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Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. & Mrs. India
Mr. and Mrs. India
Ages: 34 & 33
SOs: Three children 6 and under
Profession: U.S. Military Serviceman
Background:
He: Grew up in Florida, raised in a self-reliant family, attend and commissioned
from a military educational institution, married his sweetheart, completed
pilot training, and is currently stationed at his sixth military installation.
She: Grew up in Idaho, raised by a self reliant and second amendment loving
family, moved off to school, took work as a nanny, worked as an accountant,
is currently a loving mother and supportive military spouse. For the most part
she lives the self reliant lifestyle with things like grinding wheat and making
bread while he spends money on the latest and greatest gadgets. Present Home:
4 bedroom/2 car garage, government house on a northern tier military installation.
I would get paid a housing allowance if I lived off the installation and there
could be lots of self reliant benefits to doing this, but at this station we
choose to live on the installation. This is a choice we have to make during
every move and consider many things such as housing availability, local market
conditions, commuter costs, school zoning, and the areas grade based on the
book "Rawles
on Retreats and Relocation".
Income: $60,000 year not including benefits.
Additional Income: An occasional eBay sale, the Mrs. teaches piano, and extra
cash from my frequent temporary duty (TDY) tours
- I normally return from a TDY with more than half of the per diem by being
frugal with food and not over indulging in entertainment. And when I say entertainment
I mean not spending too much at the new-to-me gun stores, junk yards, used
book stores, pawn shops, and Army/Navy stores.
Investments: We sold most of our IRAs early in 2008 to pay off debt. I now
consider survival prep my top investment- food, ammo, extra magazines, extra
receivers, books, and junk silver. We are currently saving to start a Swiss
America gold account, and eventually purchase $1,000 face vale junk silver
bags for each family member.
Vehicles: Primary - 80 series Toyota Land Cruiser. Grocery Getter - Honda minivan.
We also have a Gen 1 Suzuki King Quad (slow but capable and carbureted), bicycles
and bicycle trailer. Ideally I would own a complete spare primary vehicle but
the frequent moves and lack of space make this difficult. For now I perform
a lot of preventative maintenance to keep the vehicles in top condition and
try to stock critical spares.
Firearms: Custom Remington 700 .308, four FALs
with configuration ranging from Izzy HB to 18” carbine, M1A worked
over by Smith Enterprises, S&W
M4gery,
DMPS M4gery, Mossberg 590, Winchester SX2 tactical, three Ruger 10/22s, Beeman
HW77 .177 pellet rifle, Ruger SP101, Springfield Armory 1911, Glock 22,
Browning Hi-Power, Ruger Mk 22/45, Scout rifle built on .308 Ishapore Enfield
action,
FR8, Savage
24C. The frequent moves are going to force me to shrink and further standardize
my armory. I also made the mistake of buying a normal gun safe and moving it
has been a huge and heavy pain. I plan on selling it and replacing it with
one of the Zanotti
Armor [6-piece modular] gun safes that you recommend. I
would also like to add a crossbow to the collection for the silent gathering
of meat
if
the
Schumer
hits
the fan.
Ammo: Over 50,000 rounds with the bulk of that in .22 LR. One of my top priorities
at this station is to finally unpack all my reloading supplies and purchase
whatever is required to complete my setup so I can have an operational reloading
bench. I am also on the lookout for a .177 pellet mold for my Beeman. I know
accuracy would be way down but I think I could have an unlimited supply of
pellets when old tire weights and discard car batteries are considered.
Fuel: 25 gallons in 5 gallon Scepter [current US mil-spec] gas cans, roughly
30 gallons of propane in various tank sizes. This is about as large of a supply
as I can
store, rotate,
and do a permanent change of
station (PCS) with.
I have printed plans for a portable 12 volt DC fuel pump and will have parts
when this year’s snow melts off the local junk yards.
Water: On the grid but we have a two week emergency supply (90 gallons stored
in 15 gallon water barrels) and a Big Berkey water filter with buckets for
carrying water from a local source to filter if needed.
Property tax: $0/year (one positive aspect of living in military housing)
Gardens: Allowed on military installations with restrictions. In the past I
had been skeptical about planting a garden because the yard had to be returned
to sod when changing stations. From a financial sense, rolling out sod when
we leave would probably be more expensive than the money we would save in crop
production. However, after considering several posts by fellow SurvivalBlog
readers, I now think the expenditure will be a wise investment in learning
the ends and outs of gardening. Keep in mind that on some military installations
they have set aside large lots near housing that are opened for families to
plant gardens - this would be the best of both worlds. We have a collection
of hand tools to do the gardening but are limited on spares due to space and
household good weight limitations.
Livestock: Not allowed on installation but I have seen people get away with
having a hutch or two for the ‘pet’ rabbits.
Dogs: Allowed in military housing but I do not have one at this time. The spouse/kids/neighbors
have to be supportive of a dog to make it work in the military. When the kids
get older and can help out when I’m TDY, it will be an addition to our
family.
Security: We live in the ultimate gated community provided by full time military
police/security forces. When off the installation, personal security provided
by sidearm and concealed carry permit. House has normal doors and locks but
the family is usually in a low state of awareness due to the gated community
feel. Five sets of various adult sized Kevlar vests and helmets. A 2nd gen
night vision scope that is waiting for a rifle mount. My top priority in this
area is to get the stars to align (namely: fly out grandma to watch the kids
and find some reasonable transportation/lodging) so that I can use my long
stored certificate
and purchase an additional course so my wife and I can attend Front
Sight together.
Food storage: Close to a year of staples (grains, beans, rice, powdered milk,
honey, and salt), At least three month’s worth of canned/perishable goods
that is constantly rotated, and 2+ weeks of MREs. I also have a collection
of traps that Buckshot recommends and feel confident I could add meat to the
table at any large military installation. When notified of a PCS,
my wife starts using the canned and perishable goods almost exclusively so
we can minimize our household goods weight. The household weight limit is something
we always struggle with. We have averaged 1/3 more than the allowed weight
on our last three moves but we have come up with a solution that has worked
for us. We do a partial Do IT Yourself move (DITY move) where the military
pays a contractor to move part of our goods and they pay us to move the rest
of the goods (up to the maximum allowable weight based on rank and dependents).
When the contract movers show up we have them load all the large and bulky
items such as furniture, bicycle trailer, and empty water barrels. This usually
amounts to about 2/3 of our belongings based on size but only 1/3 based on
weight. We then pack the rest of the goods in a rented moving truck ourselves.
The stuff like food storage, books, and the safe easily fit in the rental truck
and adds up to about 2/3 of our total weight. Although we only get paid for
about half of what we move we still make more than enough to cover all our
expenses and avoid having to pay a carrier to move the excess weight.
Communication: HF base station is a Yaesu FT-840 with every factory option.
I also have a Realistic Pro 2006 scanner, a Yaesu FT-8900 for the Land Cruiser,
and a couple Yaesu handhelds. Exterior antennas are not allowed in military
housing so I have to get by with low profile dipoles and a good antenna tuner.
Right now I am encouraging my wife to get her Technician license. Besides wanting
a VHF radio for the base station, I also need a battery backup system that
can serve as our emergency electrical power supply. I want to be able to feed
the battery bank with a small generator as well as a fairly large but portable
solar panel(s).
Survival Library: Extensive with all the SurvivalBlog
Bookshelf recommendations as well as most of the books recommended by readers.
Hobbies: Family adventures, church activities, vehicle maintenance/upgrades,
Scouting, "$200 stamp collecting" (AWC and AAC firearms sound suppressors),
increasing food storage.
Next project: At our current location I need to develop an emergency home heating
plan. I wish we could add a wood stove but will probably have to settle with
a kerosene space heater. I am also developing my exit strategy from the military – hopefully
more to follow in the form of another writing contest submission.
I have deviated from the normal profile format and added a couple paragraphs
to sum up the pros and cons of living the survival lifestyle while serving
in the military.
Pros of active duty military: The opportunity to serve with many like minded
selfless patriots, job security, benefits such as medical and commissary, requirement
to stay physically fit, installation amenities such as gym and auto hobby shop,
and a good retirement if I can make it to 20 years. I’ll be honest, the
retirement plan will probably keep me in. I’ll be 44 when eligible to
retire and I like the idea of being able to move to our desired retreat location,
take a low paying job if nothing else is available and count on the immediate
retirement income to make up the difference.
Cons: Not being able to live at and develop our desired retreat location,
frequent/extended TDYs keeping me away from my immediate family, being stationed
away from extended family, frequent moves, and the possibility of living in
a state not up to the Constitutional standards of firearm and suppressor ownership.
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Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. & Mrs. Enfield in Canada
Background - I am a 40-year old male, my Missus is a year younger and we have
three children. The children are active in school, church and 4H.
The eldest
is a known "good worker" in the neighborhood and during summer vacation
is in high demand for haying, etc. Middle child is interested in chickens and
sewing. The youngest is an all round good helper and loves to go to the woods.
I have always been interested in farming and in non-electric tools and equipment.
My off-farm job keeps me busy 50 hours per week. Missus does not work outside
of the home.
I can build or fix most anything. I got those skills from my father although
he is better and faster at it that I am. I have never had a high income so we "use
it up, wear it out, make do or do without".
Present home - We own a 40-acre farm in Maritime Canada, 19 miles from the nearest
town. We live half a mile off a paved road and the house cannot be seen from
the pavement. The nearest store is 17 miles away and we are not on a road to
anywhere. The likelihood of people crowding through here escaping the city, which
is 110 miles away, is nil.
The house is a 130-year-old storey and half. We have a large barn, wood shed,
workshop and a couple of smaller outbuildings. There are about 8 acres of woodlot,
10 acres of hayfield, a couple acres of blueberries and the rest is (now) fenced
for pasture. There was no fencing on the place when we moved in and I put up
woven wire as we can afford it. We have a small flock of sheep, a few laying
hens and a rooster. If we had to, we could live on lamb, eggs and the odd cockerel.
We also have a beef cow, a calf, an ancient draft horse and in the summer we
raise meat birds and the odd pig. I am working toward improving our pasture and
hayfields so that we lessen our dependence on purchased grain and hay. Raising
Highland cattle, Tamworth pigs and Royal Palm turkeys may be in our future.
Property tax - $400 per year.
Debt – After my "war on debt" 14 months ago we are down to
a small mortgage and that’s it. We did have six credit cards with a total
balance of $3,000 and were always behind with the power and telephone bills.
We were
paying out $100 per month just in interest. The cards were paid off and
four were cancelled, the power was brought up-to-date and is now on a 12-month
budget
plan. With no debt and no interest to pay, life is soooo much better.
Investments – Through payroll deduction, I have put a bit aside in Registered
Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
for the last 17 years. Two months ago we had $80,000 in RRSPs but since
the [equities] crash(es), we are down to $50,000. I have always felt that the
farm
is
my
retirement security so I am not too worried.
Right now any income from the farm is rolled back into the farm in the form of
hay, seed, fencing, etc.
Shop - The workshop houses all of my tools (hand and power) as well as a blacksmith
forge with a hand-cranking blower and a hand operated drill press. I heat the
building with a wood stove. I like my circular saw, reciprocating saw and electric
drill but I can easily fall back on my handsaws and brace & bit. Supplies
that I need to stock up on include files, hacksaw blades, welding rods and
coal for the forge.
Water – We have a gravity feed water system for the house so there is
water regardless of the power grid situation. There is a year-round river at
the base
of our property and several intermittent brooks. There is also an unused well
by the house and a well for the barn. We use an electric jet pump and tank
for the barn but I have purchased a hand cistern pump for on top of this well.
Lastly
there is a small spring fed well where the old milk house used to be about
70 years ago.
Heat - We have always had an oil furnace, oil-fired water heater and oil tank
and an airtight wood stove. When oil reached it’s high last summer I
decided to make a change. I replaced the oil-fired water heater with an electric
one
and bought eight cords of hardwood. I also installed a mini-split heat pump
in the end of the house farthest from the wood stove. So far this winter we
have
not used the oil furnace at all.
We had removed a wood-fired kitchen range a few years ago due to insurance and
the space it took up but I am strongly leaning on re-installing it. I may even
install a range boiler so we can have hot water.
Firearms – I have a British Lee-Enfield .303 and about 20 rounds and
a .22 with about 200 rounds. I need to stock up on .303 [British rifle] ammo,
a gun cleaning kit
and I should get a sling and scope. I may also get a shotgun and some bird
shot.
Security – Just the dog, motion lights and the fact that the house is on
an open knoll away from the road. We have good neighbors and we all watch out
for the other’s property. The main drawback is distance – each neighbor
(north, east and south) is a little over half a mile away. Near the paved road
we have had thefts of anything laid down in sight of the road – ladders,
fence post maul, gas-powered water pump for a garden, and even chickens. Houses
that are left empty have had break-ins and some have been burned down.
Fruit/garden – Perennial trees and plants interest me as a source of
food that will be dependable no matter what our economic or health situation.
We have
several apple trees and rose bushes on the property. We are bringing back the
blueberry field and the rhubarb plants. I have planted strawberries, raspberries
and chives.
The children and I plant a fairly large vegetable garden every year. This year,
after the cow and the sheep were done with it, there wasn’t much left
for us. This spring we fence the garden.
This fall, for the first time ever, I purchased next year’s garden seed.
This way, no matter what happens, we won’t have to worry about finding
seed in the spring.
To extend our growing season, we plan on build a greenhouse onto the south side
of one of the sheds in the not-too-distant future.
Food storage – We have three freezers full of chicken, turkey, beef and
pork. Our generator is to protect the contents of these freezers. I have a
lot of salt on hand so if we had a prolonged grid down situation I could salt
down
the beef and pork. We have also started stocking up on Mason jars and lids,
and bottling accessories. The remains of our garden produce go into our cellar.
After my first week of reading SurvivalBlog last summer, I went to the local
grocery wholesaler and bought 200 lbs of dried goods. I made the mistake of telling
the guys at work so now instead of being the nut with farm; I am the survivalist
nut with the farm. I now keep all preps to myself.
I have laid in a stock of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, rolled oats, white pea-beans,
baking powder, baking soda, molasses, peanut butter, honey, raisins, nuts,
canned goods, canola and olive oil, spices, pepper, pasta & sauce, rice, dried onion,
powdered milk, cream of wheat, pancake mix, hot chocolate, tea, coffee, juice
powder, and hard candy. We manage to put an item or two in our deep larder every
week. I have been keeping my eye out for a grain mill as we can easily put in
1⁄4 - 1⁄2 acre of wheat.
Health – We keep our prescriptions filled or re-filled. My oldest child
and I have just completed a first-aid course.
We’ve begun to stock up on: toothpaste, tooth brushes, dish soap, bar soap,
Dettol disinfectant, Buckley’s Mixture cold medicine (tastes awful but
it works), Raleigh’s Medicated Ointment, multi vitamins, vitamin C, aspirin,
female items, Band-Aids & tape, toilet paper, peroxide, deodorant, lip
balm, nail trimmers, and razors. I have just purchased a large first-aid kit
for the
house and a small one for the car. I will eventually add a minor surgery kit,
which would be handy if just used for veterinary emergencies.
Vet – I have a large plastic toolbox for our growing supply of veterinary
items. I keep a supply of needles, syringes, worm treatment, penicillin, castration
bands, iodine, foot treatment, etc. I don’t shear my own sheep but this
year I picked up Oster electric shears on eBay for a great price. I did try out
the shears on our longhaired dog. He healed up nicely and didn’t hold
a grudge.
Fishing – I have a large supply of hand line gear, a small supply of
trout rods, and a small gill net and net knitting needles. We have a small
fiberglass
dory with two sets of oars.
Vehicles – We have a late 1990s mid-size car and a mid-2000s mini-van.
Both are in good shape.
Communication – Other than the usual telephone, we have two walkie-talkies
and a hand crank radio [receiver]. We live out beyond cellular service. I plan
to
get
a
short wave radio. Several hours into a power outage, our phone goes dead due
to small
fuel capacity for the Phone Company’s generator down the road. I would
like to have some way to communicate with my parents (three hours away) and my
siblings (one and three hours away) but we would all have to have Ham radios
and
I know that
won’t happen.
TEOTWAWKI – farming
- I have been assembling a collection of a few small tractors and 3-point hitch
equipment. My main concern is that when gas becomes
scarce and too expensive to purchase I will have no way to harvest hay for winter
fodder. I have a small horse-drawn mower that I plan to restore. That way if
worse comes to worst, I could at least mow hay and put it in the barn loose.
In such a time, horses would be at a premium but I know how to hew an ox head-yoke
so a horned steer or two and we’re back in business.
Long term goals – "harden" the house with better doors, dig
a trout pond, build a greenhouse, increase firewood and hay stores, increase
gasoline
storage for the generator and chain saw, install a small safe, and buy more
ammunition.
In conclusion, in a TEOTWAWKI grid up situation we will not have to change
our lifestyle at all. In a prolonged grid down situation, we’ll be eating a
lot of salt beef and beans in the winter and fresh veggies and chicken in the
summer. - "Mr. Enfield" in the Maritimes
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Overseas Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Zephyr in Trinidad and Tobago
PRESENT HOME:
A rental three bedroom roomy apartment in suburbs. One hour from capital city
of 30,000 on a relatively large Caribbean island, with nearer smaller towns.
Ten minute drive to
large mall,
and 'Big Box' mart.
Ages: 44 and 28
SOs: Two children, 12 year old and 2 year old.
ANNUAL INCOME:varies from $9,000 to $13,000.
PROFESSION: Photographer/Entrepreneur and Seamstress/Homemaker
INVESTMENTS: Various modest financial tools including stocks, CDs, savings,
mutual funds, annuity, and Silver Eagles.
VEHICLES: Nissan station wagon (2000), 18-speed mountain bike
FIREARMS BATTERY: No firearms, due to excessively restrictive, outdated, draconian,
colonial laws. Also, most government policy makers are hoplophobes. Unless
one is wealthy, then the chances of affording the necessary bribe to senior
officials for a firearms license is slim to remote.
MAIN BATTERY: No firearms. 2 air guns: RWS magnum .177 smoothbore air rifle.
(1,000 fps). Webley Tempest .177 smoothbore air pistol. (450 fps).
STORED AMMO: 2,700 pellets, plus 1,000-2000 always on hand for weekly practice
with elder son, wife and fellow shooters.
TRUNK GUNS: None
OFFSITE ITEMS: None
FUEL STORAGE: None
IMPROVEMENTS: None
ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX: n/a
LIVESTOCK: None
COMMUNICATIONS:
2 FRS radios, with charger, 2x NiMH batteries, capable of AAA x 4 alkaline.
Cell phones. AM/FM radio. 8 AAA, 8 AA rechargeable batteries.
WATER STORAGE: 6 days for family of 4 (84 litres) inside home. Bleach and buckets
with lids. Two 400 gallon tanks in yard, but this must be shared with two other
families. Building has roof guttering that can be easily harvested during an
emergency. Nearby rivers and streams can provide even more.
FOOD STORAGE: 6 weeks+ for a family of four. Wife thinks we comfortably have
more than 2 months food and that I'm being overly conservative in my estimate.
These
include over 90 cans, honey, salt, sugar, Ramen, flour, pasta, powdered milk,
baking powder, yeast, beans, rice, cooking oil etc. We have also included comfort
foods such as cookies, peanut butter, potato chips, wholesome cereals (muesli,
oats, granola, etc.). There are other foods that I have not included, but all
the foods that we have stored are foods we eat regularly (thanks to SurvivalBlog).
Poultry, fish, TP,
disposable diapers are bought in bulk. Some of the poultry and fish are stored
in the next door neighbor's freezer. They are a retired
couple with no kids.
A few thousand open pollinated seeds: corn, eggplant, pigeon peas, sorrel,
pumpkin.
MEDICAL: This is one of our weakest areas, but we've still managed to accumulate
a few items. Oral rehydration salts, bandages, gauze, medical tape, syringes,
surgical gloves, baby wipes, painkillers, anti-pyretics, anti-fungals, anti-inflammatories,
anti-diarrheals, antihistamines, isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, sulfa
tablets, Nonsteroidal
Anti-Inflamatory Drugs (NSAIDs),
baby fever medication and a few more.
OTHER PREPS: A family Bug Out Bag with items that will sustain us for three
days or more. Our preps are bucketed, boxed, bagged or in otherwise mobile-ready
condition for quick transport if necessary. A detailed family emergency plan
is on the fridge door, with a copy in the BOB.
Even though beginners, we've also included toilet paper (2 months), feminine
napkins (3 months), maps, matches, lighters, tools, batteries, changes of clothing,
toothpaste, toothbrushes, soaps, pens, notepads, games that require no batteries
(chess, checkers, dominoes etc), lots of batteries, chargers, cash, WD-40,
oils, reading glasses, knives, children's books, cleavers, candles, Thermos
flask,
utility gloves, dust masks and a few other items.
All important documents have been copied (2 copies each) with a copy kept in
the BOB. Soft copies are also kept on a flash drive, as well as on CDs. Our
preps, even though modest and woefully lacking, have taken us almost three
years to stockpile--the same time I have been a SurvivalBlog reader.
HOBBIES: Shooting, gardening, reading, out-door activities with the kids, hunting,
photography, sewing.
BACKGROUND:
Both of us were born and raised Christians in the Caribbean. Don't wear our
religion on our sleeves. Live in an area that is fairly 'family-friendly' with
many parks, schools, playgrounds and other green spaces in every direction.
Our children are happy and healthy.
We are currently looking for land to buy within 20-40 miles of our present
location. Building our dream home/retreat will be the next big project of our
lives.
Our country is experiencing an economic boom with 13 continuous years of growth,
due to abundant hydrocarbons. Headline inflation is over 13% and growing. Food
inflation is 25-40%.
Thrift and proper planning allows us to prep, while others who earn much more
than we do can't seem to make their monthly pay cheques last more than three
weeks. We eat out only once (or in a good month—twice) per month, while
adding two or three cans to our stockpile per grocery visit. We scour the sales,
visit thrift stores, and attend garage sales.
We are trying to prepare for the upcoming inevitable changes and seek to be
self-reliant. The country has had a military uprising in 1970, and an attempted
coup in 1990 that left many dead; several buildings in the capital city burnt
to the ground and widespread looting, curfews, criminal activity, even by law
enforcement and military personnel. Due to predatory, arcane, colonial laws
against individual rights to own and bear arms we own no firearms yet.
He was an active member of a local rifle club for years, learning and shooting
pistols (.22, .38 and 9mm) on the 25m range twice a week.
Wife and son, 12, now learning to shoot the pistol. They like it. The air rifle
heavy for them. If she applies for her own, then we'd buy a smaller air rifle
that is comfortable for both wife and son.
Why did you choose your location?
Area close to an airport, golf course, mall, hills, rivers, many farms, schools,
rapid public transportation system. Good roads, farmers market, many green
spaces, several middle class communities, great for small, medium businesses.
Good hunting on state lands close by. Three industrial estates. National disaster
planning authority's head office is in the area. They don't provide any tangible
pre-disaster help though; just information leaflets. Their methods are reactive,
bureaucratic and slow. They don't partner meaningfully with the public.
What are the drawbacks to the region?
Violent crime can be a serious factor, as throughout most of the island. Close-by
hills prone to forest fires during dry season. Nearest fire station has only
one tender and is approximately 10 minutes away. Recently, minor flooding has
been an issue.
Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
No one. We'll have to be self sufficient. But next door neighbors, a retired
couple will be mutually useful. He has a ton load of tools, practical skills & know
how. She an avid kitchen gardener, wine maker, cook.
We also have a written plan-–should home get too sticky--with evacuation
to relatives with 3 good rural retreats, in 3 different directions. Due to
our modest preps, we won't be a burden to them initially. But should the situation
persist into months, then we'd have to get creative.
How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Three to six weeks. Or longer.
What is your worst case scenario?
Category five hurricane followed by flood, then crime surge, which may include
bold, violent, daytime home invasions by gangs. Aviation accident, with clogged
highways and main roads. No electricity, water. Groceries, pharmacies closed,
and thence looting. Police confiscating legit gun owners' weapons (which is
their counterintuitive policy during certain types of emergencies), while leaving
criminals armed. Foreign forces arrive to 'help' (steal, rape, kill, plunder).
What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Observing the events of attempted coup in my country. Also, seeing and reading
of the horrors experienced by those unprepared folks in Louisiana during Katrina,
and the government's (non)action that made a bad situation hellish.
I never want my family to stand in line for food, water, shelter, medical care
or rescue. Nor to be at the mercy of others, like waiting for NGOs, government
agencies to help us.
One can observe other events around the globe that create refugees in their
own communities. Such as Myanmar cyclone that killed over 60,000 and it's aftermath.
Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica are perennially ravaged by hurricanes. [As of this writing
in late 2008.]
What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve if
you had the opportunity?
Houses are too close. Not enough land between. Difficult to defend against
three or more armed, determined intruders.
What are your long term goals?
Live a wholesome, productive Christian life that best prepares us to cope with
any problems that will arise. Allow our children to learn through observing
us consistently making the right choices, supported by the right actions in
every situation encountered. Learn and practice regularly, new useful survival
skills. Ensure our children survive and thrive in this unpredictable world.
Buy land and house on one of the picturesque mountains in the area.
Get several battle rifles, pistols, shotguns and several thousand rounds of
ammo. Train with them regularly.
Enough land (5 acres +) to grow food, raise livestock (chickens, ducks, goats,
dogs, cats, rabbits, fish), build shooting range and build dream home with
additional buildings for a small shared community of like minded moral, ethical
families and individuals.
Most of our friends are woefully unprepared (we were there only three years
ago) and discreet enquiries confirm this. We hope through gentle reason, logic
and moral suasion to help some take their first steps in family preparedness.
No one was present to help us when we began almost three years ago, and most
of what we learned came from SurvivalBlog. For this, we are eternally grateful
to you and your contributors.
JWR Recommendations: As your budget allows, buy a small solar charger
for your AA and AAA NiMH batteries. In the short term--while you are waiting
for the slow-moving wheels of bureaucracy to turn,--you
should
acquire
high-power,
large
bore air rifles (such as the Quackenbush
.308) for each teen and adult family
member.Also buy
a couple of real (not flimsy "decorator") sharpened swords (such
as Cold
Steel Warrior series Katanas or Wakazashis), and couple of 26.5mm
flare pistols
for "boating
emergencies", with a
large assortment of flares. Get plenty of parachute flares for illumination
and either "meteor"
or "cluster" type flares for dissuading any would-be "Pirates
of the Caribbean."
When you build you new home, pick out a parcel of land with advantageous
(defendable) terrain, and plan for security measures throughout the design
process. Ditto for energy and water self-sufficiency. Some key design points
to consider: Masonry construction, minimally-sized
extra-thick plexiglas windows (with bars), all entries accessed via very
stout steel doors (with two extra hinges, set in steel frames that are securely
bolted deep into the masonry with numerous
large diameter bolts). All these features could easily be
explained
as "hurricane-proof"
architecture.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Three Letters Re: Family Food Security for a Recession or Depression »
Two Letters Re: Mr. Romeo's Retreat Owner Profile
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I read Mr. Romeo's retreat plans, and I would like to add
a couple of things to his preparations list. The one glaring omission
I see in
his list is a lack
of HF communications
gear. VHF radios
are line of sight communications, which is great if you're planning on
staying within range of the coast. If he plans
on heading out to deeper waters though, HF gear becomes a lifeline to
Pacific maritime nets, weather information, and other useful resources.
Even if
he doesn't plan on transmitting, an HF receiver would allow him to listen
to
shortwave broadcasts. Radio Australia and Radio New Zealand broadcast
to the Pacific
almost around the clock, as well as other world services. I would think
he could even tune into a lot of American medium wave AM stations
at night as these radio waves carry well over water.
I think his case might be one of the few where an upgrade to a .50 caliber
[BMG] rifle might be warranted as well. If the coasts of East Africa
are any guide, the high seas could be an extremely dangerous place to
be
after a major
disruption. The 50 caliber would make his a vessel that most pirates
wouldn't want to bother with.
Just my $.02 worth, adjusted for inflation. Keep up the great work! -
Tim in Baltimore
Hello,
Thanks for all you do: I read your recent advice to a mariner to buy
several parachute flares if they are within his budget. At ~$70 USD per flare
that's a bit
steep when compared to buying a east-bloc (mine's Polish,) 26.5mm
flare gun as seen here for $30. These flare guns are not considered deadly
weapons by the BATFE, so there is no restriction on their shipment by mail.
Furthermore, a
box of 10 Czech army surplus white parachute flares will run $40. [Although
they don't reach the same altitude and are not as bright as the ones that JWR
suggested,] this would allow anyone to have 10 flares for the price of one.
Multiple colors are also available.
For full disclosure, I have no connection to the "Ammo to Go" company
other than being a regular customer of theirs who is quite happy with the service
and their prices, and I recommend them to friends. BTW, I recently got 20 rounds
of AP ammo for my 8x57mm Mauser--something that is nearly impossible to find
elsewhere!) Keep on rocking in the free world! - Eminence Frontman
JWR Adds: I also own a 26.5mm flare pistol, and recommend
them. Mine is a Bundeswehr surplus P2A1, manufactured by Heckler und
Koch (HK). I should also mention that there are chamber adapters made by several
companies
that allow US-standard 12 gauge nautical flares to be fired in 26.5mm flare
pistols. One manufacturer of these adapters that I recommend is Tactical
Innovations. And, BTW, the same company makes excellent milled aluminum
25-round magazines for Ruger 10/22 rimfire rifles. My family has extensively
tested
one of these
magazines here at the Rawles
Ranch and found that they are very reliable and
trouble-free. It might be wise to order a few of these magazines before the
upcoming election.
Any new ban on full capacity magazines will sure cause prices to triple overnight.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes from JWR: »
Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. Romeo
Retreat: Live-aboard 30-Foot Sailboat
Age: One male 34 years old
Background: Grew up in small town next to Vandenberg Air Force Base, watching
missiles being launched and sometimes blown up ["flight terminated"]
over the ocean. I always knew that seeing one missile being launched meant "test"
and that two or more mean "imminent death". Grew up with most "toys" being
bought at army surplus stores. My brother and I were the only kids who when
we played "war" dressed
in full army gear, complete with combat boots, helmet with outer cloth cover
stuffed with branches, belt with two canteens, belt back pack, shovel, ammo
cases,
full camo clothes...the list goes on and on.
I moved to a southern California
harbor 40 miles from Santa Cruz Island about two
years ago to be closer to work (and distance myself from the nuke magnet--Vandenberg
AFB).
I have been getting everything on the boat ship shape for last two years.
I have also been buying survival gear suited for an ocean retreat WTSHTF.
Annual Income: Was $46,000 a year until I got laid off three months ago.
Investments: So far 30 grams Pamp Suisse bullion, survival gear, food stores
Present Home: 30 foot Catalina Sloop sailboat that was but in the 1970s.
I have upgraded the rear stern rails to ones with incorporated rear seats,
repaired
both sails, replaced the lifelines, replaced all essential lighting with
solar powered LED lighting and have kerosene backup lighting in every berth.
I also
have solar powered exterior lighting.
For entertainment I have an XPower solar power pack that will charge my Creative
Zen and portable DVD player starting from dead batteries with a one day charge
on the power pack. That gives me 3-4 hours of DVDs and 11-12 hours of MP3 music
a
day, every
day [for pennies in the lifetime cost of the system]. I have spare new batteries
for all three units in the boat. Since I live aboard I am tax exempt and only
pay $45 USD every two years for craft registration. I also have to pay $20
USD once a year to have harbor patrol give me a live aboard safety inspection.
Insurance is $400 a year.
Vehicles: I have a 2005 Tank Urban Sporty 150cc scooter made out of chineseum
and a 1999 Honda civic LEV (low emissions vehicle), they cost about $120 USD
a year for registration and about $600 a year to insure with the minimum required
by law. The scooter gets about 60-to 80 mpg and the Civic gets 30-38 mpg but
I mostly ride the scooter.
Firearms: Winchester 12 gauge semi auto with 300+ rounds
of birdshot (also have bandoleer that holds 50 rounds). Compound bow and
arrows. Flare gun and 10 flares. About 60 yards cheap floating rope. (This
is a defensive weapon) to foul the props of any would be attacking boats Just
cut it into 10 foot strips and throw into water. I also have a machete, an
axe, a Blackie Collins design Gerber clip lock serrated knife as well as about
30 other (various) knives.
Gardens/Orchards/Food source: What's the biggest highway in the world that
is full of food? The ocean, it is also the biggest moat in the world.
Property Tax: None.
Communications: VHF radio handheld and onboard units for emergency use, cell
phone for domestic calls.
Food Storage: 50 pounds of rice, large supply of canned ham, large supply of
canned food, I have also stored a lot of extra salt and cooking oil onboard
for bartering purposes. I have room to store 20 gallons water built into the
boat and have room for about 50 more gallons in storage.
Fuel Storage: 20 gallon tank built into the boat, five gallon tank in the dinghy
and 5-1 gallon tanks under the cockpit seats.
Survival gear: Propane barbeque with extra canisters of LP,
PUR Survivor 06-LL Desalinator Watermaker, 400 count 65 mg potassium iodide
tablets sealed in
factory bottles,
solar lighting
inside and out, solar fan that I made that works day and night.
Two fishing poles and assorted fishing tackle, Sailrite lsz-1 sail and canvas
sewing machine with heavy duty stainless steel hand crank for use offshore.
And of course the assorted tools needed to keep the boat working.
Worst Case Scenario: Economic collapse, nuclear war, Waterworld, tsunami,
civil unrest, corrupt government declaring martial law, you name it. I am
just a
power cord and four dock lines from New Zealand via Hawaii or Baja California
to Mexico.
The thin veneer that holds "civilized" society from becoming something
like the Rodney King riots is not as thick as you might think. Like a castle
with a large moat, like an island or an oil rig is how I plan to bug out.
Since owning
the sailboat I have traveled over 400 miles in five trips to the islands and
in that time I've used perhaps one gallon of gas.
Blow ships are the cat's meow when it comes to efficiency. Top sailing speed
(so far) 9.4 knots under full main and 120% jib.
JWR's Recommends: Increase your food storage! Buy as much
as can possibly fit in the space available. You should also increase your solar
charging capacity so that you
can keep
your
deep cycle
batteries
(for VHF
radio, navigation, and cell phone charging, et cetera) topped off, even without
running your auxiliary engine.
For defense, first buy 50 rifled slugs and at least 100
buckshot 12 gauge shells (000 is the best pellet size for shipboard defense.)
You should then add a scoped stainless steel .308 or .30-06 bolt action rifle
for
"stand-off"
self
defense
against
pirates. (A stainless
steel Browning A-Bolt with
a half dozen spare magazines would be ideal. Second choice would be a Winchester
Model 70 Classic Stainless.)
Buy at least 500 rounds of .30 caliber ammunition--a mix of
AP, ball
(FMJ), and soft nose. BTW, it
is too
bad
that
you
can't buy tracer
ammo
in
California. If
you lay down accurate fire with AP ammo at 450 yards, pirates will
go
find someone
else to
pick on!
I also
recommend
that
you
add an intrusion
detection system to your deck, to alert you if anyone attempts to
board your sailboat when you are berthed or anchored at night. Also, if your
budget allows, buy at least six large white
parachute flares, so that you
can engage targets with
your rifle
at night.
And if you can afford it, also get a headset-type night vision monocular,
such as
an
AN/PVS-7B. Get firearms and medical training as soon as you can afford them.
(Low-cost training is available from the American
Red Cross, the Appleseed
Program, and the WRSA.)
Buy a spare membrane and any other key spare parts for your desalinator. I
recommend that you get as much blue water sailing experience as possible Since
you've
been
laid
off,
it could be a great opportunity. You might
try
networking
to find
a trans-pac yacht
crew/security position. (Check Craig's
List and CrewFile.com
for openings.)
« Three Letters Re: The Savvy Barterer |Main| Note from JWR: »
Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Dulce in Chile
70+ acre Chilean Retreat, plus a 1,500 acre cattle grazing permit.
Ages: 43 and 41, and one child age 3
Background: Family is from upstate New York, dairy farmers. I grew up in
NC, history major who went into the Army as an aviator. Spent time living,
travelling, and working in over 50 countries. Separated from the army as a
Major and went into investments. Retired to Chile in the 2000s.
Why Chile? - Chile is the best kept secret in the world. A strong democratic
country with five major political parties, Chile is very stable. Chile has
lived thru the tough times when a communist leaning government threw the country
into chaos, and a military government took control to restore things. Chile
has seen what social disorder can do to a country, and that memory influences
the country today. The country runs a budget surplus (Chile is the world's
largest producer of copper), has privatized social security accounts for each
citizen, uses its resources very conservatively, and has the lowest level of
poverty in Central and South America. Chile uses its budget surplus to fund
its social programs, and also has a large slush fund to weather any economic
storms. The privatized social security has made everyone a capitalist, even
the socialists, so irresponsible spending is not tolerated by the populace.
The climate of Chile varies, because the country is 4,500 kilometers long,
but only about 220 kilometers wide. The best description is Chile's climate
is "Baja to Alaska", a mirror image of the western US. I live in
the lakes district, which is the bread basket of Chile- a rolling hills farm
area with many lakes/ rivers, large farms, and few people. Lots of rain in
the winter and sun in the summer. Similar to Oregon or Washington. Chile only
has 15 million people. Chile’s main roads are toll roads- the country
bases its systems on a user tax. Why should an individual with no car/transport
be taxed for interstates? In Chile, the tolls support the roads, the taxes
are low. Local roads are not toll roads, just the interstates. It's a nice
system.
Annual Income: $10,000-$20,000. One can live well on $1,000 a month.
Investments: Gold and silver, outside the US.
Present Home: A 1,100 sq. ft. cabin. 2 bedroom, 1 bath. I took down a 60-year
old cabin board by board to reuse as much of the old wood as possible. Rebuilt
large post beam construction, very good insulation, wood stove heat, natural
gas cooking and hot water. Also have a large barn that includes three horse
stalls, hayloft, workshop/tack room and storage area. There is a woodshed/
laundry room
outside. Water is gravity-fed year-round from a reservoir above my cabin. Underground
pipes, so we have good water pressure. Electricity is buried cable- no power
lines are visible. The place is wired for a diesel generator.
Vehicles: 2001 Toyota Hilux 4x4, gas. Vehicle taxes are about $75 a year,
includes mandatory insurance. Vehicles require an road worthy inspection each
year- $26. Gas in Chile is expensive - Chile has no native oil or natural gas.
Fuel must be imported from Argentina, so gas is about $5 a gallon. Oil is also
expensive- about $26 for the cheapest oil change. Chile’s one weakness
is lack of fossil fuels.
Firearms: Mossberg 12 gauge, Winchester .44-40 lever-action made in 1898.
Chile has good gun laws. Each individual can register 2 or 3. You need to pass
a licensing course and register the weapons with the local army unit, but most
people don’t. Chile’s laws are much like the US used to be. If
you kill someone in self defense- no problem, no hassle. On your property,
no problem. Example: We had a good employee that it turns out the police had
been looking for. He had returned to his house one night and found some folks
trying to burn down his father’s barn. He tried to stop them and got
stabbed. Well, later that month he tracked down the attacker and shot him dead.
The Police said it was warranted, a form of self defense since the attacker
was a bad seed, they just wanted our employee to finish signing the paperwork/statement,
then they let him walk! Common sense in a civil system.
Gardens/Orchards: 30 producing cherry trees. Two apple, three plum, two pear,
one walnut. There is a very large avellano tree orchard. Multiple
new fruit trees planted. 1/2 acre garden growing onions, lettuce, carrots,
beets, corn, beans, cabbage, potatoes, pumpkin, goose-berry, red current, raspberries,
and strawberries. Oh, and trying grapes this year- hope to get some wine down
the road. Will build a greenhouse this summer to continue winter production.
Property tax: None. My property is too small. I love this country!
Pets/Livestock: One Dogo Argentino (great hunting dog), 2 horses. 40 head
of cattle. Will raise hogs
and bees for honey this summer.
Communications: Cell phone for emergency use, satellite direct TV, high speed
internet.
Food Storage: Hard plastic waterproof containers. Do not have a long term
supply built up yet. We usually have a few months on hand of apples, nuts when
we harvest. Rice. One reason I moved here was because you could be self supporting,
and we are in an agricultural area where we trade fence posts (I have a lot
of wood) for hay, and expect to do the same with foodstuffs if needed. We will
have chickens, and the property has plentiful wild boar and hares for hunting,
along with partridge and dove, and there are nice trout in the river 1 km away.
Fuel Storage: 55 gallon drums, 20 liter containers for chain oil and mixing
oil for the chainsaws.
Worst Case Scenario: The global depression takes away my English Premier
League soccer matches on Direct TV! No, Chile should be good no matter what
happens. Most folks still work hard with physical skills, are not spoiled,
and don’t feel entitled. I am blessed that my wife was the daughter of
a border policeman, her survival skills are much better than mine, and our
livelihood is based on firewood, not electricity, so we can do pretty well.
We only go to town once a week, could easily cut that down to once a month
or never if need be. We fill up gas once every two months, so our rural and
very healthy lifestyle is prepared for anything. And I can always ride my horses
to town or around the lake to trade with my neighbors.
Another benefit for the country of Chile is that the weather comes from the
South Pacific- the closet country to us that direction is New Zealand. Chile
is not on any prominent wind streams that could bring nuclear or biological
fallout. Chile has no real threats or enemies and the country has the best
trained military in Central or South America (Not a large military, but Chile
still has a mandatory draft and trains 200,000 citizens each year for a 12
or 18 month service. Chile’s military heritage is Prussian and since
everyone serves at some point, the populace is well disciplined compared to
most nations). Chile is bordered on the north by the driest desert in the world,
on the east by the Andes, the Antarctic on the south and the pacific ocean
on the west, so Chile is very well defended against entry from disease/plague/etc.
Come to Chile! Life is good!
« Letter Re: Buying Just One Gun? |Main| Note from JWR: »
Retreat Owner Profile--Mr. & Mrs. Tico in Costa Rica
Present home : Farm in Northern Costa Rica
Ages : 54 & 57
Two sons 30 & 32, who are living in North Carolina.
Income $50,000 USD/year secure (many diverse overseas investments) and a tourism
business
currently at $120,000 or so per year ( I own a botanical garden) .
Additional income from fruit groves and tilapia ponds $15,000/year.
Profession : Gunsmith, nursery grower, waterscaper, fish farmer .
Vehicles : Two 1970s Toyota Land Cruiser BJ40's with 2.4 diesel engines, kept
in top-notch condition and a 2 cycle Ez-Go golf cart set up [with tires and suspension]
for
all terrain.
Firearms : 2 Mossberg Maverick 8 shot 12 gauge shotguns (best pump gun ever
made, never saw many broken in my 30 years of repair work ), Stainless Ruger
10/22,
Stainless
.223
bolt action in a custom bullpup stock, 2 Security Six 357 4-inch Rugers.
Ammo. 2,500 of each caliber and have reloading equipment-supplies.
Fuel : 235 gallons of diesel and 55 gallons of premium (stabilized)
Water : Gravity fed springs and 18,000 gallons of storage tanks, year round river,
roof water capture system, 25 foot deep well
Improvements : 4,800 square foot main house, all high efficiency lighting and
appliances.
Full wood and metal working shop.
Canning room, meat grinders, corn grinders, shrink wrappers, dehydrator etc.
One bedroom cabin with full kitchen near the main gate.
Rancho (like a tiki hut) seats 30 with a huge concrete smoker / barbeque and
baking
oven.
Another cabin with views down to the river and pasture below.
These structures are located so armed men can take out anyone entering the farm
with ease. Big Iron gate out front surrounded by Bougainvillea (thorny flowering
shrub-vines.)
Property tax: $90/year (Sorry guys, you're paying for imperialism)
Gardens: extensive. One of the largest collections of exotic fruit and vegetables
anywhere.
Livestock. 1,000 lbs of Tilapia and 500 lbs of Pacu at any given time. Five Goats. (2
milk goats, 3 goats for slaughter), 15 chickens at all times and 4 egg laying
hens.
6
rabbits (so far..LOL)
Cattle are not sustainable. Too big to store the meat and use way too much water
and acreage per head. I have one good trail horse.
There's plenty of wild game and fish here but no need in harvesting.We all have
livestock and many folks have ponds
Dogs: 2 American bull dogs that will shred anything I tell them to.
Security : Various cameras and motion detectors throughout the property with
an early warning to me before the sirens alert. Its a full perimeter system with
indicators so I can know precisely where the target(s) are.It has full battery
back up
Food storage: Maybe one year for us and the critters but not really necessary
here.
Communication : Cell phones, full intercoms throughout the farm.
Hobbies : Taking care of my exotic plant collection and building everything I
need.
Next project. We have good, strong year round wind here, so I am working with
the
boys
from Southwest on setting up a Skystream
3.7 [grid-tied wind generator]. Once
that
is
done
I'm
doing
an
underground walk in freezer.
Background : Grew up in semi-literate southwestern Virginia, escaped 25 years
ago
to semi-literate rural Miami. I got tired of the political lies and (designed)
ignorance
of the
average American voter and bailed to a truly free country that has no Nazis running
it
or nuclear weapons pointed at it. This is the most mellow, real place I have
ever experienced. It's like Fiji without being so remote. I first came here in
1986 for an orchid show and I knew this was my escape spot.18 years
later I sold everything I had, put my money in real currencies, and took off!
A one way trip. Pura Vida! (pure life)
Side note : When living in any Latin American country the rules are [essentially]
the
same
as up there [in the US]. Even Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala are no problem
provided
you
find the right spot and immerse yourself into the culture.
Stay far, far away from large towns and beaches. Get in the mountains
in a small
farming community. Where I live there is very little poverty since everyone
has a chunk of land and most are craftsman and farmers. There are many Costa
Rican
and South American medical professionals here and many are retired but own farmacias and
even make house calls! My neighbor is a cardiovascular surgeon with a huge macadamia
farm.
Another plus down here is there is no need for heat or air conditioning, and
nearly
all
of
the
water systems are gravity fed. No need for electric!
Fish, chicken, rabbits ( small meals) and fruits and veggies. No refrigerator
required.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Notes from JWR »
After 10 Years--Some Observations and Lessons Learned by a Y2K-Era Prepper
It was June, 1998. Y2K was
a salient topic of conversation. It got my attention. When the electricity
went off and there would be no water to drink, and no
fuel to move food to the JIT grocery
stores, I could see things getting very ugly. I had been willing to fight
for this nation as a member of the US Army.
Now it was time to fight for my household. I bought a Springfield Armory
M1A. I bought a safe to store it in. I bought another M1A (for
the spousal unit of course!) I bought ammo. Lots of it. I bought gear. I
bought food.
I became awakened to the idea of being self-reliant.
That was 10 years ago. Y2K didn’t cause a global melt down. (Although
I have a friend in the service that sat in a command bunker holding his breath
at Y2K – the
government didn’t know what was going to occur.) I
have not had to live through or endure Hurricane
Katrina. No participation
in the 9/11 attacks.
In fact, I can’t claim a campaign ribbon for any
disasters. Am I upset or sorry that I have changed my life to follow a path
of self-reliance? Most definitely, absolutely not!
Let me share with you the good and the bad of what I have done in the last
ten years. So often, people new to self-reliance are like ants at the foot
of a mountain staring up with their head touching their back wondering how
in the world they will ever be able to replace modern society and be able to
take care of themselves WTSHTF.
Well, truth be told, you can’t do it
overnight unless you’re Warren Buffet. I am walking, talking living proof,
however, that you can make significant progress. Let me show you!
In order to show you that you do indeed have cause for hope, let me share
a
few of my screw-ups. How about the initial purchases I made
while in a state of “marked concern” when I became “self
aware” with
regard to self – reliance. The money I invested in self-reliance was
my spousal unit’s “down payment on a house”. Do you think
this view of “my nest” versus “the world may end” led
to some intense “discussions”? You bet your last dog flea it did.
For much of the intervening 10 years I have been the one prepping while my
wife harbored a severe grudge against the entire topic because I spent our
money for the house down payment on crazy self-reliance materials. A grade
of “F” to
me for consensus building. She is just beginning to come around in the last
two years. Poster child example of a bucket of wet sand. (If two guys fight,
they belt each other like two crazed wolverines. Eventually they realize they
were stupid for fighting, shake hands, forgive and are back to being friends.
Kinda like a cow urinating on a big flat rock – big splash and splatters,
but it dries up pretty quickly. Get in an argument with a gal and it is like
pouring water into
a bucket of sand – the surface may dry after a bit, but it stays wet
down in that bucket for a long time.)
I very religiously squirreled away Gillette Atra razors because that is what
I used each day. The handle that you click onto the blade cartridge gave up
the ghost after many years of faithful service. The stores don’t sell
them anymore! Now I have three dozen packs of five cartridges with no way to
use them to shave! Fortunately, I did find a second/spare handle in my stores
and
will
be able to use them up. Did I re-learn some valuable lessons? You bet!
Two is one, and one is none.
You need to see what you have (inventories!)
Store what you Eat/use – I did great on the cartridges, but forgot
spare handles!
In the run-up to Y2K I bought a dozen 6 volt golf cart batteries to be able to
set-up some kind of power system in the house. Great intent. No photovoltaic
panels No wiring until last year. They have been “stored” sitting
on pallets in a friends storage building for 9 years because I have not been
able to get
to the replacement power system yet. I could have used that money for a higher
priority item.
The spousal unit and I built our home last year. We did many things very right.
Some learning experiences occurred, however. Maybe chief amongst them is my
underestimation of the massiveness of the size of this endeavor! I joke with
friends about not being free from the To Do list to be able to get into trouble
for at least five years! Fix the septic pond berms. Sort out the “scrap” lumber.
Put a deck on the back of the house so the [building] code Nazis will give
us the permanent occupancy permit. Fix the leaking pressure tank in the basement.
Fix the DR
mower. Mow. Clear 30 trees dropped to get the septic pond clearance (not done
with that one yet). Cut and split and stack firewood. The list goes on. Don’t
get me wrong – I would not trade my homestead back for city living for
anything. Was I able to foresee the "second & third order effects” of
the change to a country homestead? Nope. Not even having read Backwoods Home
magazine for 8 years. Thank God I listened to my in-laws and did not try
to finish the upstairs interior construction while living downstairs!
Prior to Y2K I tried very hard to create a group. It failed in many ways. Had
Y2K caused the feared problems, we would have been road kill. Okay, we would
have been the third or fourth critter on the highway run over by life, but
we were
nowhere near ready to deal with WTSHTF/TEOTWAWKI.
The Yuppie Queen and her husband went right back to spoiling their princess/daughter,
buying Jaguars, clothes,
and hair implants. You know - living the typical American city life. The other
couple moved out onto 20 acres in a very rural county and raise goats and chickens.
I am on 20+ acres and moving in a self-reliant direction. Two out of three
ain’t
bad!
I endured the gauntlet of multiple careers trying to find a fit for who I am.
Thankfully, my spousal unit was trained well by her farmer parents. We never
carried any debt other than the mortgage. One thing we did do smart was under-buy
on our home with a condo (sixplex) in town. No car payments. No credit card
payments. We kept 3-6 months of expenses in savings. One business venture was
as a franchisee for Idiotstate. Massive mistake. Four years with no income
for me and a net loss of $60,000 overall. What preps could you get done with
an
extra $60,000? I am certainly not happy I put one in the “L” column.
I am not proud of failing. I am proud of jumping into the fight and giving
it my 110%. As they used to tell me in the military, “What an opportunity
for character building!” Learning lesson for me was that I should never
have stopped Soldiering. I simply have green blood. I have returned to the
Army by working as a tactical/leadership contractor at a nearby Fort and getting
reappointed into the National Guard. Will a deployment take me away from directly
protecting The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU)? Yes. Does staying employed doing
what God designed me to do mean we’ll have a steady income? Likely. Does
a pension check from age 65 on make us better able to care for ourselves? You
betcha. The world may not disintegrate in 30 days. It may actually remain fairly
normal. One has to prepare for that contingency as well.
By now you have to be thinking “What a knothead! This guy couldn’t
find his fourth point of contact if you put one hand on a cheek!” Well,
not so fast there Skippy! I have a thing or two that should go in the “W” column.
I should give you a massive dose of hope! Let me describe to you in a quick
overview where I have come to in my 10 year quest to become more self-reliant.
First, about our home…
Home
Your home is your castle, right? Well mine actually kinda is. It sets on a
chunk of land that is 20+ acres. The terrain is rolling and 95% wooded. It
butts up against a cemetery to the north, a 900+ acre conservation area to
the south, a river to the west, and a section line to the east. The home is
an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF)
structure. The walls are 1” of concrete
fake rock veneer, 2.5” of foam, 8” of reinforced concrete, 2.5” of
foam, 5/8” of sheetrock. It is “round”, being made up of
12 wall sections each 8 feet in width. Two stories with a basement. About
1,800 square feet of living space. (2,700 with the basement, however, that
area is not finished yet.) Geothermal heating/cooling and a soapstone wood
stove.
Metal roof. No carpeting – oak floors and tile. The wellhead
is inside the home so I don’t have to worry about winter breakdowns or freeze-ups,
nor losing access WTSHTF. We are running at top speed towards the 20% equity
checkpoint in order to get rid of the bankster-invented Private Mortgage Insurance
(PMI) extortion racket. (We have a credit rating of 804, so the “risk” the
bank incurs by carrying our note is a freaking joke!). It suits our lifestyle
very,
very
well. Our intent was to have a very low maintenance home. Having lived here
one year in two more weeks, it looks like we have a very big check mark in
the “W” column. More details on the design/floor plan in a future
article!
Weapons & Training
We have an M1A set-up for combat, and one set up for long-range precision work.
The Glock 21
[.45 ACP] is the base pistol for the household, with one for each of us and
a G30 [compact Glock .45 ACP] as back-up. The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU) doesn’t
carry a rifle or carbine, just the pistol. (More on that later.) Training for
both of us
includes Defensive
Handgun 1 and Team Tactics with Clint and Heidi Smith at Thunder Ranch. I have
also had General Purpose, Urban, and Precision Rifle with Clint. I completed
a special symposium at Gunsite (pistol, rifle, shotgun, carbine). I am an NRA Certified
pistol, rifle, and home defense instructor. I have several other weapon platforms
as a “Dan Fong” kind of guy. The two rifles with
accoutrements, and the four pistols with same were certainly not cheap. Nor
was the training. I do, however, know how to properly employ them now.
Food & Supplies
The spousal unit & I could stretch the on-hand food to cover two years.
Canned freeze dried is 45% of it, bulk buckets is 45%, and “normal use” food
is the last 10%. We have built a rolling rack set of shelves for the 3rd part
to ease rotation of the canned goods with each grocery store trip. No, I haven’t
found the secret spy decoder ring sequence on how to rotate the bulk and freeze-dried
stuff with our normal, both of us work, lifestyle. The sticking point for this
area I see is that WTSHTF, Mom & Dad in-law, Sister-in-law, Brother-in-law
with wife and two princesses (one with hubby), and my Mom & her husband
will
show up on our doorstep. That makes for an even dozen mouths to fee
Security
Now for a bit more detail. First topic up, IAW my military training, is Security.
The base of everything here is God. I have chosen to bend my knee to Jesus
Christ as my Lord and Savior. I can amass all the weapons, ammo, food and “stuff” you
can imagine, but He is the one ultimately in charge. I am charged to be a prudent
steward of His possessions - my family, property, vehicles, food, weapons,
ammo, etc.. I am definitely striving to be the ant storing things for the winter.
If you ain’t right in this area, it will really matter in eternity.
Part of your security is weapons. There are sheeple, wolves, and sheepdogs.
I am definitely in the 3rd category. In today’s world your “teeth” are
your firearms. I plan from a Boston T. Party paradigm of having a battle rifle.
Hence, the M1A. Were I starting over today, I would likely go with a FAL, but
now "I will dance with the one that brung me". Or maybe just accept the brilliance
of the M1
Garand at $620 delivered to your doorstep from the Civilian Marksmanship
Program (CMP).
I do have two of these. Hard to argue with .30-06 ball. I renovate Mausers
as my hobby and so have a .35 WAI scout rifle. A second one in the
more common 7.62x51 chambering is in work now. I laos have a Mossberg 835 [riotgun],
two Ruger 10/22s (one blued, one stainless), Ruger MKII stainless .22 LR pistol,
S&W
625 pistol in .45 ACP/.45
Auto Rim, a few Enfields, and a couple of Mosin-Nagants round out the field.
Let me detail for you the path to get to the Glocks. I think it may save you
some of your money. I received a Colt Gold Cup [M1911]
.45 ACP pistol from my Dad as a graduation gift from the Hudson Home For Boys
[aka USMA West Point].
Great
intent. A weapon as a gift – how can you ever be wrong in doing this?!
However, a terrible choice as a combat weapon. The Gold Cup is a target pistol.
Tight
tolerances.
Feeds only hardball, and that can be tenuous proposition. I carried it on the
East-West German border leading patrols. The rear sight broke twice. The front
sight shot off once and tore off twice. It was a jammomatic. I hated it. Sold
it to a guy that wanted to target shoot.
Took that money and bought a stainless Ruger P90DC. Sack of hammers tough.
always goes bang when you pull the trigger. Inexpensive as far as handguns
go. After some marked de-horning, you could even make it run in a fight without
shredding you at the same time. One marked problem. Two [different weight]
trigger pulls [for first round double action versus subsequent round single
action.]. This started to teach me to throw the muzzle down as I pulled the
trigger in
double
action.
This nasty habit caused a problem when you were firing the 2nd through X rounds,
as now it operates as a single action. TLSU had a heck of a time with it at
Thunder Ranch. Clint loaned her his G21. No more trigger problems.
Still bowing at the altar of the 1911, I bought a Kimber Compact to carry instead
of the Ruger. (I still have the Ruger – it is still “the gun that
my Dad gave me” and no one buys the P90 used for anywhere near it’s
initial cost, so I can’t sell it without taking a significant bath on
it.) The Kimber was going well. Then I got a little too aggressive at slamming
magazines home in the shortened grip and jammed it. Then the recoil rod unscrewed
itself during an IPSC run
and seized the gun while messing up the trigger. Off to Kimber. Free warranty
work and 48 hours without my self-defense pistol.
Now I have no confidence in the pistol. I Loc-Tite’d the recoil rod
and staked it so it wouldn’t come undone again. Then I sold it.
Glocks cost roughly one-half of what a Kimber does. Crummy factory sights,
but all my pistols wear tritium anyway. No ambidextrous safety required. My
short fingers are
mated to big palms, so I can handle the grip. TLSU has been trained on the
Glock Model 21 (G21). It ain’t an issue of psychological derangement
like many guys get about their 1911/Glock/H&K/Springfield, but it is a
comfortable and working relationship between Glock & I. I have a G21 and
a G30 for both of us. They always go bang accurately and they have never rusted.
I am
not
pleased
with Gaston [Glock]’s refusal to take responsibility for any mistakes
they make in manufacturing. No problems with the G21 however. A pistol is what
you
use
to fight your way back to your rifle, which you shouldn’t have laid down
in the first place.
M1As hit my safe because it is what I knew from the service. They also fire
a full power cartridge, 7.62x51. It makes cover into concealment. I don’t
have the other 10 guys in an infantry squad fighting with me so I can maneuver
under their covering fire. I have to hit the bad guy with a powerful blow once
and move on to the next wolf/bad guy. Mouse guns firing rabbit rounds don’t
scratch that itch for me. To each his own. My two are old enough to have USGI
parts and good quality control. Here are the mods I made to my “combat” M1A.
Maybe they will help you:
Krylon paint job to disrupt the "big black stick" look
M60 [padded] sling
Front sight filed down so that zero is achieved with the rear sight bottomed
out
Handguard ventilated
National Match trigger group, barrel, and sights (came as a “Loaded” package
from Springfield)
Rear aperture drilled out to make it a ghost ring
Skate board tape on slick metal butt plate
For the “Surgical” M1A (it shoots1/2 minute when I do my part):
National Match loaded package
Trigger assembly additionally tuned at factory
Unitized gas system
Factory bedded
Stainless barrel
Swan rings and QD bases
Leupold M3 3.5-10x40 scope
Handmade leather cheekrest
Other weapons - I have two M1
Garands. Both were bought from the CMP. One
is stored offsite with a "Bug-In Bag" (BIB). One is a Danish return, less
wood, that I re-stocked. TLSU has claimed this one as hers. Ammo from the CMP
is
cheaper
than any
other cartridge out there, save the communist surplus stuff. An M1917 Enfield
(also
from CMP) is in the safe, along with a 2A, a #3, and a #4. A VZ24 is stored
offsite. The first Mauser I renovated is sitting there as an additional .30-06
with a Trijicon 3-9x40 tritium-lit scope. A Remington 700 with Leupold VX-II
scope is in the safe, but likely to be sold soon. A Mosin-Nagant (M44 or
M38) ride in each vehicle.
I formerly had [Ruger] Mini-30s. I could never find any 20 or 30 round magazines
that would function reliably. I sold them and got SKS carbines. When I quit
holding out
for TLSU to become a Warrior and carry one, I sold them off to fund other
toys. I am pondering the purchase of an AK folder because it is a sack of
hammers
tough and can be transported discretely. I don’t know if I have ever
come out on the positive side when selling a gun. Now I have to re-buy an
AR-15 to have one for training purposes. The SKSs could be useful for arming
the
family showing up on your doorstep. Hindsight being 20/20, I would caution
against selling any gun you buy. (The 700 mentioned above is a 2nd precision
weapon and I have no AK to train with. Still deciding.)
Ammo is required to feed these weapons. I have over 10,000 rounds of 7.62x51.
I have over 10,000 rounds of .22 LR. No, I don’t think these amounts
are enough. Now that the costs of ammo have risen to heart stopping levels,
I really don’t feel like I bought enough in the past!
I need to plus up the quantities/smatterings of other cartridges that I have
like .30-30 Winchester, .270 Winchester,
.40 S&W.
The location of my home is the best I could get balancing competing requirements.
It is as far from the city as we can get and still stomach the drive to work.
It is between two major line of drift corridors – 12 miles to the major
one, 8 miles to the secondary one. It is bordered by neighbors on only one
side. The folks in the cemetery don’t say much. The critters in the
wildlife area are more vocal - the ducks, turkeys, geese, hoot owls, loons,
coyotes
sound off regularly. We don’t mind. About 95% of the property is wooded.
A few hickory, lots of oak. walnut, (unfortunately) locust trees are all
there.
The local river comes out of it’s banks about every other year and
blocks our driveway for several days, but never comes near the house. The
German Shorthair
is long in the tooth for security, but she is there. A new pup is in the
pipeline.
I would feel a great deal more secure if the homestead was picked up and
dropped into Idaho or Alaska. It is about as good as we can do, though, staying
near
a major city so we can have decent paying jobs. There are some improvements
we can make though. I just bought a weather alert radio from Cabela’s
today. Tough to hear tornado sirens when you live miles away and have 1 foot
thick walls! We need a driveway monitor/alarm. Again, the superior insulation
of
the walls means we hear nothing outside. I can see the utility
of sandbags if things got really ugly. Some more land line communication
assets would be
useful. I think an AR-15 for training people would be useful, as would an
AK. Overall, I think we have done pretty well in the security arena.
Our Home
We started the 10 years in a condo. It was part of a six-plex set on a small
pond. I hate Homeowner’s Associations and their covenants! We could afford
the mortgage on one of our two paychecks. Good thing! I didn’t get a
paycheck for four years. We scraped by. Two years after re-entering the job
market we built our house. We worked on the plans for five years. Beware! Finding
a property piece and building a non-shoebox home on it is not for the feint
of
heart!
You effectively are funding the construction of a mini town. You build and
maintain mini roads (your driveway). You must build and maintain a mini sewage
plant (Your septic system/pond). You must build and maintain a mini water plant.
(Your well.) You must perform mowing and tree removal for the mini parks of
your town (Your “yard”/acreage). I will write a separate article
detailing our construction woes.
Let me highlight some of the self-reliant features of the house for you. We
did not want to spend a constant stream of Federal Reserve Notes [FRNs]on
maintenance. We used insulated concrete form (ICF) construction for the structural
strength
and the energy efficiency. The metal roof should outlast us. The geothermal
and
the
R-50 walls
of the
ICF are paying us back the initial investment in construction costs. We opted
for no carpeting due to the track in mud nature of the property, having a dog,
and me having allergies. Wood and tile floors don’t hold dirt like carpets
do. Less fire hazard as well. We used commercial steel doors for the exterior
and security-need spots. They have ASSA
[high security] locks. They have peepholes.
The basement has a 10’ square root cellar for the storage of canned produce
from the garden. It also has a safe room/shelter. 12” of concrete overhead.
The well head is enclosed in it. Land line telephone and power service into
it via buried lines. Food stored in it. DC wiring
in place to the attic for when we get to the photovoltaic [PV]
system. We also ran DC wires to each room in the house for the use of LED lighting
off of a battery system. The soapstone
wood
stove
augments the electrically driven geothermal. (In spite of several damaging
thunderstorms this past year, we have not lost power so far – great job
juice Coop!)
The stairwell was kicked out onto the W/NW of the house. This shields the house
from the hottest part of the day’s sunlight, and the coldest winter winds.
We made the stairwell an extra foot wide. What a huge nice difference that
foot makes to walking up and down each day, not to mention moving stuff up
or down them! The mud porch/entry was set up for coming in with muddy boots,
or for snow covered coats. We should have made it 1’ wider, as it can
be a little tight. The bench is great for donning/doffing boots. The tile is
easy to clean the muddy paw prints, human or canine, off of.
Windows were one of the few areas that caused some fireworks. TLSU wanted a
green house in order to take advantage of the great view of the property. I
wanted firing ports to defend against mutant zombie hordes. I am still hugely
uncomfortable with the nakedness the windows leave us with. Yes the view is
great, but what about when we experience incoming rounds, or more mundanely,
when someone comes out to the property while we are away from the house all
day at work and they help themselves to our stuff? Some relief is in sight,
however. We are pricing Shattergard vinyl film for the ground floor windows.
Things That are Still Need on the Home
The great thing about the R-50 ICF walls is that they are R-50 and pretty tough.
The bad thing is that they are R-50 and pretty tough. We can’t hear anything without
a door or window being open. Hence the just purchased weather alert radio for
us from Cabela’s this week. It is kind of eerie waking up at
0200 hours and having no idea if the thunderstorm is just a thunderstorm or
if it is a tornado. The television is useless when the rain is so heavy that
the dish won’t get a signal. With regard to 2-legged varmints, a driveway
MURS Alert
system is on the purchase list as we have had multiple invited guests show
up, beat on the front door, and have to walk around to the living room
windows to get our attention so they can be let inside. Okay for invited guests – certainly
too close for uninvited varmints!
The entry hallway was one of TLSU’s “must haves” in the house
layout. It has worked out well in terms of traffic flow and such. The security
door at the foot of the stairs is a tough choke point to deal with at 0500
in the dark. No light installed there means nothing is visible through the
peephole.
I will have to install a camera and/or light so I don’t open it to let
the dog out in the morning and get rushed by 2-legged varmints.
So far, the only commo needs are between myself and TLSU. When the sister-in-law,
brother-in-law, parents-in-law and my Mom show up and we start pulling
security, we will need to be able
to talk more. I have an old set of TA-312 [field telephone]s and wire for the
primary LP/OP,
but obviously will need more in this area. Just not a sexy/fun area to spend
FRNs on for a combat arms kinda guy, but I am working on the self-discipline
needed.
We did look ahead and sink the FRNs into running 12V wires in the home for
future installation of PV panels and batteries. Obviously things like the Shattergard
film, more food, more Band-aids, etc., are of a higher priority though. We
are working our tails off to reach the 20% equity mark to get rid of the PMI
extortion as well. I still have an ASSA lock to install on the shelter door,
and one to put into the basement door. Other projected door enhancements include
armor plates for the front, outside basement, shelter, and outside storage
doors. There just never seems to be enough $ to go around, does there?
The other major source of fireworks during the home design/build was on-demand
water heaters. Having taken a 30 minute hot shower with one in Germany for
5 marks while on an FTX, I well understand what a brilliant piece of technology
they are. TLSU, having never been outside of CONUS cannot give up on the electric
water heater. She still doesn’t believe that the electricity will ever
go out for more than an hour or two. Wouldn’t it be great to be able
to draw hot water at the kitchen sink, and take a hot shower from a propane
fired on-demand heater? She doesn’t get it yet. Obviously not something
to break up a marriage over. We really did very well on the whole house building
thing. The opposite of what everyone warned us about. I am pretty proud of
that performance!
Food
We started a garden this spring. So far, it is an endeavor run by TLSU. Spinach,
onions, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, beets, and some herbs. I have not been
able to convince her to expand the size. She wants to learn in steps and I
am the whacko that orders 100 seedlings at a time from the conservation department,
which then overwhelms us in the planting department. For example, the first
iteration of this tree-planting endeavor, we got them the Thursday before Easter
weekend. Friday night and all day Saturday we planted our buns off. TLSU was
indeed a great Trooper about it, planting right along with me. Sunday was spent
at church
and pigging out at family’s homes for Easter. Monday I had shoulder surgery
to grind off bone spurs and remove cartilage chips. Too much, too fast. But
at 7 FRNs per 12 seedlings, how can you argue? I have to admit though, that
after two years of the 100 seedlings, I am ready to give it a rest. This year
we settled for seven apple saplings. Initial inspection of the cherry, pecan,
oak, walnut and persimmon seedlings around the house reveals about an 80% survival
rate. Only another 10 years and we will be getting food from them!
The initial freeze dried and bulk storage food needs to be rotated. Anyone
figured out how to do this kind of at home cooking when the two of you work?
The canned/”normal” food is now being rotated with each grocery
store trip. We have canning jars for this year’s veggies and the root
cellar has a robust collection of shelves to store them on. How much is enough?
I
don’t know. Four geographically separate and secure stashes of three
year’s
worth of food for all of the family? Who knows!?
Medical
I have Boo-boo kits just about everywhere now. You know, the band-aid and antibiotic
salve with ibuprofen kit that handles 90% of life’s issues in this area.
Now comes the high-dollar investment stuff. The combat blow-out packs for gunshot
wounds or serious car wrecks. I did go along on a buying trip to a medical
warehouse and got some catheters, sutures, gauze pads, etc.. I did get in on
the last great iodine buy before our loving big brother government banned the
sale of iodine to us mere citizens. (It is a stewable ingredient to make drugs,
you know – “we must deprive/punish all to protect you from a few.
Oh, well, you don’t need to be able to sterilize water anyway – we’ll
take care of you on that too….”)
TLSU and I eat very healthy food – locally raised beef with no antibiotics
or growth hormones. No growth hormone dairy products from a local dairy. Spinach
from the garden. There are sugar detectors on the doors. Also, no chips allowed.
We get to the dentist regularly. We both do Physical Training (PT)
. She jogs 3 miles, 3-4 times per week. I run over lunch at work about 4 miles,
4-5 times
per week
and
lift
weights twice per week.
“Needed Still” list includes: Blow out kits, more bandages, more
hospital type stuff, more medicines, syrup of ipecac, more antibiotics, more
feminine
stuff (think of a vaginal yeast infection with no drug store open), drinking
alcohol, poison Ivy soap and remedies, athlete’s foot cream, more baby
wipes, more hand sanitizer, all forms of baby stuff, get the bone spur ground
smooth in my other shoulder and the cartilage chips taken out, get rid of the
cat (allergies).
Vehicles
We still have the same vehicles we had in 2001. A 1998 Toyota Corolla bought
with 30,000 miles, and a 1999 Ford Explorer bought with 45,000 miles. Both
were
paid in full when bought. Both avoided the 25% loss of value when driving a
new car off the lot. The Corolla gets 37 MPG.
I hate it. Every bit of plastic on it has broken – the car door locking
mechanisms, the trunk lock, the ventilation system fan. It gets 37 MPG. I can’t
find anything to touch that. The Ford is too big to get decent mileage, and
too small to really be
a useful truck. It is paid for and has AWD/4WD.
It always starts. Both vehicles have BIBs and gas masks in them. Both have
trunk guns. Both have roadside gear
to help ourselves out of a jam. We are saving for the replacement of them both.
We are going to be saving for quite a while. We need more cash in the BIBs
and Bug Out Bags (BOBs)
All of the preps in this section were done via Cabela points. I bought gas
and paid for business expenses - everything I could pay for with a credit card
was paid for with the Cabela’s credit card. You get points at some sickening
rate of $.01/FRN spent, $.02/FRN in the store. However, when you buy $6-8,000/month
of stuff between personal and business stuff, it adds up! The gear for the
BOBs & BIBs, weapons gear and parts – a significant percentage – 85%+
- came from Cabela [credit card bonus] points. When I got birthday or Christmas
monetary gifts I spent them on self-reliance items. We did this never incurring
any
interest
penalties because we zero the balance out each month. Our BOBs are set-up to
sustain us for 10 days. They are packed in Cabela’s wet bags for load
out in five minutes. Originally I sought to wear a tactical vest and ruck.
After two unsuccessful winter BOB campouts where I could barely waddle one
mile with
both of them on at the same time, I dropped the vest. TLSU’s back is
in tough shape due to scoliosis, so she is not humping any mammoth rucks with
the extra three mortar rounds and can of 7.62 linked. We also decided that
the G21 was what she could carry and dropped the SKS and chest pouches of 10
round stripper clips. Her ruck is a Camelback Commander. That is as big of
a ruck as she can hope to carry without killing her back. We are not leaving
home to go on a combat patrol in Hit or Fallujah. We are fleeing some kind
danger and have every intention of avoiding additional entanglements, to include
government hospitality suites in stadiums.
The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU)
I started self-reliance the wrong way. No consensus development. I saw a danger
and acted. I am a male/sheepdog/warrior type. I am not sure that I could have
ever persuaded her to participate in any meaningful manner before Y2K. She
has only recently begun to do so after eight years of seeing me provide for
and protect her. I was, however, stubborn/strong enough to do what I thought
was
the right thing and to heck with what was popular. Most “males” check
their gender specific anatomical gear at the wedding alter and continue on
in sheeple status. I get that females are the nurturers. I get that they work
from an emotional starting point, not logical. Not wanting the tornado to destroy
the house or the hurricane to wreck your and the adjoining three counties is,
at best, the French method of addressing life. TLSU is finally helping me to
rotate food via the grocery store purchases. She no longer rolls her eyes or
sighs disgustedly when I spend my Cabela points to buy gear. Once I explained
to her that I was planning to shelter and feed her parents and siblings and
that our one year of food wasn’t going to feed all of them for very long,
she started to get on board. She even likes spending the points off of her
Cabela’s card now. She is running 3-4 times per week and gets some PT
from work outside in the garden. She has come a long way. As best as I can
tell, she will not ever be a warrior. We have come a substantial distance from
sleeping on the couch each time a self-reliance topic hits the table of discussion
though. A definite and growing check mark in the “W” column!
Skills
Skills that I have acquired:
Rifles – renovating Mausers and training at Thunder Ranch helps
your ability to use these tools immensely.
Soldering – fixing plumbing leaks myself vs. paying a plumber $200
to show up and start billing me for work
Building – I invested 13 full work weeks of time during the building
of our home helping the contractor. Some of it was the nubby work of cleaning
up the scrap and sawdust. Some of it was banging in joist hangers. I laid
all the tile and 95% of the wood flooring in the house.
Fix-it – the DR Brush mower has long passed it’s warranty
period and while performing quite admirably, does need attention every now
and then.
The 1974 F100 demands attention regularly. Each of these repair work challenges
teaches me a little more about mechanical items and taking care of things
myself.
Sewing – Yes, my dear Grandmother taught me to sew buttons, and
my Mom taught me to survival sew/repair things. A 1960 gear driven Singer sews
nylon
gear though!; )
Skills still needed:
More First Aid – it appears that a first responder or wilderness 1st
aid course may be in the cards for this year.
More Hand to Hand – my goals and objectives list has had this goal
on it for several years. Good news – I got started on knocking it off the
list. Bad news, it revealed an “old man” shortcoming in my shoulder.
Good news, I am getting the shoulder fixed (hopefully) during “normal” times
versus after Schumerization. I just may get ambushed and not have my trusty
M1A in hand. Having unarmed defense skills means never having to be a steak
dinner/victim.
More riflesmithing – each birthday or Christmas gift of money has
been partially apportioned to the purchase of gunsmithing tooling. I need more
practice
with the tools I have. I still need more tooling. I recently secured Parkerizing
gear, but have not gotten the metal stands for the tanks built. Still,
progress is progress and I can already do more to maintain weapons than
95% of the
population.
Knife making – I just cringe at the idea of spending $300 for top
quality knives. CRKT is my friend. Even better is learning to assemble the
scales and
blank myself. Eventually, knowing how to forge blanks myself would be useful.
Mill lumber – with 95% of my property wooded, I have the material
to be self-reliant with regard to my lumber needs. I need a way to saw the
tree into lumber though. First, the mill, then the skill to use it. Then
I have
the gear to diversify my income and help others.
Have I always done the smartest thing? Absolutely not! Much to the crazed
satisfaction of a former operator buddy, I have cycled through the “best/high
dollar” gear
approach to the “sack of hammers USGI/AK” school of self-reliance.
Don’t get me wrong – I ain’t surrendering my Kifaru rucks
anytime soon! However, there were a great number of FRNs spent on those self-reliance
tuition payments! Have I learned a lot? Absolutely, yes! Am
I better able to maintain my independence and protect and provide for my
family? Absolutely,
yes! Could you do better than I did? Good chance. Have you
done as much as I have in the last 10 years? Only your freedom, loved ones,
and the quality
of your life post-TEOTWAWKI depend on the answer to that one.
« Two Letters Re: Martial Arts Fact Versus Fiction |Main| Note from JWR: »
Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot
Present home: Recently moved to new residence in luxury community in South
Texas because of a job loss in the Northwest. we sold our our 40 acre
retreat because prices were top of the market and it could help in Texas
to have no mortgage and to continue preparations. Many acquisitions will
occur within the next year including another retreat property (prices are
about same as when we bought our first retreat and inventory up in the Northwest.)
Ages: 46 and 51
SOs: One adult child that lives out of state
Annual income: $61,000+.
Profession: Technology (him) and Homemaker (her).
Investments: Law Enforcement Degree for child (once graduated soon and in a
job should come in handy), A mix of local real estate, conventional securities
in retirement accounts, stocks/options, valuable collections and junk silver
including coins in 1000's face value.(currently turning the collections into
cash)
Vehicles: Honda CRV 4WD.
(I just sold my gas powered full size pickup in preparation for a full size
4WD diesel and a smaller alternate fuel vehicle)
Firearms Battery: Smith and Wesson 586 .357,Winchester 30-30 nickel plated,
Winchester Model 1300 - 12 gauge Parkerized 30 inch barrel and 21" rifled
slug barrel, Rem 11-87 -12 gauge 30" and short also parkerized, Remington
Model 870 20 gauge, old smooth bore side by side scatter gun, pre-war Winchester
Model 62 (.22 Short and 22 LR),
Mossberg Bolt action 12 ga. adjustable choke,1896 .30-40 Krag (sporterized),
various BB and Pellet Guns as well as hunting slingshots and
worth noting for the small game and birds that can be actually hunted using
cheap ammo also current plus is living in Texas and working with fervent gun
owners so I am stocking up as I sell off of valuable collection turning it
into cash. (I am thinking of trading some of the antiques in at a gun show
for a real rifle with spare parts and some hand guns as most were inherited
from father but keeping, the .357 because it was my wife's gun and she shoots
it, the .30-30 because it's plated [for humid weather resistance] and ammo
is cheap. I'm also familiar with it having shot it as a kid, maybe the .22
if I can't get enough value because I have tons of ammo in both short and LR
and
all the Parkerized 12 gauges, the bolt action shotgun because of the adjustable
choke and I'm having a larger magazine made by a gunsmith friend and the 20
gauge )
Stored ammunition: Roughly 15,000 rounds packaged with silica gel and about
10,000 in powder, bullets, shot and casings. Most in 12 Gauge, .22, .22 LR
and 38 Special, and .357 Magnum . This will significantly increase after completing
the move and the decision of caliber and reloading supplies. (I've got all
the 12 and 20 gauge equipment.)
Fuel Storage: Regular utilities now but will be solar and underground storage
tank with asphalt coating. (We had a 1,000 gallon diesel tank that we left
for the new owners)
Improvements: TBD
Annual Property Tax: TBD but significantly more than in the northwest (definitely
a con here)
Livestock: Will get back into raising rabbits, chickens and goat(s). (All our
breeding stock and equip has been housed with friends in exchange for the contingency
that if the SHTF and
our retreat isn't ready we can stay with them.)
Communications Gear: Off-brand AM/FM hand crank receiver SW, AM /FM and other
public bands, six FRS walkie-talkies with solar re-chargers, CB and base station
with modified ham frequencies. We have numerous old laptops, wireless routers
and devices and web cams for private solar based network/perimeter security.
I already have the skills to implement this.)
Food storage: 1-1/2 years for two adults and equipment supplies for putting
up and charity for many more. More to come later when we have more cool dry
space. (The humidity is too high here)
Hobbies: Shooting, re-loading (both), gunsmithing/re-loading (him), sewing,
herbal and nutritional cooking (her), reading, learning canning and dehydration
(both), solar and computer technology (him), Internet surfing and storing information
(both).
Background: Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot originally lived in California, but moved
to the northwest to avoid high income taxes, high property taxes, excessive
property prices, excessive government regulation on gun ownership, and an undesirable
political / moral climate. We are relatively new to the preparedness life.
(For the last five years.)
JWR: Why did you choose your location?
Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot: Conservative/Constitutionalist libertarian politics,
Christian community, Lots of contacts, Great outdoors.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot: A little close to the Golden Horde
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot: Two or possibly three adult family members maybe more
depending on a neighboring state's situation
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot: No idea but hopefully ready for the long term (we tried
a little self test one winter)
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot: Needing to defend the retreat from adjoining state (Golden
Horde).
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Mr. Foxtrot: Seems like even though I grew up in the "Nanny State",
I've been preparing my whole life for this (my resume looks like five different
people), and even though I was living in Tech City I always felt like I was
destined to be a homesteader. My wife shared the same belief system when we
met and we've been trying to establish our retreat ever since. It was so painful
to leave our old retreat, but at the same time it showed us that we were willing
to do whatever it takes to survive and once we get it back it will take an
awful
lot to give
it up again, if at all.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot: Not purchased yet hopefully done before TSHTF and
Band-aids although we have a lot of kits we need to learn how to use them appropriately
JWR: What are your long term goals?
Mr. and Mrs. Foxtrot: Be prepared, be good and charitable Christians, accept
that it is inevitable that we die and not up to us, but how we choose to live, is!
« Letter Re: Diesel Motorcycles |Main| Note from JWR: »
Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. Uniform
Present Home: 63 year old brick veneer over weather board farmhouse (1,300
square feet) built by my father. 25 acres, consisting of 3.5 acres of pine,
9 acres of old growth hardwoods, 1.5 acres of apple, pear, pecan, grape, muscudine,
and scuppernong orchard/grove/vineyard. Additional 900 square foot house, 100
year barn (30'x30' with loft and sheds), outdoor privy, detached 24'x24' garage
building, 140 square foot storage building, dog house/lot, hog house lot (not
used at present). Approximately three acres in farmstead buildings, drives,
and gardens. Balance of land in open arable land presently used by neighbor
as
native grass hay field. All but the very front of house is inside a fence.
Yard and road frontage is behind a five foot chain link or five foot wood picket
fence. Remainder of property line is behind an old five-strand barbed wire
fence (needs upgrading). Property is in northwest portion of South Carolina.
Family has lived in area for over 500 years (Cherokee portion), most of the
remainder
for more than 200 years. Family on two sides and long term (over 80 years)
family friends on two sides. House fronts on a small farm to market road but
backs to a heavily traveled Interstate. Attend a small Baptist Church that
ancestors helped to found 204 years ago (veterans of Revolutionary War). Property
has two hand dug wells near headwaters of creek. Presently use public water,
but both wells are usable by hand drawing with a windless. Water is free of
contaminants per test. Presently plant garden from heirloom seeds and co-operate
with neighbors and family in trade.
Ages: Mr Uniform: 47 His widowed mother: 82
Annual Income: Gross $86,000, Net $43,000
Occupations: Government employee. Mother is a retired
widowed homemaker and cancer survivor.
Hobbies/Avocation: Hunt, Fish, Camp, volunteer fireman (Board Member and Arson
Investigator), Volunteer Advanced State Constable (Police Officer), trained
medical First Responder.
Investments: Gold and silver coin including ‘junk’ silver, copper
coin, Thrift Board (similar to 401k). Some open note debt due to family sicknesses
and deaths.
Vehicles: 1968 Chevy pickup, two Cadillacs (one built in 1980s, the other
in the late1990s), 1998 Ford F150 4WD Pickup, 1957 Ford Tractor (34 h.p. gas)
with crop implements
and some
mule
implements.
Keep all vehicles fueled and serviced.
Fuel Storage: 500 gallons propane for cooking and furnace. 15 gallons of K-1 kerosene
for lamps, lanterns, and back-up heat. 25 gallons of 4 cycle gas. 2.5 gallons
of 2 cycle gas. Two wood heaters in storage in barn. Plan: to cut and rack
wood in a shed to be built. Plan on buying wood cook stove in future and put
in storage. All wood heat was removed from house in 1985 due to Father’s
health. Also to put in at least 1000 gallon gas tank and fuel oil tank. Also,
a kerosene tank in 500 to 1000 gallon range. Probably in a ventilated shed
instead of underground due to water table in the defensible zone.
Livestock: One collie at moment, used for guard/watch dog. Hope to add small
livestock within a year (one species at a time). Beef cattle on one neighbor’s
place. Dairy within 3 miles (high school class mate). Hogs on two neighbors
farms within two miles and chickens close.
Communications: Land line with DSL hook up. Cell phones. Two privately owned
walkie-talkies programmed for direct communication with local law enforcement,
fire, and EMS. One pair of FRS radios. One small programmable scanner, one
CB transceiver,
one shortwave receiver. Want to add field phone capability.
Food and supply storage: 9 months to a year on most everything from food to
toothpaste. We employ the method of :"use one and buy three."
Mail service: Rural route delivery for some things, P.O. Box in neighboring
village for others, while package delivery generally goes to one of the offices
that
I work out of.
Shortcomings: Too close to interstate highway though county is almost an island
with lakes, control points could be manned at all of the bridges entering county
and control much of the flow of traffic. Patrol the Interstate Highway corridor
to keep unauthorized exit from the Interstate. Also, patrol the lake shore
for unwanted landings. 100 miles from Atlanta, 50 miles from Greenville, 150
miles from Charlotte. All too close. Not enough food and supplies, I think
3 years should be on hand and rotated. Not enough ammo. Inadequate fuel supply,
and no alternative source of electricity yet. Nuclear plant nearby.
Taxes: Moderate and rising due to refugees from northeast moving into lake
developments and demanding more county services. Many of these will be first
to go down in a long term grid down situation
Armory: Fire rated safe with S&G.
Adequate with a mixture of heavy battle and hunting rifles, medium battle and
hunting rifles, and light battle and
hunting rifles, and .22 rimfire. Same with shotguns, and pistols. Somewhat
of the Mel
Tappan philosophy. Good supply of spare magazines. Have had very
good tactical and firearms training from law enforcement, SAR, IDPA,
and SASS.
Two ballistic vests and several non ballistic tactical vests.
Next door neighbor similarly armed and prepared. Sister (40+ acres) and cousins
(1 to 10 acres each) (within 3 miles) are more armed for personal protection
and hunting than tactical. I go armed from rising to bed. Also carry a minimum
kit in vehicle: one .40 cal with rig, one carbine, ammo, water, clothes, meds,
MREs.
I travel an average of 800 miles per week on job. I average 13 hour days, 5
days per week, plus 12 hours per week law enforcement volunteer, three hours
per week average for VFD.
This is to help me get home. Need some NVGs.
Have motion sensors. Placing more. Have more fencing in storage.
Other People Joining Us: Cousins from metro Atlanta area, former naval IT electronics
person and shipboard security team leader. Maybe one cousin from Hart County,
Georgia who lives alone and in late 60s. He grows the grain and has a saw mill.
He is former army signal corps telephone. I have married sister, married niece,
and several married cousins within area. If ones property becomes compromised,
we will double up.
Affiliations: Active in Church (Bible Study Teacher, Church Clerk, and Deacon).
Past Master in local [Masonic] Lodge.
Education: BS in Ag Ed, Masters in Agricultural Education, many semester hours
over Masters in Administration and Supervision, 50 quarter hours in Criminal
Justice.
Former
high school ag teacher and animal science professor in a Jr. College.
Area: Local fire district (all volunteer) is 25 square miles with a permanent
population of about 2,500. Two private church schools, five churches, one
truck stop, four country stores and locally owned building supply store, Medical
Clinic with two Doctors,
Pharmacist, and Nurses. Local fire department forms the basis of local Civil
Defense. 24 out of 26 members are armed. Two Unarmed: One is a local Doctor
and Army veteran (Bosnian Call-Up) and the other is a CPA.
Adjoining fire districts are similar. I am covered under Law Enforcement Officers
(LEOs).
Safety Act for firearms carrying. Most of the fire department have South Carolina
and New Hampshire carry permits with [reciprocity] coverage in several states.
Civil
Defense
plans
are
in
place to secure the interstate in an emergency. Overall, community, including
elderly widows, is well armed, just not tactical. Has at least 14 present
and former LEOs within five miles, one is the County Sheriff who belongs
to same Lodge and is active in an adjoining Baptist Church. Both local sheriffs’ offices
are upgrading their tactical capabilities with a full auto .223 in each patrol
car. I am working with the new chief at the largest town in my county trying
to convince him to upgrade to individually assigned patrol cars, preferable
take home, and patrol rifles.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Given your proximity to
the interstate freeway, you should definitely plan on having at least three
families
to man your retreat.
With any less than that, you won't have the manpower to maintain 24/7 security
for an extended period of time. Stock up on plenty of ammo, defensive (concertina)
wire, and night vision gear, for
a
"worst
case" situation.
In a follow-up e-mail, Mr. Uniform added this commentary:
I would like to comment on preparedness as a mindset and as a way of
life instead of just acquisition of things. I pondered this over the weekend
as I ate various meals. At breakfast, I ate grits and eggs and sausage. The
grits were from corn I grew and ground on a cousin's mill. He received a toll
for the grinding. I traded extra grits and cornmeal (which he also ground)
for the eggs and sausage. At noon, we sat down to dinner and enjoyed fresh
ham and several vegetables. All the vegetables were grown either in my garden
or my sister's garden. The ham came from a feral shoat that became a nuisance
in the garden. Supper was similar. For dessert, we had fresh fig preserves.
The figs came from a fig bush/tree that my grandfather had planted. He died
in 1946 at age 83. We grow a lot of what we eat and eat what we grow. It is
not just about saving money, it is more about living healthy and being self
sufficient. Being able to open the store room or pantry and see a year's worth
of provisions is comforting during troubling times. As well, it is nice to
know that one has the means and capability to protect and defend ones family,
friends, and home. But simply a year's capability is not enough for severe
times.
In the past, my family went through roughly ten years of what is now
called the French and Indian War, about seven years of the Revolutionary War,
four years of the War of Northern Aggression then accompanied by 12 years of
armed
occupation by Union troops. It took another 100 years to somewhat recover economically.
I believe that we need to prepare for a long term situation such as that. Also,
plan on having property tax money saved back for multiple years in as many
different currencies (paper, gold, silver) as possible. The Depression lasted
for about 13 years. Now to address how do individuals practice living the lifestyle
when not at a retreat. If you can grow flowers, you can grow vegetables. This
will give [you] practice. In some cases, you can rent small tracts of garden
space from landowners near the city's edge. I know of one case where a city
family
made a trade with an elderly widow lady in my community. They work a three
acre garden and three acre mixed orchard/vineyard. For rent, they share the
produce with the lady and keep her yard cut. A good symbiotic relationship.
Take classes in Emergency Medicine, Fire Suppression, and the Martial Arms
(Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun in target and tactical). Maybe even volunteer as
a fireman, EMT,
or [Sheriff's] deputy. Learn to do many things: weld, wire, carpentry, masonry,
etc. Learn to be the needed member of the community. Live in the community
as much as possible, create a sense of belonging. Create a healthy lifestyle.
Get rid of addictions, get health problems under control, build a network of
friends and acquiesces. Most importantly, get right Spiritually. In troubling
times, there is an inexhaustible supply of help from the Heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Become part of a local church congregation.
Be the one to be ready to help the elderly, widows, and orphans in your church.
Just some thoughts, - Mr. Uniform
« Letter Re: Mercenaries a Post-TEOTWAWKI Threat |Main| Note from JWR: »
Reader Poll Results: Your TEOTWAWKI Resume -- 100 Words and 100 Pounds
Some of these stretched the 100 word limit. (I skipped posting one that rambled
on far
beyond the limit.) The poll's premise in a nutshell: "If
someday you went to the gates of a survival community post-TEOTWAWKI and
pleaded the case for why you should be let past the barricades and armed guards
to become a valuable working member of the group, would you get voted in? Taken
objectively, would you vote yourself in?"
I am a shoe maker (not just a repairman) can repair saddles tan leather have
done ranch work mechanics weld gardening skills set a broken bone stitch up
a bad wound can bake bread etc, shooting skills need work only 5.5 MOA on AQT.
Can milk a cow make butter some basic carpentry skills can use a wood lave
make one if needed to know how to set up wind / water power to a shop or mill
make
some one laugh when things are bad can teach can also learn.know how to adapt
over come make things work specialization is for insects.
Some limits to work: mild back problems cannot do a lot of over head work.
1 CETME rifle with 12 mags, ALICE pack, compressed MREs, 1 folding shovel camo
nylon rope water filtering canteen extra canteen freeze dried canned soup 1
empty
small can rubbing alcohol cotton balls (cheap cook stove) 1 cooking kit 1 med
kit 1 multi tool 1 roll toilet paper 1 wash cloth 2 tooth brushes tooth paste
1 belt with bayonet for CETME one pocket knife canteen & pouch cleaning
kit for rifle and butt pack 2 mag pouches fishing line and hooks matches 4
Bic
lighters 1 Iver Johnson 5 shot .38 S&W revolver 36 rounds of ammo, Flecktarn
camo pants and shirt vest 1 light weight sleeping bag wool socks and
a
spare pair sturdy boots, Carthart coat tan 1 pocket size bible etc,,
--
Many years' experience in:
Primitive Skills:
*edible and medicinal native plants
*cordage and rope making
*hide tanning
*bow and arrow making
*bow hunting
Contemporary Skills:
*organic gardener
*orchard (fruit and olive)
*beekeeper
*firearms use
Mid-50's, good shape for age, 6'4", 225#. Wife, mid 50's, 5'10", 150#
(who shares many of the above skills, plus expert at canning/freezing, quilting,
tatting, making clothes and moccasins).
Both have a sense of humor and aren't afraid to work.
In packs, besides personal gear:
*heirloom seeds
*needles
*lighters
Carrying:
*one .308 MBR, one .223, with magazines and ammo
*two .45 Governments
--
Age 25, weight 160, excellent health, single. Engineer, engine mechanic, builder,
jack of all trades. Trained and competitive marksman. Skilled teacher. Tolerant,
thick skinned, sense of humor. Introvert, not loner. Schooled in college, educated
in real life. History buff and cook.
Competent with photovoltaics, backhoes, generators, concrete, gardens, propane
systems, AC and DC electricity, firearms, computers, welding.
Most importantly: not a prima donna, armchair commando, or busybody.
Equipment includes rifle, pistol, small amount of ammo, soft body armor and
binoculars.
--
Age: Near 60. Can still
see well enough, without glasses, to shoot back.
Old, tired, wore out. Been around the third world several times. (South America,
South Seas, East Asia) Can't lift a third my own weight. Don't eat much. Know
how to do just about anything.
Will arrive with 30 Lbs water, 30 Lbs freeze dried food, Ruger Mini 14, S&W
659, 100 rds for each, a few old books. and 50+ years usable knowledge. That
about 100 pounds? (Worst case here. Actually, I would attempt to bring my entire
robotics shop. Attempt, I said! )
Skills: Artificer. If you can picture it, I can make it. Make a windmill from
a starter motor. Make my own tools as I need 'em. Bend railroad rail with no
more than an axe and 6 young men for the bull work. Machinist, electrician,
carpenter, stone layer, robotics engineer .
--
Age 25. Ex-military.
Trained extensively in: Perimeter reconnaissance,
Land-navigation.
Instructor of: full-spectrum warfare, defensive fighting positions, combat
operations.
Expert marksmen: M16A2, M4A1 (GUU-5/P), M9. Expert in FN-FAL,
M1A/M14, AKM, M16/AR-15 Family, 1911-A1, M9, CZ-75. Proficient with many other
firearms.
20/15 vision. Reloading/Gunsmith hobbyist.
Physically/Mentally Fit.
Pragmatic/Realist/Professional.
Equipped: FAL Carbine (18"bbl). Custom 1911A1. PASGT Kevlar Helmet/Vest. Boots/Socks. Woodland BDUs.
Custom LBE: Seven 30rd FAL Mags(210rds). Eight 8rd 1911-1 Mags( 64rds). Two 1-quart Canteens (Full). Multi-tool.
Medium ALICE pack: Five 20rd FAL mags (empty),
Two SA Battlepacks (280rds). Two Boxes .45ACP (100rds).
First-Aid Kit. Extra BDUs (1 set). Cans of Soup (5). Mess
Kit. Local Map/Compass.
--
Phd/MBA expert (37) on alternative energy and appropriate technology. Tool
maker and builder/manufacturer/processor of useful post-TEOTWAWKI machines,
trade goods, and alcohol (own BATF-licensed alcohol fuel still). Russian MBA
wife (35) survived fall of Soviet Union and 1998 crisis. 4 yo and 10 mo daughters.
Home machine shop, tools, anvil, forge, ethanol still, large printed alternative
energy / appropriate technology / engineering / survival library, and inventory
of preparation items greatly exceed the 100 lb per person limit but would be
worthy of a group salvage/recovery mission. G.O.O.D. bags contain standard
items recommended by Rawles, et al. Additional personally carried gear would
include M1A w/ Leupold scope, AR-15 with trijicon night sites, Glock 21 (45ACP)
with Trijicon night sites, Berkey water filter, laptop with large collection
(>500 books) of appropriate energy and appropriate technology books on CD,
Robinson curriculum on CDs for home schooling kids, ten 15"x15" fresnel
lenses capable of starting fires in 30 seconds, disassembled 2" diameter
alcohol still column with supply of vapor locks and 1 lb of ethanol yeast,
and a few of my more portable tools (blacksmith hammer, hardy, & gloves;
measurement tools; multimeter; temperature measure).
--
48 y/o 6ft 180lb male – good health
- Can walk 20 mi/day in full gear
- “Rifleman” with .308 MBR
- Doctor (emergency medicine and minor surgery)
- Gunsmith and reloader
- Cook
Backpack (40 lbs)
Sleeping bag/tarp
(2) BDUs & wool socks
Rain gear
Soap/camp towel/toothbrush
Food bars for 1 week
Water filter/bottle
Cookset/Trioxane tabs
Compass/map
Small survival kit (Fishhooks, matches, snares, etc)
AR-7 and 200 rounds
Web gear (35 lbs)
Knife
First aid/trauma kit
G23 + 2 mags (51 rounds)
8 mags .308 (150 rounds)
HK91
Barter/buy-in: (25 lbs)
Minor surgical set
Sutures/dressings
Local anesthetic/syringes
2000 doses various oral antibiotics and pain meds!
--
I feel I would be a great asset to your community. I am a seventh degree black
belt in American freestyle combatives and I could easily teach your people
the skills to handle themselves in this perilous time. I also have an extensive
background in firearms handling,gunsmithing and reloading. My real expertise
thought is as a meat butcher. I can literally take a beef ( or any wild or
domestic animal) from the field to the table. I bring with me a full set of
cutlery tools, including saws,steels and several knives. I also carry a AR-15
w/8-20 round, loaded mags. A Glock 19 w/mags, and a Rem 870 tactically modified.
I have a full set of ultralight camping gear including, freeze dried food,tent,
sleeping bag,etc. My loyalties are to God, Country, and my brothers at arms.
--
repaired furniture
a little basic farm work(irrigation, pick rock)
assembled some field sprayers
signalman
roofing
painting
inventory control/purchasing
drafting
some hunting
a lot of fishing
a lot of target shooting
cashier(a lot)
lube and oil cars
janitor
built 40 wood tables for an assembly line
sorted recycled paper
stock shelves
gas station attendant
a little gardening(corn,peas,onions)
unarmed watch
yard work(mowing, weeding)
sandwich/donut driver
some bow and arrow
some encrima [Philippine stick fighting martial art]
some cooking
printers helper
some CPR
--
Male, 38, 160 pounds. Reasonable shape.
Skills:
Suturing, minor surgery, advanced airway management, cautery, fractures, casting,
NBC treatment, tooth extraction and making dental fillings. 2 home births.
Pistol. Morse code.
Supplies:
Sutures, antibiotics, casting supplies, complete surgery tools and dental extraction
set.
.45, scoped M21 sniper rifle plus ammo. Field scope, rangefinder. Level 4 bulletproof
vest, helmet, FRS radios.
Water filter, water, food, tent, sleeping pads and bags, heirloom seeds.
Two boys, 7 and 9 and wife. All with level 3a vests. Kids with .22 rifles and
ammo. Wife with 9mm, AR-15 and ammo. Knows some gardening. Kids learning morse
code.
--
Strengths-
Have excellent interpersonal/negotiation skills
Have made a sufficient study of military history/combat tactics/military strategy
Maintain a vegetable garden/fruit trees
Have studied/used survival techniques in N.A. and C.A.
Have knowledge of indigenous edible plants/animals in N.A. and C.A.
Have skill-at-arms on US/ComBloc small arms
Am expert in usage of map and compass
Have field grade(ditch) medical skills
Maintain personal combatives skills
Can forage and improvise like nobody’s business
Have seen the elephant
Weaknesses –
No livestock husbandry experience
Not a carpenter
Middle aged
Average driving skills
Probable TEOTWAWKI employment:
Retreat security
Weapons maintenance and training
Strategic Planning and Implementation
« Letter Re: Vasovagal Response |Main| Note from JWR: »
Retreat Owner Profile: Mr & Mrs. "FerFAL" in Buenos Aires, Argentina
AGE: 28
SOs: Wife 30, 4 year old son
Currently living in the southern Buenos Aires suburbs in a 2 story
masonry house with independent reinforced concrete structure.
The houses share walls to the left and right, all around the block,
completely enclosing the back yards which are divided by walls or fences
covered with libustrina plants. You lose some privacy (noises, loud
parties) but you ensure a rather safe garden and back yard for the
children to play in since the streets haven’t been safe for a
while now, and no responsible adult lets his children play on the street
these days.
BACKGROUND: My parents are both accountants, and emigrated to Spain
after the 2001 crisis. Both my grandparents emigrated to Argentina
from Spain, escaping civil war. Its is ironic that their children and
grandchildren escape the country that once sheltered them, back to
the country they ran away from but now, 50 years later, is one of the
most powerful and prosperous countries in Europe.
There’s a lesson there. Countries fall and rise, always have
and one has to admit the possibility of leaving it looking for greener
pastures.
Due to my father’s work we moved a bit when I was a kid. First
to USA (Boston), then back to Buenos Aires, then to Cordoba (an Argentina
inner province) and then back to Buenos Aires again. Now, due to the
consequences of the crisis, we are going to move as soon as I finish
my studies, either to Spain or to the USA.
ANNUAL INCOME: About $20.000 USD,
give or take. I manage some family investments and a small accountant
office my parents left behind when they moved to Spain. I also teach
Architecture Representation at the same University I attend to, but
even though its been three years now since I started teaching, I don’t
get paid for it. (ad honorem )
INVESTMENTS: None ( other than those owned by the family business that
mostly consist of real estate) no money in bank accounts either. We
only deposit money in our debit accounts just to take advantage of
some discount, we deposit the money right before we use it, most of
the time within the same week. We never leave money sitting in a bank
account. After what happened, most people, including us, don’t
trust banks with our money any more. It has become common for people
to store cash in bank’s safety boxes, but even those are getting
emptied due to some cases in which the private safes have been opened
by government officials. (Against the constitutional right to privacy,
and private property, of course.)
We have credit cards but we don’t use those either, we only keep
them for emergencies.
We have a safe where we keep about 2,000 Pesos ($600 USD) and $1,000
USD just in case of an emergency, or someone getting kidnapped and
needing
ransom money fast ( express kidnapping).
PRESENT HOME: It’s a two story, mortar house. Double walls,
12 inch thick, and poured concrete flowerpots on the 2nd floor which
provide
nice bullet protection in the master bedroom.
3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 car garage, and a nice size backyard with
a small swimming pool. The house has a 1000 liter reservoir water tank,
central heating, air conditioning, and both city water and an electric
pump well for the swimming pool.
Metal bars and grating on windows and backyard door, add a lot to the
security of the house.
There’s also a 7 foot metal fence, topped with foot long spikes,
right where the front garden meets the sidewalk. Breaking into this
house is not easy, no one can do such a thing if we are inside the
house, since it would take a lot of time and noise to do so.
We have cable, gas, electricity, and pay for private security ( kiosks
with guards on each corner). Even though we have all services most
of you know about, they are a bit different form what you may experience
in First World countries.
Tap water is polluted, so we basically pay for contaminated water.
We have a water filter and drink filtered water exclusively. We bought
a 200 USD filter, with smaller filtering cups that get replaced every
2 or 3 months. I keep a year’s worth of cups, and the filter
itself is good for another 2 years.(active carbon-ceramic-silver)
Power goes down occasionally, and during summer we have “dirty
power” low voltage power, lights go dim, and most appliances
don’t work properly. That’s why we keep lots of flashlights
handy, along with regular batteries and rechargeable ones.
VEHICLES: The streets are in awful conditions, and the constant roadblocks
by “piqueteros” are rough on cars. Some kind of small 4x4
is obviously preferable to a sedan car.
Cars are very expensive, about $20.000 to $50,000 USD. A used Suzuki
Swift, one with 100,000 km, goes for $11,000 USD.
I have a Daewoo Lanos, and though I wished I had something better its
relatively fast and small which is also good for running around the
city, and getting out of tight spots. Spare parts are expensive and
hard to get.
My car is set up with GNC, meaning it runs both on gas an natural compressed
gas, big yellow tank in the trunk. I can switch to either one just
by pushing a button, and I run for 100km with only $2.50 USD worth
of compressed gas. It also allows me to keep the gas tank full at all
times, using only GNC, and having the gas tank full for emergencies.
GNC is used by almost 60% of the cars in Argentina, more than any other
country in the world, so there’s enough infrastructure (GNC
stations, mechanics, parts) for our society to run on it.
It’s also interesting to note the burst of GNC after the 2001,
after people found out that they couldn’t afford gasoline for
their cars. Maybe other countries that suffer an economical collapse
or fuel shortage will end up doing likewise.
FIREARMS BATTERY: I have several firearms and my collection is constantly
changing. I went into a lot of effort to get the collector license
that allows me to purchase box magazine fed, semi-auto centerfire rifles.
The average citizen that gets a gun permit can only acquire handguns,
shotguns and manual repeating arms, with the exception of 22 LR semi
autos.
The great majority of shooters in this country don’t have this
license ( has to be approved by the Senate, took over a year for it
to get approved), few knew about it back when you could get one, so
I know I’m terrible lucky when it comes to firearms, having more
firepower than most Argentines could ever procure.
My main handgun is a Glock 31 in 357 sig. Ammo is expensive and hard
to get, but it’s worth it in my opinion.
I have several other handguns, as back ups and chambered for more popular
rounds, such as a Norinco 1911 45 ACP, a Llama 4 inch 357 magnum revolver,
A Bersa Thunder 9mm, two 9mm Hi Powers.
For long arms I have: As a main rifle I have a FM [FN clone] FAL Para carbine, and a FMK3 9mm SMG. A Mossberg 500 with a 14 inch barrel and
mounted
80 lumen light.
Ammo is extremely expensive. I have about 500 rounds of 308 and 7.62[mm
NATO], over 1000 rounds of 9mm, most of it +P JHP and a few hundred
12 ga shells, most of it 00 buckshot.
9mm is my “core” battery round, that would feed my 9mm
handguns and SMG.
I keep a few boxes for each other caliber.
I have been in a few “complicated” spots so far, and being
armed and alert has made the difference for me in more than one occasion.
In those occasions the mere presence of my gun has been enough to stop
the threat, without the need of ever shooting anyone.
It doesn’t make any sense to plan on shooting hundreds of rounds
and not getting any fire in return, so I also have a concealed body
level II body armor vest which has provided a lot of piece of mind
on several occasions. Specially when going into “tough” places
or meeting with people I’m not so sure about. It’s one
of my most precious possessions.
GARDENS: No gardens for me, just a lemon tree that provides lots of
lemons and a laurel plant to spice up pasta. I could have a small orchard
in my backyard if I wanted.
PETS AND LIVESTOCK: No livestock, just a Jack Russell. Good pet but
not as good as a watch dog, though I must admit that for the last couple
of days he’s been more vigilant and watchful. He’s just
a one year old so maybe it was a maturity problem. I’d like to
have a larger dog though, but since I’m planning to move soon
it could be a problem.
COMMUNICATIONS: Cable modem internet, phone, and a couple of cell phones.
FOOD STORAGE: About 5 or 6 months worth of food. Most of it flavored
rice, rice with dehydrated vegetables, canned meats, canned tuna, canned
vegetables, soups, dry pasta, powdered milk, non lactose powdered milk
for my son, smashed potatoes flakes, tomato sauce, tea, coffee, honey,
sugar, salt and 30 5 liter bottles of water.
MEDICAL: Lots of medicines, several kinds of antibiotic, meds for my
son, for treating gastritis, tape, dressings, band aids, disinfectants,
ibuprofen, just to name a few. I also keep a nice supply of hand soap,
disinfectant soap and cleaning products to insure hygiene inside the
house. 3rd world countries are
full of diseases due to the general poverty, so its important to prevent
as much as possible.
HOBBIES: Shooting, collecting guns, reading, working out and watching
a movie every now and then. Having a good time with my wife and playing
with my son.
FUEL STORAGE: 30 liters in plastic cans, enough to get to the airport
or out of the city, though I’m not planning on leaving my house
during civil unrest, I’d rather “hold the fort” until
I can leave.
WORST CASE SCENARIO (“WHEN THE BALLOON GOES UP”): Another
December 2001 would be pretty bad, meaning anarchy, serious social
unrest, looting and mobs invading privately owned homes. It
happened before, I saw the mob just around the corner form my place
so that’s something to worry about.
I’m also worried about our government being friends with Chavez, Evo
Morales and Fidel, this county will end up like those socialist/communist if
it continues to go in that direction.
MY SURVIVAL PLAN: We have already made up our minds about leaving. As far as
I’m
concerned, this country will only go down hill in the next few years, and the
censorship and lies about things being better is downright scary. I’m
sure this country will one day rise above the rest of Latin America, but not
now. Many years will have to go by, and a lot of blood an bullets will be wasted
before that day comes. I don’t want to take part of any of it.
So we have two make sure we are safe for the next couple of years, until we
leave. This means being extra cautious and vigilant , bordering the paranoid
line, to keep us all safe.
CONCLUSION: Prepare as well as you possibly can without
turning it into a compulsive thing. I prepare to survive and live a rich life,
not the other way around. I don’t live just to worry about the sky falling.
The sky has already fallen for me and we’re still here. Things are bad,
pretty bad if you want to torment yourself and research further into the corruption
and violence in this country. We are still alive and we have each other. Millions
of people have accepted this as their reality and decided to go on with their
lives and try not to
worry too much, many go as far as lying to themselves, denying the reality
that surrounds them. We want to go on with our lives, but we don’t want
to worry our brains out, nor will we go through life as blindfolded sheep that
can’t see
what’s in front of them. We simply accept the fact that this country
has changed, and is now too dangerous, too corrupt, insecure and too primitive
for the standard of life we look forward
to, and we take the necessary measures, meaning we move out of it and start
a life somewhere else.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Note From JWR: »
Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Oscar
Home/property: Located in eastern Wisconsin. 160 acres of mixed
pine and oak forest. 32,000 trees planted in the last two years. Entered
in tree management program. House 2,800 square feet. Principally heated
by a soapstone stove with propane hot water backup. Built in 1981.
Outbuilding shed/library/reloading room. A 40x30 pole barn. Shed
has cast iron "cooking/heating" stove, wood fired…propane
backup. 1,000 gallon propane tank. Inverter in place for addition of
6,500 watt diesel generator to be installed spring '07. 200 gallons
gasoline stabilized and in place. 70 gallons kerosene. 500 gallon diesel
tank to be in place at addition of generator. Several solar panels
in inventory and more to follow. Plan to get off grid by '09 if there
is time. Have 15 springs and an artesian flow into 18 acres of wetland
with a five acre pond adjacent to home. Pond built as trout rearing
facility by DNR in
1941. Trout/walleye/perch/crappies abound in crystal clear
cool water. Site not nearly defensible as wished but 2-3 miles of barbed
wire in inventory with staking to be erected when time comes. Dozens
of caltrops on hand for roadway interdiction Security system in place
with video system to follow. Another large pole building will be built
in '07-'08 for further storage of vehicles/tools.
Age: He, 59 and She 55. Children grown and gone but back to farm
regularly.
Income. In excess of $400,000 annually.
Professions: She is an M.D. with 22 years on the job. He is an Instructor
in Administration of Justice at a local community college. He
is a
Viet
Nam vet and witnessed the Tet offensive firsthand. Saw Saigon a city
in chaos, a society in collapse. He graduate with B.S./M.S. in education.
Graduate
of Oregon Institute of Technology (Gunsmithing) 1976. Practiced full
time/part time 25 years in the trade.
Investments. The land and the trees, stocks and bonds, and "investment
grade" weapons.
Property will be paid off in March of '07. Plan is to invest in off
grid power upgrades
Vehicles. She, a Mercedes. He a Ford 4WD pickup. There are two BMW
motorcycles, one a 2002 1100RT, The other is a perfect condition
1985 80ST. The ST should need no protection from any EMP threat. Many
small engine
gas powered garden implements of the DR type. She has an Vespa scooter.
Bicycles were bought last month. 11-06.
Weaponry. He is a state certified instructor with pistols,
rifles, shotguns and submachine guns. He also teaches vehicles contacts
and emergency vehicle operation and chemical munitions.
They have incorporated a small business corporation to obtain registered
Class 2 and Class 3 weapons. There are currently:
1 Ingram
M10 in .45ACP with [suppressor] can. 1 Swedish "K" 9mm SMG,
1 Sterling Mk4 9mm SMG, 1 Thompson .45ACP SMG, 1 FN-FL heavy barrel
select fire .308, 1 SAW
M16 with
can,
1 M-1A with glass, 1 FN Belgian .308 with glass, 1 Bushmaster .308
with Nightforce glass. 3 SKS, 1 AK-47 semi, 2 M-1 Carbines (U.S.G.I.)
1 Marlin Camp
Carbine
9mm and 1 in .45 suppressed. 3 Remington Senderos one .223/1-.308/1-.300
W.M. All with Nightforce glass. One Barrett .50 BMG single shot with
Nightforce glass. The Bushmaster will be suppressed in 01-07. There
are many,
many more "sporting arms." 11 other suppressed items. Many
handguns. Currently there is a FN 5.7x28 with can and four 30 round
mags and four 20 round. There is a FN M90 5.7x28 rifle. A FN .223/M2000
is
in the pipeline. The 5.7x28 weapons are astonishing in their performance
and penetration. There are 6 fighting shotguns of various manufacture,
all 12 gauge. We all shoot a lot.
Ammunition. Thousands and thousands. A full compliment of reloading
capability.
Fuel: Gasoline. Kerosene, previously mentioned. We have six cases Coleman
fuel. Many cylinders of bottled gas for stoves and 200 pounds
of charcoal. (diversify, diversify)
Future improvements were previously mentioned. They all depend on
what is affordable and when and how the poop hits the prop.
Crops/garden: 2,700 square foot garden. To be planted this next season
(Spring of '07) with non-hybrids only. We can 300-400 jars annually
the rest
gets the
deep freeze. We murder big and small game regularly and plan to try
drying/jerky experiments with game in '07. There are 20 fruit trees
planted with 20-30 more to follow in '07. We put up 20-30 pints/quarts
of berries from the woods this year.
Property tax was typical of Wisconsin. Two years ago it was in excess
of $6,800. Cut to about half by entering the tree management
program.
Animals. One old Bouvier a new one to follow in '07. A Labrodoodle
for hunting. Two cats. No animal husbandry however we are looking at
rabbits and chickens. Perhaps a Rhodesian Ridgeback in '08 for a set
of teeth
for the farm.
Communications. Two receivers capable of AM/FM Ham. Four handhelds
and one base Marine Band. We are well inland from the Mississippi and
expect no interference. CB base and portables. 6 FRS walkie-talkies.
Will obtain 2-to-4 field telephones when found for sale. Already have
two
miles
of commo
wire for same on hand.
Food. 1 year freeze-dried for 2 adults. At least 1 year of same in
wet pack. 12 cases MREs, with more to follow. Much bulk stored wheat/rice/beans.
300 gallons of water in plastic. Capability to filter and clean
50,000 gallons from pond.
Hobbies. We read quite a bit with over 1,500 books in the library.
He has been into preparedness for 30 years. She for 5. We can/garden/shoot/bird
watch/tend the forest/study foraging ( a noted forager with a new book
out lives within 6 miles…we will take his courses next spring).
Reloading/hunting/woodcutting (Four cords on hand and ongoing).
Background. She a native South Dakotan. Now an M.D. A Christian. Enjoys
hunting. A voracious reader of all things. He a former police officer
(14) years who found teaching Law Enforcement was infinitely better
than the frustration of being a practitioner. He, an atheist with
respect
for
all peaceful faiths/beliefs. He teaches a course on terrorism for a
local community college.
Concerns: There is a growing population of predators (animal) in the
area. There have been five credible sightings of cougar in the district.
We have a compliment of bears. Our county has been a dumping ground
for "problem" bears from other parts of the state. Thanks
a lot! Six wolves have been sighted this deer season on the property.
Coyotes abound. I have no problem with a "healthy" predator
population. It is a sign of a healthy environment. I worry for livestock/chickens/rabbits
and the dogs. Feral pigs are a growing problem south of us. No doubt
to be here any time. They are destructive.
Further preparations must be started for the improvement of the defenses.
There will be an influx of at least eight adults and one child if the
poop hits the prop. More prep for those. Several "by in" to
preparedness. Most (the spouses) do not.
There is a lot on our plate as with anyone in the process of preparing.
We would like to meet with others of our ilk. How to do this is a conundrum.
We have obtained a large amount of trapping supplies. Two close friends
are trappers with years of experience. We will learn.
« Odds 'n Sods: |Main| Letter Re: Stocking Up on Shoes and Boots for Survival »
Three Letter Re: Internet and Search Engine Privacy
Jim:
I've done a lot of experimenting on this and offer my take:
Rule Number One: The U.S. Government is monitoring domestic internet
traffic. Anybody visiting Survivalblog is already suspect by the
government because of it's very subject matter. Assume that you are
being monitored.
Let's not be naive here please.
Anonymizer is obviously monitored by the Government because it maintains
logs of in/out IP Addresses.
Tor...the Onion Router is the best way to go if you have DSL or Cable
high-speed internet connection because there is no central logging.
I use it.
CCleaner [Cache Cleaner] at http://www.ccleaner.com/ is
the very best way to keep your computer free of what snoops want. It
is FREE, tiny,
fast,
easy,
and
I click on it after every internet surf. It instantly removes all
tracking cookies. It also instantly removes all those useless internet
temp
files that clog/slow your computer. Download it FREE right now. -Book
James:
You mentioned that your readers might be interested in
a brief write up of privacy on the Internet and how to keep yourself off
of
the radar.
I'll try to oblige.
First some background: My company and I do Information Security for
small businesses, so we and I have experience in keeping private things
private in the real world. What I'm doing is basically putting into
text the Security Speech that I give any client who I consult for (and
will sit still long enough to hear it). I'll stay away from technical
terms and specific products/'solutions' until the very end where I'll
describe a few different levels of 'security' in real-world examples.
Specific privacy stuff is further towards the end.
Rule Number One: There Is No Such Thing As A Secure Computer (or Anything
Else)
Perfect security is impossible. Computer security researchers are fond
of saying that the only secure computer is one that's unplugged from
the network, turned off, sealed in a vault and protected by well-paid
guards, and they're only partially joking. (Yes this is what passes
for humor in the computer security profession.) No matter what steps
you take to keep your stuff secure, someone, somewhere can break into
it and steal them; given sufficient time and money all computers are
vulnerable. The only thing you can do to an attacker is slow him or
her down. All of modern security is devoted to slowing attackers down.
This has two effects: it makes you less appealing to casual attackers
and it frustrates determined attackers.
In WWII the Germans used
an encryption device called "enigma" to
send secret messages to their troops. They thought it was unbreakable.
The allies broke it. The moral of the story is that what we think is
'secure' today will be as tough as tissue paper in fifty years.
Rule Number Two: Security Is Not A Product.
What I mean by this is twofold: one, anyone who sells you a "secure" widget
is lying. Widgets, computers, servers and networks are not secure or
insecure by their nature; they are merely tools. Any tool can be used
for good or ill, just think of the climate concerning guns. This is
a continuation of the first rule; not only is there no such thing as
a secure computer, any steps that have been taken to create a more
secure computer can be blown away by the mentality of the user. This
rule probably should read Security Is A State Of Mind, but this way
I can combine two rules into one. In a nutshell, every system is only
as secure as the users of that system are willing to make it.
The canonical example of this is a hospital. Hospitals have insane
oversight in terms of confidentiality of patient information and they
can get in real trouble for letting the Wrong People see certain files.
So the natural step is to make each level of access have a separate
password and each user must login to separate authentication levels,
blah blah blah. Its a 'very secure system.' End result? Nurses get
tired of remembering so many passwords and write them down on sticky
notes on the monitor. Security that is too hard to use will be defeated.
Rule Number Three: Your Computer Is A Castle.
Traditional security is a good analogy to computer security. Things
that people would never do in the real world they don't think twice
about doing online. When you open an attachment you're not expecting,
its like licking your neighbor's doorknob. When you blindly click 'OK'
on every pop up window, its like walking around in a bad neighborhood
with a roll of hundred dollar bills poking out of your pocket. Remember
the Trojan Horse? Trusting everyone online will get you in trouble,
just like in real life.
Likewise, when you evaluate a system for security the first place you
look is the place where security is the weakest. If you double-encrypt
everything and lock your computer in a safe but your password is 'secret',
you're not really secure. Always look at the big picture and don't
lose the forest for the trees. Likewise, if you have an uber-secure
locked-down machine but its in an office where the cleaning staff have
physical access, you're not secure.
Rule Number Four: Security is Boring
This is the hardest thing to get right. The best way to be secure online
is to do the little things all the time. Boring things like keeping
your security updates up-to-date and getting an anti-virus. Being paranoid
about your email and choosing the right software go a huge way towards
keeping your stuff safe. Have a legal copy of all your software, especially
your anti-virus. Pay for it. If you don't want to pay for it, AVG anti
virus is free and damn good. More detail later.
That's it for the theory, there will be a quiz on Thursday. Now the
practice. There are a few things that you can do to keep yourself secure
and protect what little privacy you still have.
The first thing to know is that email is not secure. Think of email
as sending a postcard, there's nothing to stop anyone who touches
it from reading it. Email is hard but not impossible to anonymize, but
there are few remaining anonymizers left. Any old Hotmail or other
free account will work for certain values of 'anonymous' but they
probably will not stand up to a legal search warrant unless you are very careful.
Gmail is not a good provider for anonymous email because of the invite
system. Unless you can get an invite anonymously anyone tracing it
can simply look up who invited you and compel them to spill the beans.
Another thing is that any site you visit on the web can get a huge
amount of information on you that your browser just sends out on its
own. Things like your IP address which can be traced to a rough location
and if the government gets involved can probably be traced down to
whoever pays the bills. This can be mitigated by using anonymizing
proxies, Tor and privoxy. More detail further on
Yet another key facet is that anything that is on your computer is
something that you are trusting fully. If you follow good protocol,
you are trusting Microsoft with all of your data, and you are trusting
whoever makes your anti-virus or firewall with all your data. There
is precedent for law enforcement using the anti-virus update to compromise
the computer of a group that was holed up in their cabin to prevent
them from emailing out. In case I wasn't clear, this has happened and
will happen again.
Now for some details and the all-important links:
In terms of an operating system, Windows is the default and there's
no budging most people from it. With good practices and by keeping
up to date you can keep windows tolerably secure. I would trust it
for mildly embarrassing data but not critical data. Please upgrade
to at least Windows 2000. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 is best. I
know its expensive, but Windows 95, 98, and ME are outdated and not secure.
Since no one has access to the code that makes Windows tick, there
is no way to determine for sure that there is not an easy back door
that could be leveraged against you. I cannot recommend keeping
mission critical data on a Windows machine. If you have
a bit more freedom about what you run, I heartily recommend getting
a
Macintosh. The new Apple OS X
is built upon a very secure BSD base
and it strikes an excellent balance between usability and security.
Any version of Linux or BSD can be
made secure, but if you're running those you probably know how to
secure it.
Web browsers: There really is only one. Firefox is the best that has
come along yet. It can be setup for decent everyday browsing and keep
a good rein on your cookies and history. In the firefox settings,
you can exercise very fine control over what sites are allowed to set
cookies on your machine and when to expire them. Please do
not use Internet Explorer on ANY OS. It is not secure in any
way. A good addition is Privoxy and/or Tor.
A must-have extension for Firefox is Adblock Plus and "Filterset.G"
Email client: I recommend either Mozilla Thunderbird, but basically
anything but Outlook (Express) is acceptable. Outlook is massively
insecure, Please do not use it.
Anti Virus: They're all equally mediocre. I use AVG which is free
for personal use. Pick one and keep it updated.
Firewall: Again, the windows firewall cannot be trusted. I recommend
Kerio Personal Firewall, and I use it myself. Tiny Personal Firewall
is good too. Zone Alarm is less powerful and Black Ice is worthless.
Proxies: Privoxy is a nice semi-anonymizing proxy that runs on your
local machine. It can't hide your IP but it will strip out a lot
of identifiable information. Its pretty easy to set up too.
Tor is a very clever
onion routing network that passes your traffic through a few levels
of other machines so that theoretically not only
does the site you're visiting not know who you are, nobody could
trace your connection back to you. An added benefit is that Tor servers
are
encrypted so your traffic is harder to snoop on as well as being
more anonymous. The disadvantage is that this is SLOW.
Encryption: BestCrypt can create secure images that can be viewed
on Windows and Linux.
Below I'm going to outline three levels of security and what they
should be reasonably protected against.
The first is an easy to use everyday machine. You will be protected
from most common automated and non-directed attacks but a determined
attacker will still be able to penetrate as will a governmental entity.
If there is demand I can work up a similar profile for a Mac.
Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP.
AVG anti virus or similar.
Kerio Personal Firewall of similar.
Firefox, Adblock Plus and Filterset.G set to only allow same-domain
cookies.
Privoxy
The second is more anonymous but it sacrifices speed. You will use
this if you want to do something that you wouldn't want broadcasted.
The same as above except Firefox is set to expire cookies on close,
and keep no disk cache or history. Privoxy is also connected to Tor
for anonymization.
For email, Thunderbird and Enigmail can be setup to encrypt your
email to a very strong degree, as long as the recipient has a similar
setup.
New Enigmail versions are very user-friendly in this regard.
Also, it is possible to have two different "profiles" of
firefox on one machine, one that simply browses normally with sane
cookie rules, and another that passes through Tor/Privoxy and keeps
no history or cache and clears cookies on exit. This is simple to do
and a good mix of usability and the ability to be more anonymous if
desired.
One note: Remember that today's "uncrackable" will be a joke
in fifty years. Also, encrypted traffic will probably raise a certain
level of awareness among those doing the spying. Legally this poses
no problems but if you're doing something you wouldn't like discovered
sending encrypted e-mails to osama@alqaida.com it is probably a bad
idea.
A Proviso: The above two systems rely on closed
code and trusting updates. They would be very vulnerable to any form
of
governmental intrusion
and nothing can be done to mitigate this. IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO
SOMETHING ILLEGAL, DON'T USE ANYTHING CLOSED-SOURCE TO DO IT WITH.
If you
do intend to do something illegal, or even if you're just paranoid
like
me, a good idea would be to have a second machine. This is similar
to what the NSA does internally: Classified machines cannot talk
to Top Secret machines, and none of them can talk to Unclassified
machines.
A good Classified or Top Secret machine might look like this. This
machine should be reasonably secure against anything but a direct,
physical attack.
BSD or Linux OS, properly configured (details are outside the scope
of this article. I will be happy to provide further information upon
request).
A solid, encrypted file system or BestCrypt for any user data.
Not connected to the network. Use a USB flash keychain/thumb drive
for getting data off of it.
Again, none of this is any good at all if your master password is
your birthday.
I hope someone finds this useful and I'm happy to answer any more
detailed questions either via SurvivalBlog or directly. - Paedrig
Hawkwing (PaedrigHawkwing-at-gmail.com--change
the "-at-" to an @ symbol)
JWR Adds: Our web statistics show that 19%
of our readers now use the Firefox browser, up substantially from the
16%
when we started SurvivalBlog back in August of Aught Five. My advice: DUMP
that back-door ridden, data mining Microsoft
Internet Explorer. Firefox is free!
Hi Jim,
Another option for anonymous web browsing is to install
Tor, an "onion routing" package that sends your data
through 'layers' of different servers before reaching your desired
destination.
After
I first installed Tor, I visited Google and was surprised to see
it looked a little different -- Google detected that I was coming
from
Austria (since the last server 'layer' was located there) and presented
me with "Google Österreich"! Tor is free and easy
to setup. The EFF has instructions for Windows ( http://tor.eff.org/cvs/tor/doc/tor-doc-win32.html)
and OSX (http://tor.eff.org/cvs/tor/doc/tor-doc-osx.html ). Regards,
- MP
