Letter Re: Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned

Good Morning, SurvivalBloggers,
SurvivalBlog recently had a very good list of hurricane preparation tips in Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned, written by a Florida resident. As a former 20+ year Florida resident I’d like to add to his excellent piece.

In Florida, hurricanes are a way of life, and the period from June 1 to November 30 is known as “hurricane season.” The period from December 1 to May 31 is known as “not hurricane season.”  “Not hurricane season” is when one should be doing their preparation for the other six months. During “not hurricane season” one can find plywood on sale occasionally, generators are plentiful, frequently at reduced prices, and contractors and handymen are available.
“Not hurricane season” is when one purchases plywood (tip: thicker is better), cuts it to fit windows and vulnerable doorways, drills mounting holes in it and labels each sheet as to which window or door it fits so installation can be done faster when a hurricane arrives during “hurricane season.” In short, anything non-perishable that one might need during “hurricane season” is procured and gotten ready during “not hurricane season.”  This includes laying out multiple travel plans to escape direct contact with a hurricane. As the writer pointed out, the primary travel direction in Florida when hurricanes are imminent is called “north.” Unfortunately, <i>everyone</i> in Florida knows this because they probably emigrated from “north” so like lemmings headed to the sea, all 20 million residents will instinctively, and simultaneously,  seek to return there because “north” traditionally does not have hurricanes.

There are a limited number of solutions to this problem: 1) Go “north” early, before everyone else, or; 2) Go in a different direction. Florida is only about 150 miles wide, which in the case of a hurricanes like Andrew in 1992 or Wilma in 2005 will not provide much protection, so diagonal travel may be required, for example Miami-to-Tampa, Ft. Pierce-to-Bradenton, Naples-to-Melbourne, etc. Pay close and frequent attention to the predicted hurricane track and adjust your destination, as necessary.

Perishable preps – refrigerated food, gasoline, etc. – are performed during “hurricane season” as soon as possible after a published track shows a hurricane is headed toward the Florida peninsula. It is possible that, should the hurricane not visit your area you will not be able to consume all the perishable food before it degrades beyond usefulness. Some of this is to be expected, and is called “the price of living in Florida.” Most Floridians faced with this problem either donate the food to a charitable organization while it is still good, or use it for a neighborhood cookout. Gasoline, properly and safely stored will not go to waste. What doesn’t go to generator usage will fit in your vehicle’s gas tank and can be consumed during daily transportation duties.

Speaking of gasoline, should one have to relocate and wish to bring along additional fuel, safe transport should be utilized. It is not safe to place filled gasoline containers inside a vehicle, so consider a trailer hitch-mounted basket for that purpose. If one has NATO steel cans, then four 20 liter cans  will lie flat inside a 20″x60″ hitch-mounted cargo basket with room for a waterproof 20″x60″x15″ gear bag on top, providing additional space for non-critical gear as well as somewhat camouflaging the gas cans. (Tip: Use a steel cable and combination padlock to secure the cans to the hitch-mounted carrier to prevent those who consider themselves “more needy” from diverting your supplies to their purposes. Combination locks eliminate the “where’s the key?” problem.)

It’s been said by many that “No plan survives contact with the enemy”, but that is no reason to not have a plan, and having a plan is no reason to not have multiple fallback plans. As the Marines teach, “Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.” Consider likely scenarios, develop a plan to deal with them, then begin considering less likely scenarios and develop alternatives to deal with those.  Alterations to an existing plan to accommodate variations is much more easily accomplished than having to come up with a completely new plan each time a variation occurs. – N.K.

JWR Replies:  Your suggestion of short-term horizontal stowage of fuel cans has some merit, but I must remind our readers that it is crucial to first test every can you own to see if their gaskets are tight enough to prevent leaks, in that position!  If their gaskets are “weepy” and you must therefore stow them vertically, then I recommend that you find a large cardboard shipping box for an appliance (such as a stove or a compact refrigerator–NOT a high theft item like a generator!) that is large enough to camouflage your fuel cans.

Economics and Investing:

Pre-1965 Silver Pocket Change Provides Investors With an Economic Future

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The Case for Investing in Guns

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This was posted last month at Zero Hedge: The only real currency if society breaks down is accelerated lead.

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Graham Summers had some comments on the global currency markets:
A Problem So Massive Even Central Banks Cannot Contain It

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

I spotted this collection of how-to videos over at the Backdoor Survival web site:  39 Fantastic Prepping Tips

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Michael Snyder: Why Are So Many Christians Moving To The Great Northwest? Could It Be A Safe Zone?

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In an odd riff, this somehow reminds me of the plot of my novel Land Of Promise…. Here is a new spin on the concept of establishing a new sovereign nation in Terra Nullius: Asgardia

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Zero Hedge reports: Wikileaks Releases Another 2,000 Podesta Emails In Part 6 Of Data Dump

Notes for Thursday – October 13, 2016

One of my contacts who serves on a General Staff mentioned that the recent news reports about contingency plans for a war with Russia have actually under-reported the intensity of the planning effort. There is now a quite frequent shuttling of general officers around the world, to attend logistical planning meetings. My source mentioned that high level staff meetings have been going on since the Ukraine crisis began in late 2013, but they have recently intensified.

If you are not yet concerned about the possible advent of World War III, then you should be. The recent policy shift toward the U.S. providing lethal aid to the Ukrainian Army (approved by Congress in late 2015, but delayed by the BHO administration and likely start in earnest, after the November election) will surely be seen as provocative by the Russians. And of course with so many proxy armies now in play, events could very easily spin out of control in Syria. Stock up, folks.  And if you still live in a target area (read: in or downwind of a major population center or a military target), then it is high time to relocate.  John Lithgow (as Dr. Emilio Lizardo) said it best: “The clock, she is a-ticking!” – JWR

Today is the birthday of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (born 1925, died 2013.)

This is also the birthday of singer and songwriter Paul Simon. (He was born in 1941.) His Graceland recordings are some of my favorite listening for road trips.

Letter: Another View of Alaska as a Survival Location

My family and I arrived in Alaska in 1974 while I was in the U.S. Army. I was stationed at Ft. Richardson (now part of Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson. JBER). I spent five years at Ft. Rich. A 3-year tour, with two one year extensions. In 1980 I left the Army and moved my family back to Anchorage, where I currently reside.

I grew up in mid-eastern Pennsylvania and spent two summers working on dairy farms in that area.

I agree with some of what S.J. had to say in regards to whites not welcome in native villages as well as that drugs and alcohol are a problem in these villages. Also the population in the “Bush” is so small someone new in the area will quickly be the major topic of discussion in that area. In short, you cannot hide.

If you want to live a “survivalist” lifestyle here you must realize that 94% of the food consumed in Alaska is shipped in with most of it coming through the Port of Anchorage by two ships each week, Sunday and Wednesday. This past January one of the ships went in for two days of maintenance that stretched into three weeks.

As you can see the paper products (Toilet Paper and Paper Towels) were the first to disappear. The canned goods also started to get “thin”. If the ship had been delayed for two or three weeks more things would have gotten real interesting. It was reported that the single ship that was still operating was restricted to critical loads only for two weeks but that just barely kept the food shelves in Anchorage stocked and it was reported the outlying towns and Fairbanks things were even thinner.

While yes you can garden almost anywhere in Alaska given enough serious effort (did I mention SERIOUS EFFORT?) I will restrict my gardening/farming comments for the Matanuska – Susitna River drainage and the Kenai Peninsula.

This area goes from Talkeetna to the north Palmer to the east and down through Los Anchorage to Homer on the Kenai peninsula to the South and West. There is some Barley farming north east in the Delta Junction/ Fort Greeley area but the majority of farming is along the Parks Highway (Talkeetna, Willow, Wasilla and a few other towns that are on this highway), the Glenn Highway (Palmer is on this road and leads into Anchorage). This area is often referred to at the Mat-Sue. In 1984 the state of Alaska tried to establish dairy farming in this area. They hooked an anchor chain between two D-8 Caterpillar tractors and cleared thousands of acres of woodland for Dairy, hay and grain farms. The experiment failed. Yes, there are one or two dairies just hanging on but there is no viable dairy business in Alaska. What we do have is what is called “Truck Farms” where I came from. They got that name because they trucked the produce to the distributor and then to the grocery stores. Remember I said we produce only 6% of the food consumed in Alaska Why is this? Well, because our growing season is short, the ground is cold and the summers can be cold and rainy but this past summer we had a great growing season. It goes like that but you cannot count on every summer to be a good summer. I have a 4ft by 10 foot raised bed garden, a 30 by 60 flatbed garden and a large container garden of Rubbermaid totes. I canned 32 pints of string beans, 7 pints of green tomato ketchup, 5 quarts of fermented pickles, a bunch of zucchinis, Cabbage, Brussel sprouts and almost 400 pounds of potatoes plus a few other things like carrots, turnips, red beets.

What I’m getting at is: Yes you can grow veggies here but some things like sweet corn takes a lot of effort like “high tunnels”, green houses, cold frames and such.

It’s said that to feed a family of four for a solid year here it would take at least an acre or more and if you raise animals you would need much more land to grow their feed. Then you have the Moose to contend with, they love everything you will grow in your garden and in a day or two they can clean out all of your hard work and no. you cannot shoot them for eating your garden.

The Seward Highway leaves Anchorage going south to Seward and splits off to the Sterling highway which goes to Soldotna, Kenai and Homer. Here the growing season is just a little better but you will still have the long dark winters to contend with. While I grow food in my garden my larder is WIDE & DEEP it has to be because if we have another 1964 type earthquake the Port of Anchorage could be down for months.

You notice all of our roads have names if you have so few roads you can name them.

S. J. mentioned the high crime rate in Anchorage. While we have had a big spike of all crimes in Anchorage this year most of it can be placed on the drug trade and the various gangs and the large “Homeless community”. Just don’t go into these areas. The other areas in Alaska have also seen a rise in crime, much of this is property theft. I have a Concealed Carry Permit although I don’t need one here–anyone who is legal to own a firearm can open or conceal carry–but mine says “NICS EXEMPT”.

Before you come trotting up here to live visit Alaska in the winter, January would be nice as would February. It has hit 20 below here in Anchorage plus the wind chill and has lasted for two or more weeks. I have seen winters with over 100 inches of snow in Anchorage and winters with virtually no snow. Scraping frost and snow off of your windows in winter will become just another chore you do without thinking in the morning.

As for the Permanent Fund Dividend it could soon be a thing of the past and we could get an income tax and a sales tax. Also they just legalized pot here in the state and I am waiting to see what problems this will bring.

Our jobs are mostly based on oil, then government jobs, and lastly the private sector. You can make do on a $30,000 a year income but $50K to $60K for the family would be better. That necessitates having two incomes. Houses in Anchorage for a three bedroom 1,700 Sq. Ft. range around $380,000 but you can get some less expensively.

I have driven a 2-wheel drive vehicle here for the past 18 years (although all 4 wheels have studded tires on them) with no problem. My wife drives a 4X4 pickup. I would like a 4 wheeler but see no need for one the money you put in one you can buy a lot of meat. Hunting isn’t what it used to be in the 1970s and 1980s. You must now get off of the road system for moose or caribou and moose aren’t as plentiful as many people would think.

Life up here is hard but can be great. However, if you think you can go into the boonies and live off grid then you had better have a large sum of money or a side income. There will be no doctors, no electricity, you will have to carry water from a lake or stream and then purify it. Giardiasis is nothing to fool with and a trip to the outhouse at 20-40 below zero is a thrill. All this said there are some people who live like this and when I was young I did use an outhouse but I have become somewhat domesticated and enjoy indoor plumbing.

Some Facebook pages to read would be: Alaska Home Gardeners, Kenai Peninsula Farm Animals, Mat-Sue Valley Gardening, Alaska Farm & Food, Alaska Flock Talk & Swap and Craigslist “farm & garden’ for Anchorage/Mat-Sue and Kenai. These will give you some insight on gardening and small farming in Alaska. You might want to get the Alaska Dispatch News AKA The Alaska Democrat News. In my opinion this paper is so far leftward leaning that they should only print on the left side of the page. They will mail you a daily copy if you want, or get it on the Internet. You also have The Frontiersman and Miner News. Or just do a search for Alaska papers.

Politically, Alaska is slowly turning from a red state to purple and soon to be blue.

In 1980 when I moved my family back to Anchorage I told my wife it would only be for 10 years. But I didn’t tell her which years I would count. After a trip back east this spring we have decided for now to stay here although I would like to look at Idaho. – Mr. X. in Alaska

Letter: Understanding Bank Transaction Reporting in the U.S.

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:
I have noticed over the last few weeks a couple of articles discussing banking and transaction reporting etc. I would recommend (if one is having trouble sleeping at night) that everyone who is interested read the audit manuals for the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which includes currency transaction reporting (CTR), suspicious activity reporting (SAR), and monetary instrument logs (MIL). Bank’s are required by law to perform these on all customers based on activity and the bank’s teller system analysis. Most people know about CTRs – deposit or withdraw more than $10,000 in cash – but they do not know about SARs or the monetary instrument tracking. Since I audit banks and consult on internal controls for a living, I thought I would discuss the monitoring and reporting process of each.

  • CTRs – Any time you withdraw $10,000 in cash from an account, or series of accounts, or deposit the same, a currency transaction report (CTR) is generated on you personally. The software I have always seen in practice tracks the customer and not the account. So if you have two checking accounts and a savings account with the same institution, any combination of deposits or withdrawals that total over $10,000 will be reported at the end of the day. Even if you go to different branches to withdraw or deposit the funds, it will be found and reported. Most people focus on the CTR process and are paranoid that all large transactions are being reported to any number of alphabet agencies. However, I can say from experience that the volume of CTRs is usually very large and they do no get reported directly to any law enforcement. They are stored, yes, but they are rarely looked at after their filing. Those who try to avoid these, though, are usually put on the next list. . .
  • SARs – A suspicious activity report (SAR) is one of the worst reports that you can be on at any financial institution. Those who try to avoid the CTR by structuring are always reported through a SAR. Large foreign wire transfers or checks usually earn a SAR, out of the ordinary cash payments on loans, or a large increase and/or variation in a high risk account will earn a SAR as well. By high risk I mean an out of state customer, a foreign national, a business account, a person who was hit on an OFAC or Chexsystem report, etc. SARs are reviewed by high level officers at the bank and these reports do go directly to law enforcement each time they are filed. They are not stored away or saved for a rainy day. If a SAR is filed then a FinCEN officer will see it. A SAR will also mark your account as high risk and you will be monitored for at least another 90 days, if not longer, with follow up SARs filed if the questionable behavior continues. At that point the bank may choose to close your account.
  • MILs – Monetary Instrument Logs (MILs) are kept on any monetary instruments purchased with cash. These are closely monitored as well since this is a common form of money laundering and sponsoring of illicit activities. All banks maintain a monetary instrument log. Any monetary instrument over $2,500 will be recorded here. Your name, Social Security or driver’s license number, account number, reason for purchase, and the instrument’s serial number will be recorded as well. These will be reviewed by the BSA Officer of the bank at least quarterly if not monthly. If something is out of place, a SAR will be filed. If the instrument is for over $10,000 a CTR will be filed.

In closing, I would say that it is preferable to have a CTR filed in place of a SAR. If you think you can structure items, you usually can’t. Banks pay a lot of money to have systems that literally do nothing but monitor patterns and transactions. Most will look at 15-30 days minimum for structuring and odd behavior. The big boys play with software that look through months and years of data. Structuring is not treated kindly at all and will earn you a SAR. Another bit of advice would be to divulge as little information as possible to any teller, bank employee, or other customers. Bank employees, from the president down to the new teller, are trained regularly on how to extract and watch for information for CTR and SAR transactions. The training is required by regulations, so even the one branch community bank does it. Don’t EVER mention that you are trying to avoid any reporting or regulation, or talk negatively about the government to bank employees. Both of these will almost always earn you an
automatic SAR or a review by the BSA Officer and committee. Showing a high level of knowledge of banking regulations could also possibly earn you a review by the BSA officer, or an upgrade to your account risk rating. Be pleasant and nice, but do not chat up the teller, your loan officer, or any one else. Even if another customer mentions that you have said something while in line to the teller, that could also get you on the short list. All of this sounds very intrusive and aggressive, but it is not the banks’ fault. Most of them hate doing it, but the federal regulators will fine them if it is discovered they are not reporting. The best way to avoid it is to continue as you normally would, be low profile, and don’t try to hastily get around the system. It is designed exactly for that reason.

Regards, – The Auditor

Economics and Investing:

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings

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Need a [Home-Based] Business Idea? Here are 55

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Hillary Clinton’s planned tax increases

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Deutsche Bank has another problem: Its ETF business.  (The bank’s stock has dropped from around 30 Euros per share to 12.36 Euros per share, over the past seven months, and meanwhile their funds outflows have been enormous. Collapse of the bank reportedly now appears inevitable.)

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at View From The Porch, Tamara has some sound reasoning on daily concealed carry: Quote of the Day: Be Real Edition

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I belatedly noticed that earlier this year,the originator of Robb’s Homemade Life kindly posted a YouTube video describing our CFAPA spin-off web site, where we offer free press credentials for any adult citizen. Thanks, Robb!

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More Internet censorship: This Trump campaign commercial was blocked by YouTube as
“inappropriate content” and has had a warning label added.

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A new For Sale By Owner (FSBO) listing in Arkansas over at my #1 Son’s SurvivalRealty.com web site shows the utility of using large rectangular hay bales to enhance the ballistic protection of a house:  Country Fort. If the bales are kept tarped, they can simply be changed once a year and the old hay fed to your livestock.  So if you already own a tractor and have a yearly budget to barn-store hay, then this ballistic protection method will cost you just a little more–only for the expense of the extra tarps.  The positioning of the bales could be explained as a “wind break”, in many parts of the country–particularly out on the plains.  Note that large rectangular bales can weigh between 400 and 1,700 pounds, so you will definitely need a tractor that is configured for hay bale handling.

Notes for Wednesday – October 12, 2016

Please continue to pray for and assist those displaced by Hurricane Matthew. Substantial damage has been done all the way up into North Carolina.

The topic of today’s writing contest article underscores the importance of situational awareness.  My advice is to study Colonel Jeff Cooper’s levels of awareness codes, then live them. In today’s inimical world, living in Condition Yellow should be your normal modus operandi. –  JWR

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Today, we present another entry for Round 67 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
  3. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  4. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  9. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value),
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value), and
  9. Fifteen LifeStraws from SafeCastle (a $300 value).

Round 67 ends on November 30th, 2016, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Terror in Texas: An Active Shooter, by Sophie

This is a wake-up call for all of you who think you’re ready when the Schumer Hits the Fan (SHTF). Whatever trigger may cause the mayhem, you think you’re ready for it because you read all the advice from experts like SurvivalBlog so that your prepared to handle anything thrown at you.

Well I’m here to tell you that when it does come your way, either by lack of practice, planning, forgetfulness or not doing what you know you should, life can turn for the worst to immediately change your life and those you love. Yesterday was my day to “wake up and smell the coffee”.

My husband and I awoke at 6 am and put my youngest son on the bus to high school 17 miles from our home. We had just taken our oldest son, a Freshman, to a small rural college in the west Texas town of Alpine (population 5,900) 5 hours away. The primary reason we chose west Texas is the rural ranching focus far away from large cities.

My life is pretty ordinary. I began the morning by feeding our chickens, milk goats, dogs and cats, yet the world came to a stop when I casually glanced at my phone around 9:30 am. I had missed several phone calls and text messages from our oldest son.

What he wrote turned my world upside down: “Mom, there’s is an active shooter at the school and they’ve locked down every school campus in Alpine.” Simultaneously, there was also a bomb threat at the university and hospital.

Stunned, I immediately cried out loud for God to protect my son from all evil, calling on the Lord to keep him safe. I next called my husband to come home immediately and then my mother and pastor to begin praying.

What I didn’t know yet was that the shooter was a high school freshman girl who shot another female student, then turned the gun on herself and committed suicide. A federal officer was also accidentally shot by another during all the confusion.

While the three shooting victims were taken to the hospital, multiple law enforcement agencies descended in force on the small town to look for other active shooters. Between reading “active shooter” texts from my son and the university, school phone calls of “active shooter” alerts and campus lock down featured on Fox News reporting live in Alpine I almost threw up.

The school messages told everyone to shelter in place. This was later changed to directing everyone on campus to evacuate immediately to the civic center in town.

When the school shooting was over and law enforcement (kudos to the men in blue!) determined there were no other shooters, they spent the day and better part of the evening making sure there wasn’t a bomb at the university.

That was 12 hours later and hindsight is 20/20. My immediate actions and reactions were tested beyond my understanding. Looking back on that day filled with prayer, tears, confusion, anxiety, misinformation and lots of waiting taught me about myself, my son and how my family responds in a crisis.

After it was over, my son was scared, but fine. He helped other students, took charge and performed well, just as he was taught. But the lessons I learned are valuable and I wish to pass them on to others. Many are so simple, yet there were unseen events I could have never prepared for.

Here’s what I did wrong:

  1. Didn’t keep my cell phone charged or check it often enough. When I got the text messages from my son they were 25 minutes old, which seems like a lifetime in a shooting situation. Not getting hold of me, my son began making decisions on his own. When I really needed to communicate my cell phone was almost dead. I was frantically running around trying to find a charger. I also turned down the volume on the phone ringer so that I didn’t hear his frantic phone calls. Always be prepared.
  2. Stay or go? After learning of an active shooter, my first response was to drive the 5 hours to Alpine. Guess what? I couldn’t find my car keys! I had not put them in the basket on the dining room table my husband had suggested just a few nights before. More wasted time frantically running around and causing lots of stress!
  3. Active shooter plan wasn’t updated. Although our family discussed what to do in the event of an active shooter at the high school, when my son went off to college we didn’t update it. We discussed before leaving him at college to “head home” in case of emergency, but didn’t’ take into consideration this may not always be possible. We also didn’t have a Plan B or C. That was a big mistake. Formulating a strategy under pressure usually doesn’t yield the best results and causes undue stress. See below.
  4. Kids don’t always follow the plan. When I finally spoke to my son he had already left campus and was at a rest stop outside of town, unsure what to do next. I said come home, he said no. Trying to not argue, with the sirens blaring in the background, he informed me “they” would go to a café in the next small town 22 miles away and call me from there. They? My son had brought along 2 girls from class with him and he now was making decisions jointly. Didn’t see that one coming.
  5. No backup plan. I had told him to head home in the event of an emergency, but didn’t plan beyond that, nor did I take into account if for some reason he couldn’t come home. Then what? With no backup plan they were in a quandary: they couldn’t go back to school because it was being evacuated to the civic center. Later they decided to return to town and stay at a friend’s parent’s house that was empty and only used when they visit their son at school. Eventually 7 students stayed there while the situation worked itself out.
  6. No cash. Although I had given my son a hundred dollars and told him to put it away in case of emergency, he spent it without replacing it. That was his gas money to get out of Dodge. This time the ATM’s worked. Next time?
  7. No cell service. Cell phones don’t work inside the high school where my younger son was in class. I didn’t have either son’s class schedules that would have allowed me quick access. I needed to inform my youngest of the situation and that our family was preparing to drive to Alpine. This meant relying on others to tell me where my son was located. A new person at the school front desk took the call, buy disregarded my emergency instructions to bring my son to the office and call me. Always know where your kids are!
  8. OPSEC. When a well-meaning, but inquisitive high school counselor over heard my frantic conversation with my youngest son, she promptly chided me for not following procedure and I should have let the government take control of my son and evacuate to the civic center. Do you remember Hurricane Katrina? Another mistake: No matter how well their intentions, do not tell others your emergency situation or future plans. Keep that only a need-to-know basis.
  9. New state gun laws changed the rules for guns on campus. We chose Alpine in part because my oldest son could bring guns to school and hunt on the weekends if he turned them in to campus police. Like most Texas children, my son was raised around guns, is very responsible when using them and is a very good shot. The option to defend himself was taken away when Texas passed open carry, which at first unbeknownst to us, restricts students from having any guns on campus unless they have a concealed weapons permit and are 21 years old. We didn’t have a plan in place to counteract this, which left my very capable, level headed son defenseless.
  10. We didn’t know where the school would take our son in theevent of an emergency. Enough said.

We did get some things right. Here’s a list:

  1. I had a full gas tank ready to go.
  2. Before leaving for college we gave our son an Atlas, fullemergency backpack, snacks and water for his truck and dorm important since the school provides all his meals.
  3. A compass, sleeping bag and tent were also ready in his dorm room.
  4. We strongly advised our college son to explore his surroundings on the first weekend away at school, which he did. Hiking the nearby mountains gave him the “lay of the land” in his new surroundings and by asking others to join him he met the new friend whose parents house he stayed at during the emergency.
  5. High school son was ready for immediate action. I kept him in the loop and was a part of our family decision making process. We discussed our options via speaker phone, which gave him some measure of control during the situation. It was a big lesson for the youngest too.
  6. Had both schools phone number on speed dial and the school address.
  7. Made a predetermined rendezvous point between home and school to stay at until help arrived in case my son couldn’t make the drive all the way home. It wasn’t used this time, but what about the next?
  8. Took the time out of our nightly routine to practice shooting our gun just the night before it happened.
  9. Kept our Pastor in the loop. Not only did Pastor personally drive our son to Alpine and help select a church for him to attend, but they spent the long drive discussing the Lord, life and future just before he left. Salvation is the end game, right?
  10. Didn’t react until we knew fully what was going on. We cried and prayed, but in the end kept our cool helping direct our son away from danger.

May you never need to use these lessons. In the end what matters the most is faith in God, family and love. I will never again think it can’t happen out in the country or to our family. Times are perilous so you must be prepared. May God Bless you and keep you safe.

Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned

Dear Editor:
Although I shouldn’t have been, I was once again amazed at the panic and last minute attempts to prepare, as Hurricane Matthew approached Florida. Florida’s geography dictates that there is only one way to travel to get out of the state, and that is north, unless you own a boat or plane.  The interstate freeways and highways get a lot of traffic and the stores get cleaned out, by hurricane refugees.  The parking lot of the Walmart that I visited was full of recreational vehicles (RVs).  Many of their owners were standing around with nowhere to go.  When a nearby gas station had what looked like a fuel resupply truck pull in there was a stampede of people on foot with empty gas cans lining up at the pump and blocking cars from getting in.

Be prepared and top off as soon as you hear the word “Hurricane”:

Nearly everything sold out.  Bread, milk, water in all containers, the camping sections were cleared, gas, diesel, propane, and butane were all gone.  The big box stores did quite a bit of business in plywood and lumber. Even car batteries took an inventory hit.  Empty propane bottles and gas cans were also sold out even if there was nothing to put in them.  Most of this happened the day before the hurricane.  The day prior to that there was plenty of almost everything available.  Where things became available there were very long lines.  The parking lots of Lowe’s and Home Depot were traffic nightmares of trucks and there were long lines of carts inside.  It might take you an hour to get your shopping done there.

All of those stranded RVs meant that people were literally living in the parking lot of Walmart.  They didn’t know when they’d be out of there so they just started stocking up.  They were sitting right there with their hands out when new things were put on the shelf.  Sometimes they didn’t even stock shelves. If it were a critical item, like bottled water, the store staff just put a pallet in a big isle and it was gone within minutes. 
They could actually see the trucks coming in and unloading supplies.  They also had the bathrooms backed up and were making a mess because they didn’t want to fill the black water tanks in their RVs.  With a large group of people waiting right there to buy what they want you have little hope of driving from your house and finding anything in the stores.

Make sure you have enough gasoline to get where you need to get:

There was a wagon train of RVs coming from South Florida.  Many of them had an extra tank of gas but still ended up sitting out the hurricane in central Florida.  They made the mistake of thinking that a full tank of gas and one extra would be enough.  They ended up finding out that everyone fleeing ahead of them had bought up every drop of available gas.

On a personal note, I have a dozen Jerry cans of 5 gallon capacity each, which equates to three full tanks of gas.  Putting those 12 cans in my SUV takes up a serious amount of space.  External mounts or other transport means are something that I really have to consider.

[JWR Adds: Storing gasoline cans inside a vehicle can of course be quite hazardous, so sturdy roof racks for SUVs are a must. Not only are gasoline vapors toxic, but they are also explosive. Depending on their design, the frames of many RVs and fifth wheel trailers can be extended to support a 3-foot wide cargo deck. Typically these are made with a sturdy steel framework topped by a heavy welded wire mesh, or expanded metal. These can often take the weight of gas cans, propane cylinders, generators, or a blackwater tank dump cart. A mesh is ideal, since it doesn’t accumulate snow or rainwater and it also provides umpteen places to attach the ends of cargo straps and bungee cords. I advise readers to check with your local RV center, to see if this a viable option, with your particular vehicle or trailer.]

There are no hotel or motel rooms available:

Florida has an agreement with several other states to provide emergency aid in situations like hurricane recovery.  Power and construction companies will pre-stage outside the threat area so that they are ready to move in and restore services such as electricity, water, and roads.  What happens is that these companies will buy up hundreds of motel and hotel rooms fairly close to the area they are moving into just outside the danger zone.  Fuel tanker trucks and other supplies will give preferential treatment to keep the restoration equipment running.  Many people found that they were competing with the government and private utility companies as well as other evacuees for rooms and supplies.  Millions of people were moving around attempting to get out of the way of the hurricane.  Quite a few slept in their cars when they ran out of gas or couldn’t find rooms.  You will need more gas and food to get farther that you initially think.  The motels and hotels were selling out to big companies paying a single bill, and thus were able to charge even if they didn’t actually occupy the rooms. It is preferable that they do this instead of renting out rooms to dozens of individuals.  I imagine this problem was also going on far into Georgia.

The longer you take to decide that you need to evacuate, then the farther you will have to travel through areas that have been cleaned out of supplies.

Know your last minute “top off”  items and prioritize your shopping:

Decide whether it is worth it to go into town.  If it is, know where you are going, what you are going for, and what you are getting first.  This is not a regular shopping day! This is not the time to check out the latest shoe sale when you notice the sign, spend ten minutes letting the kids browse through the toy section, or waste more time driving to the 20th gas station when every one of them you’ve seen so far has been sold out.   This is not a good time to eat out, either.  A lot of people are out shopping and many of them are out eating.  You might be waiting a long time to get your food.  You just don’t want to spend time out with the masses.  Instead, have a prioritized list, and plan for the time you’re going to spend in the check-out line.  The closer you get to game time the more likely you are to encounter panicked people, a washed out road, or a broken down vehicle on your way home.

If evacuating, know where you are going and plan to adjust your route:

Everyone should have routes and alternate routes ready, but in the case of a moving disaster like a hurricane you have to be able to adjust, on the fly.  Look at the predicted path of the hurricane and make a route that takes you best away from not only the trouble areas but the areas that are going to be cleaned out of supplies.  Hurricane Matthew moved along the East coast of Florida from South to North.  Many people just fled North without thinking.  Some of them drove straight up the East coast and abandoned their vehicles within sight of the ocean when there was no gas to go any farther.  If they had thought about it then  they could have headed straight West to the opposite coast, which was fairly untouched, and even moved South as the Hurricane moved away.  I don’t know for certain, but I’m guessing there would be a lot more rooms available for rent on the West coast and in South Florida.  If you move in the direction of the herd then you will compete with the herd for everything you need.

You might not get to come back anytime soon:

The National Guard was posted on several washed out roads and bridges and they were turning people away until engineers decided the area was safe.  Cars were starting to pile up at these checkpoints when people were out of gas.  They calculated that they had enough gas to get home, which was true, but they had nothing left when they were turned away.

Your dentist, doctor (prescription refill), or chiropractor may
not be coming back anytime soon, either.

Be dressed to work:

If you’re sitting around bare-foot and in a pair of shorts when a branch comes flying through the window you’ll quickly realize that you’re not attired to handle howling wind and rain, broken glass everywhere, and dogs barking as the power going out..  Simply put; be dressed to handle things.  You may have to immediately deal with a problem outside and running to get dressed first isn’t going to cut it.  This doesn’t mean that you need be in a bomb suit or dressed like you are on a SWAT team.  Just have decent clothes and sturdy shoes on with a few things at hand (such as a flashlight and rain jacket).  Knowing exactly where your limb saw is is a good idea.  Hopefully its not in the workshop at the other end of the property.

Point out a few key things to people:

“The fire extinguishers are here and here.  The limb saw and axe are over there.  I am putting flashlights in these three places, they are to be returned there when they are not in use.  We are eating this food first.” etc.

If you can’t do repairs yourself, you are going to have to wait to have them done unless you are willing to spend serious money on it:

Construction and repair services will be busy with more work than they can handle.  Everything from fencing and air conditioning, to well repair will be booked up for weeks or even months in some areas.  Even with the hurricane long gone you may be without water or power for quite some time.  If a tree took out your air conditioning, plan on handling the weather for a long time.  On a positive note, if you are skilled in these areas, many companies will be hiring to handle the increased work load.  You might be able to find some temporary work if you are in the position to do so.

Several of the companies I mentioned will pack up and leave town to more damaged areas where business is booming and they can charge a fortune for their services.  This can reduce services available in your area.

Many companies were doing last minute boarding of windows and such for businesses, and they were charging a premium for being out with the hurricane almost upon them.

Eat while you can:

While the power and water is running you should all have a good meal in you.  Don’t wait until the emergency is in full force when you might be dealing with any number of problems to cook for yourself by flashlight, using up your propane.  You should consider preparing the next meal while you have better means to do so, as well.  Worse case scenario you eat it a little cold, best case you have to reheat it.  This allows you to save your preps, use the most perishable items first, and focus on other things as time goes on.  Brewing up a pot or two of coffee if you are reliant on it might not be a bad idea.  Even if you have to drink it cold it will stop the addiction headaches or give you that extra push if you’re up late into the night seeing to your property and/or dealing with damage.  This will save your instant coffee packs and other preps.  Of course these things should be done well in advance of possible outages.  Just because the power is on now while the hurricane is in full force doesn’t mean it won’t drop out on you in the midst of meal prep.

Take care of your hygiene while you can:

I find the idea of starting an emergency cleaned up appealing.  If you spend the day battening down your farm, handling animals, and moving things around you’ll want a shower before the power and water goes out.  Being a sweaty stinking mess is not fun for you or the people you live with when you have no air conditioning in the Florida heat for a few days.  Consider the rashes, the itching, the sanitation, infection,
etc.  This is a good time for a shave with hot running water while you have it.  Brushing your teeth when you might not be able to during the next 12 hours of mayhem wouldn’t hurt.

If it takes power or water, then do it early:

Laundry, dishes, bake a couple of loaves of bread, fill your gravity filter, the dog’s water bowl, coffee pot and tea kettle, water your indoor plants or garden so that you don’t use up your stored preps.  Charge the batteries on every battery-powered item you own.  Everyone should be good and hydrated.  We all know someone who doesn’t drink enough water, so start reminding people to drink more, now, while the water is running.  A lot of prepared prep food is dehydrated and will cause you to use your water stores to handle it.  Do these things well in advance of a loss of service.  Take a moment to wash and sanitize a bucket you plan on hauling or collecting drinking water in.  Stage some pre-filled buckets for flushing the toilets, and fill your bathtubs.

A few personal things:

An interesting thing I found out is that for many people the price of your gas container is irrelevant and considered gouging.  A brand new 5 gallon Jerry can with spout attachment, full of gas, should be sold for the price of the gas only (at the going rate).  To include the price of the can and spout, is now considered to be “taking advantage of people in an emergency” and price gouging.

I need a pre-planned way of dealing with a downed fence.  I had a tree almost take out a 20 foot section of chain-link.  My dogs would have been all over the neighbor’s cow and my sheep may have decided to go explore.

Everyone in my family has a micro LED light on a dog-tag style chain that they wear around their neck. This worked out really well.  No one is left in the dark with the lights going off and on no matter where they are or what they are doing.  Most tasks don’t require the higher power lights and lanterns.  It keeps everyone from running for the flashlights.  And it keeps the flashlights where they are supposed to be staged, and keeps them on their chargers.  Collect these afterward and store them somewhere with other preps or they will be gone when needed for the next emergency.

The first time the power goes out, I’m going to flip the breakers. The lights were flashing on and off rapidly and I lost a computer monitor to the power surges.  I usually unplug everything but I was keeping up to date on the latest weather report.

My safety goggles were invaluable during the times I went outside, since at times the amount of stuff blowing around was ridiculous.

I put a few essentials on the other side of the house in case a
potentially threatening large tree took out the other part of the house.

I had a low power way to connect to the Internet; which was a rugged tablet computer.  It didn’t have to be plugged into the wall, didn’t take nearly the power of laptop, could be charged with my smallest flexible solar panel and any battery bank, and used the common micro USB cable.  On this tablet I had bookmarked many weather and emergency websites.  Another tablet is loaded up with home school and some entertainment for the young ones.  This system works great for power and net management.

Having everything use the same kind of low voltage DC cable is well worth it.  I will probably have to upgrade to the newer USB-C form factor sooner or later.

We use Internet via limited phone data which works really well for us.  We have data on our phones and another device for our main service.  As soon as the hurricane was mentioned I shut the data on my phone down so that there would always be some available to check the Internet during and after the emergency.  I only turned it on when I checked the latest on the net and every other kind of browsing was restricted.

Make sure your health issues are up-to-date and taken care of.  As soon as we locked down for the hurricane someone in the house said “I need to see a dentist, this tooth has been bothering me for a week..”  Not good.  New eye glass prescription, or re-fill on medication would go along with this.

Same with your vehicles.  Oil changes, etc.  When was the last time you pulled that full-sized spare out from under the car and checked it?  It needs to be checked and maintained just like the others.  It may have piece of metal sticking out of it making it unable to hold air and you wouldn’t know it until you need to change a flat.

My emergency hand-crank radio was incredible.  It keeps you up to date and tells you when the next update is due.  One thing you have to do is have a quick class on using it: Its simple but the hand-crank is plastic and about six inches long.  A steady even crank is all you need to charge it up.   I’ve lost two over the years because someone thinks they are going to prove their manhood by going ballistic trying to spin it as fast as possible, which can break the crank. Trying to go super fast doesn’t generate enough extra energy to make it worth it; even if you succeed in this you’ve cranked it for 25 seconds instead of 30..

I fed all of my animals a little earlier in the day while the sun was out and the wind and rain were down.

My solar power system is over-sized by design so I pulled one of my largest panels off the ground mount and brought it inside.  If the winds ended up ripping all of the other panels off and taking them away then I would have at least one that could charge my smaller battery bank.

During the crisis, I kept a running non-digital list of problems we had or areas we needed to address. Many of those items ended up in this article, as “lessons learned.”
– D.D.

Letter Re: Glock 30 Pistol Product Review

Good Morning,
I have used the Glock 30 and Glock 30S as back-up guns along with the Glock 21 and Glock 41 a primary carry guns. I started carrying a Model 21 several years ago after training at Front Sight. I changed to the Model 41 after it was introduced by Glock because I prefer the longer sight radius and increased muzzle velocity that  it offers over the 21 or 30. I also switched from a Glock 30 to the Glock 30S as a back-up gun when the [lighter, thin slide] 30S became available.
 
One item that Pat left out of his review that is another plus for both the Model 30 and the 30S is that the 13 round magazine made for the Model 21 and 41 fits right into the 30 or the 30S. My hand is wide enough that I actually much prefer using the 13 round magazine in both of the smaller guns so that I have a place for my little finger. Most people I know who carry a Glock 30 or 30S have 13 round magazines in their magazine carrier for tactical reloads even if they carry a ten round magazine in the gun itself. You can also get aftermarket sleeves for the 13 round magazine that allow for a better “look and feel” when used with the smaller guns only. Since I primary carry the larger guns I do not use the sleeves.
 
Best Regards,  –  N.F.

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

Books:

Ham Radio Study Guide: Manual for Technician Class, General Class, and Amateur Extra Class

Get on the Air with HF Digital


Movies:

Sully

The Martian


Television:

Designated Survivor

Jericho

Music:

Holst: The Planets

The Very Best of Enya


Podcasts:

The Survivalist Podcast: Episode-04- TSP Rewind – You Can’t Lose as a Modern Survivalist

The Survival Show: Episode 286 – Debt, Finances and Precious Metals


Instructional Videos:

Building A Multi-Band HF Dipole Antenna

AR-15 – Detailed Step By Step Assembly / Build Instructions (HD Video)

Gear:

Morovision IR-14 – Phoenix Junior IR Beacon

Icom IC-718 Get On The Air HAM Radio Bundle

Trijicon ACOG with .223 Reticle