Category: Retreat Security

Letter Re: The Google Earth Threat to Retreats

Dear SurvivalBloggers: So you think that your residence, bug out location, or retreat are going to be easy to hide? See this news article: Police: Burglar used Google Maps to case upscale suburban homes Think operational security (OPSEC)! I’ve noticed in my neighborhood who had “photo roofs”, who ran a generator during the recent Hurricane Irene, and who has “interesting” bulk food boxes put out for recycling.  Now I’m not going to be part of the Golden Horde. I’ll be dead of a stroke if TEOTWAWKI happens. (Never been right before in my predictions.) But if I see this stuff, …


You Are At Your Retreat — What Now?, by D.H.

Many of us have plans to get our family and friends to a retreat once the Schumer hits the fan (SHTF). Many of us have written down plans that tell us what things to grab before we leave (so we don’t forget something important), but how many of you have written down plans for what to do once you’re there, at your retreat? Why write them down? Well, because even though you may know everything you’re going to do once there, maybe the others don’t. For some unforeseen reason, you may not even make it there. Will your family know …


Odds And Ends That You Won’t Want To Be Without, by Sonny Jim

I believe in having all the “big” things, to prepare for the possible breakdown of civil society.   I have a large home outside of a small mid-west town, and expect 12 people to arrive to hunker down, if things do fall apart.  I need to be able to feed and supply of them, perhaps for years. So I have 1,200 gallons of Kerosene.  This is intended for heating the home for 3 winters, and I have 3 Kerosene heaters to do the job.  The Kerosene is stored in in 3 large 330 gallon plastic totes, half buried in my back …


Lessons in OPSEC: Hurricane Irene Versus Hurricane Isabel, by Gonzo

In 2003 I lived in what can only be described as “The Hood” when Hurricane Isabel arrived. Today I find myself in a middle class neighborhood for Irene. The difference between the two and how my neighbors are handling these semi-SHTF scenarios gives a very instructive view of operational security (OPSEC) and its effects.  These two hurricanes came ashore about the same place and the same strength, but its two different worlds I have seen the aftermaths effects on. During Isabel I lived in one of the worst sections of Virginia Beach, the sort of place that other people who …


Letter Re: Bed Bunker Gun Vaults

Jim, The Bed Bunker gun vaults that you just reviewed can exceed the structural capabilities of most standard wood frame houses. By the time you combine the weights of a king or queen size safe, two adults, the mattress, the bed frame, the linens, and the contents of the safe, you could very quickly exceed one ton of weight or ~60 pounds per square foot for a queen bed (add another 10 to 14 pounds per square foot for the structure of the building). Most wood frame construction is designed for 40 pounds per square foot and allows for 25 …


Jim’s Product Review: Bed Bunker Gun Vaults

One of my consulting clients recently bought several Bed Bunker gun vaults and I had the chance to examine them. This product is an unusual horizontal home gun vault design that replaces your bed’s box springs. These vaults have two major advantages: 1.) They don’t take up any more floor space than your current furniture, and 2.) They will probably be overlooked by most burglars that are in a hurry. (And statistics show that most burglars are in a hurry. Typically, they are in a house for less than five minutes. The bad guys can’t attack a safe if they …


Creating Hiding Places Without Handyman Skills, by Tamara W.

Creating hiding places for items can be a challenge without handyman skills, a large budget and the need to hide stores in sight. Fortunately, there are some options that are easy to implement without a lot of cost without looking odd to anyone passing through your home. Many Uses for Chest Freezers Chest freezers have the benefits of being common, heavy, cheap to get used and not a big deal to own. How does this help when you want to store things or hide them? Chest freezers are commonly locked to keep young children from climbing in and becoming trapped. …


The Five Steps of OPSEC Assessment by Stone of Scone

Operational Security (OPSEC) which is the evaluation and control of any critical information that could be used against you by an adversary. The result of good OPSEC is the elimination or withholding of the most damaging information that your adversary has the ability to gather and understand how to use against you. OPSEC happens everyday. When you go on vacation and hold your mail and newspaper delivery, and use timers to turn your radio and lights on and off to make it appear that you are home, you are practicing good OPSEC. Here is a another example of OPSEC. A …


Letter Re: A Treasure-Hunting Prepper

Jim: I would like to address a few of the insightful comments to my original submission: A Treasure Hunting Prepper.   Mr. Fitzy in Pennsylvania is correct about his instruction on filling in holes when metal detecting. It is true that some parks can become closed due to irresponsible detectorists, but I would assume that it is common sense amongst those born with it to not leave holes! That, unfortunately, is not always the case. For instance, a local park that a metal detecting club my dad and I belonged to decided to make it against the rules to metal …


Letter Re: Tire Bale Bastions and Houses?

Hi, Doing some research on earth domes and I’m seeing a new trend, tire bales. These are 5 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 2.5 feet tall. They weigh 2,000 pounds apiece. They are environmentally friendly, being sold for $25-35 a unit plus shipping. I’m planning on using them around the houses perimeter as I feel they are much less expensive and more durable than a masonry wall. Covered in concrete or adobe they won’t be an aesthetic issue either. I was wondering what your opinion of them would be as a ballistic barrier/wall? Keep up the great work. – …


Letter Re: Converting a Standard American Home Into a Hardened Retreat

Mr. Rawles, I read CentOre’s article with great interest and believe he and his group are well on the way to success.  I have a possible solution to what he listed as his greatest issue: “A more realistic problem in our area involves the numerous one ton, four wheel drive, jacked up trucks.  Our goal for them remains to slow or delay their progress within reasonable shooting distances. “ May I recommend a classic defense that has been in use against infantry and cavalry for centuries and motorized vehicles more recently called the abatis.  I think this fits in perfectly …


Converting a Standard American Home Into a Hardened Retreat, by CentOre

Not everyone can find or afford a solidly built brick home with fittings to hang bullet-proof shutters and doors. We agree with the bulk of the writings we have read concerning the ‘non-defensibility’ of the average United States home.  Our group has choices as to which house will become ‘The Retreat’ for the entire group when the SHTF.  Our group’s consensus is our ‘Primary’ retreat will probably be a 2,600 square foot triple-wide ranch style manufactured home.  It has three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a living room and family room.   There is an adequate kitchen with a totally …


TEOTWAWKI Planning From the Perspective of a Former SF Operator, by SAV

When starting the process of preparation for TEOTWAWKI we must first plan for the most likely scenario that will cause the survival situation you are prepping for. When contemplating the TEOTWAWKI scenarios, one is confronted by a plethora of daunting challenges and theories from Magnetic pole reversal, getting hit by a rouge asteroid (don’t worry about this one Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis will save us) to solar flares knocking out technology, and the list continues.  My fear is that the end will not come from a major event but from a minor event that triggers a chain reaction of …


COMSEC: One Time Pad Generation, by B.R.

While re-reading the ‘Radio Ranch’ chapter in JWR’s novel “Patriots“, I started thinking about the Book Code method versus a One-Time Pad. I went through the books on my shelf, and noticed the lack of duplicate books; the number of ‘common’ books; and how many of my books I figured would be in the Uncle Sam’s cracked book repository. At that point I thought I’d be SOL when trying to setup a secure method of communication. Being an ex-Army Infantry turned computer geek and prepper, I figured it would be much easier to write some code to generate pages of …


The Early Stages of Preparation, by St. Croix

The Early Stages of Preparation, by St. Croix Over the past couple of years I have had a few people, two in particular, hint to me that it would not be a bad idea to begin picking up a few extra non-perishable items on my weekly visits to Wal-Mart or the local grocery store.  I began realizing, like most of the population, when me or my wife go to the store, we normally only pick up a “few things”, or just enough to get us through the week.  However, thanks to their continuous subtle remarks, and the assistance of the …