk about what we do/have done in other than the vaguest details, if we talk at all.

• The first part of OPSEC from the Submarining point of view is identifying what information is critical. Think along the lines of things like capabilities. If the enemy knows the capabilities of your platform, how you fight and what you fight with they can develop effective countermeasures and at best limit what you can do. At worst, the enemy can destroy you. In order to keep the enemies guessing in any survival situation it is vital to limit the information you put out there.
• As a submariner we do not say where we operate. As a survivor don’t put your retreat information out there.
•  As a Submariner we do not discuss the capabilities of our boats except in the most general terms. As a survivor do not tell people what you have in your retreat location to defend yourself or survive. A simple statement of “I am prepared” should suffice.
• The second part of OPSEC is thinking about how the enemy can collect information about you. As a submariner, there are multiple avenues for this.
• Physical government agents looking for the person who can’t shut up(Chinese and Russians do it all the time).  As a Submariner, talking about underway times, return to port times and other stuff is strictly forbidden. Even to spouses. As a survivor, discussing stuff such as your times you go out patrolling, hunting or even how long you station your watches at your compound/retreat can lead to problems.
• Electronic intelligence gathering. The Chinese have become excellent at mining Facebook and other social media sites for information. “If you do not transmit, it can’t be heard” is an axiom we all should live by.  Posting even the smallest bit of information on the web can seem inconsequential, until that picture of you and the spouse on your hidden retreat is tied together with a previous comment you made about a certain river nearby, and another comment about elevation, so forth and so on. A relatively smart person can start tying things together from data mining and put together a very clear picture of you and where you are along with your capabilities.
• Passive observation. The enemy is out there doing their thing. As a Submariner, we strive to run quietly and operate smartly. A misstep in operating smartly can lead the enemy to unexpected discovery. Just because someone isn’t actively looking for you doesn’t mean they can’t accidentally spot you when you do something stupid. In a survival situation there could/will be groups of people wandering around. They are not necessarily looking for you.  Give yourself away by making unnecessary noise or ignoring light discipline can give them a reason to come your way. This doesn’t mean lie around all day and do nothing. In order to survive, we need to do activities that cause noise. There isn’t any way around it. Being aware, checking your “six”, alert watchstanding and regularly patrolling your area can mitigate the risk.
• The third part of OPSEC is continuously analyzing your vulnerabilities. It is not enough to do one noise monitor on the submarine and call it good. Constantly monitoring the surrounding environment and own ship helps us understand some of our vulnerabilities. Understanding the equipment onboard and what activities create noise is another portion.
•  Take a hard, critical look at your capabilities and short comings.  As a Submarine Comms guy I continuously evaluate the environment (nearby ships, distance from land, Bobs Discount Chinese satellite overhead, etc).  I fully understand the various RF paths and antennas I can transmit and receive on. I always understand the mission and what micro part of the mission I am on and I understand the vulnerabilities of each antenna I may have to raise above the waterline. As a survivor, you should understand the lay of your land. Can someone sneak up on your base of ops without you knowing? What is the external threat situation? Has the SHTF fully? Are there roving groups of people out there? What happens if I do “X” activity? Is there a better time of day I can do “X” activity? Ask yourself these questions. Test your defenses and any watchstander you may have stationed.  It is better to discover your own vulnerabilities than have the enemy discover them for you.
• Tying all the above in, Assess your risk. Before you do something ask yourself how this could harm you or your family. Ask yourself how this information you might be giving out could come back to haunt you. Manage the risk by developing countermeasures. The most effective countermeasure is not to post or talk about something. There is an old saying in the Submarine Force that holds true. The probability of a secret getting out is squared by the number of people who know it.

Drill (Practice) – Drill, drill repeatedly, drill realistically. As a Submariner I have endured countless drills. A long time ago I did not understand why we drilled endlessly because no one above me ever bothered to explain it to me and I was young and dumb. It was just what we did. I hated it. It was repetitive. It was mind numbing and it deprived me of the small amount of time I could get sleep. It wasn’t until I had to react in a SHTF situation (for a Submarine) that it really dawned upon me why. Responses were almost muscle memory. I did what I had to do quickly and efficiently because it was drilled endlessly.
We also drilled endlessly because there was no fire department to call. No “911” operators. We were a submarine, operating in the middle of the ocean. We were our own fire department. Our own casualty response team. If we couldn’t stop the casualty and recover, we were as good as dead. The same situation applies in a SHTF scenario. You and your own community are all that you can depend on.

• Planning what drill to run - Think about the different things that could happen. Brainstorm with your family or community group. Draw upon experience. Make a detailed list and then order them in the probability they may happen. For instance, maybe your house or compound catching on fire through human error, mechanical failure or a natural disaster has the highest probability of happening (as determined by you). There are 12 other items on your list with the probability of occurrence dropping to near zero at the bottom (let’s call the last one Zombie Apocalypse).  Figure out which of those events could cause the most damage to the compound/community/group. That is what you would want to drill on the most. On the subs, fire and flooding are two of the biggest risks and also happen to be two items with the highest probability of causing severe damage to (or sinking) the boat. Dedicate precious drill time to the highest probability events.
• Assigning responsibilities (consider this a watch/quarter/station bill) – Generations of Sailors in the Navy have learned this the hard way; if someone is not specifically assigned to do something during a casualty (fire/flooding/etc) by name or by watchstation then there is a probability it will not get done. Example of a watch/Quarter/Station Bill. Assign people to do things.
• Planning the drill – Say for instance you have determined fire is the biggest risk to your group. Plan a fire drill. Come up with a realistic scenario in which a fire may break out in your retreat. Start out small and simple. A small pretend fire in a trashcan is easy to do. Eventually you want to work up to the big fire drill such as multiple levels in a building. In all cases (and I cannot emphasize this enough) never light an actual fire in a building to practice.
• Realism – The more realistic the scenario, the more your people/family will take away from the drill. On a submarine during a fire drill the fire teams don Fire Fighting Ensembles, Scott Air Packs, grab a thermal imager and flake out (and pressurize) fire hoses. They get those fire hoses on scene and try to attack from multiple directions. Often the team has their vision impaired as it would be during an actual fire. Probably you would not have these items available to you. How could you make it realistic? In a survival scenario where the fire department won’t be coming to help, your objective should be to get firefighting agent to the scene as quickly as possible. In most cases this would be maybe a few fire extinguishers and water. A simple flashing red led light in a trash can or wherever you want to simulate the fire can often suffice to get people to bring the extinguishing agent to the right location. If you have a way to create non-toxic smoke safely then I suggest doing so. The Halloween foggers work quite well.  Another way to simulate smoke (and something that is reusable over and over) is a light blue hairnet. One of these placed over the face or (if you are lucky enough to have breathing equipment) a mask can effectively simulate a smoky environment. Make it as realistic (safely) as you can. The time to find out you, your family or your group doesn’t know what it is doing is when the SHTF.
• The drill process – You want to get the most out of the drill and identify any issue so you can fix them. Have a process. Pre-brief the drill with your drill team (it may only be you and one other). Run the drill and observe/write-down actions and issues. Make sure you get response times written down. After the drill gather the observers together and collate comments. Finally talk to the group. Go over what happened, what went right and what went wrong. Your group cannot get better if they do not know what they did wrong and how to fix it.

Community – Being a Submariner, I am proud part of a select (and demented) community. The key word is community. We rely on each other to help solve problems. A submarine underway is a survival community all on its own. As mentioned above, we are the fire department. We are also the maintainers of our resources. When we leave the pier we leave it with what we have onboard. If you forget something, well, it is too bad. Make do without it. As a community (crew) we make sure we have everything onboard to get underway and do our time at sea effectively. Food and stores must be loaded. Critical parts stowed. We rely on each other as any good community should. Some of the things we do that can be applied to a community survival situation:

• Qualifying and cross-qualifying – On a submarine each person must “qualify” the boat. What this means is an individual has to have a decent understanding of every system onboard the submarine. Take a Los Angeles Class Fast Attack submarine that is three levels of systems in a 360 foot long tube.  You have three major hydraulic systems, high pressure air, ventilation, weapons, etc, etc. It is a lot of stuff. The person must also qualify to stand a security watch in port and an underway watchstation. Finally the individual must also thoroughly understand damage control and how to respond during different casualties (such as fire, flooding, steam line rupture, etc). 

As a community it is important for everyone to know as much as they can about the general working of the community. How does the community respond to an attack? A fire? What are the systems that are in place within the community (such as water, sanitation, power) and basically how do they work. You want the people within the community to have understanding of the workings in order to respond to situations.
Within a community you will always have specialists. People may be firearms experts. Some can drop a fishing line in the water and will a fish onto their hook. Others can grow crops. This is where cross-qualifying comes into play. In a survival scenario it is important that people know how to do more than one job. The sad reality is that in a SHTF scenario not everyone will survive. Having people cross-qualify and learning multiple jobs lessens the loss of an individual. A cross qualified person also gives versatility in rotating personnel through rest periods and spreading the workload.

• Relaxation – Every person needs down time. People always on the edge ready for a trip-wire event lose sharpness and focus. On a submarine, I knew there would be days I would get little rest. In a survival situation the same thing will happen. It is vital that every opportunity to get rest or unwind should be taken. I like to think of it as banking time. It is a balancing game. There will ALWAYS be work that needs to get done. Rest should be part of the work routine. As a Submariner out to sea we often depended on each other for entertainment. Take 150 guys, stuff then in a steel tube, deprive them of sunlight and news and entertainment will happen. Sailors at sea have been figuring out ways to break up the monotony of a long voyage for years on end. As a survival community it is vital that the community celebrate when they can. We celebrate halfway night (mid way through a 6 or 7 month deployment). A community can celebrate the harvest. A community can make any occasion a reason to celebrate what God has given them and it is important that they do. Celebrating life’s little victories and accomplishments makes things go better.
• Recognition – On Submarines we recognize Sailors for outstanding work. Sometimes it is a medal. Sometimes it is advancement in rank. Other times it is a well deserved extra day off. It is human nature for most of us to get some recognition of a job well done.  Personally I never sought it out but was always grateful when it happened. It is important for the community to celebrate accomplishments by individuals within the community. Each group must decide on their own what that may be, but recognition is important. With my own sons, it can be a simple pat on the back and the words “good job”.

In the end, survival will always be how well the community binds together. Individual survival can happen for awhile but for us to go on we need to interface, interact and rebuild. Fellowship and reliance on others is what makes Submariners strong and what makes a group/family/community stronger. Some of what I have talked about is not for everybody and cannot be applied to every situation. It is something to ponder. Just like some of the posts here on SurvivalBlog are not always applicable to my situation, I appreciate the time this online community has invested in getting the information out there and I take a lot of what people have to say to heart. Thanks for all that you do and keep posting. I need something to print out/save and take underway to read!

To anyone who swatches the news or opens up an internet browser from time to time, it’s exceedingly clear that the world is becoming an extremely dangerous place.  From the abstract threats such as global economic collapse or pandemic to the more concrete ideas of natural catastrophes, terrorist attacks and the like, it’s obvious that preparedness isn’t just something to think about occasionally, it’s an absolute necessity.  Yet, with our feet firmly planted in the middle class, my wife and I don’t exactly have the money to go out and build the fortified bunker of our dreams for the day when, inevitably, life as we know it here in America may take a turn for the worse.  We’ve had to adapt our game plan to match both our materials and our means.  And let me tell you, preparing for disaster smack dab in the middle of the suburban wasteland is a completely different ball game.

So, to start off, I think we should have a little history about me and my situation.  I grew up in the mountains of northeastern Tennessee, deep in the heart of Dixie.  In rural Appalachia, self-sustainable living and prepping are just normal parts of everyday life for a lot of people, and my family was no exception.  Hunting, fishing, gardening, canning food, etc. were pretty much the norm in our area, and served as a means for people in a fairly poor economic region to build both a comfortable life for themselves and a little peace of mind.  On top of that, the mountainous terrain of the southern back country offers great protection from a lot of natural disasters (tornados, flooding, etc.) and isolation from most of the rest of the American populace should widespread civil unrest occur.  In short, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I was born and raised in a prepper’s paradise.  Then, against all odds, I found a beautiful woman who loved me back and we’ve been building a life together for the last 12 years.

However, once we got married, we joined the world of corporate America in order to be able to make the kind of living that we wanted for ourselves in the “new” economy.  Unfortunately, our company underwent some “consolidation” and shut down the office in our hometown.  My wife and I (who both work for the same business) were tasked with a choice:  both face unemployment and risk becoming part of the foreclosure statistics on American home owners, or follow our jobs and move far from friends and family out into the Midwest.  It wasn’t an easy decision, but with the prospect of starting a family of our own right around the corner, there was no choice but to bite the bullet and take a chance on building a better life.  With only a three month window to find and purchase a new home, we ended up settling in a large subdivision on the outskirts of a major metropolitan area near our new place of employment.

Back in Tennessee, our home was a two story brick house with a sizable basement, snuggled into the side of a heavily wooded mountain.  However, due to the higher prices of real estate in our new area, we ended up in a single story wood-framed house built onto a concrete slab, surrounded by hundreds of nearly identical homes.  We are less than 10 miles from one of the largest cities in the continental United States, and to make matters worse, our home is actually visible from one of the major interstates that feed into the city.  In other words, like most of Middle America, my new house is a nightmare in terms of survivability should any major collapse of society occur.  Yet, for that very reason, immediately bugging out during a time of crisis is not an option, due to some of the following factors:

• Living near a major population center means that when food/water/electricity go into short supply, everyone is going to have the same idea: get out of Dodge.
• The major roadways around our home become near parking lots during rush hour every day as it is.  In a disaster, those traffic pileups are likely to become semi-permanent.
• Since a lot of people in large cities don’t commute via cars, during the mass exodus to escape, those who do have working transportation will become immediate targets.
• Furthermore, like the swarm of locusts of Biblical lore, a large group of people trying to flee an area on foot are likely to consume every resource in their path, one way or another.  While they may not have cars, it’s extremely likely that whether it’s a golf club or a Glock, some will be armed.

Therefore, for all these reasons and more, a more nuanced approach is required.  As much as we would like to, getting back to friends and family in the mountains of Tennessee just probably won’t be an option in the short term.  This means bugging in and hoping to ride out the worst of it until such a time that either:

• We deem the situation fit to travel via the back roads and reach a more defensible location back home with our families.

Or,

• The turmoil in our area has cooled to a point that we can start trying to become self-sustainable here in our community without fear of reprisal (openly gardening, hunting, fishing, etc.)

Either way, the name of the game becomes surviving the short term fallout that is bound to follow any collapse of basic societal structure.  Following Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it becomes pretty easy to map out the way that things will probably play out.  Our lives, like it or not, are ruled by this chart.  Surviving the “exodus” near a major city means two things:  Having the basics in the bottom row of that pyramid covered for up to a 6-month time period for you and your family and having the means to defend it from those who will want to take it from you.  However, there are unique challenges to achieving either of these goals when living in a matchstick house on a concrete block amidst hundreds of other families and within spitting distance of millions of potentially hostile people.

Let’s start with the first part, meeting your needs.  There are plenty of preparation checklists out there with great advice on every little thing that you might need to survive the apocalypse.  I’m going to assume that you know how to cover the basics of food/water/medicine storage.  However, there are a few extra things to consider when living in the suburbs.  Basic bunker mentality for bugging in during a crisis follows the “dig in and defend” model.  We’ll call this the tortoise approach.  That’s great if you have the means to make it work, however, there’s nothing particularly defensible about many people’s homes, mine included, so that mentality has to change.  For me it has become “avoid detection and deter”.  My home doesn’t have a basement, a bunker, or a safe room, so the idea of holing up in a fortified spot with enough firepower to hold off the mob just isn’t feasible.  Instead, I want to present a small target and make it as unappetizing to potential looters as possible.  Think less snapping turtle, more porcupine.

Back to Maslow’s handy dandy pyramid of preparedness priorities, we know that water is the number one driving force of human survival behavior.  Once the taps stop running and the Aquafina has flown off the shelves, it will be a matter of a few short days before people either leave their homes in search of greener pastures (lakes, rivers, etc.) or start to beg, borrow, plead, and potentially kill to take water from those who still have it.  Here are some things to remember about water storage in the ‘burbs.

• Diversify your storage.  Like the old adage says, don’t keep all your eggs in one basket (this includes brands, types of containers, and storage locations).
• You should try to have at least 100 potential gallons per person in your house at any given time, and stored in a variety of places around your home.
• Keep emergency water containers clean, dry, and ready to be filled at a moment’s notice.
• My solutions include:
• Four 24-Pack cases of Nestle’ Pure Life bottled water (this brand consistently scores highly in water purity and bottling transparency testing) in the top of the guest bedroom closet.
• Two 24-Pack cases of Nestle’ Pure Life bottled water in the trunk of both mine and my wife’s cars.
• Eight 2.5-Gallon Containers of Arrowhead Spring water in the corner of my computer room closet.
• Twenty single gallon jugs of Nestle’ Pure Life Water hidden two at a time in various places (next to the water heater, in a corner of the garage, etc.)
• Four Reliance brand 7-gallon stackable “Aquatainers” ready to be filled in the master bathroom closet.
• Two WaterBOB brand 100-Gallon bathtub bags (1 for each tub) ready to be filled in the cabinet under the sink in each bathroom.

It’s been said over and over, but it is the truest statement in this world: water is life.  Storing water in this way, even if a portion of my home becomes damaged or inaccessible, I’ll still have enough to survive the short term and reevaluate the situation.  Eventually, though, even the largest supplies will run dry.  In this case, you need to be able to answer these questions:

• Where is my nearest source of clean water (stream, river, large lake, etc.)?
• Is it easily reachable by foot, under cover of darkness?
• If not, how likely am I to be able to reach it by car?
• Do I have an easy way to transport it back to my home?
• Can I protect myself during this process?
• Do I have some way to make sure it’s safe (boiling, filters, water treatments, etc.)?

Next on the list comes food storage, and this is another topic that is covered ad nauseam in any number of preparedness web sites and books.  But the important thing to remember for our purposes is that not only do you need to have food, but you need to not draw attention to the fact that you have food.  Nothing brings uninvited guests to the party quite like the smell of fresh beef stew when they haven’t eaten a thing in weeks.  In fact, they’re likely to bring their own silverware if you catch my drift.  Here are some ways to keep that from happening:

• Avoid storing foods that have to be cooked in an open container or that put off a strong or unique odor.
• Avoid heating methods that produce smoke or have to be ventilated in any way.
• Don’t store foods that require much, if any, water to prepare.  Water is going to be your number one resource; you can’t waste a drop that you don’t have to.
• Try to cut down on trash as much as possible (i.e. large resealable containers as opposed to individually packaged and disposable containers).  Trash has to be disposed of at some point and is a clear indicator that someone is still taking the wrappers off of candy bars.
• Keep calorie intake healthy, but to a minimum.  Being the only guy in the neighborhood who still has a double chin is another red flag.
• Don’t use a generator for any reason, ever.  In an isolated location, with proper noise reduction and ventilation, it’s a viable choice.  But nothing says “come burn my house down and take my stuff” like being the one family that has electricity when the darkness comes.

The whole goal here is to fly under the radar as much as possible.  Shelf stable foods that don’t have to be cooked at all are ideal.  Think mixed nuts, dry cereals, beef jerky, and the like.  These types of foods are also much more convenient to transport and prepare should you have to bail out.  Self-heating MREs are also a fantastic option but do require water to prepare and are easy to get burnt out on after a while.  While it’s no fun to have very few fresh hot meals, survival in the midst of the fleeing hordes revolves around avoiding notice at all costs.  You may not be happy, but you’ll be alive.

The last piece of the puzzle is the hardest, but also the most important: defense.  A quiet, middle-class suburb is a pretty appetizing target to people in a desperate search for the basic necessities of life.  All of the supplies in the world won’t mean a thing if you can’t defend them.  However, the key is to not to attract any unnecessary notice and to make your home an inadvisable target.  Some potential tools for getting this job done include:

• Door Crossbar Holders:  These can be installed quickly during a time of chaos with nothing but a cordless drill, some heavy duty wood screws, and some spare 2x4s.  Putting up at least two sets per door means that the old police trick of “kick and breach” won’t be quite so easy.  It also stops the more subtle “lockpick in the night” routine.  Remember, the goal here isn’t to make the entryway impregnable (which is nigh impossible in a wood and drywall home), but rather to buy some time to defend.
• Biohazard Signs:  If pandemic is the trigger that starts the collapse, one of these signs on each door is tantamount to installing an invisible force field around your home.  Even if it’s something more plausible, like a global economic collapse, looters are much more likely to target the house that they think won’t give them cholera.
• Window Privacy Film:  It’s ok for people to know that your home is still occupied.  In fact, an abandoned house is far more likely to be ransacked than one that is thought to still be defended.  Letting people pinpoint your exact location before an attack, however, could cost you your life.  With this upgrade (along with normal blinds/curtains) you can still use lanterns, headlamps, etc. without giving away where you’ve chosen to bed down.
• Window Bars:  Again, the keys here are speed/ease of installation and deterrence.  You don’t need to protect your windows from a full SWAT team with breaching charges, just dehydrated, half-starved city folks looking for some free supplies.  These bars give you time to line up a clear shot from behind cover and make sure that the person trying to get in realizes the risk vs. the reward.

It’s also important to designate a small fallback area within your home and use this as the staging area for everything else you do.  This way if part of your home becomes compromised it’s not a total loss.  While your “Alamo” may not be a fortress, it should be a place with as few windows and doors as possible and a clear field of fire.   Ours is the large master bathroom with an attached walk-in closet.  The only window in the bathroom is small, octagonal, made of thick frosted glass, and about 8 feet off the ground.  Once things look to be turning south, all our supplies can be quickly moved to the closet, the bathroom door triple barred, and the window filmed over.  The two Mossberg pump action 12 Gauge shotguns with 500+ magnum slug shells that live in the closet provide the “deter” portion of the game plan.

Finally, if possible, it’s also great to have a “plan C” just in case.  If your home catches fire, is completely overrun, or for some other reason becomes uninhabitable, you may have to leave in a hurry.  Fortunately for us, there is attic access in both the walk-in closet and our garage, with only about 20 feet of crawlspace between the two.  Hiding a couple of bug-out backpacks in the crawlspace allows us a fairly covert escape route directly to the car, or at the very least, out of the house.  Planning everything needed to bail out and stay safe on the run in a completely different topic in and of itself, but just keep in mind that bug-out supplies are similar to bug-in supplies, just on a much smaller, more mobile scale.  It’s not a perfect scenario, but having a “last ditch effort” retreat solution is never a bad thing. 

At the end of the day, I think it’s very feasible to sit tight and ride out the initial panic of any major catastrophe, even in a less than fortified location.  When the lights go out and the trucks stop running, places in and around major cities are going to revert to the Wild West fairly quickly.  But it’s for that very reason that staying put is the best option.  When the world around you is chaos, there are too many things that can go wrong by stepping out into the maelstrom, even if the goal is getting to a safer location.  It’s hard to predict exactly how things will go down and Murphy’s Law will bite you on the butt any time you think you’ve got it all figured out.  In any event, by keeping a low profile, deterring looters if possible, and using force if necessary, I think that we suburbanites stand a pretty good chance of making it through the first few months of TEOTWAWKI relatively unscathed.  And that, my friends, is what it is all about.

JWR,

Thought I'd pass on some field training exercise (FTX) grunt games that we used to use for training. It's an excellent way to evaluate your rural home or retreat security, and develop reconnaissance skills.

I don't know if the military still encourages this kind of training, but during the Cold War, there was a game we used to play to try and keep sharp. If I remember right, both my army reserve unit and later, my regular army mechanized infantry units both practiced this. It costs about nothing, but hones critical skills.

The premise is simple:

To send a team out to gather as much information on the opposing team as possible, and report back without being caught. To make things a little more interesting, each aggressor team member would have a deck of cards, and place them on items of value that they could have stolen or destroyed inside the defenders camp. And if one of the aggressors were caught, they were usually held inside the camp, and made to do something embarrassing (singing a nursery rhyme, clucking like a chicken, or whatever the officer or NCO felt like at that time).

The defensive team would, of course, try and create a defense where no one could sneak through, send out patrols to try and spot/capture recon-patrols, and set traps within their parameter to secure valuable/sensitive items.

Teams:

When training within the platoon, one group (usually a team to squad size - 4 to 13 people) are marked as the aggressor, the remaining play the defensive role. Sometimes this would even be one company against another company where both had aggressor and defensive components.

This was never official, and usually the losers had to pay for some beer when it was over, but you would be surprised how effective it was.

Training Goals:

Learn where your training is weakest - both in personal training and the tactical abilities of your team/platoon/company.
The best way to learn where your parameter is weakest is to try and get around it.
The best way to learn how to defend against small recon size patrols or individuals is to defend against them.
Not knowing the exact location of the defenders was critical. We would get a general location of where they might be, but beyond that we had to track down the defenders by search grids, and their lack of noise and light discipline.
Most of this was done at night. We had night vision, but the technology is not as effective as you might think in woodland terrain. Plus when the goggles are cranked up to full power, they send out a light beam that gives you away when the opposing team has the goggles too.

Sometimes the NCO on patrol would declare himself "injured", and he would alternate putting E4s in charge during the remaining mission. It always caused a little confusion, but dealing with confusion was part of the exercise.

To avoid the 'I saw you' excuses, we would plan out the recon, mark times at different points, and if possible leave cards where you could have stolen or destroyed materials. In addition, there was on occasion a hidden case of beer. If you could get it out of the defensive parameter without being caught it was yours, if you could identify where it was you split it with whoever else spotted it. We mixed up the rewards all of the time, but you get the point.

One last note: we often did this over the course of a planned field exercise, and in-between normal training. If you only do this for one night, then the opposing force will be ready and have most of their people awake as possible. If they don't know if you are coming tonight, tomorrow night, or early next week, then they have to use a normal schedule for security. It also meant that if we were to infiltrate when they were the most tiered from their daily training, we would be infiltrating under the same conditions, and with the added strain of the patrol. - Robert B.

Mr Rawles,
Thank you for your excellent Blog. Can you direct me to a supplier of rolls of military concertina wire?  I am looking for 6-to-8 rolls.  I live in Central Florida.  Google searches have revealed nothing but Chinese and Indian companies overseas.
 
Thank you for you help - Jim M.

JWR Replies: Buying new concertina wire or razor wire from manufacturers and distributors is a costly proposition. In my experience, the best way to buy defensive wire is used, from military (DRMO) or other government auctions. These can be found through the GovLiquidation.com web site. Here is a typical auction, at Fort Lewis, Washington. Used concertina wire often sells for near scrap steel prices. Buying used defensive wire has two other advantages: 1.) It will be weathered and hence it will not be as reflective as new wire. This will make it blend in, at least when seen from a distance. 2.) It may have some rusty spots. This will likely induce fear in those with "rusty nail" phobias.

SurvivalBlog is the best in it’s field because it draws upon the different skill sets and experiences of it’s readers. On that note, I would like to offer up my own experience for the benefit of other readers. I am a former Army Infantry Sergeant with combat service in Afghanistan and am currently a private security contractor. I was not a prepper before my service there. However, witnessing a post-collapse environment first hand made me confront some painful realities. I hope to God that my experiences will aid fellow preppers by giving them insight in to one type of collapse and it’s repercussions.

Medical:
-You must have someone with some sort of medical experience in your retreat group. While dealing with Afghani civilians and prisoners or war, it was painfully obvious of their lack of all but the most primitive healthcare. In that country, there are countless deaths that could have been easily prevented by access to medical professionals and antibiotics. Wounds improperly sutured that become infected are a perfect example. If you have no antibiotics, what would you do?

-Medical supplies go very quickly when someone is wounded or sick. In our small medical clinic, items such as gauze, rubber gloves, painkillers, and antibiotics were always in short supply. Further, many with chronic medical conditions died for lack of supplies. When there is no bottled oxygen, insulin, or critical medications, people will die. I’m sorry, this is just what I saw.

-In a grid down situation, sanitation will quickly become a nightmare. In Afghanistan, trash quickly piles up with no one to pick it up. Soon, it becomes putrid, especially food and medical waste. Further, rats and feral dogs eat the trash and become ill which can bite humans. You must have a plan on how to effectively deal with waste or risk diseases and illness.

-Amongst the Afghanis, I have seen more than a few missing fingers, hands, and burns. This comes from improper handling of explosives and improper protective equipment while working. In a grid down situation, it goes without saying that the smallest injury could be fatal if an infection set in. You must wear personal protective equipment for everything you do that could harm you.

-When deployed, Soldiers commonly suffer from pink eye (conjunctivitis), cellulitis, Urinary Tract Infections other improper hygiene medical issues. Don’t overlook basic hygiene. If you only have three persons defending your retreat and one is on bed rest with an infection, your eight hour guard duty shifts just went to twelve hours. That may not seem substantial, but trust me, it is.

-Post collapse, expect a number of forgotten diseases to re-emerge. Amongst Afghani civilians, I have personally seen Tuberculosis and Polio. In a land with few antibiotics and hospitals, public health will fall apart. There are hospitals and clinics in Afghanistan, but most have to drive for hours across dangerous terrain to get to them. Further, fuel is scarce, so many needlessly die from preventable diseases.

Security:
-True security requires manpower. Positions must be effectively manned 24/7, 365 days a year. If they are not, any competent enemy will infiltrate your position. Split the day in to shifts, keep in mind that the longer the shift, the harder it is to stay alert. Leaders must inspect positions, as people will fall asleep on duty. This is why the shorter the guard shift the better, as men will remain more alert. When Soldiers man an Observation Post (OP), they generally pass off observation duties every hour because their eyes get tired from looking through optics. Remember, you have to be lucky all the time, the enemy has to be lucky once.

-The value of proper body armor cannot be overstated. I know men who would be dead now if it wasn’t for modern ceramic rifle plates. In a world where there is no ambulance to rush you the ER, do you want to risk a preventable mortal wound? At a minimum, buy a plate carrier to hold a front and back plate. On the topic of ballistic protection here is a useful fact for your general knowledge. Fired from 200 yards away, it takes one of the following to stop a 7.62x51mm (.308) ball round: 15 inches of pinewood boards, 10 inches of sand, or 3 inches of concrete. These are real figures that I have personally verified.

-Optics save lives. By “optics”, I mean rifle scopes, binoculars and spotting scopes. In Afghanistan, no one opens fire without first confirming “PID”, Positive Identification of the target by looking through a scope or binoculars. At distance or in low light, it is harder than you might think to distinguish friend from foe.

-In Afghanistan, the bad guys don’t always look like bad guys. As a matter of fact, they go to great lengths to avoid looking like bad guys. This is a key idea. When planning on attacking a position, the Taliban will attempt to infiltrate it with spies who pose as workers or they will even use children for this. Keep this in mind when a group of women and children approach your retreat.

-Night Vision Devices (NODs) are an absolute game-changer. Without them, the night is a scary place. The Taliban are terrified of our ability to operate at night. But understand the limitations of NODs. The Taliban knew that the best time to attack NATO was at dawn or dusk. NODs aren’t as useful then because of their light-gathering ability.

-If you have a firearm, you must have at least the basic spare parts for it. While at a test fire range, a soldier in my unit snapped his weapon’s firing pin due to the extreme cold. If we hadn’t had a spare, he weapon would have become a paperweight.

-In Afghanistan, the Taliban and less scrupulous Police will set up simple roadblocks to kidnap, rob, or murder. There is a reason why in the military, roads are known as an “LDA”, or Linear Danger Area. In a post collapse situation, how long would it take armed gangs to construct roadblocks along main roads? How would you circumvent these?

-In Afghanistan, corruption is rife amongst the Police and Army. Thus, is a post collapse environment, be very careful of who you trust. Just because some claims to be an authority figure, doesn’t mean that they are. The Taliban would sometimes steal Police and Army uniforms to infiltrate bases.

-Ask any combat veteran about his worst fears and encountering a competent sniper will be at the top of the list. However, this works both ways. Even a man with a scoped rifle in a designated marksman role can be a game-changer. A well- concealed sniper can defeat a much larger adversary, especially if they panic. In your retreat group, it is crucial to have at least one competent long range marksman with a suitable rifle.

-Ammo storage? As much as humanly possible. Rounds go fast. Also, store numerous quality magazines, cleaning supplies, and spare parts. In Afghanistan, I didn’t see anyone trading gold or silver, but weapons and ammunition were almost accepted currency in some places.

Transportation:
-Gas engine vehicles are quieter than diesels. Whenever we tried to sneak up on a village in our diesel vehicles, the enemy would be gone before we got there. When assaulting, a better idea to dismount your vehicles about a mile away and move in under concealment. The only exception to this is if you have a key weapon mounted on the vehicle.

-In Afghanistan, pickup trucks are used as improvised fighting vehicles, troop transports, and ambulances. Don’t underestimate the utility of a pickup truck. For an improvised fighting vehicle, the Taliban generally line the bed with sandbags and mount an automatic weapon on the top of the cab.

-Gasoline/diesel, along with food, will become the key resource. In post collapse Afghanistan, gasoline/diesel allowed mobility and kept the electricity on. Mobility was key because he who controlled the road, controlled movement of people and goods.

Water:
-In his book, CPT Rawles calls water the key resource. He’s right. If one of our patrols ran out of water and couldn’t re-supply, they were in deep trouble.

-Water is heavy, around 8 pounds per gallon. You must have a plan to transport it if need be. The average soldier carries around one gallon on patrol with more in his vehicle. When digging fighting positions or marching, 1gal/day is a very conservative estimate so plan accordingly.

-Just because you are careful with water, doesn’t mean others will be. I have seen women and children collecting water from a river that has dead animals in it upstream. It pays to do some reconnaissance on your potential water source.

-When storing bottle water, it’s better to leave in a cool, dark place if possible. If left exposed to sunlight for weeks on end, it can get moldy.

Barter:
-As anyone who has been to a bazaar in Iraq or Afghanistan will tell you, there are generally no receipts or exchanges. If you don’t inspect your purchase, you made a grave mistake. It was not uncommon to encounter Afghanis with disabled vehicles. Why? They purchased watered down Gasoline/Diesel.

-As I mentioned earlier, I never saw anyone using gold or silver as a de facto currency. What was used? American Dollars, Euros, firearms and ammunition, gasoline/diesel, canned goods, hand tools, and skill sets. By skill sets, I mean it was not uncommon to see an Afghani mechanic trade a repair job on a vehicle for a goat or canned food. Remember, skill sets are more important than expensive gear.

-Post collapse, the first winter will be devastating. In Afghanistan, before the winter came, it was common to encounter civilians needing MREs and canned goods because their crops had failed. In a world without modern pesticides, irrigation, and mechanized farm equipment, would you bet you and your loved ones lives on your crops succeeding?

Mindset:
As a people, the Afghanis have suffered greatly over the past three decades. In my observation, the power of their faith plays a crucial role in their survival. Regardless, of your faith or beliefs, it is important to thank God for every day. Also, don’t hesitate to take a moment to ask for his wisdom and strength to make it through a tough time.

In closing, I would like to thank CPT Rawles and all of the contributors to SurvivalBlog. I apologize if my view is grim, but it’s what I saw with my own eyes in a nation that had underwent a form of internal collapse. My distilled message is this, you need a tribe to survive. In Afghanistan, villages band together and survive. You need the varying skill sets, ideas, and manpower of a group to make it through a collapse. Thank you for your time and consideration and God bless all of you and the United States of America.

Dear SurvivalBloggers:
I would like to offer a personal experience with a situation that might help Deborah C. and others like her.  First of all she was very honest in her assessment of a future event and her concerns she mentioned and I think all Preppers have thoughts or experiences or thoughts that parallel Deborah's to some extent.  Future events, are unknowns for most and the 'fears/concerns' are valid, however how we react to or even function is helped by addressing the potential situation in the here and now.   The adage we often hear in the Prepping community "Hope for the best and plan for the worst", has the best  attitude, hope and understanding for overcoming a future potential events.
 
My personal example that shook my world, took place in the 1980s while I was residing in Colorado on the Front Range between Denver and Colorado Springs, I witnessed a 100%  attitude change in a group of mostly women  that worked with my wife in Denver.  These people where anti-gun, and self-protection was something that you left to the local police dept.   My background in Firearms ownership, and hunting was a danger sign to these for the most part left wing people.   The thought of having to hold a gun, let alone fire one was a very bad thing .  At social functions, I was amazed and saddened at the positions and responses that these anti-gun people held.  I would debate it  to a point, but after a while would consider that you can not argue with an ignorant person and would  realize it was not worth further discussion. 
 
However, an event happened that shook their beliefs and amazed me. My wife's secretary lived in a home in Castle Rock, Colorado (just south of Denver) was abducted from her home a few days before Christmas and her body was later found in the trunk of her abandoned car in Denver a few days later.  She had been stabbed many times and finally strangled and left in the trunk of her car on top of Christmas presents for her  son.  What made things even more horrific was this happened in her home with her five year old son present.   On that day my wife worried about the women being very late for work called her home and her little boy answered the phone and stated his mother was taken by a bad man. He must have seen some of the struggle and injury this young woman must have endured in the home.
 
A few weeks later  my wife was approached by several of these former anti-gun, anti-self defense people that she worked with, who asked her if  I would be willing to train them how to shoot, and also how to purchase a gun.   I was a certified gun safety and FFL dealer at the time.   This event changed how they looked at a bad situations and how common sense took over.  I had been at odds for several years with a lot of these people because of my position on firearms and self defense.   The most common statement before this event was from them was "I would rather die or would allow someone to take my life than use a weapon to hurt someone".  I could not believe  they would allow someone to hurt them.   The sad thing is over the years I lost track of what ever happened in that case, I do not believe it was ever solved.  
 
What I hope is that  Deborah C. and others have a legitimate concern about potential reactions to a future event, however with training and a applied understanding that  fear is natural, but how we react is in part learning to condition our thought process.  As a result, the fear of the unknown, is understood and reaction becomes a natural process.   "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  A great quote that really sums it up.
 
Happy Trails, - John in Arizona   

James:
About a year ago I remember reading a personal account in SurvivalBlog about a home invasion/robbery in Florida that went terribly wrong. I remember thinking it was almost surreal in the way it unfolded and thought things like that only happened in third world countries. It was an eye opening experience and something that made me rethink the way I handled myself in a place I considered to be secure by default. A few months ago my eyes were opened again when someone in one of my coworker's neighborhood went through a similar experience. I am not trying to kid myself into believing I live in some illusion of safety. I live within 60 miles of the Texas/Mexico boarder. And because of this, home invasions have become highly sophisticated in my area. Gangs, for lack of a better word, who were loosely affiliated with cartels would use home invasions as a tool to hijack drug shipments from rivals at safe-houses and as a profitable way to kidnap "undocumented migrant workers" (illegal aliens) from smugglers. The thought was that most of these occurrences were contained to people who were doing something illegal and that civilians were immune. Most of these people would never go to the police because they themselves were breaking the law. In recent months this has changed. Apparently, with the war on drugs in Mexico reaching new levels of violence and the upcoming summer elections, these enterprising individuals have decided to expand their range of victims.

One afternoon, in a quiet neighborhood in Brownsville, Texas, four armed men pulled up to a house while most people were at work. The put on ski masks and rang the doorbell making sure to obstruct the security eyepiece enough to obfuscate their intent. A maid opened the door and the four men burst into the house. They quickly took control over the situation by restraining her and searching the house. After searching the house and collecting any valuables, (including a handgun in the nightstand) the offenders waited for the homeowner to return home. At some point, homeowner called the house to tell the maid that he would be arriving soon with groceries. The maid, while being held at gunpoint, was forced to make the homeowner feel like nothing was wrong. Once the homeowner arrived with his wife and child, they were immediately overpowered and captured upon entering the house. The offenders forced the man at gunpoint to go from room to room opening two floor safes and one gun safe while they plundered jewelry, cash and firearms. After they had gathered all the valuables, the offenders determined that they wanted more. So, at this point, three of the men held the homeowner's family hostage while one of the men drove the homeowner to three different banks where he made large cash withdraws. The homeowner was constantly reminded that if he tried to alert a teller or signal for help that the men at the house would murder his family. They returned home with the money, tied the family to furniture in the living room, and left with the warning that if they called the law enforcement they would be back. They had explained that they had the house and the family under surveillance for weeks leading up to this event. An entire week went by before the family alerted law enforcement out of fear for their lives and now the story is slowly being made public knowledge as police search for tips and clues into the crime.

Nothing is going to fix what happened, but you can draw some lessons from it.

Lesson 1. Availability of Information

There are several things that I would like to discuss and address as possible lessons that can be taken away from this entire experience. In my occupation, I have to address many different aspects in the implantation of social engineering as a tool to both bypass and overcome security measures. The most valuable single resource that anyone has is information. What strikes me as very alarming is the amount of information that was available to the offenders in this case. They knew when to strike. They knew that there would be a valuable payload inside of the house. They knew what banks he had accounts at, when he got home, what routes he drove and how many people were in the house. They knew the names of his wife and children. They knew when the maid was going to be the only person in the house. They knew the location of the alarm pad. They even knew where the security camera DVR was located so they could collect it when they were done (we will discuss this later). The first lesson should be protecting as much of this information as possible. The amount of resources available to any member of society at their open personal disposal is just frightening. Without knowing anything about you, I could pull your property tax information from the county tax office based on your address and work backwards through a web site like Spokeo or Maltego to determine how much you make, how many people reside in your house, where you work and what you drive. Most of this can be determined just by grabbing the mail out of your mailbox one afternoon before you are even home from work.

What's the point of this? Don't make it easy for them. Use opt-out services to protect personal information. Buy a security-mailbox. Better yet: get a P.O. Box! Don't disclose all your personal information on a raffle entry that Dr. Pepper and Coca Cola emailed you last week for a chance to win a free jet ski! Information security is something that takes very little effort but can make a huge difference. I am not a counter-terrorism or counter-surveillance export, but I point out a few things that make a huge difference in those who would intend to do harm to you past protecting your credit. James Wesley Rawles is always warning about OPSEC but just because you don't disclose your phone number to the girl at the local Pizza Hut doesn't mean that you aren't doing 10 times as much damage by filling out a registration form online with your biographical information.

GPS scrubbing your pictures is another thing that is rarely mentioned. Many people post pictures directly to the internet (example Facebook) from their smartphones without first converting the image or at least running it through a program to remove tagged information. One of the most common law enforcement forensic practices is to lift GPS location data from pictures to give information on suspects. Criminals aren't stupid. They are doing the same thing. While you think it might be fun to take a picture of your fully loaded gun safe and upload it to your favorite apocalyptic survival blog, please understand that there is personal information encoded in that picture from your smart phone. Might be something you might want to address.

Lesson 2. Availability of Access

I believe Mr. Rawles and others have discussed fortifying your house with large planters, thorny bushes and even cleverly concealed cement embankments. My question is why not take this one step further when it comes to your main point of entry? I am not suggesting driving 4 foot railroad ties into your front yard hidden under lawn gnomes like tank traps, but why not install a front door entry gate? A front entry gate is probably the single best investment you can make from the perspective of additional space from contact. This will give you an extra degree of separation from any random person who rings your doorbell from a trick-or-treater to a guy looking to hit you in the head with a pipe and score your wallet. You can buy one at your local Home Depot or Lowe's and they cost less to install than a security camera system of connected intercom. This is probably one of the most important home improvements you can consider making if your Homeowners Association allows it. (Yes Mr. Rawles, I can hear you screaming "move!" as I type this)

What I also want to mention here, and I believe has been mentioned before on this site, is being aware of who you let into your house. Over the recent years, I have become increasingly suspicious of the contractors that have come into my house to do repair and construction work. While various web sites exist to do background checks on reputable companies, nothing can give a window into human intent for the individual employee. How do I know the electrician's apprentice who comes into my house to fix a bad breaker box isn't looking at my house as his friend's next possible target. It still boggles me that the robbers in my example knew exactly where the security camera DVR was without searching for it. Be cautious about the individuals you allow access to your house and definitely try to conceal valuables. There is no point your wife's jewelry collection should be left out on the dresser while the plumber is walking by to get to the master bathroom. At least restrict unsupervised access to areas of your house where a worker should not have access to. I believe this is one of the common "casing" tactics used by the operation in Florida that netted over 12 million dollars in stolen merchandise. Try to at least prevent the common mistakes and make it hard for them to do surveillance work. It might even eliminate you as a target.

Lesson 3. Predictability and Foresight

I believe I have to pay some credence to Kenneth Royce (aka. Boston T. Party) in this respect. I try not to take the same route home from work every day if possible. I try not to set myself up in a situation where I can be easily predicted, stalked, cornered, ambushed and abducted. I was in Mexico City some years back for an extended period of time and this has become standard operating procedure. I could write a whole post about the things you learn in a foreign country, but I am sure others could do it better. I am not overly paranoid and actually try to live my life fairly laid back. Kidnappings and Ransom became a way of life in Mexico. I hate to reference Hollywood, but see the movie Man on Fire and multiply it times 10. Criminal gangs do not go for the high value hard targets with ninja style SWAT team assaults. They are much happier putting in as little work as possible to grab the low hanging fruit. They are more than happy to go after middle managers and engineers (and their families) than they would be to go after plant managers and CEOs. Middle class individuals with a medium net income lack the tools and resources to protect themselves as well as a higher income individual with more to protect. Criminals do not mind, they will not starve. So for 1/10th of the risk, they will just hit 4 middle class families to reap just as much reward. Please do not think you are immune.

Have the foresight to see problems before they occur. The late Colonel Jeff Cooper always talked about levels of alertness -- in a Color Code. This is not about being relaxed or being on edge, its about being conscious of your surroundings. The best advice that he gave was to know what something feels out of place and react to it. - Matt in Texas

Hi,
Thank you for sharing all of your info, but I have to be honest, I am so overwhelmed with it all that if or when this happens I would rather be dead.  Who would want to live like  this and what would be the reason to live?  I wouldn’t have the heart to shoot someone  to protect my food and I am a sharpshooter. I just wanted your opinion.
 
Best Regards, - Deborah C.

JWR Replies: The underlying theme to my writings is to be part of an integrated team.  That team might be just a few families living on a cul-de-sac, or it might be a small town. By being competent and confident with firearms, your group will avoid confrontations.  Very few bad guys will mess with someone with a capability to immediately drop them at up to 400 yards.  And if you don't have the willingness to do so yourself, then team up with someone that does.  You can provide other forms of useful and valued support to a group or small community effort. (Agriculture, advanced first aid, mechanics, et cetera.)  Not everyone has to be a warrior.

Mr. Rawles,
 
Three thoughts on this topic:
 
1.  If you are relying on defending your home without outside help then the battle is already lost.  It is too easy to burn down your average residence.  Defense should be a community endeavor with "depth" provided by multiple engagements from multiple locations.
 
2.  I believe that your average, semi-motivated troublemakers in a TEOTWAWKI will lack training and will become victims of "target fixation".  In other words, they will be motivated to roam around and loot but will not have a modicum of good tactical skills.  They will fixate on their target and will be easily ventilated from a shooter outside of the home.  After the gun battle begins, they will be focused on the house or other structure and a trained shooter can take them under fire from the flank or rear.  This shooter must wait until the mob begins attacking the home/structure.  The crowd will think any casualties they take are coming from the target.  Keep the battlefield a 360 degree challenge.
 
3. If your city/town/community has collapsed to the point that mobs are roaming with impunity then sitting around and waiting to be the next target is a loser's game.  Take the fight to the enemy.  Always choose the time, place and conditions of a fight.  
- Mark S., PCSed to Germany 

This site is known for material geared towards protection and preparation for some ultimate tests of social interaction. While we may be working to prepare ourselves for a high end threat, keep in mind that there are levels between normal and end situations; we may not go from normal to end in one quick swoop.  We must be prepare for various levels and react accordingly when we or our families are threatened. Knowledge and our equipment are tools to better prepare us to deal with any serious social situation.

After writing a previous article on Weapon Use, Slings, Web Gear, and Associated Weapon Equipment, I thought I would elaborate a little on the covert aspects of weapons carry and related gear. Again, most of this is based upon my experience of “blending in” while wearing plain clothes as a detective and non-uniformed Sheriff’s Deputy as well as off-duty handgun carry.
 
Disclaimer: I am not advocating that anyone break the law. In your home or on your own property the described items are usually legal. Please confirm as location and the laws vary so you must check your state and local laws regarding how you would utilize firearms and under what circumstances. I offer this information for consideration but the ultimate decision would rest upon the person possessing and using any firearm and in some states, even the possession of types of semiautomatic weapons and the magazines used. And, remember, depending on the timing and end result of the situation, you will probably have a review and investigation of your actions by law enforcement as well as a review by a prosecutor. This is where training and topic study comes into close play.
 
What do you grab in the middle of the night or when you see you are about to be in a possible gun fight? Personally, I have always scribed to a quote from author Robert Heinlein, "Always keep your clothes and your weapons where you can find them in the dark." Hopefully, if authorized to carry a handgun, you at least have a good concealable pistol with an extra magazine, and a good flashlight. I advocate it is also nice to have at least your trousers and some shoes on in these situations (heaven forbid we shock someone who sees an armed but undressed person). At the very least, you can typically carry a weapon in your home or on your own property. A better idea in a serious social situation is to also have a long-gun along with some extra magazines/ammo backed up by the pistol. What we carry and how we carry it is a part of blending in and we would at least get hard looks if we are seen carrying a long gun (or any gun) in most neighborhoods, but we should have equipment available to handle most situations (just balance safe storage with reasonably fast access to your weapons).
 
I should also comment on law enforcement response time. The law enforcement officers I have dealt with have always tried to quickly get to people in need in cases of possible violence. But most of us do not have a cop living next door and in many parts of the country, with reduced local budgets requiring reduced numbers of first responders, we have fewer cops and response times to reports are getting longer or put off due to other calls-for-service. Even if you can call but are told that a response will be “extended,” you should have a practiced plan (with the proper equipment) to protect yourself and your family until they arrive (“Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatchet scoured, sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready to march at a minute's warning.” - Standing orders of Rogers Rangers, circa 1758.
 
Take a look at yourself in a mirror. In any scenario you picture yourself in, do you dress like G.I. Joe or do you intentionally wear natural earth tone, low key clothing? Cargo pants are common but a camo pair may cause people to look closer at you. The whole idea is that your attire and equipment should not look like a soldier or cop. If you carry a long-gun in a bag, is it a baseball bat bag or a custom gun bag? Can you have someone modify a sports bag, case, or even a cloth briefcase to hold your carry gear, attachable to you, and allow access to your equipment and mags? For a canvas or nylon briefcase, try finding a stiff piece of material that fits in the case and sew MOLLE strips or loops of webbing on both sides to hold mags upright as well as other “nice to have” gear. Add some “D” rings and detachable straps so the bag can hang from your neck with another strap around your chest/waist.    
 
Long before we had “active shooter” protocols or plans, while working for a Sheriff’s Office, I carried my “warbag” in the trunk of my unit (a marked patrol unit or an unmarked unit). As an operator on SWAT, this included my camo uniform and all my equipment in a parachute bag along with a SMG or AR. For the AR, I carried three 30-round mags, and a 20-round mag on the stock and a military cloth bandoleer with seven loaded 20-round mags (in the carbine or rifle, these mags let you get closer to the ground when someone may be shooting at you). When I went into plainclothes, I usually reduced the gear to an issue Remington 12 gauge Model 870 shotgun and ammo carried in an over-the-shoulder strap bag at a minimum and a rifle when authorized or needed (bad guys may not recognize some rifles but they respect the big hole at the end of the shotgun barrel).
 
Later, I put an AR and the same ammo load in my unit – with the ammo and gear in a sports bag that could clip onto my body for carry. In that bag, the AR mags and two extra pistol mags were quickly accessible, the adjusted bandoleer easy to put over my shoulder, a radio in my back pocket, my old Cold Steel Tanto in place for quick access in the bag along with a full water bottle and some snacks. Oh, my protective vest was either under my shirt or in the bag as well.
 
After I retired, I used the same bag for a while but I have now transferred the mags and gear to a plain over-the-shoulder black nylon bag. It can carry up to 220+ rounds in AR mags (30 and 20-round mags) plus other gear. One bag is marked, “Nintendo” and a new one is marked, “Old Navy.” I got these and others at Goodwill for about $2 to $3 each. This bag goes with my red-dot equipped 5.56 carbine that is carried in a sports bag. Even if someone sees the bags, they do not think tactical.
 
For my “serious duty,” extended tube, Remington 870 shotgun, I have a similar black nylon bag that says, “AAA” (in red letters). I took a black felt-tip pen and shaded the “AAA” a lot darker. It still does not look like an ammo bag, and it carries a selection of Winchester PDX12 (“buck and ball”), 00, slug, and #4 12ga. Ammo in smaller pockets. You can equip other bags of this type for each weapon you have.
 
In any social context, long-guns should be primary and any support or added a level of protection comes from handguns (while some may say it should be the other way around, for now, this is reality). For the handgun, obtain good quality holsters, pistol (trouser) belts, and mag pouches. Next, ensure you have a good and tested sling on the long-gun. All your gear should work together for you and not against you.
 
I wish to make a point here that your gear does not have to look, “Tacticool.” Until we reach an end of normal social actions, if you need to carry and use your weapons, think covert – not overt on you own property. Wearing a military or tactical looking rig draws a lot of attention; some of it unwanted. At first glance, most cops see weapons as an immediate threat and treat it that way until they know better. Think, plan and train for this. Think out how you will react to reduce the chance of a melancholy end to a law enforcement encounter. If there are no cops involved, run through scenarios in your mind -- and with trusted advisors when you can. Obtain training or practice these scenarios. Remember, where a firearm is aimed is a big part of any situation. Can you record a confrontation on a cell phone or on a recorder so that you know about it but anyone being confronted does not know about the recording? This may help you protect yourself by knowing it is recorded but document the confronted person’s verbal responses and actions (you can do this by calling 911 and setting the phone down). As to what you should say, it should be clear, firm, but not profane or overly aggressive. I sometimes use the words of others to set the tone for these kinds of thoughts. Here are two: 1) "A kind word only goes so far, a kind word and a gun goes a lot further." --Al Capone (1924) and 2) "Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready." – Theo. Roosevelt (San Francisco, CA, May 13, 1903). Between these two men, there is a lot of room for the reader to determine a fair course of meaning (both being fairly determined men but at different ends of the social spectrum). 
 
If you lawfully carry a handgun, practice with it until you know where it is on your person, how to gain access to it (pulling up a vest or coat, etc.), where the extra mag or speedloader is, where your flashlight is (set to the beam you want when you turn it on), where your folding knife is, how you will retrieve and show ID if confronted by a peace officer and become comfortable (as you can) with all this gear. It is too easy to telegraph carry by constantly pulling up a gun belt or otherwise broadcasting your gear to even bad people. The idea here is that people (even ex-cons) do not know you have your gear ready for use. Really, this comfort level is not as easy as it seems. Again, practice it until it is easy then add layers of other covert gear that go with a long gun.  
 
By the way, if it is not too warm or raining, a long light jacket or a blanket or Clint Eastwood western type serape will cover most long guns as well as what you may be wearing around your waist. In cold or wet weather, a rain coat or other long coats will cover a long-gun if slung with the sling over the shoulder and the weapon nestled under the strong side arm.
 
I have found that most people, when they do practice with their weapons and related gear, they do so in daylight. We need to think beyond daylight and practice during hours of darkness. With any weapon, target identification is a primary function in a confrontation; before pulling a trigger, know who will be shot due to that action. It would be better if the target was illuminated by a source not attached to the shooter but as a last resort, there may not be an alternative to holding or using an attached light to perform this identification.
 
If someone comes looking for you (in any serious social situation), access is always an important consideration with carry equipment and should be considered by anyone defending themselves or their family. Find the time to practice changing mags and other equipment from these bags. Practice weapon functions without looking at it in daylight and in the dark. Practice until it is automatic and done with little thought (trained “muscle memory”).
 
So, in addition to you short gun and extra mag, have quickly at hand:
1.  An accessible carbine or shotgun with a good sling (and, my preference, a good red dot sight);
2.  A useful amount of proper mags and ammo;
3.  A manner of carrying this gear that does not make you look like G.I. Joe; and
4.  A strong and sharp knife, extra pistol mags, a good flashlight, water and energy food.
 
To be covert, you need to think about how many mags and ammo you think you need to carry to support both the short and long guns. Think minimum with more available close by.
 
In any serious social situation, you do not want to run out of ammo until you have cleared the threat or you can back out of range. Figure out how you can carry your weapon in your version of a, “plain brown wrapper.” Find a para-rigger or knowledgeable show repair person to help you modify your gear to meet these carry needs.
 
So, in review, train and practice with all this gear. If you have knowledgeable friends available, talk through your scenarios and ask their advice. Discuss how to react now to these situations and you will be better prepared for any future eventuality; consider a non-tactical bag with a over-the-shoulder strap to hold your gear or a smaller size briefcase kind of bag that you can sew “D” rings on each corner and attach a strap to go around your neck and another around your chest to hold you gear. Until you can wear tactical gear in the open without gaining negative attention, a covert set may be better for your welfare and still meet your threat set needs.     

Keep your musket clean and your powder dry.

Good day, Mister Rawles.

Thank you, as always, for the good work you do.

Regarding J.G.'s article homestead defence, it occurred to me that stand-off situations would become a likely possibility.

Reasonably, a group of attackers will launch an assault on your homestead and either succeed or fail to kill/capture you.
If they succeed the point is moot, but if they fail, what then? Unless their force is clustered or small you're unlikely to kill them all. Odds are strong that after half their force (or maybe less) gets ventilated the rest will attempt to retreat.

What will they do afterwards? Look for a less defended homestead or simply wait for a better time to crack your defences? Perhaps they'll set the nearby foliage alight after determining the direction of the wind and attack under cover of smoke or simply find the best position to take pot-shots at your residence. Several sleepless days later you'll be exhausted and your nerves will be wracked.

Heaven forbid they have a distance shooter more skilled than your watchman. Suddenly the odds are not looking so great, are they?

It's for this reason I think it's important to be able to communicate with the goblins after they lay siege to your residence.
Negotiate?
Bargain?
Not a chance!

Instead, a suitably powerful loudspeaker (or failing that, a note wrapped around the shaft of an arrow) can convey to the goblins that you will fight to the bitter end, and that the last man standing will detonate a well placed petrol bomb and reduce their prize to ashes.

This strategy could even prove effective against less violent but more populous mobs (such as any locally organised "food redistribution teams").
Cheapen the "reward" part of the enemy's risk/reward analysis and you will certainly fight less battles than you might otherwise have to. You'll also be able to give those less vicious trespassers their marching orders at a more suitable distance.

Kind regards, as always. - The Apple Islander

JWR Replies: In a world without advanced medical care or even antibiotics available, who in their right minds would risk repeated attacks on a resilient target? It is reasonable to expect that in most cases, looters will see the error of their ways and move on to easier pickings. (Unarmed victims.) Your part of this equation is to be truly resilient. In a situation where there is no extant law enforcement agency left to summon, it will be "You're on your own" (YOYO) time. Don't ever make the mistake of appeasing or negotiating with goblins. Looters only understand thick walls, stout doors, and force. So be prepared to provide plenty.

Sometimes a display of force will be enough to discourage looters, so that they will go find easier pickings. As I mentioned once before in SurvivalBlog, one of my consulting clients is a rancher in the intermountain west. He has a 24" diameter, 3/4"-thick round steel plate hung up on chains above his perimeter fence gate, which is 250 yards from his house. (He has a typical western ranch entry gate with a very high, stout crosspiece.) This plate is painted with his cattle brand logo, so to the casual observer it merely looks decorative. He's told me is that his intention is that if miscreants stop and show signs of forcing his gate, he will used a scoped FAL rifle to apply several rapid shots to that steel plate. He calls it his "Go away" bell. Hearing his "bell" ring will be a clear message to los hombres malos: "You have 250 yards of open ground to traverse to get to my house. Do you feel lucky, or bulletproof?"

Again, in genuinely Schumeresque times, during hours of darkness it is likely that a semi-auto burst of tracer rounds fired over the heads of a gang of looters might have a similar effect. One of my readers also suggested placing 20 pound Tannerite targets in positions around a retreat's perimeter. Ideally, these target would be positioned so that they can be seen and targeted by the retreat defenders but not by the attackers. (Tannerite can be really impressive.) Depending on the circumstances, demonstrating one or two of those going "boom" in plain view somewhere between the looters and your retreat residence might be a good way to encourage the ruffians to leave.

One strong proviso: The use of "warning shots" or other displays of force could be misconstrued. State laws on warning shots vary widely. (Be sure to check your local and state laws!) In some states, this might be considered justifiable, but it in others it is a potential felony. I would only recommend doing this in the midst of a true "worst case" societal collapse, only from a long distance (firing from cover), and only if no law enforcement were available to call. Do not attempt this in present day circumstances or you will risk getting sued or prosecuted! Also note that tracer ammunition and Tannerite are banned in a few jurisdictions. Again: Do your homework!

Please don't mistake any of the foregoing as sure solutions. Merely scaring off looters might not be sufficient. Certainly don't use displays of force more than once, per customer. The first time should be their only warning. Be prepared, if need be, to follow it up with a heavy dose of lead if they persist and thereby demonstrate that they plan to kill you.

And you are right: You need to be able to demonstrate that you are willing to fight to finish. Anything less will be a sign of weakness that can be exploited.

Recently Fox News published an article about a Hew Hampshire man being arrested on reckless endangerment for discharging a firearm into the ground as a warning shot to stop a burglar. Reading that article got me thinking about what rules of engagement and escalation of force would look like for civilians. As a former infantry officer and combat veteran of the U.S. Army, I am familiar with the Army's rules of engagement (ROE) and the use of escalation of force (EOF).

Soldiers have a clearly defined set of rules of engagement and escalation of force for different scenarios from peace-time guard duty to combat operations. I believe responsible armed citizens should have them as well. What I would recommend for each firearm owner is to determine what your top 2 to 3 most likely scenarios for dealing with a possibly armed and dangerous individual would be, researching the state and local laws regarding self defense and the defense of others, then developing your
own rules of engagement (ROE) and escalation of force (EOF) for each of those scenarios. One set of ROE and EOF may be all you need or a couple of them may be necessary. Personally, I prefer to keep it simple so I only have one set of ROE and EOF.

A useful model of rules of engagement to base your own off of is the U.S. Army's ROE for guard duty. The acronym RAMP may help you develop your own ROE:
• R - Return Fire with Aimed Fire. Return force with force. You always have the right to repel hostile acts with necessary force.
• A - Anticipate Attack. Use force if, but only if, you see clear indicators of hostile intent.
• M - Measure the amount of force that you use, if time and circumstances permit. Use only the amount of force necessary to protect lives and accomplish the mission.
• P - Protect with deadly force only human life and property designated by your commander. Stop short of deadly force when protecting other property.

Remember, this is a base model and should be modified for your specific scenarios. I would argue that there is little property that you may have that a jury would deem worthy of protection by the use of deadly force. Therefore, my personal ROE excludes the use of deadly force to protect my personal property and property of others as I do not wish to face an arrest and/or conviction over stuff that can be replaced. Develop your own ROE with what you are comfortable with that is in accordance with state and local laws. State and local laws vary greatly on the use of deadly force to protect personal property so make sure you check the applicable laws in your area before adding that to your ROE and actually using deadly force to protect your property or the property of others. The use of a firearm against another individual, whether they survive or not, may be considered using deadly force.

Next is your escalation of force or EOF for short. The U.S. Army model for EOF is below:
• SHOUT - verbal warning to halt.
• SHOVE - nonlethal physical force.
• SHOW - intent to use weapon.
• SHOOT - deliberately aimed shots until threat no longer exists.
Warning shots are not permitted.

It should be noted that military installations are generally around a populated area and the most likely scenario they will face is a protest and/or riot so the guard duty ROE and EOF do not allow for warning shots in order to prevent collateral damage and unintended civilian casualties.

For my own personal EOF guide I have removed the Shove step as a bad guy within range of physical contact is too close and would leave precious little time to anticipate an attack. Therefore my personal EOF guide is Shout, Show, Shoot. In the case of the New Hampshire man who fired a warning shot, checking state and local laws regarding warning shots could possibly have saved him from the ensuing legal battle he was faced with. Again, be absolutely certain to check your state and local laws before adding warning shots to your EOF and/or actually firing a warning shot. Ignorance is not a valid defense and you should not turn yourself into a criminal by firing a warning shot if they are not permitted in your locale.

Another great place to learn about state and local laws for the use of a firearm for self defense is a state approved concealed carry course. Some states, such as Florida, do not require a course if you can prove you are proficient in the use of firearms (such as a DD-214 discharge document from the military). If your state does not require a course, attending an NRA or other licensed instructor course for concealed carry will educate you on where you can and can not carry as well as provide you with different scenarios on when to use force. Each year the NRA also publishes the Traveler's Guide to Firearms Laws of the Fifty States which will inform you as to what states recognize other state's permits. Remember, that publication is only a resource and should not be substituted for checking with state and local laws on where you intend to carry.

By having a thought out and planned set of Rules of Engagement and Escalation of Force guide you will be better prepared to react to adverse situations and will have a better defense against criminal prosecution if you use that level of force only which is necessary to neutralize the threat and/or diffuse the situation. Sincerely, - B.K.

You’re a prepper.  You have stores of food and water, supplies, commo gear, and everything you could conceivably need in order to survive the Apocalypse.  Unfortunately, that also means that you’re a target.  Eventually everyone in the neighborhood will figure out that you and yours are maintaining your weight while everyone else in society is starving, and your neighbors will cease to behave in a neighborly way.  To say “Oh well, I guess I should have prepared” is not the human way.  They will attempt to take your provisions by force. 

This is one of the primary reasons that I advocate for bugging out to a location where your entire extended family, and maybe some carefully chosen friends, can cohabitate and provide from common security.  It’s great to have massive stores of supplies and food to keep you alive, but it means nothing if those supplies are violently removed from your possession because of a lack of security.  Better to be in a community of like-minded people who are all endeavoring towards survival than to attempt to stick it out alone.  There is a reason why communities formed at the dawn of humanity, and provision for the common defense is one of them.
That being said, simply having warm bodies around your property will do little to prevent pilferage and outright violence against your provisions should worse come to worst.  You need to have some knowledge of the most basic principles of defense in order to being preparing for this sort of situation now.  That being said, I’ll make a brief discussion of the basics and help you see the light at the end of the tunnel for preparing your property for the fall of civilization.

Borrowing from military doctrine, here are the principles of defense in a nutshell:

All around defense.    It should go without saying that all around defense should be a top priority, but I guarantee that there are people making this mistake as we speak in their defense preparations.  It does absolutely no good to have the most high-speed, kick-resistant, steel-reinforced front door in the world if you don’t lock your back door.  Likewise, all of the provisions in the world will not help you if they are beyond the scope of your ability to effectively protect them. 

Take a thorough look at your security situation.  Think about how many people you have to secure your location, and the amount of space that can be reasonably secured by that number of people.  As you think through these items, remember that the average sentry is good for about 4 hours, semi-awake for 8 hours, and utterly worthless at the 12 hour mark.  It doesn’t matter how well they are trained or how motivated they are.  Nobody can stand watch forever. 

After a gut check, decide how much real estate you can reasonably secure.  If you don’t have enough people to secure your entire five acre estate, then consider securing only the main house.  If you don’t have enough people for that, consider securing only the basement.  If it’s one bedroom, then so be it.  Fit as much useful stuff as you can into one bedroom and be willing to part with the rest of your provisions in the event of an armed incursion.  Knowing what you can and can’t secure will keep you alive.

I recommend organizing your supplies in accordance with the priority of the supply.  If you know you can secure one room, but think you may be able to hold three rooms, you would place your highest priority items in the room that you know without a doubt can be secured indefinitely.  Such items might include guns and ammo, drinking water, and food.  Other less important items can be placed in other rooms that you are less likely to be able to hold.

Defense in depth.  On the battlefield, we use this concept to ensure that we have redundancy in our security apparatus.  In other words, we have a mine field, then a fence, then a row of obstacles, then a bunch of defensive positions.  If one security apparatus fails, there are more layers of the onion remaining.  Such considerations are important for defending large expanses of property.  They are also vitally important for defending a single family dwelling, and can be micro-applied to that job as well. 

For instance, you probably have a dead bolt on your front door.  You should also have a door bar in place.  Beyond the door bar, you should have a wedge bar.  If an intruder gets beyond those defenses, you should have solid doors with dead bolt locks on each interior room of your home.  You get the idea. The more layers of security you have in place, the more time you will have to consolidate your family in the safe room, arm yourselves, and/or bug out when trouble comes knocking. 

The first two principles are no-brainers that absolutely everyone should be implementing.  The next three are more useful for folks who have enough people to mount a proper defense of their property and provisions.

Key Terrain.  Know the layout of your property.  Be able to physically occupy, or occupy by fire all of the key terrain in your area.  For instance, if there is a giant hill overlooking your property, you should have a plan to place someone on that hill.  It will be an effective vantage point to detect advancing trouble makers, and will allow the alarm to be sounded more quickly, thus providing precious minutes of preparation for the incursion.
To occupy by fire means that, in the event that you can’t physically place a person on the hill, you can at least cover it by sniper fire, etc.  The basic idea is that if you can’t use the hill to your advantage, your enemy shouldn’t be able to use the hill either.  Denying the enemy this advantage means that he must essentially fight blind, which tilts the battle in our favor.

Avenues of Approach.  Avenues of approach allow the bad guys rapid, high-speed infiltration into our secure zone, and must therefore be dealt with.  Examples might be roads, dry creek beds, large game trails, or any other terrain through which men and vehicles can move rapidly.  Avenues of approach are a major concern because a heavy truck traveling at forty miles per hour will more than likely have no trouble defeating your gates, fences, etc. 

The idea when dealing with avenues of approach is twofold.  First, we want to limit high speed ingress to our property.  If we have a long, straight road, we might want to employ massive speed bumps, deep ditches across portions of the road, and serpentine obstacles to ensure that any vehicles are speed breaking prior to approaching our property.  This gives us time to properly assess the approaching people and determine whether or not they are a threat, and react accordingly. 

Some examples of ways to mitigate avenues of approach for foot troops are to utilize tangle foot, punji trenches, and barbed wire (although I don’t recommend digging punji trenches until the actual fall of civilization seems imminent). 

A second concern in regards to avenues of approach is sometimes called combat engineering.  If we can control the route that our enemies take onto our property, then we have an opportunity to ensure that bad news awaits them at every turn.  For instance, we might deny access to a creek bed only to turn our enemy onto a driveway, knowing that we have the driveway covered by interlocking fields of fire (more on this in a minute).  The result would be a turkey shoot.  Game over.  We win. 

It is noteworthy that there is one exception to the avenues of approach rule.  Stand-off distance.  Dense vegetation acts as a natural speed break to advancing enemies in most situations.  Nobody in their right mind would advance through a jungle when a road is available if the tactical objective is speed, surprise, and violence of action.  Of course, having dense vegetation up to your perimeter, while it may slow enemy advances, will also serve to obscure your vision and make defensive adjustments harder.  For that reason, we need to clear a stand-off ring around our perimeter.

Clearing a stand-off ring is done by taking down trees, removing dense vegetation, and to the extent possible eliminating cover and concealment.  This will necessitate the enemy advancing over open ground in order to attack your secure zone, and should enable you a huge benefit in defending it.  In a perfect world, we would want to have a stand-off distance equal to the maximum effective range of our rifle, but I realize that this may not always be possible.  To any extent, some buffer is better than none when it comes to discouraging armed incursion.  People looking at that vast open field will think twice before bum rushing your perimeter. 

Interlocking fields of fire.  If you are fortunate enough to have defensive positions and people to man them, you should test your defensive positions to ensure that you have achieved interlocking fields of fire.  This means that the area of responsibility for one fox hole crosses over with that of the fox hole next to them, and that there are no gaps in your defenses.
 
Planning out your fields of fire serves several purposes.  First, it conserves ammunition by limiting a defender to a certain area of responsibility.  He doesn’t shoot at targets that are not right in front of him, and thus has a lower chance of wasting ammunition.  Second, the overall confidence of the defense force will be bolstered by the existence of a coherent plan.  Believe it or not, this is an important aspect of keeping morale high.  Finally, planning out your fields of fire ensures that you have checked all of the defensive boxes and that no bad guys are going to slip through the cracks.  I suggest using limiting stakes to mark off the areas of responsibility for each defensive position, and creating range cards with known distances to landmarks in their field of fire for quick, accurate engagement of targets. 

If you can follow those five conventions you will be in pretty good shape in terms of physical security of your provisions and housing.  It’s a little easier said than done, and it can be daunting if you are preparing your first defense plan.  You can feel free to contact me with questions, and I’ll do my best to get back with an answer.  I’ve done this sort of planning in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations throughout the world, so I’m pretty sure that you can also get it done in your neighborhood. 

As a woman, I had heretofore never envisioned myself in the scenarios I am about to describe.  The decay of our society and culture has made it necessary for me to know how to defend myself.  It hasn’t been an easy decision to make, but professional training in proper handgun handling has empowered me.  

Through hours of practice, I am learning to be a responsible and proficient handgun owner.  I take my privilege of carrying a gun seriously, and recent national events should serve to inform all of us to avoid violent encounters whenever possible.  I carry a gun for defensive purposes, and I have sought training that will teach me how to react to a threat in a safe and consistent manner.  I want to be safe in the knowledge that I will react to an attack without undue risk to myself or others.  So I want to share a couple of defense tactics I have been taught, and I think you will agree that they are easy skills to acquire and should become a part of your defense strategy.

Observe, Orient, Decide, Act (OODA):  This is a decision-making loop model developed for the military by US Air Force Colonel John Boyd, also known as “the Father of the F-15.”  But it has equal application to self-defense, and is the easiest and, I believe, the optimal response to any threat.  You can do this simple defensive tactic, regardless of where you are or what kind (if any) weapon you are carrying.   

Here’s a quote I like from Robert Greene, who wrote an article titled OODA and You:  “The proper mindset is to let go a little, to allow some of the chaos to become part of your mental system, and to use to your advantage by simply creating more chaos and confusion for your opponent.  You, the defender, funnels the inevitable chaos of the battlefield in the direction of the enemy.”  Let’s face it; any defensive situation that involves a firearm is a battlefield.

I was first introduced to OODA through a defensive handgun course I took with John Farnam, of Defense Training International, Inc.   Farnam is a Vietnam veteran who was awarded three Purple Hearts; is a retired Major in the U.S. Marine Corps; and is a fully commissioned deputy sheriff .  He is regarded as one of the top handgun instructors in the world.  After training with him, I had a whole new perspective of what it means to exercise my Concealed Carry handgun permit.

We were taught that the Bad Guy usually has a plan, and he performs each one of these steps during the execution of his attack.  It is imperative that each one of us abides by the same rules:  Observe your surroundings (be aware of what’s going on around you; Orient yourself to your situation (Is there a wall or a car I can get behind?); Decide if you feel your life is threatened and if the situation requires the drawing of your weapon; or if a better and more appropriate response might be to move away from the shooter; and Act (if threatened, do what you need to do to defend yourself, or if possible, remove yourself from the situation).

One of the things that was also pounded into my consciousness was “Get Off The X!”, a key component of the OODA Loop.  Let me explain:  Gun and/or knife attacks must come at you on a direct line.  In order to make the attack, the bad guy must close from his position to yours.  That will involve either the path of the bullet from the attacker’s gun, or in the case of a knife attack, the bad guy, himself, will be coming straight at you. 

In either case, your first line of defense is to move off the attack line…Get Off The X!  The mere act of moving a step or two will cause the attacker to re-evaluate his attack.  In effect, you have changed his OODA Loop, gained a second or two, and have taken the advantage in the fight. 

This is such an effective tool in changing the dynamics of the fight that your movement to get off the X can reduce your chance of being hit by 70%, according to Farnam.  This statistic was based on “Force on Force” drills at the National Tactical Invitational.  It’s as simple as this:  That one side step buys you 1 ½ seconds to engage the perpetrator, who has had to change his thought process.  When you changed his OODA Loop, you took away his advantage.

To increase your chances of success, you must side-step on your draw, and make it a motor skill.  Farnam drilled this in our heads for 2 ½ days.  “If you’re not shooting….you should be moving!”  To begin with, practice side-stepping while drawing your gun, and do that until it becomes second nature.  This act must become a reactive motor skill….if you’re drawing your gun, you’re automatically moving off the X.  As you progress, your combat reloads, tactical reloads and scanning for additional bad guys are all done while moving. 

John Farnam is not the only professional trainer who ascribes to the merits of the OODA Loop.  According to Massad Ayoob, an internationally known firearms and self-defense instructor (as well as a law enforcement officer training instructor), there is no better strategy for surviving an action/reaction crisis. 

For the Concealed Carry citizen, the handgun is a defensive weapon.  This means you will most probably be a reactive shooter.  The very nature of defensive handgun training means you prepare for an event that has already started and you are brought in under a “reactive” banner.  This means the perpetrator initially has the advantage, since he’s starting the fight on what he feels are his terms.

But when you exercise OODA Loop and Getting Off The X, you have taken that advantage away from him and transferred it to your side of the ledger.  You now have the upper hand by causing momentary chaos in his world; don’t lose that advantage!
    
Not Just For Handgun Defense!
Interestingly enough, Travis Haley, another highly respected firearms trainer, stresses Getting Off The X in his new “Adaptive Carbine” DVD.   Haley is a veteran Force Reconnaissance Marine with 15 years combat experience in the Middle East, and as a special operations and security contractor.  Mr. Haley also partnered with Magpul as founder and CEO of their training division, before forming his own company, Haley Strategic Partners.  His reputation and experience is considerable and well-regarded. 

In this outstanding DVD, he demonstrates drills with the AR-15 by exploding, either left or right, for one long aggressive step; then engaging the target as quickly as possible.  He also demonstrates dropping to a knee or to a prone position rapidly, which in effect changes the attacker’s OODA Loop, and again gives you the advantage.

 One Final Tactic  
And in case you’re obsessed with acronyms, I have another one for you:  MDCR.   Move:  the perpetrator may continue the fight.  Create Distance from the attacker.  After the initial attack SOP9 data proves the attacker will score hits at 3-10 feet, 70% of the time.  By creating distance of 10-12 yards (by just quickly backing up), the perpetrator’s hit percentage dropped to 7%!  By merely creating distance in your fight radius, you increase your survivability by 63%!!  Obtain Cover as quickly as possible.  The gunfight may not be over.  But seeking cover to assess the situation increases your survivability, as well.  Look for barriers that will stop bullets….cars, trees, walls, building corners, etc.  Reload:  a tactical reload behind cover should be your first order of business.  Assess where the gunfight is going, but while doing so, get your gun topped off.

In summary, there’s no doubt that gunfights are systems of chaos.  Next to your weapon and subsequent training, OODA Loop, Getting Off The X, and MDCR all provide you with the best advantages.  And when the chaos starts, all you will have to fall back on is the motor skills you have developed.  If nothing else, please consider adding the one simple element of stepping to the side as you draw your gun.  According to John Farnam, this single, seemingly innocuous act could, and probably will, save your life.

I want to leave you with a visual image --- Remember the scene in The Last of the Mohicans (one of my very favorite movies!) when Magua, who is the perp in the movie, has his rifle trained on Cora Munro?  Hawkeye, reacting defensively, starts to engage Magua to prevent the attack.  Magua, sensing Hawkeye’s response, swings his rifle towards Hawkeye and fires.  Hawkeye immediately drops to one knee (moves off the X!) and seeks to re-engage.  Magua escapes through a cloud of black powder smoke... but I think you get my illustration.  That simple move to one knee took the advantage away from the approaching attacker and caused him to re-evaluate.  And now the advantage is yours, and that’s what it’s all about!

Mr. Rawles:
First of all, I would just like to say a huge thank you for all the advice, expertise, and survival techniques that you have bought to my attention through your books and your blog. I never realised just how much of a risk our current climate is, and how likely we are to get to a state of "every man for himself" survival.

My name is Steve. I am a 21 year old living in the West Midlands county in the heart of Great Britain. I have always had survivalism in my blood, and have always liked to think that I am prepared for whatever the world can throw at me, but recently, the last four years or so, I have become increasingly worried with the state of my country and economical clime. My fears were confirmed last August when mass rioting and looting took control of many of my country's cities, including our capital, London. The authorities and law enforcement were powerless to do a thing, and we were nearly in a state of "Northern Ireland law enforcement", in that the armed forces were to patrol the streets, and we were to have riot shielded police with water cannons on every street corner. Thankfully, that situation has calmed down now, but I know it is only a matter of time before chaos breaks out again.

My main concern is that I, like many million other British residents, live in multi-story, "high rise" flat (apartment) which I see as near enough impossible to defend in the event of WTSHTF. Some "high rise" flats can have as many as 60-70 homes, with 200+ people living in them. It's one thing to secure my front door from burglary and looters, but what's the point when our housing options are so small that we barely have enough room to sleep a family, let alone store equipment and supplies for the inevitable. It's impossible for me to keep a back up generator along with substantial food, water, and fuel supplies in a home that has the total floor space of around 30'x30', including bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, living room and dining space. My home is just not a practical safe house for me, my fiancée, and our daughter. Let alone the fact that we are on the 5th floor, and would have almost zero chance of escape in the event of a fire or terror attack.

I know that the obvious thing to do would be to move house, somewhere out of the city with the space and freedom to properly prepare, but we simply can not afford to. I am currently out of work. I lost my job over a year ago and have been unable to find work since. The same goes for my fiancée, who lost her job nearly two years ago and has also been unable to find a new work placement. We both have to survive on[a combined unemployment insurance benefit of] just over £53 per week (about $84.50 USD), pay all our bills, rent, buy our food, and also bring up our young daughter. It's outrageous. In the past two years alone I have witnessed more businesses and company's both regionally, and nationally, collapse due to the economic state that my government has put the country in. I have recently applied to join the British Armed Forces Reserves (Territorial Army, or TA) in an attempt to earn more money to support my family, and also acquire any necessary tactical, survival, and combat, training and techniques that will undoubtedly prove vital WTSHTF.

Another concern I have, the laws and regulations in this country regarding owning and using firearms. Shotguns and shotgun licenses are fairly easy to obtain, if you own a farm or are a registered target/clay-pigeon/small-game shooter. But other than that, pistols, rifles, and semi-auto weapons are nearly impossible to obtain and get a licence for. A licence can be applied for, but are rarely granted. If you are lucky enough to obtain your licence and firearm, you can expect regular "knocks on your door" at 3 a.m. by the local armed police to check your ammo count and security cabinets for both weapon and ammunition. Then there is the fact of actually getting hold of ammunition for your gun(s). The only real stockist of rifle and pistol ammunition is local "gun clubs" where enthusiasts can go and fire a limited number of rounds from their weapon. But even then, only specific weapons are allowed to be fired. Mostly, some pistols and shotguns. We have no real facilities to accurately zero and test fire weapons that we will no doubt need for our own protection and survival in the case of TEOTWAWKI.

I know I may be thinking small in terms of what will happen, but these are real concerns that I deem as extremely important to the survival and order of my family and fellow country man in the near, inevitable, future.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback or advice that you could give me.

Thank you again, and keep yourself safe. - D.S.

JWR Replies: Joining the TA is a great way to get yourself training in marksmanship, land navigation, first aid, small unit tactics, and even NBC defense. The rigorous physical training will also get you in great shape. BTW, I recommend that you start running every-other day and doing dozens of sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups a day, months in advance of your enlistment.

The free SurvivalBlog archives are fully searchable for the many articles that we've posted on selecting and training with weapons for locales with draconian laws. The article topics include:

• Baton and stick fighting
• Canes, walking sticks and umbrellas
• Air rifles
• Archery
• Chemical irritants and road flares
• Martial Arts

Captain Rawles,
In addition to the points you made in reference to stealth and scarce ammunition supplies post collapse, in your commentary on the named article, I would make a second point:

While the squad level tactics described have proven to be rather effective for active duty military in offense;  the average Joe and his family unit will most likely not have those kinds of numbers.  The average familial size seems to be right around four, these days.  So unless one is lucky enough to have found/joined/founded a group for this purpose, when it gets to be Schumer time the average Joe will find themselves with a fire team at best, in most cases.  Do not mistake me, here, if you got a thirteen man squad, or more, great.  But most won't, so other tactics are perhaps more appropriate.

I would frankly be more inclined, speaking as a veteran myself, to highly recommend the average family/small group employ an adaptation of ST:A (Scout Team: Advanced), fire team recon, or LRRP doctrines.  Which is to say concentrate on detection over engagement, stealth over owning ground, and strict employment of the sound/light/motion/trace "disciplines".  For those who aren't familiar, trace discipline can also be called trash discipline or "policing your line of advance".  It simply means don't leave any trace that you were there; burn, bury, or carry with you any trash or spent brass.  In short, get in-do your business-get out, preferably without having to engage, especially if the other side is physically entrenched.  If you must engage at assault ranges, then somebody goofed and goofed badly, in my experience. Of course, if one must engage, do so authoritatively, and with prejudice; in other words don't just hit your target, drop them, so they don't get back up. Then break off the engagement as quickly as is possible.  Obviously, further adaptation will be needed for such things as movement connected with resource gathering, and so forth.  Cutting firewood in quantity leaves a lot of trace and will have a huge sound signature, for example.

I would also very highly advise these small groups to train all their members as designated marksmen, on top of whatever other skills are possessed, in order to foster the habit of observation at distance.  This allows for long range engagement from behind cover, followed by a break contact movement while starting from that same cover. (Assuming there's cover to be had.)   This is in keeping with what I've written previously concerning keeping a low profile.  Simply put, the average family unit will just not possess, most likely, the numerical assets to engage at squad level or higher, with much degree of success.  Huge families and so forth are more an exception these days than they were when I was a child.

When it comes to family, there's no such animal as "acceptable losses."

Just my two cents, here.  And Easter blessings to all. - J.H.

Hi Jim, 
I agree 100% with your addenda to Gunfighter's article, Small Unit Tactics in a Post Collapse Environment. As a consultant myself, I have had to stress (particularly to the younger crowd of OIF and OEF veterans) that Survivalists have to operate differently than Soldiers, due to the military's reliance on body armor, advanced medical resources, et cetera.

If anything, I seek out Vietnam Vets as consulting associates, for their experience in individual techniques (usually all from the prone position), from the pre-Kevlar, pre-IBA, pre-MOLLE days. I met many of them when I attended Jungle Warfare school back in 1983.
 
Also, I've discovered that in the Pacific Northwest, the older USGI woodland pattern poncho makes a great second to a ghillie suit, particularly in a populated suburban area, where it may not draw as much attention, when emerging from the woods. Cheers, - SGT Snuffy

The time may come when all order and civility have broken down into chaos and unrestrained evil. You were a wise prepper and worked through your list of lists, acquiring all of the necessary knowledge and tools for survival. All of your bases are covered. Your survival retreat is intact and manned by your entire survival group. Each individual is most likely capable of firing a weapon and you probably have a survival retreat defense plan in the event a band of raiders, or some other group of people who wish you harm, decides they want to take what isn’t theirs. One skill may have been overlooked however… What is your plan, if a group of individuals must leave the defensive perimeter of your survival retreat? How do they mitigate risk before departing? How do they act and move? How do they posture themselves for a high rate survivability? What actions do they take in the event of being engaged in a firefight? These are all valid and relevant questions that need solutions in a post collapse environment. Tactical movement skills necessary when moving off of a retreat, on foot and overland, include: bounding, bounding over watch, movement to contact and react to contact. These terms may be foreign but I assure you, you will feel more confident and better equipped with some small unit tactics knowledge after reading this article.

The small unit tactics that I will discuss here in this article can be tailored to any situation or terrain. These tactics are meant to be used within a loose system or framework. It does not have to be “By the book.” There is plenty of room to adjust the tactics to fit the situation. The number of personnel can vary and does not need to be fixed. The best way to master these tactics is to train to the point where you are comfortable adjusting them to fit the need. Everything I discuss here in this article can be found in multiple military manuals (I will reference as I go) all of which are available to the public. Nothing I discuss will be sensitive or secret in nature. These are simply some small unit tactics that have been used for a long time.

First I will discuss the administrative organization of the group of people leaving the immediate area of your survival retreat. For the sake of continuity when I am referencing this group of people, their number will be nine, and they will be called a squad. This squad of nine personnel will want to posture themselves in such a way that improves all of their chances of coming back to the retreat alive. It is also important the squad be broken down into two smaller elements with element leaders and a leader over the entire squad. The smaller element leaders will now be referred to as team leaders. The overall leader of the squad will be referred to as the squad leader. The two teams within the squad are Alpha and Bravo teams. In this article each team will consist of one team leader and three additional riflemen. The squad leader manages the team leaders and the team leaders manage their individual teams. So in review; there is a squad of 9 personnel, that is broken down into two teams, Alpha and Bravo teams, each team consists of four personnel, one team leader who manages three additional rifleman, the squad is managed overall by the squad leader. It is imperative that survival retreat members elect tactically competent people as leaders for extra-retreat excursions before actually going on, what I will now reference as a patrol.

After SHTF “Old World” leaders may not have what it takes. The positions or offices that once protected individuals as leaders, though they were not capable or proficient as leaders, will no longer exist. The law of the jungle will now be in effect. Those individuals who are capable and competent will be easily recognizable, and out of necessity placed into positions of leadership. I realize that is a lot of information so if you need to, go back and read from the top of this section.

Now that the administrative portion is out of the way we can discuss the tactical organization of the teams and squad. Each team, as we discussed before, will be comprised of four personnel. In this article, during movement, each team will be in its own wedge formation with the team leader in front of his team. I would like you to visualize four personnel in an echelon or inverted V formation with the team leader at the front of the direction of movement. One rifleman will be off to one side and staggered behind the team leader with the other two riflemen off to the other side staggered off of one another.  I made a simple illustration below:

                 ^    TL                                                       TL= Team Leader

   ^    RFLM            ^      RFLM                                RFLM= Rifleman

                                           ^     RFLM                       ^ = Person

There is a visual in the Ranger Handbook SH-21-76 under Formations. I highly recommend using a search engine to find images of a fire team wedge before continuing on. Now that the team formation is solidified in your mind, think of Alpha team in a wedge formation followed behind by Bravo team also in a wedge formation. Both fire teams are moving together in the same direction of travel. In between the two teams is where the squad leader is positioned during patrol. This position gives him moderate to high control over the squad. The two fire team wedges combined together with the squad leader is called a squad column fire team wedge. I made a simple illustration below to demonstrate a Squad Column Fire Team Wedge.
             

                   ^    ATL                                                     ATL= Alpha Team Lea

    ^    RFLM              ^      RFLM                              BTL= Bravo Team Leader

                                             ^     RFLM                      SL= Squad Leader

                    ^    SL                                                       RFLM =Rifleman
                

                       ^   BTL

            ^   RFLM            ^   RFLM

^   RFLM                            
                            
Once again use a search engine to look at a picture of a squad column fire team wedge before continuing on (supplement rifleman in the grenadier and squad automatic weapon positions, unless your squad is fortunate enough to be equipped with such weapon systems). The distance between each man and each team can vary terrain dependent and movement technique desired. For example on open ground with few obstructions you can space out 35 or even 50 meters between personnel and the same distance between teams. The opposite terrain would be woods or a forest where visibility is restricted, and distances between personnel and teams can be as close as 10 to 15 meters. The distance and staggering of the personnel in the squad column fire team wedge is meant to increase survivability so a single burst of fire cannot take out more than one individual. As I explained before, the concepts of these tactics are loose and can be adjusted as necessary. Now that the squad column concept is understood we have the basis for the rest of the article. From now on when I say squad, refer to the squad column fire team wedge visual. Remember you can always go back and review the previous concepts before continuing on.

You should have a warm and fuzzy at this point in regard to the squad column fire team wedge. It is important for each member of the squad to know and understand the 5 Principles of Patrolling before heading out from your retreat. The 5 principles can be found in the Ranger Handbook SH-21-76 Chapter 5 Patrols. Even though no one in your survival group may have military experience, these principles still apply and are relevant to any group of people moving through a possibly hostile area after a total collapse scenario. The 5 principles as they appear in the Ranger Handbook are:

• Planning. Quickly make a simple plan and effectively communicate it to the lowest level. A great plan that takes forever to complete and is poorly disseminated isn’t a great plan. Plan and prepare to a realistic standard and rehearse everything.
• Reconnaissance. Your responsibility as a Ranger Leader is to confirm what you think you know, and to learn that which you do not already know.
• Security. Preserve your force as a whole. Every Ranger and every rifle counts; anyone could be the difference between victory and defeat.
• Control. Clear understanding of the concept of the operation and commander’s intent, coupled with disciplined communications, to bring every man and weapon available to overwhelm the enemy at the decisive point.
• Common Sense. Use all available information and good judgment to make sound timely decisions.

Your squad is assembled and spaced out, ready to initiate movement into whatever area that you intend to go outside of your survival retreat.  You begin movement at “Patrol speed.” Essentially it can be as slow or as fast as you want, situation dependent and movement technique desired. You want to move at a speed that is conducive for each individual to scan with their eyes the area the squad is moving into, as well scanning the flanks and rear. You also have to decide the current threat level to your squad and how likely it is there are people who wish you harm where you are going.  I will skip the Traveling technique because contact with potentially hostile groups must always be assumed in a post collapse scenario but please research this technique on your own if you wish. The squad leader should direct the squad to assume Traveling Overwatch, in which contact with hostiles is likely. In this movement technique, terrain dependent, there are 20 meters of dispersion between personnel and 50 meters of dispersion between fire teams. The lead team should be far enough in front of the trail team to detect and engage any threat to the squad, as to allow for the trail team to not become decisively engaged with an enemy. This allows the trail team to be in reserve and maneuvered by the squad leader to support the team in contact and destroy the hostile force. \

The second movement technique that I will discuss is Bounding Overwatch. This movement technique is used when contact with hostiles is imminent. The distances between personnel and teams remains the same as Traveling Overwatch, but as always can be adjusted situation dependent. During Bounding Overwatch, the forward team will occupy an overwatch position while the trail team bounds to a position alongside or forward of the overwatch team. The overwatch team is static and occupies any cover (object or position that can stop bullets) and or concealment (object or position that hides personnel) it can find, to cover the bounding team’s route, with fire if necessary. The bounds can be successive (the bounding team moves up alongside or online with the overwatch team) or alternating (the bounding team moves up and passes the overwatch team). Once the bounding team completes it’s bound and sets in, it then becomes the overwatch team and the previous overwatch team becomes the bounding team and initiates its bound. These movement techniques can be found in the Ranger Handbook SH-21-76 in Chapter 4 Movement. Search Traveling Overwatch and Bounding Overwatch on an internet search engine to find more information of these movement techniques.

So far, no offensive tactical operations have been discussed. A tactical operation called Movement to Contact is used as an offensive operation to gain or regain contact with an enemy unit. This would be used in the event that you have a general idea where hostiles may be. I do not advise the use of this tactical offensive operation using an element as small as a squad, especially in a post collapse scenario when you have no reserve force. In fact, Movement to Contact is reserved for a platoon size element in support of a larger force. With that disclaimer aside Movement to Contact if modified, can be an effective tool for your squad in a post collapse scenario, if the right conditions are met. An example of the circumstance when I would use Movement to Contact would be; if it became apparent that a small number of hostile individuals were in vicinity of my survival retreat and could be approaching. To avoid a firefight at the survival retreat and mitigate the risk of other survival retreat members becoming casualties I would muster the squad and conduct a movement to contact in the direction of the last know location of the hostile individuals. This is still not a perfect solution. Other considerations must be taken into account such as leaving a defendable position and who will remain behind for retreat security. It is just an example of when this offensive operation could be used.

Now let’s look at how to conduct Movement to Contact with your squad. There are two types of Movement to Contact: Search and Attack and Approach March.  Search and Attack is used on an enemy that is most likely dispersed and is not expecting attack or is expected to withdraw. The overall intent is to deny the enemy movement by saturating the area with platoon, squad, and team sized elements that find, fix, and destroy the enemy. This could prove difficult for a squad to do but against a small number of hostile individuals it is possible. The second type of Movement to Contact is the Approach March. The concept for this technique is to make contact with the enemy using the smallest possible friendly element. Once contact is made using the smallest element and the enemy has committed to the fight, all of the remaining friendly units maneuver on the enemy and overwhelm him. Once again this technique is intended for multiple platoons, squads, and fire teams in support of a larger force. This offensive tactical operation can be altered for use by one squad, given the right conditions.

For a the practical application of Movement to Contact for use by one squad it will be necessary to combine the two techniques, as you will recall are Search and Attack and Approach March.  It will take some creative thinking to maneuver a squad in order to saturate an area, make contact with only a fire team, and finally maneuvering the remaining team to crush the hostiles. The best solution would be to give clear and concise guidance to your team leaders to get both teams online, Alpha on the left and Bravo on the right. The teams should be in a shallow wedge. The distance between personnel and teams will need to be exaggerated, covering a larger area than normal. This is so that if one team makes contact with the hostiles, the other team will not be decisively engaged. This tactic may entice the hostiles to fully commit before they are aware of the other team. Once the hostiles are committed in a firefight with the first team the remaining team can move into position to bring the full force of the squad’s firepower on and overwhelm the hostiles. Remember that nothing is ever certain and this plan is not fool proof. There are many other ways to address the issue of possible attackers moving in on your survival retreat, Movement to Contact is just one tool in your bag. Consider your options, and then act. For more information on Movement to Contact reference FM 3-90 Tactics, Chapter 4 Movement to Contact or SH 21-76 Ranger Handbook Chapter 5 Patrols. You can also do a search of Movement to Contact in an Internet search engine.

Up until now we have discussed how to assemble your squad, move your squad, and find the enemy. Finally we come to how to destroy any would be attackers. The scenario is you’re squad has left the survival retreat, as it has before. Every member has their head on a swivel looking for signs of danger, rifles at the ready. You’re not looking for a fight, but are ready if one comes your way. You’re focused on the task at hand, whether it is gathering supplies or going to a town meeting your squad is ready to do what it needs to.  Multiple individuals a few hundred feet in the direction your squad is traveling expose themselves from behind cover and begin to fire their weapons at your squad. You’re squad’s training kicks in, you begin React to Contact.

React to Contact is a battle drill. A battle drill is defined as an action rapidly executed without applying a deliberate decision making process. Basically it means it is an instinctual reaction that has been engrained into your mind and body. You know what you need to do and you act immediately. Like the scenario I described above, your squad, specifically Alpha team, has been engaged by several hostile individuals to your front or 12 O’clock position. Multiple things occur all in the same instant, upon receiving hostile fire. They are: return fire, seek cover (preferably in the prone) and alert the rest of the squad to the hostile’s location by use of the 3 D’s (shout out: clock direction, distance, and description of the hostiles. This sounds like: “Twelve O’clock, 100 meters, 3 enemies behind a berm). Since Alpha team is in front of Bravo team and the hostiles are to the 12 O’clock position, only Alpha team returns fire. Bravo team will hold their fire so they do not shoot their fellow squad members in the back. Bravo team’s job is to seek cover, echo the 3 D’s, pull security to the flanks and rear, then await further instructions. Alpha team upon contact, will rapidly fire at known, likely, and suspected locations of hostiles simultaneously seeking cover and giving up the 3 D’s. When Alpha team is behind cover, generally online with one another, and engaging hostile targets, the squad leader will move up to their position. The squad leader will get eyes on the hostiles and receive a report from the Alpha team leader.  At this time Alpha team will be attempting to gain fire superiority over the hostiles.

Observing three hostiles the Alpha team leader informs the squad leader he can’t take them without Bravo team. The squad leader acknowledges and instructs the Alpha team leader to continue to suppress the enemy. The squad leader will also tell the Alpha team leader where he intends to maneuver Bravo team.  This scenario, in a moderately wooded area, has three hostile individuals about one hundred meters to the 12 O’clock position. They are lying prone and firing from behind a low berm, obscured by brush. To the squads left flank the woods become less dense and the ground slopes downward. To the squad’s right flank the ground slopes slightly upward with several large rock formations on the high ground. The squad leader likes the high ground and the possibility of using the rock formations as cover so he will be flanking to the right with Bravo team. The squad leader moves back to the rear where Bravo team is pulling security and informs them of his plan (the elapsed time from contact to now should be very short, approximately 30-40 seconds. The longer Alpha team spends slugging it out with the hostiles, the higher chances of a friendly casualty and more ammunition being expended than necessary). Bravo team gets up and follows the squad leader. He rapidly retrogrades with Bravo team back the way they came, preferably out of sight of the hostiles but remaining within hearing distance. Once he believes he has gone far enough he and Bravo team move up to the high ground far enough to turn back toward the contact and moves above the rock formations perpendicular to the hostile’s position. Alpha and Bravo teams will essentially be forming an L shape and be able to overwhelm the hostiles with fire from two directions. I have included a simple illustration for an example:

                                                                              <

                                                                   <       
                    
Hostiles                  # # #               <             Bravo Team

                                                               <

                                                                    <

Alpha Team   ^        ^        ^        ^

Once Bravo team is online perpendicular to the hostiles and are not compromised, they will begin to creep forward undetected to the last covered and concealed position in between them and the hostiles. In this case it will be the rock formations. Under the guidance of the squad leader Bravo team will open fire on the hostiles with a rapid rate of fire. After a few good seconds of a hammering the enemy position, Bravo team with begin bounding to the hostile’s fighting position. Bounding with a total of 5 personnel will consist of individual bounds. One at a time, while the other team members cover their movement with fire, each individual will bound up to the next cover. They will each stay in an imaginary “Lane” as to not stray into other team members' covering fire. Each bound should be 3-5 seconds.  At the end of each bound the individual drops down into the prone behind cover then begins to fire on the hostiles while covering the next individual’s bound. This should be done very rapidly in succession and in specific order. Back at Alpha teams position the Alpha team leader will be watching for a shift fire signal from the squad leader who is bounding with Bravo team. The shift fire signal is a predetermined audio and or visual signal given by the bounding team, to the support by fire element, to shift their fires away from the advancing team. So in this case Bravo team is bounding from right to left as seen by Alpha team, Alpha team will be shifting their fires to the left approximately 15 degrees ( 30 degrees if using a belt fed weapon on bipod) in front of Bravo teams advance, but continue to fire. The Alpha team leader has complete control over his element and can shift the team’s fire on his own if he feels Bravo team is at 15 degrees and no shift fire signal has been given.

Once Bravo team has one bound remaining before assaulting through the objective, the squad leader will give the lift fire signal.  Alpha team will pour on an increased amount of fire onto the hostile’s position for a battlefield handover to Bravo team. After a few seconds of cyclic rate of fire Alpha team will stop firing completely. Bravo team will pick up their rate of fire once Alpha team has lifted fire in order to compensate for the reduced volume of fire on the hostile’s position. Bravo team will make the last bound and then collectively get up approximately 35 meters before the hostiles and assault through the objective. Remaining generally online and staying in their individual lanes, Bravo team will quickly move through the hostiles fighting position shooting any armed individuals and clearing any rifles that are found. Once Bravo team has cleared through and has taken up defensive positions 35 meters past the hostile’s fighting position, Alpha team will also pick up and assault through the hostiles fight position. They too will take up defensive positions.

At that point, while maintaining security, execute a 100% check on men, weapons and equipment. This is to ensure everyone, their weapons, and gears are accounted for. Any friendly or hostile casualties can be treated at this time. It would be best to check the bodies for identification to use in notifying any local authorities that may still exist. React to Contact seems difficult and confusing but when actually put to practice it is rather simple. This is only one way it can be done and there are many alterations that can be made. Once the concept is concrete in your mind you can take that base of knowledge and adjust this battle drill to fit the situation. More information can be found in FM 7-8 Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad Chapter 4 Battle Drills and in the SH-21-76 the Ranger Handbook Chapter 6 Battle Drills.

In no way is this article comprehensive or exhaustive on small unit tactics. This barely scratches the surface on the specific tactics I described alone. This article was meant for individuals who may not have considered these things as an important subcategory of their overall survival education. Like I have said several times in my article there are many ways to do the same thing when it comes to small unit tactics. If you master the basics you know all there is to know. In reality there are no advanced small unit tactics. The idea again, is to master the basics so you can operate within a framework of knowledge and modify these tactics to suit your needs and the situation. I urge you to take this seriously because there will be no cavalry that swoops in and saves you at the last second. There will be no “That was a close one!” Either they will die, or you will. It will come down to who is better trained. Survival is most likely when risk is mitigated to the highest degree. I say most likely because it is impossible to avoid risk entirely. Risk mitigation in order to survive can come in many forms. Preparing for all possible situations or difficulties that may arise is the preferred method for survival. I say all of this to emphasize that all facets of preparation are necessary in the full spectrum of survival. Learning to fight as a unit is just one more skilled needed for TEOTWAWKI.

JWR Adds: Learning military tactics could indeed prove crucial, depending on the severity of WTSHTF. However, keep in mind that standard military doctrine is far more aggressive and risky than would be appropriate for most foreseeable situations faced by survivalists. Keep in mind that military tactics are geared toward offensively, boldly, and rapidly taking and then holding ground, while at the same time incurring "acceptable losses." It also assumes that advanced medical care is available rapidly via helicopter Medevac. Modern military organizations also have the advantage of helmets and Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) being available for every soldier. Your mileage may vary substantially. (As a survivalist, your tactical concerns will more likely be primarily defensive, less hurried, and with a premium placed on minimizing casualties.)

Also, keep in mind that unless you are sitting on a stockpile of a lifetime supply of ammunition, then the typical military "suppressive fire" doctrine will probably be either out of the question, or curtailed substantially.

I recommend modifying military tactics to suit your particular circumstances. Typically, this would mean operating with less speed, greater stealth, and an emphasis on camouflage. Also, depending on circumstances, it would also mean conservation of precious ammunition and pyrotechnics.

Under current U.S. Army doctrine, there is just one Squad Designated Marksman (SDM) per squad. But for TEOTWAWKI, I would advocate having as many as three per squad, especially in open terrain. That will increase your standoff distance and hence minimize friendly casualties. I would also recommend having every member of your patrol wear full ghillie suits in all but the hottest weather.

The bottom line: When you are out patrolling with members of your own family, then the concept of "acceptable losses" takes on a whole new meaning.

The price of thermal imaging has dropped to the range of Gen III night vision - about $2,000.  My bug out location has a valley with a stream at bottom and a wooded hillside, plus surrounding pastures and woods.  I wanted the tactical advantage to be able to tell if predators (particularly 2 legged) were in the trees at night.  I purchased an FLIR PS24 handheld from Sportsman’s Guide, member price $1979.97, and shipping is often free if you wait for a coupon code sale.  After waiting about five weeks, it shipped factory direct from FLIR.  My darling wife asked: said “How much did you pay for that?!”  I had to make it my only Christmas gift this year…

The unit is hand-sized, 12 ounces, pretty rugged and advertised watertight (although I did not try to submerge it).  It has lighted push keys for On/Off, Display Brightness, Display color select, and 2X zoom/Freeze frame.  The color selection is White on black background, black on white, and white on black with varying levels of red highlight.  I like the first “red” setting, called “I1“.  There’s an eyepiece focus tab for +- 2 diopters.  The unit has an internal Lithium battery, and a USB-Firewire cable with an AC power supply for charging.  When off, the brightness button toggles an LED for use as a flashlight.  There is an auto-shutdown after 5 minutes if no buttons are pushed, and a 4 second boot-up when turned on.  When it first arrives, you need to charge it about 5 hours before use.  An LED indicator lights yellow when charging, and green when fully charged.  It comes with a wrist lanyard, soft rubber tethered lens cap, and black soft pouch.  A MOLLE belt carry pouch is available via mail order.  The manual says its range of operation is -4 degrees to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.    The unit can be tripod mounted.  The manual says that a man is detectable at 350 yards.

Performance is amazing!  While the screen resolution is not a crisp as a GEN III NV, the thermal response is fantastic.  With it, I was able to determine that my stream has a contributing spring on my property - the water showed a warm underground inflow as bright white.  After standing on the deck for about one minute, step back and your boot prints are clearly visible on the deck, as is your hand print on the railing.  You can pick up thermal leaks on your cabin doors and walls - where calking or insulation is needed.  Retained heat from stone walls is evident, as well as septic tank covers - even when buried under a couple inches of soil, IF there’s no snow cover.  You can see a thrown cigar butt in the grass long after red ash fades.  The advantage to a hunter seeing game come in range during low light would be considerable.  Finding a downed deer in brush would be much easier.  The retained warmth from mechanical equipment like cars or electrical equipment like camera pods show up clearly.  I’d expect you could also find “warm” electrical junction boxes with the unit, thus potentially saving yourself from a home fire risk.  There is no difference in the unit operation daylight vs. night, but of course cold weather makes the thermal contrasts sharper.

Wildlife shows up white hot, easily visible 150 yards away.  Closer, animals show tinges of red in the eyes, head and chest.  I could immediately see five deer in the pasture, and when nine deer then collected in the trees I could see them move off single file up through the trees across the valley, 200 yards away.  Note that with a GEN III ITT monocular I could not see any identifiable shapes or movement in the trees, but with thermal the deer were easily visible.

Detractors
You can hide from thermal imaging. I found that glass acts as a mirror; a white-hot candelabra bulb is not visible through a double pane window standing only 2 feet away - all you see is your reflection in the window.  Thermal images reflect off still water as well.  I’d expect a space blanket “hide” to shield a thermal signature about the same.  I found that the soft rubber eyecup is easily dislodged - I almost lost it in the grass - I’d recommend that you use black electrical tape to secure it to the unit.  Battery life is good, about 4 weeks of use 10 minutes per night.  The manual states that the unit has to be returned to the factory for battery replacement.  Fog or falling snow does decrease the sharpness of the thermal contrast on the screen.  I was not able to test the effect of smoke by the time of this review.

If I could have only one, either the GEN III NV or the FLIR thermal, I’d go with the GEN III but only if it was weapon-mountable and [used in conjunction with] a good NV compatible red dot scope.  But as a hand-held only unit, the FLIR is superior, especially if you need to know where anything warm-blooded is at night.  I called my darling wife out to the deck the night the deer were playing ‘follow-the-leader’, and she spent a while observing them.  Afterward, she asked, “Do you think we should buy a second one of these?”

Mr. Rawles:
Although filtered HVAC systems make for comfortable and healthy inside air quality, even the most efficient draw heavily on AC mains. Insulated airtight walls and windows reduce heat loss and in windy areas reduce dirt infiltration. I would never consider powering a cooling system with solar power but heater blower motors can be so powered. This works well for dual stage furnaces that switch from heat pump to natural gas or propane for emergency heat. Fireplaces are as old as houses but rather than just building any old firebox, I researched fireplace design.

When building my ranch headquarters on the prairie, I thought about using bullet resistant glass but this was ruled out considering light loss and real value per cost. Instead I choose windows meeting Dade County, Florida hurricane specifications. Windows and importantly their frame extrusions and locks meeting these requirements are tested for shatter resistance and high wind load. Of course no window is better than the house framework into which it is mounted. Although not highly bullet resistant, these style windows present a considerable obstacle to someone seeking unlawful egress by breaking a window.

Windows meeting Dade County requirements are available in single or multiple pane configurations and in casement or sash design. Due to high wind loads in the Texas Panhandle I choose casement windows because the harder the wind blows, the better this type window seals. In retrospect, I should have included at least one sash window per house side. Sash windows are better suited for use with external shutters and afford easier egress in the event an emergency evacuation is required.

The main entry to my ranch headquarters is via a courtyard. Courtyards provide enhanced security and reduce wind. Inside the house, I designed a ten foot long entry foyer to further reduce heat loss and wind borne dirt infiltration. A second reinforced entry door was located at the end of the foyer for increased security. All external and bedroom doors are dead bolted and equipped with Rocky Mountain cane bolts. Internal doors are 2 7/8” thick mahogany. I chose sturdy Cantera metal clad exterior doors with of course a Dade County glass specification.

Portions of the house perimeter walls were constructed of fiberglass entrained, rebar reinforced, poured in place concrete. Now concrete is an extremely poor insulator so I framed with 2x6s, filling the framed in walls and ceiling with spray in insulation. Not wanting to introduce a fire hazard, I tried to burn a small piece of the insulation and was impressed by its flame resistance. I cannot recommend this insulation highly enough. A bottle of water was left inside all winter long in the unheated house during construction and it never froze even when the outside temperature dropped to -10F. Chilly this house might be if unheated, but one could live there without supplemental heat.

After product comparison, I choose two Lennox high efficiency furnace/heat pump systems with emergency propane back up. I added Lennox UV lights to these systems to reduce mold and bacteria along with Lennox HEPA electrostatic filters, and humidifiers.

Predominately downwind and several hundred yards down hill from the house I poured another concrete structure to house several 900 gallon propane tanks (propane is heavier than air). This propane fuels the HVAC emergency heat and kitchen appliances. The ranch headquarters has two fireplaces, both of Rumford design that may be unfamiliar to your readers. I equipped one with a fireplace crane in case I ever wanted to cook in it. Even though I have all sorts of backup electrical power options for the HVAC systems, I bought a Sopka Magnum cookstove for post-Schumer installation. These stoves offer a high value to cost and can burn both wood and coal.

Having a house that won’t freeze inside when unheated during the coldest winter is of incalculable value. Chilly it may be but with down and wool, one could live and thrive. Having multiple heating/cooking options are essential when Schumer hits the fan. The value of good insulation is apparent to anyone who has cut wood for heat.

I hope these comments are of value to anyone considering new construction.

Sincerely, - Panhandle Rancher

James,
In response to this posting, while something is better than nothing, I am not a fan of putting up anything on windows or better screws or latches for doors or a covering for windows unless it really adds to equation and the cost is reasonable for the return on expenditure.   As an example, a neighbor added a steel frame with mesh, its costs was about $6,000, it is very pretty with double sided keyed deadbolt and heavy latch/striker plate.  Their security factor went way up, sadly the burglars decided to enter from the side yard and wrapped a concrete block into a thick padded moving blanket and heaved it thru the glass sliding door.  As a matter of security the whole house has to be considered when planning and making upgrades, like the old saying "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link".
 
I have been planning on security improvements on at least a dozen homestead that I have lived at in the last 40 plus years.  What is the best method for what I am trying to accomplish do.  Am I trying to keep people in, keep people out, trying to stop home invasion, or random burglary, or create an image of a deserted homestead, or keep from outside views lighting in the home, or who/what is in the home.  
 
I decided I wanted to have coverings for the windows/patio sliders that would stop or at least be resistant to thrown objects or easy access to the home by busting out glass, and also enough strength on doors to resist a handheld ram or sledge hammer.   One thing is to read articles, which is great for a start, but unless money is no object we have to at the end of the day use money available as the most important factor for choosing our solutions.
 
On regular entrance doors a metal security door is a start, but they can be pried open with a standard crow bar pretty fast (watch law enforcement shows to see how easy they get thru them).  My doors will have a pre cut two 5/8 or 3/4 sheets of plywood which I store in the garage, if needed I simply stand the plywood on the inside up against the existing door, they are held in place by two 4x4s which end fits into a fitted piece on the plywood 2/3 of the way up, and the other end of the 4x4 has a 4" long 1/2 inch diameter steel rod that slips into holes in the concrete floor, thus giving you a re enforced door that is many times stronger than a latch plate located on a weak door frame or hinges that are their weak sister on the other side.  I repeated this process for the french double doors.  I also drilled in the plywood panel a hole that matches up to the peep hole in the regular door.
 
For the windows, through out the home, Please understand I have the newer type windows the upper portion of the window slide down and the upper portion slide up, so first I put both panel in the center position that gives you about a 1' opening at the top and bottom of the window.  I cut two pieces of plywood to fit the entire opening, putting those in place and in order to hold them there I cut two 2x 4 pieces that overlap the window opening on the inside of the house by about 6"   each 2x4 has a 6" long 1x2 " diameter in the center of the 2x4 that allows you to screw into the double sheet of plywood.  So when installed on the window from the inside you have one 2x4 at the top (side to side) and another at the bottom, because the glass panel are open at the top and bottom.   This method allows me to put each window covering in place or remove in less than a minute.
 
Now, we still have the garage doors to deal with, these are weakest link (my estimation) my solution was you guessed it more plywood sheets cut to with about 4" wider and taller than the door by attaching 2x4 runners to the top and sides, this is done so that the sheets of plywood will touch the frames on the panel and the 2x4 will touch the garage wall around the door.   I put the panels in place, than I have 4x6  that slip over the plywood across the bottom about 20" off the floor and the second 4x6 about 40" from the bottom and about halfway up.  In order to make this one solid mass, I would roll my vehicles up against the 4x6 giving the whole door a very solid feel.   You would have to measure your bumpers on the car in order to determine the heights for the 4x6 placement. 
 
Please understand I am trying to deter and delay a forced entry, you cannot not eliminate one ever, so this gives me a warning and time to respond to a potential threat.  As with all security prevention making a window bullet resistant is great in theory, but meaningless if you have a stick built homes as most of us do that is for the most part useless to stop bullets.  I have had friends tell me that they have adopted this method and that from the outside the home gives an appearance to potential threats that maybe they want to look at other pickings.   
 
I hope that this serves to help others who are needing a idea in order to provide maybe the means to give you an edge.
 
God Bless us and the U.S. - John in Arizona

My darling wife read the article on Lexan and asked me to contribute the following. My professional specialty lies in the area of windows and doors.

How to Prepare Doors

Replace the short screws (3/4") in the door lock plates with longer ones minimum 3" but 4" would be better. The 3" are # 8 but the 4" are #10 almost twice as strong.

There are two each on the strike plate of the depress plunger and two for the deadbolt.
These screws enter the studs making a considerably stronger safety connection than short screws that only penetrate the light weight trim wood in the jam of the typical door unit.

In our area city code requites rental units to provide blind deadbolts (one sided locks) to prevent entry by service personnel while tenant is at home. These can be installed on any exterior entry door. The strike plates should get the longer screws as well.

Stronger security may be obtained by any of several "security accessories." These center on the use of steel to reinforce the door jams. Lowe's in our area sells a 14 gauge. jam sleeve that is screwed with 6 to 8 3" screws into the jam and needs to be installed under the decorative trim. Other steel reinforce systems that wrap the jam or the stud with the same effect. Most of these require some level of professional skill to finish out successfully.

The very minimum upgrade is the double cylinder deadbolt which requires a key on the inside as well as the outside. This prevents a broken window entry from providing 36'x80" exit. (Some home owners leave an extra key in the lock to expedite normal exit; not a good idea as it defeats the purpose. )

An additional security precaution installs a loud bell on a string that will alert you or a pet of unexpected opening .

Windows - How to Prevent Entry

First preparation lies in the simple process of locking the window lock as a habit. Every window has a lock when new, so use it. If the lock is broken it either may be replaced for free or low cost from the manufacturer. Additionally a turn buckle clamp lock may be purchased for each operative window and installed on the jam in either the closed position or up to 6" up. This would permit opening of window during comfortable temperature conditions. As cheap alternative In lieu of this, a simple self tap screw (maybe #6 x 1/2" may be installed in the jam to prevent the window from opening higher than a stated mount, like 6" up.

Next level of precaution for the windows is to install some type of bars out side the window unit. This also may be installed on the inside of "sky windows' or skylights.

For people who want a more attractive protection we suggest a clear Lexan or Lexan equivalent covering for each window panel. Lexan Window panels Where cost and budget is an issue start on front and/or rear units as these are the most likely entry points for home intruders.

For single units a box type home improvement store sells clear poly propyl window replacement. These come in 1/8", 3/16" or 1/4" thicknesses. Banks of course use 1" thick units at the teller window; but you can easily visualize the result: Clear but great protection. Even 1/8" thickness proves very difficult to penetrate with any thing other than firearms.

For these elements I recommend the thicker panels. The 1/4" will prevent breakage by .22 caliber rimfire weapons.

Where cost and budgets prevail, the thickness may be mixed with the thicker ones on the front or the rear, and lighter ones on the non exposed views.

Installing Lexan Window Panels

Planning : count the windows and measure the out side and inside measurements for each unit. Typically the outside measurements will be a little larger than the inside. The age of the house will determine the type of window. Houses built prior to the WWII typically will have wood or steel frame windows. The planning for each is similar. We recommend that the Lexan panels be installed by screw or blind steel pop rivet for steel units. Measure the inside of the sash (the part that moves) for the size of the installed Lexan panel. The fastener should be installed out side the glass perimeter and inside the frame. sometimes this space is small but would be large en ought to hold a fastener.

The houses built after this war use more aluminum as the aluminum manufacturing diverted from war effort became a cost effective component for the building explosion that took place after the war effort. These units may have the Lexan installed either on the inside or the outside; or both. The upper unit typically does not operate and the Lexan may be successful installed on the outside. because the lower panel does operate and the Lexan panel should be installed on the inside. Again the fastener (Tec-self tapping screws or blind pop-rivets) needs to be installed out side the perimeter of glass on the frame so the window will still operate but not break the glass. .

Houses newer than this might have some variation of wood, wood covered with vinyl, or solid vinyl window installation. For these units the Lexan panel are better installed on the outside of the frame on the upper and on the inside of the frame on the lower. Some type of extrusion can be made to hold the Lexan on the window and removed at times that operator needs to be opened. Turn buckle tabs also may be used to safely remove the paned. On fixed units the panels may be installed permanently on the outside of the frame.

The purpose of the Lexan panels is to prevent breakage of the glass during lawless events, where breakage of the perimeter glass would provide home invasion routes.

Installation

The Lexan comes in 4'x8' and 4'x12' when purchased from the plastics wholesaler.

For simplicity the panels may be numbered from the front door clockwise till all units are included. Where there are multiple panels on the same opening, each may be lettered clockwise or upper then lower. Take the measurements that prescribe the windows and place on 1/4' graph paper where the scale accurately represents the finished size of the Lexan panel.

cut out the scaled models of the Lexan panels.

On the graph paper outline the outside of 4'x8" (or 4'x12' which ever is available). the same scale of the window panels. lay out the cut out panels on the graph paper in the more efficient use of the material. This will tell you how much raw material is needed, and which cut out is best used for each sheet. A person could mix or match the panels for the various windows so that the "best fit" is reached.

After the planning for the whole house is completed the budget becomes clearer and the actual cut out of the material begins. The material can be cut with a triple chip diamond blade, or an masonry abrasive blade. For the abrasive blade, the material should be cut approximately half thickness then the break will be clean and even. Full cut will cause build-up of "melted material." Such will have to be ground smooth or polished. Although the triple chip will cost more the results will justify the cost. In all cases cold material (<55 deg F.) is more brittle and can easily break in the wrong place. Warm up for minimum of 4 hours.

All that remains is to install each panel of Lexan on the respective window per cut-out models. Suggest a check-off of the models as the material is cut so that the end result complies with the plan.

I hope that some one finds this useful.

Dear James,
I have recently purchased raw land to build my retreat. Soon I will begin building a home, and wish to equip it with windows which can resist small arms fire. I can obtain Lexan in 1/2" thickness, and my question is, will I need two pieces of glazing in each window, or three (or more)? I do not think it likely that I will be shot at with anything larger that .50 caliber. Your thoughts on the matter are most welcome. Thanks, - Zoomer

JWR Replies: To begin, I must warn readers that acrylic Plexiglas and polycarbonate Lexan are significantly different materials. Lexan is flexible, while Plexiglas is quite brittle. Some other flexible transparent polycarbonate plastics include Armormax, Cyrolon, Hygard, Lexgard, Makroclear, Makrolon, and Tuffak. So only use one of these for ballistic protection applications, not Plexiglas!

Your intent to use multiple laminations of 1/2" thick Lexan is not without precedent. But its sounds easier than it really is, in practical application. One sheet (of 1/2" thickness) Lexan will stop single hits from a .22 Long Rifle (LR) rimfire, but not repeated hits if they are well-aimed. Two thicknesses will stop 9mm, but they won't stop any bullets at higher velocity. Unfortunately, it would take more than 3" of just Lexan to stop most rifle bullets, and probably much more than that to stop .30 caliber steel-cored AP bullets from a 7.62mm NATO, .30-06, or 7.62x54r. And I would assume that stopping .50 BMG AP or API would require more than foot of thickness of just Lexan, but I haven't been able to find an unclassified source on this. For comparison: the Springfield .30-06 produces a muzzle energies up to 3,000 foot-pounds, while .50 BMG ball produces up to 15,000 foot-pounds! (An unclassified industry white paper Sierracin/Sylmar Corporation is quite instructive. Detailed ballistic protection specifications for military armored glass developed by the US and UK military are classified.)

The armored glass used in many current lightly-armored vehicles such as the up-armored M1114 HMMWV are up to 3.5" thick (depending on armoring generation), and use proprietary sandwiches of transparent polycarbonate plastics and laminated glass. Lighter-weight armored glass made for limousines are even more exotic (and costly), but are still quite thick and heavy.) One of the very best is Global Security Glazing's Secur-Tem + Poly, which has been tested to NIJ Level IV protection against single .30-06 hits. But even this is still 2.11 inches thick, and it weighs 24.38 pounds per square foot. The cost per square foot for this material is quite high.

The most efficient bullet resistant windows are made by bonding alternating layers of Lexan and laminated glass. Note that if you are making your own, that the inner-most layer should always be Lexan rather than glass, to prevent glass fragment spalling. (Just because a bullet is stopped, doesn't protect you from getting splattered with fragments, as the inner-most layer flexes with a hypersonic shock wave.) It is notable that most modern armored vehicles have a spall liner.

So, say that you want to build a house with ".50 caliber bullet proof windows"? Unfortunately, the cost of even .30 AP protection would probably be prohibitive for constructing any residential windows larger that 12" x 12", and even then their transparency would definitely suffer. With more and more laminations, a window becomes progressively more opaque--that is, translucent rather than transparent.

Lastly, you need to consider that the window frame that you use will have to be wide, very stout, and very firmly attached. Otherwise, your window laminate will pop out with the impact of the first shot, leaving the opening unprotected. Windows with narrow or otherwise unsubstantial frames would also be vulnerable to attack by sledgehammers. A wedge shaped cross-section (achieved by making the outer layers progressively larger surface area sheets, and a tapered window frame, to match) is the most effective way to protect against such attacks.

Reader George S. wrote to add: The Schott Glass/ GEMTRON Vincennes, Inidiana glass production line has been shut down, but their production of laminate glass direct vision panels for the recent-generation Oshkosh military MRAP armored vehicles is still in operation.

Hi Jim,
 Reading your article brought back many memories of the period in our land during the 1970s. We lived on the Eastern border and were regularly attacked at night and even during the day and the culprits ran back across the border into Mozambique. We attended many funerals of fellow farmers and their families.

One point of interest that you do not mention is that groups of farmers (neighbouring) hired Militia groups of experienced soldiers. Normally about 10 people plus a leader who in some cases was a white man. They patrolled the farm area at night and set up ambushes. Our group was successful in “kills” [of terrorists]  which became a major deterrent. None of our group’s homes were attacked. Farmers that were isolated had big problems and they took huge risks and eventually had to move away. We had part of our house roof sand bagged against possible mortar or rocket attack. Many farmers  built solid rock walls outside, near the bed room wing of a house, in order to prevent being shot at from outside. My son at the time was only three years old and had never seen the twinkling of the stars!  On an occasion after a security meeting which took longer than it ought to have done, we were caught at the neighbours, where the meeting had been held and as it was now dusk ~ in those days a very dangerous time to be out and about, we were always in the house before dark, the person who’s home the meeting had been held at, invited the group of farmers who attended the meeting to stay for “pot luck” ~ supper!  My wife and 2 children were with me and when we left to go home at about 10 that night (a much safer time to travel than, as I said, dusk.)  That was when we discovered that our little boy had never seen the stars because, when going out to our land mine/ambush protected vehicle, he asked: “Daddy, what are all those little lights?”  referring to the stars!  
 
After Mugabe came to power we were happy to be able to continue farming. Each year we were putting huge amounts of capital back into the land, as all good farmers do. Little did we realize that we were going to lose it all. We lost our farm, our pension for our retirement, and much more. Life goes on so we have put it all behind us, turned the page, shut the book and are getting on with enjoying life. Both our children live close by plus our three delightful grandchildren. What more could we ask for?
 
God has blessed us richly! - Mike Z.

James:
I enjoyed your article "Could America's Farmers and Ranchers Face a Rhodesian Future?", thank you. If things get like that in the U.S. or other developed nations (and they already are to some extent in some US southwest border areas) I fear that the local farmers and residents won't have the support of big.gov and will be left to hang out to dry. Things were really bad in Africa, but there the government heavily subsidized or just paid for things like the Agric-Alert system, security fencing, "Bright Lights" security personnel, training, ammunition, etc.

I would rather rely on something like a Fireforce parachute or Helo operation or have a BSAP "blackboot" Support Unit show up to help defeat a terrorist attack or small unit operation than one officer in a Crown Vic patrol car with little relevant training and a healthy fear of being sued who will likely "observe, document and establish a perimeter" than intervene with any useful direct action.

Preconceived notions and unreasonable expectations have really never been adequately addressed in either Apocalyptic fiction, or non-fiction survival books. I think reality for many people trying to hold out, even if prepared and working with their neighbors would be more like the defenders of Stalingrad than the Rhodesian situation. We have to keep in mind that many of the commercial farmers in Rhodesia had their younger children in boarding schools outside the operational areas, and many got to go "on holiday" occasionally to de-stress. While sanctions made purchasing things difficult, Rhodesians (having a well-functioning government and private sector) stepped up to the plate and produced many embargoed products themselves. In the Apocalyptic or collapse scenarios many envision, there will be no benevolent government or rich neighboring government (like South Africa) to provide fuel, ammunition, armaments, technical and medical support, and so forth to a beleaguered ally.

I'd like to see some discussion on this predicament. - Henry W.

Jim:
I was a young woman living in Rhodesia in the 1970s. At the time that we lived in Rhodesia the war had just moved to the Eastern Border area where our farm was located. (Our farm was 30 miles from the Mozambique border.) In 1974 one of our neighbors was shot at Skyline Junction. He survived the attack but that was the beginning of the end for farm life as we knew it in the Melsetter - Chipinge area. The terrs came in from Mozambique up the Lusiti valley into Zimbabwe. (Our farm was between Melsetter and Chipinge.)

1974 was the year when every farmer in our area started to put fences around their houses and began closing up their windows. We got Agric Alert 2-way radios. Ours was installed in an inner passage. That was the safest place in a house as there was no windows, and was the safest place to lie down in case of an terrorist attack.

After the attack on our neighbor, the farm attacks became more frequent and that is when roadblocks were implemented as well as escort convoys. Farmer's installed thick plates under their cars and pickups to help save their lives when going over a landmine. They also had shotguns mounted on the sides of the pickups which could be lowered and fired remotely.

The one other thing I should mention is that you never went anywhere after dark. If there were social outings in the evening, you always slept over. At night, gates were locked and windows were closed. There were also interior locking gates installed in passages to isolate sleeping areas, as a last line of defense. - E.M.

Thanks, Jim,
Just thinking about Rhodesia gets me choked up and almost teary-eyed. That was so long ago, and involved too many of my friends.

I like to say: "Rhodesia's not dead, She's just asleep and having a nightmare called Zimbabwe." - J.G.

I think I'm the the position of many out in the real world. I'm strapped for cash. Feeling the time crunch that I must do something soon or be caught up with the unprepared masses and get overrun. I'm also feeling the responsibility for my immediate and extended family whether they are preparing or not. It's a huge burden to bear when you have been raised to be the "man" of any situation that might affect you and your family.

That being said, I'm also a logical, common sense person. I approach things like this:

1. Look at the situation
2. Determine the problem
3. Find the solution
4. Implement the solution

I think this fits most of my generation who were raised by parents born before, during, or shortly after the Great Depression. A "can do" type of attitude that never finds a way to quit or give up.

I also have a fairly typical family makeup of people ranging from one year old to mid seventies with the majority being thirty to sixty and most being in good to excellent physical condition.

So let's look at the problem most of us are stuck in, the "imperfect retreat."

I think we can all agree that the generally accepted ideas of being hidden from view, off the main road, 100+ miles from heavily populated cities, etc, all are the best case scenarios but not something that many, if not most, of us can or will be able to attain.

First let's look at the situation: We own or are renting a home. Can we change our situation or not? If so, how drastically can we change it with what we have available to us right now. Most of us will find ourselves in one of two or three different situations. We can stay where we are, we can move a short distance to another place, or maybe combine with other family members at one of their homes, hopefully in a better situation than our own. Let's take each of those individually.

I won't go into all of the preparation requirements since those have been and are covered in greater detail that I could cover here. I mainly want to concentrate on the decision making processes and how to hopefully arrive at a suitable solution. So here we go.

First, staying where we are. In most cases, this is probably the worst and most difficult situation to make work. I personally could easily be caught in this situation and I don't look forward to trying to make it work but let's assume that is our only option. I know this is the case for many so let's make it work.

I'll take my situation as an example. I live on a main street in a small town of 2,500-3,500 population. What are my challenges? To me, first and foremost is security. The reason I put that first is that if I can't protect what I do, build, stash, grow, or otherwise prepare, then I've wasted my resources and time. So the first step is to honestly assess your situation based on what you expect to happen in a worst case scenario. Where are the threats most likely going to come from? What direction and in what form? Can you slow them down and/or stop them? What can you do to aid yourself in being able to accomplish these things? Fences? Gates? Window and door bars? Think through the situation based on your individual situation and resources.

You have to form some sort of defensive plan and come to some understanding of how successful you feel you can be, based on the number of people you will have helping defend the site. I would include some thoughts about quickly deploying traps, tanglefoot wire, or anything else to make you place not worth the effort in hopes that they will just move on to easier targets. By doing that you cause them to expend precious and sometimes irreplaceable energy, on someone other than you. By the time they finally return to you you might be even better prepared and they will be most likely less prepared and easier to deal with.

So in this situation, I feel defense will be extremely crucial. This will of course include multiple weapons and a large amount of ammunition to last through a siege type situation. You can take these thought and translate them on out to the logical end with the other supplies you will need to survive, such as food and water since you will most likely be very confined and unable to scrounge and forage safely for some period of time.

This situation will be extremely hard to survive with only a couple of people so you must work towards having as many as possible to help rotate the duties of keeping watch, preparing meals, sanitation, etc. My speculation would be that you would need to look at a 30-60 day siege until you will be able to begin to move somewhat freely and to get outside for other activities such as gardening or tending animals unless you can have those things attached to your main house through some protected passageway.

Obviously, this is a huge hill to climb to make this work in any populated area even in the suburbs. Can it work? Yes, I believe it can but you will have to be brutally honest with yourself and also prepared mentally and physically to do what will be necessary when the time comes. Remember, I'm a logical, common sense, realist.

Now let's look at the other two situations together since they are basically the same. I'm assuming that if you move to another family member's home then it would be at least farther from a populated area than the situation I've just described. Otherwise. it's then just a matter of which city home is the most defendable and then building on that together.

So assuming that the location you can move to on your own or to another family member's home is outside of a populated area to some degree, let's say 10-15 miles out into the country. So let's talk about the differences of the situations.

With the city situation I said security needs to be job one. With the semi-rural situation security is still job one but in very different ways. In the city, the house becomes your "fortress" and you build on that. In the semi-rural to rural situation the area around you becomes much more important to your security than in the city. This is because you have much more area to control the access to your home and therefore your supplies. Concentrate more on your avenues of approach. Where will the threats most likely come from? Are there main roads nearby? Are there any natural barriers that you can use like ridges, lake,s rivers, etc?

Again, I'll use my situation as an example. My choice has been to use my parents home as the gathering place for our family. It is approximately 15 miles from a population area of 30,000 people. It sits back off the road a short ways with good view from the house to the road and some wooded area and a pond 75 yards behind the house.

Again, in a defensive sense, this is not an extremely easy to defend area. However, there are many more things that you can do in this situation than in the city because you have room to maneuver. The downside of that is that you also have more area to watch and control.

In that situation you have to make the terrain and surrounding situation work for you by constructing traps, digging ant-vehicular ditches, digging concealed fighting positions in various places to allow as much movement between them as concealed as possible, etc. There are many good available information sources on the Internet for accomplishing these things. Be inventive and read, read, read.

Have a good stock of sandbags and the sand needed to fill them on hand. Many of these final preparations will be done once everyone has assembled. Everyone will be anxious and will need something to keep them busy so put that energy to work. But have the plan laid out in advance and ready to implement. This is absolutely critical. If you don't have it laid out you will be flailing around and losing the confidence of all the others that are depending on you to lead them.

Again, approach things in a realistic and honest manner. The people that you will most likely be having to deal with will not be trained in the arts of stealth and [militarily precise] attack, so just put yourself in the average person's shoes that will be trying to rob you. Doing that makes it pretty easy to understand where you will most need to protect and focus your attention.

Being removed by a few miles from a populated area will most likely buy you some time unless you are on a major thoroughfare between two populated areas where people might be traveling from one city to another. If you are in a direction not directly toward another city that will buy you a little additional time before you have to confront the hordes leaving the city. Maybe a couple of extra days which could be extremely significant in your final preparations. Take advantage of that delay, as it very well could save countless lives.

Now that I've got you thinking through some possibilities, then let's look at some of the other issues that I an many others will have to deal with.

We see the term OPSEC used all over the place these days. Basically what that means is keeping quiet and staying as hidden as possible. In the city that's almost impossible. Hordes will be going from house to house looking for the easy targets. (So, as we discussed we're going to make it hard for them.)

Let's take a generator for example. How do we run a generator when everyone else has no power without saying very loudly "COME TO MY HOUSE!" This is something that will have to be thought out and planned for in advance. My plans are to bury my generator in a root cellar of sorts with a well-muffled [but fully externally-vented] exhaust pipe. This could be done in or out of the city to hide what you have. The area could also serve many other uses to include as a root cellar and storage for all types of things. [JWR Adds: A Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector is a must!] If done in the right way it could possibly even be hidden enough to avoid being found by all but the most observant looter. You can apply this concept to many other things too.

I try to use items that can be easily hidden and/or moved if needed to another location. A good example of that is portable solar panels for charging batteries. It will cost you a bit more up front but they are also easier to hide and, if necessary, to move. Further, if you have to bug out you can grab one or two to take with you. Nothing is permanent.

This does require some planning but again the cost is mostly in labor as far as the preparation goes. That is my mindset, spend as little money as possible but get as prepared as possible.

All of the aforementioned thought processes can be and should be applied to the entire gamut of preparing. It does not matter what area it is, the process is still the same, observe the problem, identify the problem, weight the alternatives, find a solution to the problem, and apply the solution.

One final note that I think is probably the most important of any of this. This is all about one thing in the end, SURVIVAL--continuing to exist on the planet. Hopefully with some semblance of our existing comforts--at least with the basics.

That being said, once you have whatever preparations you have in place at you perfect or imperfect retreat, what's left?

What's left is the assurance of your continued survival. You absolutely must have a plan B, C, D, and so on, to keep you and your family surviving. I'm in the process of doing all that I have mentioned above. Are my preparations complete? Absolutely not. But one thing that is very high on my priority list is the ability implement those contingency plans.

My additional planning goes something like this. I figure [that in a worst case] at some point I will be forced from my retreat. What then? Well, if you haven't planned for that eventuality then you become one of the dispossessed horde. So what should you do to avoid this?

First, you should never, ever store all of your supplies at your central retreat location. Depending on the situation, store enough to get through the initial siege. More in the city and less in the rural area. Establish caches, preferably buried or at some reasonably secure, hidden location. Notice that "caches" is plural. Don't place one cache with any certainty that it won't be found. Also, when you do place them be sure not to follow any recognizable pattern. Also be sure that numerous trustworthy people in your family are aware of the locations in case something happens to you. You could also, as time and situation permit, dig some larger "foxholes" for temporary shelter and cover to move to and avoid being caught by the hordes. It gives you a place for a hasty retreat and also a place to fight from if that is necessary or just a place to hide until things blow over and you can return to your retreat.

Next, think about what you will need to store in the caches. When you are initially forced to leave your retreat you will mainly need water, guns, ammunition, fire starting equipment and possibly shelter related items. Some non-cook foods would be helpful too. This cache needs to be reasonably close by and easy to get to to resupply you with what you had to leave behind at the retreat.

The remaining caches can be more fully stocked in the hopes that you will find another shelter to move into until such time as you can eventually return and retake your retreat.

Even in the city you can find somewhere to bury a small cache of items like this to keep you equipped and on the move to the next cache, then the next cache, etc. It takes a little planning but not a huge outlay of resources. But again there some outlay in the form of labor. If nothing ever happens you dig them up and use the items for daily use. Nothing lost but lots gained if they are ever needed in extremis.

As I said at the start, this was not meant to be all-inclusive. My intent was to get you thinking, and to possibly help those in situations like mine--where I realize that I cannot put my family in the "perfect retreat" situation. What I can do though is give them the chance, with some luck and God's help, to survive.

I envision one possible future for America that is fairly bleak, at least in the short term. If the economy deteriorates the way that I anticipate, and if the power grids ever collapse, then it could trigger that dreaded "worst case" situation. Such a socioeconomic collapse could precipitate a large population die-off in metropolitan regions, a bit less in the suburbs, and even less in the countryside. But an extended period of lawlessness would still cause considerable loss of life and property in rural areas. There will surely be a lot of refugees from urban areas, and some of them will turn to looting, in order to survive. The new paradigm for American farmers and ranchers might resemble the security situation faced by farmers during Rhodesian Bush War of the 1970s.

Life for farmers in Rhodesia in the 1970s was nerve-wracking. Starting in the late 1960s, communist guerillas, trained and armed by Cuban and Chinese "advisors", had been slipping into the country to wreak havoc and terror on the civilian populace. While most of their victims were black, the communist terrorists (or "terrs" as they were called in Rhodesian slang) began attacking isolated farms owned by whites. Early on in the war, they were literally able to catch the farmers sleeping. Later, as defenses were raised, the terrs adopted the tactic of burying pressure-activated land mines on farm roads.

Since phone lines could be cut, a radio network was established in Rhodesia, called the Agric-Alert system. With it, there would be a chance to call for help if a farm came under attack.

Rhodesian farmers had to be constantly armed, and constantly vigilant. To carry just a pistol was considered foolhardy. Intrusion detection systems in those days were rudimentary. They were limited to trip wire-activated and a few photocell-activated bells or buzzers. (These days, of course there are more sophisticated infrared (IR) sensor systems, like Dakota Alerts.)

There was substantial reliance on dogs to give a warning if strangers approached a farm house. The Rhodesian Ridgeback proved to be a breed well-suited to this task. A few farmers also raised Guinea Fowl, specifically for their "watchdog" nature.

"Protective Works" became the norm at Rhodesian farms. Grilles to stop hand grenades were fitted outside of house windows. Floodlights were set up that could be used to daze attackers. Elaborate perimeter fences topped with barbed wire became de rigueur. Often these were constructed in depth, with two fences (or more) around a house, sometimes with tanglefoot wire in between. Traditional cow bells were sought after, for attaching to trip wires. At least one fence--typically the inner-most fence--would be constructed of chain link material, to pre-detonate rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

Farmers resorted to constructing lethal electrified fences. Most of these were left on all night and were full current 220 volts, AC! They also set up remotely-fired shotguns and command-detonated directional mines. These were essentially ersatz Claymore mines. The farmer's Claymore-like mines were positioned to cover the most likely crossing points for fences, and at other choke points that could be seen from a farm house. Assuming that terrs might climb up fence posts, some remotely-fired shotguns were buried and fired upward, parallel to fence posts. (Ouch.) Late in the war, some of the terrorist's own contact land mines that had been recovered by demolitions specialists were re-purposed into command detonated perimeter security mines. There was also quite a cottage industry in mine-proofing vehicles.

Infrared and light amplification night vision equipment was very scarce and expensive in the 1970s, so it was out of reach for all but a handful of Rhodesian farmers. And light amplification gear (such as Starlight scopes) was--and still is--export restricted by western nations, as a military equipment, under the ITAR treaties. Furthermore, Rhodesia was explicitly under an arms embargo, so there was just a trickle of gear coming in from any nations other than South Africa, Mozambique, and Israel. Furthermore, of that gear, civilian farmers were "Third in line", behind the Rhodesian Army, and the British South African Police (BSAP.) By the way, the BSAP didn't change its name after Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration on Independence (UDI) in November of 1965.

The Watchful Daily Grind

Life on Rhodesian farms was largely routine, but farmers did their best to not fall into predictable patterns or lapse into inattentiveness. Each morning, farmers carefully examined their dirt roads, looking for signs that land mines had been planted. They kept in close contact with their resident farm workers, neighbors, and people living at nearby native kraals, to check on reports of any suspicious activities or any sightings of roaming terrorists. (By the standards of Rhodesian farmers, anyone living within five miles was a "neighbor.")

All through the daily tasks of tending crops and caring for livestock, every adult and most older children went everywhere, armed. Many farm tractors were fitted with gun racks, to keep a rifle close at hand, at all times. A surprising number of the guns owned by the farmers were fully automatic. The selective fire Belgian FN-FAL battle rifle was widely used, and almost reverently cherished. Some HK G3 rifles (by way of Mozambique) were used in smaller numbers. Many folks, especially the ladies, carried Uzi submachineguns, or the Commando LDP (in later years the Sanna 77 variant) submachineguns. The latter were locally produced in Rhodesia and South Africa. Some farmers were also able to acquire hand grenades and rifle grenades.

At dusk, unless under the urgency of harvest season, farms "buttoned up" for the night by SOP, and no one ventured outside of the farm house's perimeter fence unless there were exceptional circumstances. Dairy farmers felt particularly apprehensive, since at least one of their twice-daily milking sessions would be during hours of darkness, at least in winter months. So some security precautions were also set up outside of the outer doors of milking parlors.

Here is a quote from the book The Farmer At War by Trevor Grundy and Bernard Miller (Salisbury, 1979):

"In many of the sensitive commercial farming areas — and these now cover the majority of farms — homesteads have taken on the appearance of fortresses containing their own arsenal of arms that would not discredit military establishments elsewhere in the world. The chain-link security fences are usually wired to alarms designed to indicate exactly what sector of the fence has been interfered with or breached. In addition some are fitted with highly sensitive microphones to identify and pinpoint potentially hostile sounds from long distances — footsteps on gravel, movement through grass — and monitor these through a receiver installed near the farmer's bed. Alerted, the farmer can at the press of a button, switch on blinding searchlights or phosphorus flares strategically placed in the garden, and fire sets of grenades usually concealed in the bush outside his security fence. Again instant and massive retaliation has beaten off many attacks."

The Aftermath: Hyperinflation and Ruin

What was once Rhodesia is sadly now Zimbabwe, a nation that has been thoroughly pillaged by Comrade Mugabe and his cronies. This former breadbasket of Africa now has frequent starvation, is thoroughly bankrupt, its currency was destroyed by hyperinflation, and it has a crumbling infrastructure. The country is nearly in ruins. The grid power is on only sporadically. The water systems have been fouled, hunger is constant, and the life expectancy has dropped precipitously--although some of that is attributable to the advent of HIV-AIDS. Ironically, after UDI, Rhodesia had been snubbed by the international community in an effort to get them to institute universal suffrage. But now, following the predicted "one man, one vote, once" (installing a "President for life"), the former terrorists that took over instituted a quasi-dictatorship government so vile and corrupt that now it too is under severe diplomatic sanctions and military sanctions by the west. (The sanctions were imposed because of flagrant "electoral fraud and human rights abuses".) In fact, a dozen people in the key leadership of Zimbabwe's perpetual ZANU-PF government including Robert Mugabe are still banned from travel to most First World nations.

Following the war, the farmers have not fared well. Many were forced to surrender their guns, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Nearly all of them have lost their life savings, due to the combined effects of currency export controls and the hyperinflation. And many of those that continued to own and operate farms under Mugabe's government were forcibly evicted, and a few were raped, tortured, or killed.

I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers take the time to study low level insurgencies in general, and the Rhodesian Bush War, in particular. History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes.

Some good insights on the Rhodesian experience can be found in these books:

• Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry by Chris Cocks
• Rainbow's End: A Memoir of Childhood, War and an African Farmby Lauren St. John
• The Bush War In Rhodesia: The Extraordinary Combat Memoir of a Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist by Dennis Croukamp
• James and the Duck: Tales of the Rhodesian Bush War (1964 - 1980) by Faan Martin
• Contact by John Lovett
• Contact 2 by Paul Moorcraft
• The Saints: The Rhodesian Light Infantry by Alexandre Binda (compiled by Chris Cocks)--An expensive book but it has wonderful detail on the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) with some great photos. The recent printings come with a documentary film on DVD.
• Rhodesia by Robin Moore. (JWR's Caveat Lector Note: This is the same Robin Moore who had previously penned the best selling book The Green Berets. Shortly after publication of the first of his three books on southern Africa, Moore fell into disfavor among the American volunteers in Rhodesia, for verbally making some racist statements.)

For further reading, I recommend the reference web page titled Rhodesian Farmers Defensive Arrangements at the Small Wars Journal web site, and the book The Farmer At War, now available online.

Remember Rhodesia!

Something I have noticed among the “prepper/survivalist” community is a growing distrust of local law enforcement accompanied by the stigma of an “us versus them” mentality. I decided this would be a good place to start, and will provide some background on myself. I too am a survivalist. I am also a certified police officer in the state of Arizona. I am a double degree major in Criminal Justice, Homeland Security and Counter Terrorism.  From my experience, most in law enforcement are like me: they get into this line of work for a desire to help those in need. I graduated from the police academy in 2006 with a 4.0 GPA and was proud and determined to do well as a police officer and felt strongly about helping others in need. I knew I was not going to become rich by any means from this job, but that was ok. I had a strong desire to look back at my life and feel I’d made a difference for the better. I had always had strong feelings about protecting those in need, and regardless of the dangers involved, helping those in my community was a reward money could never replace. Handing an abused child a teddy bear after responding to a domestic violence call and being there to help them in their time of need is an experience in itself that can never be measured in financial terms. This is why we do this job, and it begins to define who we are as individuals. If there was ever a quote that defined the ambition of a police officer, for me it’s “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”. -Edmund Burke. The first time I heard this quote I was inspired. Once it’s in your blood, you are never the same. Just like the athlete has an internal driving force to exercise and compete, the officer has that internal force that pushes them to want to help. If there is a cry for help in the middle of the night, we want to be there.
Because I feel most in law enforcement share such a passion, it should be understood by the “survivalist/prepper” that we are not robots, or mindless minions that do the bidding of a government body. The vast majorities of police officers are family oriented, conservative, and hold the oath to uphold the Constitution on behalf of the people of the United States very seriously.

The police officer and the prepper share more in common then they may realize. In fact, many police officers themselves are “survivalist/preppers.” Like the “prepper”, police officers prepare for the worst case scenario as well. Police live in a state of “worst case scenario” every time they go to work. Just like any given situation can turn bad requiring the preparedness of the officer to respond and survive, so too can the stability of our fragile society, requiring the prepper to respond as well in order to survive. In a sense, the police officer and the prepper share a common bond, they both want to be prepared to safely and effectively deal with any SHTF scenario that may come their way, and not become a victim of complacency.

Many have asked….will the police become enforcers? This question gets asked a lot. While I cannot speak for every officer, my answer is pretty simple. I am a family man first and an officer second. If a crisis scenario was to take place and my family was vulnerable, they take top priority. While police will attempt to do their best to keep order, you are your best defense. Never rely on the police as your sole source of defense. When things get bad and civil unrest reaches a point of violence and looting, people become vulnerable. It’s not that police won’t want to help, it’s the fact they simply may not be able to do so. Most police with families will retreat to their homes and place their family above all else when it comes to priorities. They are human like anyone one else, and will not leave their families exposed to the elements or outside threats.

Officer Safety Tips for the Survivalist

In the case of a massive crisis, or “the end of the world as we know it” scenario, people will be stressed, distrusting, and scared. Most people want to avoid conflict; however there will always be those that will try to prey on the weak and vulnerable, and at times, will try to pose as friendly people you can trust. By utilizing the techniques used by police for officer safety, the survivalist can sharpen their ability to negotiate and interact with strangers during times of crisis, and limit their vulnerability and loved ones to that of predators. Here are some aspects of our training that you might find useful:

Police officers are trained in a unique way. While those in the military are trained to be aggressive and engage threats at a distance, police officers are trained in the opposite. Police officers must deal with potential hostile people face to face, and most times within reaching distances. An officer never knows if the person they are dealing with is armed and ready to kill them at any moment, or if they are friendly. Because of this, police go through training to read body language, get close, and deescalate a hostile situation with lethal force being a last option, but not the least of options. In the event that someone poses a threat, officers are trained to neutralize this threat as soon as possible. The amount of stress and danger that officers go through in a dark alley with a strange man or men is very real. Now imagine having to do this with no training in a scary world changing environment. Because both scenarios are very similar in how a person must deal with unknown threats, officer safety tips can be of great value to the survivalist. If things get bad, you must be able to interact with those around you without escalating tensions in people who are already stressed out to overreact with hostility.

As Rawles states in one of his books, “Show restraint, but always save recourse to lethal force.” (Rawles, 2009).

He also wrote: “My father often told me, It is better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it.' I urge readers to use less than lethal means when safe and practicable, but at times there is not a satisfactory substitute for well-aimed lead going down range at high velocity.. (Rawles, 2009)

By using Officer Safety tactics, you can interact with people while maintaining a safe and strong position.  The following areas I will share with you are things to consider when the world as we know it ends.

Language: Known as “verbal judo,” refrain from making threats or being outright hostile. Don’t use harsh language or aggressive tones. This will cause people to immediately go on the defensive. In return, their immediate response of defense could cause you to misconceive their intentions toward you. The same holds true for you and their perception as well. This will cause immediate distrust between parties, causing tensions to quickly rise and possibly lead to unnecessary violence and loss of control. Remember to remain calm and to speak clearly, calmly, and respectfully. If you do all three of these when engaging in dialogue, it will give you the advantage and persona of taking control, but not in a hostile way. This will also help you understand the other parties’ intentions more clearly. If you are cool, calm, and collected, but the other party is strung out, edgy, and overbearing, it creates a clear picture of their true state of mind and possible intentions toward you. It also rules out the fact they are simply reacting to any aggressive language on your part, and may have ulterior motives.

Body Language: Often referred to as your “X-ray vision,” body language can be very telling. When interacting with a stranger, pay close attention to what they are not telling you with their mouth but are telling you with their body. When people anticipate confrontation, subtle behavior will begin to present itself. They may begin to pivot frequently, even if standing in one place. If they are wearing a hat, they may take it off, this is often a sign of preemption, reason being that a hat gets in the way and lowers a person’s situational awareness. People will often remove a hat even though they are not cognitively aware why they are doing it. Watch for the balling of fist, or clenching of their jaw. Their eyes may dart in many directions even though they are speaking to you. If it looks as if their trying to scan their surroundings, that’s because they are! These are all signals that one is preparing for confrontation, and may become aggressive.

Always Keep Your Strong Hand Free: Always make sure you keep your strong hand free. If you are right handed and have a holstered sidearm, always be sure that you use your left hand to hold objects, such as a flashlight. You never want to have your strong hand occupied if you need to draw your weapon in defense. The time it takes to drop the object in your strong hand can mean the difference between life and death. If it is dark and you need to hold a flashlight, always hold it in your weak hand.

Watch the Hands: When interacting with someone new, watch their hands! The hands are the instruments used to kill, and this is where the threat will come from. When speaking with unknown people, politely request that they keep their hands out of their pockets. Just because you cannot see a weapon, you must never let down your guard. Remember, a razor blade can do tremendous damage and is easily concealed in the hair, a hat, or even one’s mouth.

Are They Concealing a Weapon? When dealing with an unknown person, it is reasonable to be concerned if they are armed. The following are tips that are useful when it comes to determining if a person is armed:

1. Determine a person’s strong side, and Pay attention. This can be done by observing their behavior. A right handed person may lead with their right hand while speaking. They will use it for subtle actions, i.e. scratching their face or holding an object. Another clue that can be observed is a wrist watch. Typically, a person wearing a watch will do so by wearing it on their weak arm. If you still have trouble figuring out what hand is dominant, you can count on the fact that the majority of people,( approximately 75%) are right handed.
2. The two most common places someone will conceal a sidearm is by tucking in the front right, between the belly button and hip, or the small of the back. Unless the person has carried often concealed, and has a good holster to secure the weapon, most people will have an unsecured weapon tucked in a waistband. This can cause a weapon to move around and puts the carriers in a mental state of constantly having to reassure themselves that the weapon is still present by touching it through their clothes. They may even unconsciously touch it periodically for assurance, giving away the fact they are carrying. This is bad for them, but very good for you! Even as a trained officer, I have found myself doing this from time to time with a holstered weapon that is concealed. There seems to be an unconscious sense of security that needs to be confirmed at times by verifying the presence of your first line of defense, your side arm. A person may walk with a shorter stride on the side a weapon is located. If they take longer strides with one foot while shortening the other, especially the side of their strong arm, this may be a good indication they are carrying a weapon concealed.
3. Are they wearing baggy clothing or does it fit the season? If they are wearing a jacket during a warmer part of the year, this could be a sign of an attempt of concealment. If you suspect a person may be carrying concealed, observe the clothing and look for any odd bulges or disruptions in the way a shirts falls against the body. While it may look normal for the most part, weapons often give subtle disruption to curves that say “here I am.”

Contact and Cover: When approaching a person or group of people, it is important to be friendly but stern in your presence. Standing upright and squared does much for those sizing you up for the first time. If you find yourself having to get close, always have someone there to cover you as a backup. In a crisis scenario, people may try to take advantage of perceived weakness.  Havening someone there as a lethal force alternative is paramount for safely interacting with individuals with unknown intentions. Remember….before you ever allow anyone to enter into your home, camp, etc. always check for weapons. In a crisis scenario, people become desperate and will do radical things in order to survive. Just like an officer must check for weapons before putting someone in a patrol car, the same principle applies here.

The proper way to do this is by having a cover person with you. Make sure your cover is at least half to the size of the group you are speaking with if possible. Remember. …if they approach you with a request, it’s your safety. If they refuse to submit to a pat down, send them on their way. There is no need to put you or your loved ones at unnecessary risk at such times. While searching an individual, have any others with them sit on the ground facing away from you. While being covered, and only searching one person at a time, have the person to be searched face away from you, and interlock their fingers on top of their head. Put your left foot forward between their legs and your right leg back. Wrap your hand over their interlocked knuckles and squeeze. Use your right hand to sweep their body on the right side and search for weapons. To sweep the left side, repeat the steps by reversing your locking hand and foot. Never go to your knees or kneel down. You must bend down to sweep legs, but never compromise your feet in how they are anchored or your locking hand while sweeping someone for weapons.

Protect Yourself When Conducting a Search: Don’t go fishing in pockets unnecessarily. If gloves are unavailable, use great care when sweeping an individual for weapons. Needles and razor blades pose a serious threat, and fishing without proper gloves could result in disaster. The gloves I recommend are Turtle Skin Severe Gear or Turtle Skin Police Search Gloves, they will protect from edged weapons and most importantly, they will protect you from needles!
 
Remember, your main concern is concealed firearms, but do not discount the threat of a knife either. Knives are devastatingly dangerous in the hands of a skilled person.

Body Armor: Body armor is paramount in its ability to save lives and becomes a force multiplier. While police are very familiar with the use of body armor, many civilians may not be. Kevlar body amour is legal to own and purchase by anyone in most jurisdictions. However, like any tool, it must be used correctly for the right purpose. Not all body armor is created equal. Kevlar body armor comes in many ratings, and it’s these ratings that indicate the level of threat they can deter. When it comes to soft body armor, the two common threat levels are level II and level IIIA. Soft body armor will NOT stop a rifle round. This requires hard plates, either steel or ceramic, and is rated from level III to IV.

NIJ Level Ratings

(National Insitute of Justice, 2012)
           
In conclusion, the police are everyday people. They do not look at survivalists as the “enemy.” They are family people like anyone else and would rather be there to protect and help you in the event of a crisis. In a crisis a law enforcement officer would be someone with a valuable skill set to have around, as they can provide training to those around them to become proficient in security and personal safety. If you are fortunate to know a law enforcement officer, ask them to teach you such valuable skill sets, more often than not, they will be more than accommodating in doing so. For those that don’t have such an option, my hope is that this article will provide others with some food for thought and arm them with the knowledge needed to help protect themselves and loved ones in the event of a “the end of the world as we know it”, or any other crisis.  

References

National Insitute of Justice. (2012, January 23).
Rawles, James W. (2009). "How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It". New York: Penguin Group.

Everyone knows the perfect location for family survival is the number one issue in being prepped.   How do I pick the perfect location should be the number one question in a prepper’s mind.  Many different survival instructors and writers have different ideas on locations and some even have scoring formulas to give your chance of survival.  I have a combined prospective on picking the perfect location from my military training and my working in the Third World as a trainer and combatant.  Let’s look at how I picked my location and facilities.  

First, one has to be aware of the most basic rule, which is [for a worst case societal collapse], “If my enemy can see me, hear me, or smell me, he will kill me.”.   That rule means the perfect location has to be well hidden and my facilities have to be exceptional in design.

The area you are going to call your world to watch and protect has to be large enough to produce your food.  That means, it has to have a garden area, livestock area and a human living area.  I chose an area large enough for seven families to work together as a group or unit.  To keep all the dwellings hidden and still grow in a secluded way, I picked 100 acres.  In picking this acreage, I looked at nine basic things to consider.
 
1.        Distance from a main road.  When things get bad and people begin to evacuate the cities and larger towns of over 30,000 people, they will travel on routes that they know.  Most people in the US know the interstate highway system.  They will use this system to move from the populated areas.  As they travel out, they will leave the interstate system on smaller arterial roads.  Leaving those smaller arterial roads, they will then travel down the narrow paved two lane country roads. Then they will travel onto gravel and dirt roads which is a last resort for city dwellers.  As they go, most will try to secure resources, at any visible house or building, as they move.  After a few months of travel, they should be getting to the back country if they survive.  Those that survive will be a cut above the rest and most likely someone to deal with.

For that reason, a 15 mile radius from any main interstate or arterial road is a minimum factor in location.  The shorter the distance from the interstate the quicker you will have to deal with a group of these people.  Remember these people have honed themselves into a fighting unit on other people as they have moved down the road system.
 
2.       Elevation of land.  Flat is not good.  You need to look for a place with hills and valleys.  The higher the high point on the property the better.  The best location is where you control the high ground. In Vietnam, our firebases were on hill tops.  Very few of our sites had higher ground than us.  Where there was higher ground, we were required to set up a LP, listening or looking post, to secure our lower base.  In picking your location, you will need to do the same thing.  If you have the high ground, look for a high point with a few trees on top.  Once there you can put up a large tripod deer stand with swivel seat for your lookout.   A 24 hour a day lookout with binoculars needs to be able to see for at least two miles in all directions.  This will give you ample time to prepare a welcoming committee.
 
3.       Lack of line of sight from nearby elevated observation points. These are elevated points that are within binocular viewing distance.  When you have a possible location look at all the points of higher elevation where someone can sit and look through binoculars.  In choosing our location, I found a grain silo, town water tower, and a rural water tower just outside a two mile radius.   I went up each one and looked through my binoculars into our valley to see if any of our buildings could be seen.  The answer was no visibility into the valley.  Our front farm field and our surrounding trees could be seen but not our towers or buildings.  We do have one hill that is exactly 1,312 yards from our lookout tower with an elevation that is 15 feet higher than us.  The hill is bare with no trees for cover and from our tower we can see two miles out on the other side of that hill.  You cannot spare any expense or time in making sure you have the minimum overhang on your location.  If you have more than two overhangs, find another spot unless your group is large enough to man a lookout on each overhang 24 hours a day.
 
4.       Directions buildings can be seen from.  Besides the elevated observation points, a location needs to be invisible from the ground in all directions.  Your outer fields or border fields can be seen but your main area of operation needs to be invisible to anyone looking from flat ground.  If anything can be seen from the ground it needs to be camouflaged to the point of being invisible.  Our location has only one spot where anything can be seen from the flat ground.   From one direction on our ground, 1,500 yards out, you can just barely make out the leading edge of the barn roof, in a 15 foot wide sweep on the ground, in the winter only.  To prepare for that, we painted the barn to match the trees in winter that stand before it.  It now looks like more trees and it is thus invisible, even with binoculars.
 
5.       Distance from population centers.  The greater the distance you are from any population the better.  A good rule of thumb is no town of 1,500 within 15 miles, no town of 10,000 within 30 miles, and no town or city with a population greater than 10,000 within 75 miles at the least.
 
6.       Population per square mile.  The smaller the population per square mile the better.  You can Google any county in America and get the population density per square mile.  In our case, I did on web search on the county we are located in and all surrounding counties.  The lower the population the better.  Our county, as well as the surrounding counties, have a population in the single digits per square mile.  Go for the smaller population number.
 
7.       Water availability.  This is critical for survival.  No one and no animal can survive without ample water.  Water can be obtained from many sources.  Those sources are water wells, ponds, underground streams, above ground streams and rivers.   When things fall apart, there will be no city water or rural water running in the pipes.   Water wells are the first choice but always check out the other sources so there is at least one back up.  In a draught, large parts of the country suffer, and at that time all water sources get scarce or mighty thin.  In our location, we drilled for water and found none, due to the water table shrinkage from the drought.  Our area is in a third year of drought and many of the other farms in the area are having water well problems to the point of using other sources.  We do have a spring fed pond that is seven feet low from its normal height, but is still ten feet deep after two years of extreme heat and no rain.  This is our primary source with a pond pump system.  From there we have a water camel with pump.   There are several larger ponds in unoccupied lands around us and a major river one and a half miles away to draw water from.  To leave the woods and go to the river is a very last resort, because anytime you leave your area you run into the danger of someone seeing you and following you back to your area.
 
 
8.       Wildlife, timber, growing season, and weather.  
 
In our area, we have ample wildlife.  The deer, turkey, wild pig, raccoon, skunk, possum, water fowl, rabbit, and squirrel are uncountable.   In the first look, it seems like paradise.   But you have to look at how history has treated wildlife in the area you are looking.   The old timers, who are now gone, used to talk about the great hunting in our area before the Great Depression.  Then they would say “Never believe what you see.  It will be gone in no time.”  During the Great Depression, every animal was gone within six months of the start.   That means no free meat.   If you do have free meat you need to have a way to get it without firing a gun.  Sound in an otherwise quiet area travels for miles.  That means someone hears your shot and is looking for you.

Timber for wood for your stove is a must.  You look for firewood outside of the timber to hide your location.  You also are looking for timber that can be brought in to your area to split for fire wood.  Chainsaws are really loud and can be heard for miles in a quiet world.  Remember someone will hear you.  An axe strike can be heard but in a shorter distance.  Use your timing to get lots of cutting done in rain storms.  Rain and thunder cover a lot of sound.

The growing season where you pick your location will be real important.   Even though you have food put back for a year, you have to grow next year’s food to put back.  In the north, the seasons are short, which means less time to grow a second crop if the first one fails.  You need to know your growing season real well and how to farm in that season.  The longer the season the less experience you can have in farming.  Green houses can correct a lot of mistakes in farming by allowing you to extend your season.  However, in the real cold areas, heat may be required and that means more fire wood to cut and store, to supply a group their needed food.

Weather is important.  Too hot, too cold, too dry, too much snow and too wet all work against you.  Wind, sun, tornadoes and hurricanes also work against you.  The location needs to be in an area that you are well equipped to handle, and as a fallback you need to get knowledgeable on historical primal survival techniques in that weather.  The milder the weather in its normal seasonal pattern the easier survival is going to be for you.
 
9.       Neighbors.  If only there was a place with no neighbors.  With the population in this country today everyone has neighbors.  They may be a mile away or even farther away but they are still neighbors.  So when you are looking at a location, you need to look at the people who will be your neighbors.  You need to look at their ability to live today with what they have, look at their resources on the ground.   Visit and get to know them.  You need to know if they are military veterans, drunks, dopers, hard workers, lazy folks, able to live in a Third World conditions, thieves, whores, whoremongers, pedophiles, religious, non-religious, old, young, sick, healthy, gun freaks, hunters, or lawmen.  Every detail you know about them is one more tool in your bag to survive and secure your location.  Tell very little and listen a lot, but get to know them.  Your life and your family’s lives will depend on it.
 
Our location may not be the best in the world, but over the last few years we have worked every day to improve it.  We have 100 acres with a high hill above all other hills but one.  No one can see us.  Within the 100 acres we chose 40 acres in a valley between our hills to make our home and our farm.  There are no roads leading to our 40 acres and it is damn near impossible to find.

Our cabin moves the smoke to the ground with the proper chimney cover.  It then has to wonder through the trees and becomes invisible and you cannot smell it off the property.  Our 40 acre parcel has a pond in the middle with a creek on the edge.   We hunt with no guns.  Our only noise is the sheep who refuse to be quiet and a few roosters for our 100 hens.  When the time comes, we will eat the noise makers first.
 
So if you come looking for us, you will not see us, smell us, or hear us, but we will see you coming for miles.  For my family’s sake, I hope I have chosen well.  For your families’ sake, I hope you have chosen well or can find a place while there is still time to make the move.

JWR Adds: While finding commanding high ground and a concealed location might seem to be mutually exclusives goals, this is not always true. With some diligent searching, you can find a property with a hilltop homesite that is surrounded by hilly timberlands in several directions. Hence, you can get both high ground and protection from distant line of sight. Typically, meeting these goals necessitates buying a parcel that is at least 40 acres, and often much more.

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.&