Month: June 2023

Disconnection: Fifth Generation Warfare Tactics

As I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, modern warfare has evolved into what is now termed Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW).c Even the leftist wonks at Wikipedia have summarized the evolution of warfare fairly well, in re-stating the generations of warfare concepts developed by military analysts and historians including William S. Lind, Terry Terriff, and Robert Steele: First-generation warfare refers to ancient and post-classical battles fought with massed manpower, using phalanx, line, and column tactics with uniformed soldiers governed by the state. This generation came to an end around the mid-nineteenth century due to rapid improvements in the range, accuracy, and rate-of-fire …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. In today’s column, a special look at Overseas Investing and Expatriation. Precious Metals: Spot gold and silver both saw declines this week.  Silver was hit particularly hard, in trading on Thursday.  It was at $22.74 per Troy ounce when I last checked. This could be a good buying opportunity for folks who like to buy on …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I place economy among the first and most important virtues and public debt as the greatest dangers to be feared … We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our choice between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude … The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the disposition of public money. We are endeavoring to reduce the government to the practice of rigid economy to avoid burdening the people …” – Thomas Jefferson


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 22, 2023

On June 22nd, 1611, English explorer Henry Hudson—who earlier had tried to discover a short route from Europe to Asia through the Arctic Ocean—was set adrift with his son and seven others in Hudson Bay by mutineers. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be …


Solo Road Travel, by Hollyberry

THE PLANNING STAGE I live in Maine, and my mom lives in New Jersey. The drive, one way, is 550 miles. Depending on weather conditions and traffic, the drive will take 9-10 hours. I have been making this trip several times a year for about 19 years now. Due to mom’s declining health I have been required to travel more frequently. We have some animals/livestock that need attending to so my husband stays home on “homestead duty”. I wish my dogs were car dogs but they would make that 10-hour drive even longer so I go by myself. Over the …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at some remote work possibilities and the changing global workforce. Hybrid and Remote Work in 2023 Over at ZDNet: Hybrid and remote work: The state of …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 21, 2023

June 21st is the birthday of Rex Applegate (June 21, 1914 – July 14, 1998), author of Kill or Be Killed. He was the friend and mentor of SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …


Road Trip Navigation, by R.T.

This is about our cross-country road trip; not about where we went, what we saw or what we did, but about how we got there and how we found our way back. Why should this journey be of interest to you? Because someday you might have to make a road trip that doesn’t go as planned, or maybe not even planned at all and with little or no technological help. My wife and I are occasional long-distance travelers. The long-distance road trips we have made have been primarily to the same destination for family events via variations of the same …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — For anyone concerned about the negative health effects of Radio Frequency (RF) and other Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) in their homes, I know of a consulting company that specializes in RF/EMF remediation.  Keith Cutter, the owner of the company, has about 30 podcasts on the subject now archived and available for free listening. …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The entire argument for gun control is built upon a false premise. The second amendment is not about self-defense from criminals. As unpleasant as it may be for this modern society to say out loud, historically and constitutionally speaking, the right of the people to keep and bear arms has always been a right to protect yourself from those in power who want to enslave you. If America wants to engage in a real factual debate on the right to keep and bear arms, then it must be approached from the proper perspective. A proper debate on one’s right to …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 20, 2023

On June 20th, 1903, American automobile-racing driver Barney Oldfield accomplished the first mile-a-minute performance in a car, at Indianapolis, Indiana. June 20th is also the birthday of Audie L. Murphy. He was born in 1925. He died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 107 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite …


Practical PV Power, by Graton

Even though I have been dabbling in solar power since about 2008 I hesitated to share my experiences because I felt totally incompetent about the subject. I still feel that way in large part, even though my “knowledge” has increased dramatically. One of my first projects was setting up a solar-powered well for a friend’s cattle where obtaining grid power would have been financially prohibitive. The equipment included a Grundfos 11 SQ-Flex 2 pump, 6 solar panels, Midnite Solar 60 charge controller, golf cart 48-volt battery bank, etc. You may have noticed that there is no mention of an inverter …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on the lengthy Republican walkout of the Oregon legislature.  (See the Central & Eastern Oregon section.) Idaho Idaho ranks #3 in USNews report: Economy, fiscal stability, and crime boost Gem State. o  o  o Kellogg shooting on Father’s Day leaves 4 dead, suspect arrested.  …