Category: Retreat Security

Three Letters Re: Studying Guerilla Warfare Tactics

Dear Captain Rawles, I would like to thank Al H. for his letter on the importance of studying Guerrilla Warfare tactics and also for his mention of one of my book, Contact!: A Tactical Manual for Post Collapse Survival There were two purposes in writing ‘Contact’: firstly, to pass on tactical self-defense information to aid the survival of law abiding prepper folks in a post-SHTF situation. The second was to give information on how to tactically fight a resistance campaign, although at the time I left some of the reasons for the tactics a little unsaid. Its all in there, …


Letter Re: Studying Guerilla Warfare Tactics

Dear Mr. Rawles, So few understand insurgency and its intricacies that if the SHTF there would be no leaders in the towns and cities to teach the people who would become the auxiliary, the underground, and the guerilla units what they need to know to be successful that we would have an “epic fail” from the very start.  Insurgency is more than picking up a weapon and shooting, in fact that is a small part of insurgency.   Most people can’t even define insurgency, and that includes the so called experts in survival.  The fault doesn’t lie with the people, …


My Prepping Perspective, by Jenny O.

Waking up to the sudden realization that my safe, comfortable world as I have always known it to be was not the result of watching any “end of the world” movies or documentaries, or from reading something about it or from a friend convincing me.  I feel it was a gift, a freebie wake-up call from the heavenly powers that be.   I can’t help but think that I am supposed to be a survivor…..at least long enough to keep my children alive and healthy until they are grown and can then survive without my assistance.  My husband on the other …


Letter Re: Repairing and Refurbishing Traditional Optics

Hi James,    I just want to pass on a “good job” referral.  I was having difficulty with my Optolyth spotting scope’s coarse focus ring.  It was almost frozen; very hard to turn.  There are several companies in Britain that work on optics, but I wanted to find someone here in the USA, and eventually located Cory Suddarth’s company, SuddarthOptical.com.  Cory is a Navy-trained optical man with 38 years’ experience working with all types of optics.  Located in Henryetta, Oklahoma, he offers very affordable service for practically any make or model binocular or scope.  Families are now finding WWII binoculars in their grandfather’s …


Letter Re: Tattletale Alarm Systems

Dear Mr. Rawles, A young friend recommended “Patriots” to me a month ago and, since that time, I’ve consumed it’s two sequels and “How to Survive…”  I was pleased to see that I have followed most if not all of your recommendations without having known them – my endless frustration in life has been to never had an original thought.  In re-reading “Surviving…”, the lighting, alarm and camera chapters, I note that you reference motion detector operated lighting, Dakota Alert MURS systems and webcams but not an alarm system as such. Back in 2008, as moving day to The American …


Making Your Home Less of a Target Once The Lights Go Out, by W.K.R. in Kansas

Like most of you I have been preparing for the bad times to come. I have made plans with food stores, water, guns and ammo, etc. In my desire for knowledge and to be as prepared as possible I’ve read anything I can get my hands on and I surf the Internet nightly, I also have an impressive library. I have gleaned what I could from all this and fortified where I can. My major concern now lies is in how to protect my family and supplies that I have worked so hard and diligently on, along with personal sacrifice …


Letter Re: Be Prepared to Fortify

Jim: A few comments on Mountain Man Virgil’s letter titled “Be Prepared to Fortify.” I would like to offer a few alternatives to his plan to “hide security measures in your garage until you need them.” I am assuming that he is referring to items such as barbed wire and sand bags. There are many things one can do which offer very good security and still blend in with the neighborhood. Large decorative rocks, strategically placed or large treated logs as garden or flower beds can offer excellent cover and concealment. Large livestock water tanks of metal or heavy plastic …


Letter Re: Be Prepared to Fortify

Sir, One thing I often hear from folks who live in the suburbs is, “Oh man, you’re so lucky, you can totally take your mountain cabin and make it an armed fortress.”  That’s not exactly true.  While I do have a retreat in a rural area, I do still also have neighbors up there.  We are on acre+ lots, so there is space.  But if I started stringing barbed wire and digging a moat, it would raise a few eyebrows.  Not only might I get a visit from the DHS (or the People’s Republic of California equivalent), but my neighbors …


Letter Re: A Dual Ring Village

Mr Rawles, thank you for the service you provide. A comment on the dual ring village concept. If it is advanced as a defense tactic, I would urge remembering that the walled-town versus siegecraft dynamic is thousands of years old, and the survival of walled towns and cities is only possible if they are: 1. Provisioned to last longer than the besieging force, which is of course free to forage and be resupplied 2. Fireproof 3. Relieved by a friendly force from outside. They are also utterly obsolete since the development of artillery bombardment, still more so since the airplane …


Letter Re: CONEX Shipping Container Problems

James: A good friend who has own three acres at the end of my dead end road rented two 40 foot-long shipping containers eight years ago, paying $250 a month for the pair, and filled them completely up with stuff that he moved from Ohio.  I recently built a two-storey barn for him. When we opened the containers, which had been sealed for eight years [to shift the contents to the new barn] we found that holes had rusted through the top of the containers and everything inside of them was totally ruined.  Nothing inside was salvageable.  He is depressed and …


Letter Re: Home Invasion Prevention

Sir, I’ve often wondered what the “typical” home-invasion victim’s house looks like.  Does it have high fences; does it sit perched on a hill with a beautiful view; are BMWs seen entering & leaving?  Perhaps.  I wonder if home invaders (or burglars, for that matter) even bother with modest homes that have 20-year-old cars parked in front?  Probably not so much. What I’m saying is that, even if you have the means to live well, part of OPSEC should probably include maintaining the appearance of being a low-value target.  Making your home into an obvious fortress will naturally cause those with …


Excerpt From: Home Invasion Prevention, by Frank Hilliard

[JWR’s Introductory Note: I’m presenting this book excerpt as a guest post. His book is available at Lulu.com.] The prospect looms of an economic collapse caused by the enormous sovereign debt of the United States and moves by China, Russia, Brazil and others to dump the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. If they succeed, America will be dethroned from its position as the middle-man in world financial affairs and the dollar will begin to reflect America’s true financial position. In short, America will become the new Zimbabwe. This devaluation will create massive disruptions in domestic economic activity, banking, public …


Letter Re: Advice on In-Home Caches

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


Two Letters Re: Keeping Cash and Tangibles at Home

Sir: We have had cash on hand since Y2K, which became 9/11 cash, then 2008 crash cash. I agree with the author to be careful, because depositing/withdrawing or spending large amounts of cash can trigger a report to the authorities due to the Patriot Act, or cause other problems. My own example is: In 2008 I withdrew $7,500 and closed an account at a failing bank. This money sat “under the mattress” so to speak, until just  a few months ago when I decided to purchase a small second home, using this cash as part of the down payment. I had about $5,000 left of the cash …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Dogs at Survival Retreats

Hello Jim, You have had a couple of good articles about having dogs for retreat/home protection recently. I couldn’t agree more that dogs are a wonderful resource in many ways. I have two German Shepherds who keep my farm and home safe from humans and predators.  There are a couple points I would like to add. First of all, not all dogs will fight to protect their pack. I had a German Shepherd several years ago who would try to hide behind me if there was danger. He was a complete coward, in spite of his attack training. When picking …