Notes from JWR:

It was my pleasure to write the foreword to the new book Suburban Survival: Preparing for Socio-Economic Collapse by “Joe Snuffy” (the pen name of a SurvivalBlog writer.) I highly recommend the book.

—

Today we present another entry for Round 42 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.)Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 42 ends on September 30th, 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.

Constructing a Triple-Strand Concertina Wire Obstacle, by CPT Blackfox

Digging fighting positions, trenches, and emplacing various obstacles take a great deal of time and effort.  The greatest danger in emplacing obstacles is not being thorough enough due to the difficulty involved.  Stringing out wire and actually driving the pickets into the ground not only gives you good practice as how to physically create the obstacle but also gives you an idea of the challenges you will face and how long it takes to put up 100 lineal meters of obstacle.

Triple-strand concertina wire obstacles consist of two rolls of concertina wire side-by-side on the bottom with one roll on top.  From the side, the obstacle resembles a pyramid.  I will be going through this obstacle and how to emplace it, because it is the most difficult of all wire obstacles to breach and much easier to emplace than a concrete, wood, or earth barrier.

Resources Needed
It is possible to emplace obstacles by yourself, but it ends up taking much more time alone than it would with a group of two or three people.  Concertina wire or razor wire tends to snag on itself, so it’s better to have one person on each end of the coil instead of letting one person struggle through stringing out wire on his own.  If you have another person willing to help, he can get ahead and lay out pickets every five paces or five meters and dropping coils of concertina wire every 20 meters. 

You need a pair of wire gloves for each person stringing wire.  Heavy-duty leather gloves will work, but since concertina wire has little nasty razors on it, it can cut up a pair of leather gloves pretty badly if you are not very careful.  If you are a novice or are planning on emplacing several hundred meters of concertina obstacles, you might want to get some reinforced wire handling gloves to protect yourself more adequately.  The military grade gloves are heavy-duty leather gauntlets with staples in the palms and underside of fingers to prevent the concertina wire from snagging the leather.  If you feel industrious, you might be able to improvise something like that with a pair of leather gloves and a heavy-duty plier-type industrial stapler with ¼” or 5/16” staples.   Otherwise, just hold onto the two handles on each end of the concertina coil and be careful to grab the wire between the barbs when you place it on the pickets, and you should do fine.  You will also need a pair of heavy-duty wire cutter pliers for each person stringing wire.

If you are able to get the military grade pickets with the built-in wire loops and the corkscrew bottoms, then that will make life somewhat easier on you in respect to tie-offs to the pickets.  However, using regular green steel “T-Post” agricultural fence pickets presents no problem whatsoever.  You would want to purchase T-Post or U-channel 2 ¼” x 2 ½” x 7’ tall pickets.  You can buy these at most big-box hardware stores or at a farm supply store.  Don’t forget to buy one or two post drivers as well.  If you have ever tried to drive a picket into the ground with a sledgehammer, it’s not fun!  I’ve seen soldiers nearly get into fistfights from the sledge head glancing off the picket and hitting his buddy’s hand instead.

The concertina wire itself is critically important.  Concertina wire is different than razor wire in that when it is expanded, it acts like a concertina or an accordion.  The wire itself is typically spring steel inside of a metal sheathing which has the barbs mechanically attached to it.  Since it is not just a single strand of wire, it is difficult to cut and in the concertina configuration, you must make four cuts to get through a single coil of wire.  If you are purchasing concertina wire, you want a medium sized blade on your wire and you will want to get it in manageable lengths of 20 meters or so.  Along with your concertina wire, you will need barbed wire for triple the length of obstacle you wish to emplace and you will need a roll of baling wire to make your ties from the concertina wire to the pickets.
Be sure to wear jeans, durable pants, or surplus BDU trousers when you string wire, since it will take bites out of your clothing if you are not careful.  Wear a long sleeve denim shirt or a surplus BDU blouse to protect your arms from nasty gashes.  If you are planning on taking down the obstacle later, the best way I have found to store concertina wire is by cutting ½” plywood to size and making a giant sandwich with the wire pancaked in the middle.  Concertina wire snags on everything including itself, and this method keeps all of the barbs between the two pieces of plywood.  And to transport using this method, just drill two pairs of holes on each side of the boards and tie the sandwich together with some parachute cord.  String the cord through the matching pairs of holes in a U-shape and you can make a handle on each side of the sandwich to make it much easier to carry. 

In summary, if you have a three member team emplacing 100 meters of triple-strand concertina wire, this is what you would need:
3 Pair Reinforced wire handling gloves
2 Post drivers
2 Pair of Wire cutter pliers
63 7’ U-channel pickets
15 Rolls of 20 meters of concertina wire
3 Rolls of 100 meters of barbed wire
2 Rolls of baling wire

General Guidance on Obstacle Emplacement
The first thing to keep in mind when emplacing and obstacle, is that it MUST be observable [by defenders]!  You can have the most formidable obstacle in the world, but if it is unobserved, the enemy also has all the time in the world to dismantle your beautiful obstacle without you ever noticing.  The terrain will dictate the routing of your obstacle.  For instance, if you were emplacing an obstacle over a ditch, you need to make sure you follow the contours of the ditch instead of going straight over it, creating a tunnel underneath your wire.  If the ditch were deep enough, you might lose visibility on your obstacle, so you might need to reroute it to get around that blind spot or what is otherwise called “dead space.”  If you can see someone breaching your obstacle, but you have no weapon that has a long enough range to stop them, your obstacle is too far from your position and is utterly useless. 
If you are emplacing an obstacle as a perimeter, you need not worry about where you start or end.  But if you are using an obstacle to slow an enemy avenue of approach, you must tie the start and end of the obstacle into a terrain feature.  If you are in rolling mountainous terrain, you might want to start the obstacle against a boulder and end it against a steep cliff.  Your obstacle does no good if the enemy can follow it and find an easy way around it. 

Which is precisely what an opposing force will do when they encounter your obstacle: try to find a way around it without having to breach it.  Keep that in mind and put yourself in the shoes of someone raiding your land or trying to loot your home.  The best obstacles channel your enemy where YOU want them to go.  And when the enemy finds that “easy way around” they run right into something else very unpleasant.  In general, you want to make it nearly impossible for an assaulting force to come straight at your position.  You want to force them to meander and zigzag through your maze of obstacles, meeting traps on the way and all the while being harassed by rifle or small arms fire.
If you are thorough in setting up your obstacle and consistently drive pickets deep and tie off your wire to the pickets, the enemy will have a very difficult time breaching it.  They are looking for that one spot where you ran into rocky ground and could not drive the pickets deep enough.  If you know where you had to fudge it, count on the enemy figuring that out too.  If you do need to emplace an obstacle across asphalt or concrete, you need to use steel posts with a bolt plate at the bottom, so that you can anchor it to the concrete or asphalt.   Generally speaking , try to avoid placing wire across concrete or asphalt if possible.  

Why Triple-Strand Concertina?
I commanded tanks during my time in the U.S. Army, and a tank can absolutely crush anything on the battlefield.  We had ammunition for bunker, buildings, and field fortifications.  So jersey barriers or earthworks were no big deal.  We had ammunition for shooting helicopters, trucks, troop carriers, other tanks, and dismounted infantry.  There were only four things that I knew of which could stop a tank: land mines, a really deep and wide ditch, a river, or a triple-strand concertina wire obstacle.  And since a tank is the most deadly threat possible, anything less doesn’t stand a chance.
You would think that a tank could punch right through a triple-strand concertina wire barrier, and it can.  It would crush the pickets like toothpicks and stretch the concertina wire until it snaps like a rubber band.  And then the nasty part begins.  The tank tracks pull the concertina wire inside the suspension, winding it around the drive sprocket, road wheels, and support rollers until the tank has a huge rat’s nest of wire tangled throughout the suspension, and it then throws a track.  A tank without track is a bunker. It is still a formidable threat, but tanks are much better at killing threats at a distance.  If you get close enough to a tank, particularly on the sides and directly behind it, there are blind spots where the crew cannot see you and you can assault the tank without receiving fire. 

Tankers know what happens to a tank when they try to breach concertina wire.  They know you can drive through single or even double strand if you are lucky, but that triple-strand barrier will mess up a tank’s suspension so badly, that it takes a crew hours to cut all of the wire out of the suspension and track by hand.  I know this, because it happened to me when we sucked up a roll of single-strand concertina wire lining a road on an airfield.  It took about three hours to cut it all out of the suspension.  We were working with our sister platoon on another airfield in Iraq, and one of the tanks actually wound the wire between the road wheels and behind the wheels on the road wheel arms, pushing the center guide of the track out of its notch between the pairs of road wheels.  When that tank commander rolled up to our tank line, you could hear the distinctive POP, POP, POP of a tank which is about to throw track.  He had not wanted to open the tank skirts and cut it out in the field due to how vulnerable he and his crew would have been to potential sniper fire.  Consequently though, he created a much nastier problem as described above.  My soldiers and I had feelings ranging from disgust to a healthy respect of what concertina wire could do to a tank’s suspension, and I venture to say most tracked vehicle operators share those notions.     

The only way that the U.S. Army trains to breach triple-strand concertina wire obstacles is with explosives.  You have to literally blow it up, because you cannot effectively cut a hole through the obstacle any other way.  A quick word on why I would not recommend just single or double-strand concertina wire obstacles.  All you need to breach a single-strand obstacle is to get a running start and jump over it!  All you need to breach a double-strand concertina obstacle is a piece of plywood that you flop down on top of the wire and walk right over it.  Neither of those methods would work on a triple-strand obstacle though due to its height and the amount of pickets and wire holding the obstacle together.

Obstacle Emplacement
You will need to lay out the first 20 meters of materials before you start.  Throw down three pickets and three rolls of concertina at your starting spot, walk five paces and keep dropping three pickets repeatedly until you get to 20 paces or roughly 20 meters.  The training manuals recommend that you use two small pickets for your lower coils and a long picket for the upper coil on your beginning and end of the obstacle, but I disagree with this method.  It makes it much easier to dismantle the obstacle at the beginning and end.  You want to drive your pickets about a foot down with all three in a straight line as if you were starting to string three parallel barbed wire fences, leaving about 2’ between each picket.  Look at the width of the roll and make sure you are not stretching the wire with your picket spacing but that it is taut when dropped onto the pickets.  Make sure your pickets have the U-channel facing the enemy and pry out your wire hooks a bit from the picket, so that you can more securely tie off your wire to the pickets with baling wire.

At this point, you can start stringing out your lower two rolls of concertina wire.  If you have standard military concertina, the coils will have two handles on each end.  And if the rolls do not, you might want to fashion a couple handles out of baling wire for each end of the coils.  Stringing wire goes more smoothly if one person stands in place and the other person walks backwards while you both shake the coil like a Slinky, so that the barbs release from each other.  String the coils outside of where you will drive your pickets down the line, so that you can more easily put the wire onto the pickets once they are in the ground. 

Come back to your first three pickets and place the end of the inner coil over the top of the inner and center picket.  Take the other coil of concertina toward the enemy and place the coil over the outer and center picket.  Now you cut a few 6” lengths of baling wire and tie the rear coil to the inner picket and center picket and the front coil to the center picket and the outer picket.  Put a couple of twists in your tie off and bend the ends down, so that it is difficult to pull apart without pliers or wire cutters. 

Go to your next three pickets on the ground and drive those into the ground with the same spacing as before.  Take the inner coil of concertina and place over the inner and center picket.  Take the outer coil of concertina and place over the center and outer picket.  Then tie off the concertina wire to the pickets.  This process repeats for the bottom two coils until you reach the end of your concertina wire rolls.  As you place the bottom two coils, go back to the starting point and attach barbed wire to the center picket about 12” off the ground.  Then you weave the barbed wire through the two coils of concertina to join them together by going along in front or behind the obstacle and pushing the small roll of barbed wire in and out between your two lower concertina rolls.  This is a pain, but it makes the two bottom coils very secure as one unit.  If the enemy tries to lift the outer coil, they will then be lifting the inner coil too and will not be able to slide under your obstacle.  This and tying off your wire to the pickets are those little things that make the difference between a formidable obstacle and something that can be bypassed in a matter of minutes.

You want to string the wire between each group of three pickets taut but not so tight that it stretches and looks misshapen.  If the wire is strung so loosely, that you can crawl underneath it by prying it up with a branch, you need to string it tighter.  Check your obstacle as you go.  Shake the pickets, jerk on the tie off points, and try to pry up the wire at the base.  If you find any weaknesses, adjust accordingly.  You might need to place your groups of pickets closer together if you have rolling terrain, or if it is easy to dig under your obstacle.

If you are putting up this obstacle in response to some crisis event, I would advise finishing the entire obstacle in double-strand concertina first and then going back to throw the last roll on top along the whole obstacle.  If you run out of time, it would be better to have a complete perimeter with double-strand than to have it half completed with triple-strand. 

Once you have completed the first section of 20 meters of double-strand, go back to the starting point and put your top roll of concertina onto the center picket.  Tie off the end of the top coil very securely to where the top of the roll meets the picket, because if someone tries to go over the top of your obstacle, this is going to be holding the weight of that log or other breaching material.  Tie off the bottom of the top coil to the middle picket as well.  Looking at it from the side, this top coil will be bisected by the pickets when you are done tying off the coil to the center pickets. String the top roll out to the next group of three pickets and secure the roll in the same way over the top of the center picket.  In the same way that you wove barbed wire between the two bottom coils, you will weave the wire between the top coil and the two bottom coils to join them.  This way, the enemy cannot try to pry their way through the middle of your obstacle by simply lifting your top coil of wire off the pickets and smashing the bottom two coils, making a tunnel to breach through it.  If you are using green U-channel pickets, it would be wise to string one more length of barbed wire to keep the top concertina roll taut by suspending it like a clothesline near the tops of the two center pickets.  Remember to wrap your barbed wire around the pickets a couple times to maintain tension as you continue to string it between the coils of concertina wire on both the lower coils and the upper coil.

When you get to the end of your first 20 meters of obstacle, you will need to start with new rolls of concertina wire.  You will notice that the ends of the concertina rolls have a convex and concave part to them.  You will have these two loops at the end of a roll, because of how the wire pattern stops.  In order to securely join the end of a roll to the beginning of a new roll, you need to place the bottom loop of the old roll over the picket then the bottom loop of the new roll over the picket.  Then you place the top loop of the old roll over the picket and then the top loop of the new roll over the picket.  You are alternating, so that you do not have one roll of wire sitting on top of another when it is placed on the picket.  Tie off both the old and new rolls to the same picket.  This will make a very sturdy continuation in your obstacle so that the enemy will not be able to exploit a weakness between your rolls of wire.  The barbed wire running through the rolls will also aid in reinforcing this transition.  Repeat this same procedure for the top roll later once you start stringing your top coil on the next 20 meters of obstacle, alternating putting the bottom loops and top loops of the old and new rolls of wire over the center picket.  Then join the rolls together with baling wire and tie both the end of the old roll and the start of the new roll off to the same center picket.

Continue this process for emplacing triple-stand concertina until you tie the end of your obstacle into a natural feature such as a boulder or cliff or you complete your perimeter.  Be sure that you tell everyone in your prepper group or family that you are putting up a concertina obstacle, because I have personally run into obstacles emplaced by soldiers during the daytime which I could not see at nighttime when I returned to the base and had to figure out where they put the entrance to the perimeter.  If you have created a 360 degree perimeter with your obstacle, depending on the size, you might have only one entrance or two if it is a larger perimeter.  Mark your entrances with a small handkerchief or a partially masked glow stick at night until everyone knows where they are. 

Your entrance should be directly opposite of the most likely avenue of approach by the enemy.  You should have the entrance at the backdoor of the property for tactical purposes.  If the road dead-ends at the front of your home or you have a driveway, you might need an entrance there for practical purposes but in cases of imminent attack, that entrance needs to be well sealed and the backdoor would become your primary entrance since it is the furthest away from the path of the enemy. 

Continuously Improving Your Position
Once you have completed emplacing an obstacle, you are never really done with it.  Over an extended period of time, obstacles need to be checked periodically and repaired as needed.   Obstacles and barriers should work together in concert in order to fortify your defensive plan.  As you continue to fortify, obstacles should be implemented in defensive rings around a position.  If we had just completed emplacing a triple-strand concertina wire perimeter around a homestead, we would continue fortifying by driving in pickets along the entrance to the property in preparation for a layered concertina wire roadblock.  We could also add tin cans or bells tied to the wire in order to hear if anyone was tampering with the obstacle at night.  We would add tanglefoot obstacles in front of our concertina, so that before they ever approached the main obstacle, the enemy would need to tiptoe through another obstacle.  If we had a long drive coming up to the house, we would emplace concrete jersey barriers, so that any vehicle would have to serpentine through the barriers toward the house without being able to accelerate.  Depending on the situation, threat, and terrain, there are numerous layers of defense which you may add to harden a position and make it very unpleasant for anyone attempting to harm those you care about.

Letter Re: Synthetic Motor Oil as a Gun Lubricant in TEOTWAWKI

Sir:
During my two tours to the Sand Box with the U.S.M.C., we encountered some of the worst conditions weapons can endure. The sand in the Middle east is fine “moon dust” similar to talcum powder. The problem is that when mixed with water or oil commonly used in cleaning weapons systems it turns to a mud like paste. We discovered that the regular issue Cleaner, Lubricant, Protectant (CLP) [which is a Mil-Spec lubricant, sold commercially under the trade name “Break Free CLP”.] CLP was contributing to the problem more than fixing it. It is true that we cleaned our weapons daily sometimes two or three times depending on conditions and enemy activity. Our M16/ M4s would function properly as long as they were cleaned routinely. Problems would occur when troops were engaged for prolonged times and couldn’t risk breaking down their weapons to clean out all the dirt. We would simply pour in more CLP. An AR-15 type rifle will fire and function dirty as long as it is liberally lubricated. The problem is the more oil you pore down the bolt and into the chamber the more dirt it collects. What we discovered is that using Mobil1 synthetic motor oil usually in a 0w30 or 5w30 works much better than the CLP.  At $10 per quart it is on the expensive side as motor oils go.  But when compared to CLP or Rem Oil that are usually sold in 6 ounce containers at $5 to $6 it is much more cost effective. We also experimented with it on out crew served weapon systems. We found it to out perform the (Lubricant, Small Arms (LSA) used on the M2 (.50 Cal Browning machinegun) and MK-19 (40mm grenade launcher).
 
We had a one M2 so close to the courtyard where our LZ was that it literally had to be cleaned, to function properly, after every bird touched down and took off. This presented a huge problem as the frequency of the flights in and out ,crucial to resupply our Battalion, would render the weapon inoperable. We solved this problem with the Mobil1 in a 20w50 weight as LSA is more similar to axle grease that gun oil. Also we began to cover the weapon with a poncho every time we heard a bird in the air or saw the smoke canisters in the LZ. Due to the high security risk and vulnerability of helicopters during landing and take off, OPSEC was in place. This meant we never knew when the next bird was coming in. One of my Marines actually had the weapon system mounted on his turret malfunction and jam during a fire fight. They had just left the wire and the cleaned weapons as was SOP before every patrol. I shared the secret and traded him a bottle of Mobil 1 for a few energy drinks he had received in a care package. He never had a problem again.
 
  I heard a rumor that the Marine Corps had experimented with synthetic motor oils as potential weapons cleaning lubricants. They determined them to be too effective and decided it would bring complacency as Marines might assume that they now had to clean their weapons less. This is not the case. I still recommend cleaning your weapon as frequently as possible. In the Corps we would hold random weapons inspections and any NCO could demand to see the bolt on any junior Marine’s weapon at anytime. I also want to mention that we never tested traditional (non-synthetic) motor oil on our weapons but the use of motor oil for cleaning and lubrication of weapons systems has been recognized by the US Military as early as WWII and can be found in numerous field manuals.
 
Thought your readers might like to know this. Semper Fi, – Sgt. K.A. U.S.M.C.

Economics and Investing:

Over at Zero Hedge: Chart of the Day: 803 Years of Global Inflation

A good illustrated presentation on the economy, in light of Peak Oil: What the Economic Crisis Really Means – and what we can do about it

James K. was the first of several readers to send this: Fears Rising, Spaniards Pull Out Their Cash and Get Out of Spain

Moody’s Changes Euro Zone Rating Outlook to ‘Negative’

Items from The Economatrix:

Everything You Need To Know About The September 12 German Court Decision That Could Rock The Entire World

Economic Shock:  Global Food Prices Jump 10%

The Gold Standard Goes Mainstream

Bernanke Lifts Wall Street, Keeps Stimulus In Play

Odds ‘n Sods:

F.J.R. recommended: How to Build a 12×20 Cabin on a Budget

   o o o

James K. sent the link to this fascinating article: Measuring the Human Urban Footprint: Density Levels and Population Size of 129 Metropolitan Regions. JWR’s Advice: If you move to a lightly-populated region, the chances will be much better that you won’t get stepped on.

   o o o

Reader Stephen M. sent a reminder of why firearms training is so important.

   o o o

J.M.L. recommended this web forum: Prepared Ham. (No, not the kind that come in cans–the kind with moon bounce antennas and linear amplifiers.)

   o o o

Bob G. mentioned a company that should interest any American readers who own registered suppressors: Right To Bear Ammo. They make some great .223, .308 and .300 Blackout subsonic loads.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"…the moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws… All the miseries and evils
which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." – Noah Webster, History of the United States, 1833

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 42 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.)Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 42 ends on September 30th, 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.

A Prepper’s Point-of-View on Hurricane Isaac, by Leauxryda

Many a prepper may take the time to perform a test of their personal prep systems. Sometimes, Mother Nature will force you to do just that if you haven’t put your preps in practice yet. Ours came in the form of Hurricane Isaac.

With media’s laying attention straight towards New Orleans and no one else, the Gulf Coast area residents laid their own attentions to their respective communities. And this attention consisted of hunkering down for a rain and wind event that would be nowhere near a Katrina event. How wrong were these expectations? At a seemingly last minute, Isaac became a hurricane as the winds and rain pounded Plaquemines Parish, a peninsula south of New Orleans that is split between the Mississippi River. Hurricanes are divided into 4 quadrants; Northeast side, Southeast side, Northwest side, and Southwest side. Each quadrant has its own circumstances but most notably, the Northeast and Southeast side’s as these two bring in the most damage. Plaquemines as well as those to the east felt the brunt of the later half in full force.

Don’t let a Tropical Storm or Category 1 Hurricane fool you into complacency. Hurricane Isaac broke that theory. Torrential rains, damaging winds contributed to a much month-long rain soaked Louisiana gulf coast. Isaac’s storms simply added water with no place for it to go. And with winds pushing tidal surges north, drainage canals, bayous and tributaries were compromised so, that water topped some levees that years ago protected communities during Katrina.

So, as a resident along the Gulf Coast, our preps for future uncertainties also included hurricanes. When Isaac was heading our way, the only necessary preps needing completion were the basics such as boarding windows, anchoring down potential fly-away items, ensuring generator is in good running condition, securing plants, filling our vehicles with fuel along with extra fuel cans and propane for cooking fuels, etc.

Our community was never in the projected path, but experienced residents realize hurricane path predictions are never an exact science. That’s why the projection always includes a swath surrounding it. Any area within this projection can easily be a target based on nature’s unpredictability. And this was evidenced around midnight August 29 while pounding Plaquemine’s Parish, Isaac had stalled just enough causing the eye to dance against the shorelines of southern Louisiana. Over the course of approximately 5 hours, Isaac crawled west for about 35 nautical miles of coastline before slowly edging northwest. Believe me when I say a turtle could run circles around this hurricane as this stall is what changed the expectations of a not-so-typical Cat 1 hurricane.

As of this writing, we are in our fourth day and since Houma became one of the first paths for the eye to cross over, we were actually spared the brunt of the hurricane’s impact effects. To the east as far as Biloxi and due north of it, coastal areas to Picayune, Mississippi were pounded by rain, hurricane force winds and the occasional tornadoes. In addition to this came the flooding to add to many a misery.

With this hurricane, we were able to assess our preps while noting any weak points along the way. It also allowed time to reflect on what many along the coastline deal with when it comes to hurricane preparedness as well as the periods between the beginning and the end. This is where I’d like to take you as virtually all of these experiences and scenarios could apply in any crisis situation.

First of all, we were fortunate. This had nothing to do with being prepared necessarily. Bands of heavy rains that freight trained through communities are a hit and miss proposition. What one area may experience as tolerable winds and rain, another area a couple miles away could be getting pounded with no relief in sight. So for us, the most damage we experienced was minor flooding in the yard along with broken branches and leaves. Our garden consisted of a combination of laid down vegetables and some still standing not too worse for wear. It’ll easily be salvaged while we handle getting our property back to normal. No damages to our home or other property and aside from picking up broken branches, raking leaves and debris and stacking it for community service pick up later on in the week. Overall; we’re in great shape. If you apply the following observations and experiences to any crisis or catastrophe, you can get a better handle on things to expect in any situation you’re preparing for.

CONSUMABLES

Food and water were a non-issue for us. No battling last-minute moron’s fist fighting over the last case of water on Wal-Mart’s shelf. If you think Black Friday before Christmas holidays is a nightmare, come down to witness stupidity, inconsideration and greed to the infinite degree a couple days before a hurricane’s landfall.  The majority of folks are not like this, but there is always a few who show their ass. How some coastal residents don’t live with the basic FEMA recommended preps in their home is incomprehensible.

Ice is a needed commodity to have on hand. It helps first of all for cooling refreshments as well as maintaining foods or keeping a freezer in low temperatures. In a worse-case scenario, this ice could easily be consumed as water should it melt. So, it’s important to keep the bag clean as well as the ice chest you’ll keep it in. Don’t let any of it go to waste if you can help it.

Food should never be an issue for anyone. Grocery stores are closed and were likely cleaned out prior to landfall so if you’re not prepared here, you’re in a serious bind. Potted meat and Vienna sausage can only go so far so having regular consumable foods is a must. Cooking becomes an issue as well. This means electric stoves and ovens are useless. Even ovens that run on natural or propane gas may be an issue if it requires electricity to function. Unless, you have access to the plug that can be used via an extension cord coming from a generator. So, be prepared to cook meals on an outside grill or portable stove. Besides, cooking outdoors when weather permits is cooler and prevents unnecessary heat inside the home if electricity is off and no air conditioning is available.

Water is necessary to survive, period. I don’t need to go into details here but for us, we were already ahead of the curve with water in 4 gallon, 1 gallon, two liter recycled bottles and 16oz bottles in cases. We also have our Berkey to filter water and with any Hurricane affecting low-lying communities, a boil water order will most likely take place so having water preps is a must. You’ll need it for consumption, cleaning, bathing, brushing your teeth, washing and even flushing the toilet. Of note on the later, this hurricane happened to emphasize the need for residents in both city and rural areas to limit toilet flushing due to flooding and overwhelming pressures on the sewerage system. Now you can easily realize the boil water order as sewerage, land run-offs, floating caskets popped out of grave sites, swamp, bayou and canal waters become part of the city water systems. So, I cannot over-emphasize the need for a lot of water. Even if one believes their particular crisis is expected to last for a short period of time. It pays to note Hurricane Gustav shut our entire town down for a total of six weeks. Time will tell right now how long we’ll be out of the basic functioning infrastructure.

Refrigeration is a luxury that we all take for granted. During a crisis such as this, electricity is expected to be an issue so refrigerators and freezers need to be addressed early on. This means no more opening the refrigerator to stare with the hopes some food product is going to jump out yelling “pick me, pick me!” Know what you want, get it out quickly as much needed cool temperatures will be necessary to maintain your food products. Same applies to your freezer. Many in years past and likely this one will find themselves cooking all of their foods at once and sharing with others just so it doesn’t go bad. Imagine an entire neighborhood doing this at one time and then imagining that at some point, barbeque ribs and chicken can only be eaten so much for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So, one can expect frozen foods will likely be lost. Do what you can to coordinate refrigeration protocols to manage your foods before they become totally loss if power isn’t restored within a reasonable amount of time. This also includes coordinating foodstuffs with protection using ice chests filled with ice. Another bit of advice, prior to hurricane landfall, collect your frozen foods together in garbage bags while storing them in the freezer. That way if the foods spoil due to the freezer’s loss of power, you’re not handling the individual foods. Just grab the garbage bags and put out for disposal which also makes cleaning your freezer much easier too.

Medications are a necessity from the basic needs for cuts and scrapes to serious needs for prescriptions. Be sure to consult with your doctor for extensions of prescriptions as restoration of structure is an unknown during this time.

POWER and COMMUNICATION

Municipalities experience their own breakdown in structures and what that means to you is no electricity, no cell phone service (or spotty), no sewerage, no water, no mail, no garbage pickup, etc. This also includes law enforcement, fire responders and emergency responders. You can also expect the possibility of the National Guard being called out to assist local infrastructure. So, you may find yourself as your brother’s keeper or a keeper’s brother.

Electricity is likely the first to go. Especially if power is distributed through above ground resources. Trees break lines, wind knocks over poles, transformers blow. So expect during some of the worse weather conditions for your power to go out. From that point, you’re on your own for an uncertain amount of time. Having a generator is necessary to get you through this inconvenient time. This means having lots of gas (purchased at ridiculous prices) on hand to power minimal conveniences. Our generator has a conversion kit installed allowing us to run it on natural gas. Propane is also an option but we didn’t have to rely on that, saving it for cooking outside when needed. If your generator doesn’t have a tie-in to power your house, expect to have extension cords strewn throughout your house so tripping hazards will likely exist. Distributing the electricity is an individual preference but maintaining refrigeration is a must as well as powering fans for comfort. Our bedroom was ground zero for crashing occupants piled in at night so a simple 8,000 btu window air conditioner kept us cool for sleeping or naps during the day (as hurricane’s interrupt your sleeping patterns). There will be other issues such as battery charging for spare batteries, cell phones, powering maybe a computer, a Wi-Fi, television, radio or other useable conveniences. Keep in mind though that these should be discussed as to what is priority and what is secondary to the necessities.

Television and radio may or may not be an issue, depending on your area. We gave up on cable television years ago and opted for satellite. Cable regularly goes down so I am not a promoter of cable television. They take too long when their systems go down; sorry but that’s the truth. I won’t promote our provider but for sure I can honestly say that we had very minimal issues throughout the hurricane as satellite experienced blocks during the most severe storm downpours. The rest of the time, we had all of our channels which became irrelevant as local news stayed on 24 hours a day. This was a requirement as news reports, weather reports and road closures were necessary if conditions dictated we needed to get out. Our bug-out plans were pre-performed so this would’ve been something we could’ve easily done if needed.

A ham radio is on my list of necessities so that would’ve been a good source of information for us too, which leads me into the next topic.

Cell phones are great and an important function of our daily lives. Calls, emails, texting, internet and even Facebook (Twitter for some also) are integral for communication, information and entertainment. Depending on one’s personal provider, will depend on available services. For us, everything was going well up to around 10am Thursday morning when our provider began to have issues. We lost Wi-Fi, local phone and DSL internet and Facebook was hit and miss. One minute you could call out, the next minute the network was overwhelmed. Internet through our provider hit and missed and when it hit, download times took twice as long. Texting went well for a while and eventually became a hit or miss proposition. If you have others in your home during this time, check who their providers are to see who keeps service and who loses it. You may note this for future considerations that fit best for your area.

Security becomes a part of your preps. If you are armed, you may find yourself establishing various protocols beyond your daily routines. While security of your home should be an everyday thing, a crisis such as this only requires you increase situational awareness. An hour before the hurricane became an issue, four individuals were arrested in the Slidell area for theft of property on boats docked at a marina. In our community, an adult and a 13 year old were arrested for property theft too. A few other communities had similar thefts and there was a law enforcement officer forced to fire his weapon on two individuals for a situation in St. John the Baptist Parish. You may remember four deputies were recently ambushed leaving two officers dead and two with critical injuries. Theft in an area declared in a state of emergency comes with a mandatory three year felony conviction, fine and no considerations whatsoever. You will be arrested without question and considered a serious threat to the community. Homes of evacuated residents are targets for criminal minds and generators have been stolen while running a home in the wee hours of the morning. So, having theft prevention and home security on your priorities list is especially necessary during these times. Criminals have no moral compass stealing your stuff and in some cases are willing to risk it all for some ridiculous lust for someone else’s property. Another consideration is interrupted sleep patterns cause one to lose sleep during peak hurricane activity. If you have a group of people at your home, this might be a good time to access capable assistance, as having activity in and around a home during normal sleeping hours may deter criminal activity. It also allows people to access restful sleep time in shifts so everyone maintains their optimum performance when needs arise and eventually getting back to your normal routines.

EVACUATION TO ANOTHER’S HOME or CHARITABLE CENTER

In Louisiana, we are well-known for giving someone the shirt off our backs. We are also well-known to destroy anyone’s dietary structure with rich seafood and other dishes that will add inches to any waistline and shock any family doctor over your recent cholesterol count. So, it goes without saying that many families in low-lying areas will evacuate out of their areas into the homes of other family or friends on higher ground or completely out of the state, depending on one’s locale. The last thing anyone wants to be a part of is a community center of sorts where you are assimilated amongst hundreds of other strangers with their children and/or even pets for that matter.

Sharing a home is the most common circumstance where either friends or family converge on another’s home to hunker down. So, there should be some common sense and courtesies to consider if you are one to take advantage of this generosity. And here, we’ll talk about the “taking advantage of” part of this equation.

As a guest being fortunate enough to be invited to stay in someone’s home, you should try your best to do your part and recognize despite the sincerest of invites, you do disrupt the daily routines and functions of another’s home. So it is imperative to the overall conditions and attitudes there that you take into consideration what you must do to contribute to the smooth transition of the move as well as showing through actions your gratitude for this open house invitation. The last thing you want to do is wear out your welcome and even worse, being told to leave because of it. Most folks are generous, but human nature dictates the rules. And your arrival just increased the amount of humans within one dwelling.

This means do not arrive empty handed, unless you were told specifically not to worry about providing foods, water, hygiene or other personal essentials. Even then, do it anyway. You’ll feel better about it and your host will not be in the position of absorbing the full financial burden of feeding, cleaning or bedding you for an unknown amount of time. Besides, if your home already has foodstuffs and self-supporting provisions, should your home be destroyed by winds or flooding, you won’t lose a good portion (if not all) of your stores. Bring them with you if you can and consume or contribute to the host home. Your efforts will be appreciated.

Picking up behind your self is a precious consideration. You are not in a hotel with maid service. Your host already deals with their own issues and it is selfish to burden them with your bad habits. So, don’t contribute to clutter or messes. During these periods, there is a lot of in and out within a home. Outside, the grounds are wet; leaves and debris are everywhere, including your feet. Over time, a neglected area can look worse than a yard after a hurricane. Help out; sweep, wipe, clean or anything that keeps a bit of cleanliness within your host’s home. Help in clean up after the hurricane has passed and it’s safe to go outside. Bring a rake if you can think about it to help with the debris clean-up. Who knows, that effort alone may get you manpower at your place when you return. Attitudes can deteriorate if others are trying while you’re slacking. Again, your efforts will be appreciated.

Kids and we all love them, get bored quick, require attention and protect what is theirs. And with that in mind, your host has not offered to baby sit too. Your kids are your responsibility so you need to discuss this with your children to ensure they realize the imposition, however generous it may be, need not become a problem for their own family through their actions. If they get out of hand, you are responsible for getting them in check, not your host. If you insist on burdening your host with the responsibility to monitor your own children, expect at some point to be invited to seek refuge elsewhere. As with the other considerations, your efforts will be appreciated.

There are a variety of examples to provide here but the most important consideration is keeping your stay from being a burden on your host. Use common sense and always offer assistance, even if you expect to be told to relax on the easy chair. Offering your services, assistance and maintaining your part of the stay goes a long way. Remember, all of the existing inconveniences already contribute to a family’s stress points. And if there is no semblance of order, someone is likely to snap and another SHTF moment can erupt. The last thing you need is to ruin a great relationship because of laziness, lack of parental disciplines and taking advantage of someone else’s generosity.

As a host you’ll have likely considered the fact that another friend’s or family’s family within your home through your invite will interrupt your daily routines and fill any voids that are normal to your lifestyle. So, you are likely prepared for the inconveniences that go along with this choice. If not, now would be a good time to access the likelihood that you could find yourself with an entire family consisting of adults, children, babies and/or pets. You need to decide how to lay out expectations ahead of time.

Most folks through human nature will invite someone to stay with them without considering the potential inconveniences. And if these are not discussed, you may find yourself getting aggravated over petty issues. Most folks will not discuss expectations in advance either. Which means 9 times out of 10, a host family will find themselves dealing with all sorts of issues they weren’t prepared for, or were, but didn’t want to address (or hoped it wouldn’t come to that). So, one need to determine how they will handle the negatives without incident.

You may be so easy going and generous that you don’t care. And that is a commendable trait anyone could admire. But not everyone is that easy-going and generous as you might be. But you are hosting someone who’s been forced to leave their homes and who’s lifestyle will be interrupted and personal burdens will be eventually shared with you and yours. So, establishing a mindset with your own family is imperative before you consider offering a place of refuge to another. This is a vital step to maintaining sanity in any household during a high-stress period.

All of these considerations can apply should you find yourself and your family at a shelter. However, it is not recommended if you have options with other family or friends. Most communities have a handle to disciplines through rules and regulations. You either comply or move on. The choice is yours and planning ahead on a bug out option is highly recommended.

POST EVENT EVALUATION

This is an opportune time to assess your preparedness and survival tools and supplies. Simply keep a journal handy and jot down those little things that can be added to your conveniences. And this shouldn’t be limited to the basic items that make your comfort, consumption or anything else easier to deal with. Consider the worse-case scenarios based on what you’ve learned through media’s and social networks. While you may be at home dealing with simple inconveniences, others are being awakened to water in their homes as low as ankle deep to as high as inches from an attic or roof crawlspace. Think about the unthinkable based on what others have experienced and apply these to your own circumstances. It’s easy to think of it as happening to someone else and not you, but it’s just as easy to happen to you nonetheless. This Cat 1 surprised everyone, experts as well. And as it always goes, folks who never were flooded before were rescued through their roofs by emergency responders or brave volunteers. Ask them if they were prepared.

Finally, one prevalent theme that exists right now is the impatience shown over power companies’ taking what seems “forever” in restoring power. News reports that half of Louisiana residents were out of power. Think about that for a moment. Restoration doesn’t happen overnight and sometimes takes weeks. While it is indeed an inconvenience, being prepared to live off the grid can make a difference in both your comfort and your sanity. Pray for the best, but always prepare for the worse.

News From The American Redoubt:

The Sustainable Preparedness Expo will be held at the Spokane Convention Center on September 30, 2012.

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Two new Ttabs flying videos: Flying Priest Lake Idaho and Message from a ‘Right Wing Extremist’ (In the vicinity of Juliaetta, Idaho. The title is a joke, referring to the fact that all of this video was shot from his light experimental’s right wing camera.)

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Take a minute to read this alarmist rant by a journalist from the Left Coast: 20 years after Ruby Ridge siege, extremists are fewer in northern Idaho but still remain. Even though they’ve gone from a handful to to a tiny handful, the mainstream media still has a skewed view of North Idaho as “infested with Nazis.” The truth is that the racist haters have been shunned out of town. Good riddance to bad rubbish! (I’m an outspoken anti-racist.) If you are looking for infestations of Neo-Nazi haters, then look in big cities like Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles. That is where most of them live. There are scarcely enough of them left in Idaho to put together a basketball team.

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Yes, “Alcohol may have been a factor.” Sasquatch stunt takes a tragic turn on highway.

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Another wolf pack in northeast Oregon. And speaking of wolves: Federal government ending Wyoming wolf protections

Economics and Investing:

Federal Reserve has already started QE3, says investor Jim Rogers

H.L. sent: Higher CAFE Standards: “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”

A surprisingly good article, considering that it is coming from McNewspaper: Vanguard’s Jack Bogle: Financial ‘train wreck’ looms

Steve F. recommended: Why Billionaire Frank Giustra Is Making A Massive Bet On Inflation

Items from The Economatrix:

Gasoline Rising to Holiday High as Storm Surge Presses Obama

Consumer Confidence in U.S. Declines Most Since October

The Three Frontrunners for Fed Chairman in Romney Administration (Hint:  It’s not Ben)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Here at the ranch we just finished filling the wood shed. Some of my fellow church congregants might deride me for cutting any firewood so late in the summer, but I make a habit of cutting only dead-standing or recently dead-fallen trees that are dry, but not rotted. When you have so many Red Fir and Tamarack (properly, Western Larch) trees to choose from as we do here in our corner of the American Redoubt one can afford to be picky.

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Jay in Missouri mentioned this informative primer: Guide to Online Coin Bidding and Buying

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Things are different in Nanny State Britannia: Farm tenant arrested after burglars shot was ‘plagued by break-ins’: A farm tenant and his wife who were arrested after two suspected burglars were shot at their isolated home had been the victims of a number of robberies. Update: Compare that to this news story, from the States.

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I just heard about ioSafe, a brand of external hard disk drives that are claimed to be fireproof and waterproof. (Fire: 1,550°F for 1/2-hour with no data loss, and flood: Full immersion, 10 feet for three days with no data loss.) I’m seriously considering buying one their 2 Terabyte drives for use here at the ranch.

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Frequent content contributor H.L. sent this: President Morsi Vows to Solve Egypt’s Staggering ‘Trash Crisis’ in 100 Days

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Reader Simon M. mentioned that there is now a large print edition of my novel Patriots available. It is 784 pages, set in a very easy to read 16 point size font.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“With national governments in collapse at the end of the XXth century, something had to fill the vacuum, and in many cases it was the returned veterans. They had lost a war, most of them had no jobs, many were sore as could be over the terms of the Treaty of New Delhi, especially the P.O.W. foul-up – and they knew how to fight. But it wasn’t revolution; it was more like what happened in Russia in 1917 – the system collapsed; somebody else moved in. The first known case, in Aberdeen, Scotland, was typical. Some veterans got together as vigilantes to stop rioting and looting, hanged a few people (including two veterans) and decided not to let anyone but veterans on their committee. Just arbitrary at first – they trusted each other a bit, they didn’t trust anyone else. What started as an emergency measure became constitutional practice in a generation or two.” – Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers(1959)

Notes from JWR:

It came to me a bit late in the year, but I just realized that 2012 is the 125th anniversary of the patent of the world’s first automatic shoulder-fired battle rifle, the Mondragón. Talk about being far ahead of one’s time! The inventor, Manuel Mondragón was born in 1859. And speaking of fully automatic firearms, isn’t it high time that we repeal the National Firearms Act of 1934, and disband the BATFE? Or, failing that at least repeal the unconstitutional and never properly enacted 1986 machinegun production freeze, and declare a one-year amnesty period to register or re-register any un-papered full autos? Please encourage your Congresscritters and our next president to put that on their “to do” list.

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Today’s first article is by our Medical Editor, Dr. Cynthia Koelker.

Essential Medical Skills to Acquire: Splinting and Casting, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

In the introduction to this series I gave a brief outline of the medical skills that a layman should acquire when preparing for TEOTWAWKI. Injuries will be common among people required to be more active than they are accustomed to.   Lacerations have already been addressed in Parts 1 and 2 of this series.  Next we will turn to injuries that required immobilization for optimal healing including sprains, strains, and fractures.

To begin, what’s the difference between a strain and a sprain?  To strain means to overstretch a muscle or tendon beyond its capacity to resist without tearing.  A sprain means essentially the same thing but applies to ligament injury.  A tendon is the fibrous termination of a muscle that attaches the muscle to a bone.  The next time you eat a chicken leg, note that the rubbery part of the meat near the end of the bone is the tendon, which often maintains its bony attachment. In contrast, a ligament connects two bones but without a muscle, much like a strong semi-elastic band. Neither tendons nor ligaments have a good blood supply, which accounts for their slow healing.  Knees are usually sprained, that is, the supporting ligaments are damaged.  Ankles are commonly sprained as well, but since the leg muscles terminate near the ankle, it is sometimes difficult to tell a sprain from a strain.  An Achilles tendon injury would be called a strain, but a twisted ankle is usually a sprain.  In a sense, a sprain is a subset of strain-type injuries, and knowing the difference is not essential.

Next, what’s the difference between a break and a fracture?  There is none, though many patients seem to believe that one or the other is worse.  Medically speaking, they are equivalent terminology. 

With any muscle or bone injury, the damage may be mild, moderate, or severe.  Regarding strains and sprains, mild injuries generally resolve within minutes to hours, and involve only microscopic tears at most.  They do not swell, cause bruising or persistent pain.  The classic example is a twisted ankle, which limits walking for a brief time, but reverts to normal after a short rest.  Patients rarely seek medical care for this degree of injury.  These mild injuries are often termed first-degree.  Third-degree injuries involve complete disruption of the muscle, tendon, or ligament, where the tissue is “torn in two.”   The second-degree classification covers everything in between, from injuries that require days to heal to injuries that may cause permanent impairment.  Without surgery as an option, third-degree injuries will rarely heal.  Second-degree injuries are what patients typically seek medical help for and where you can become an excellent resource.
As for bones, a good mental image is that of Styrofoam, which can be crushed, slightly bent, or broken.  A stress fracture is analogous to crushing; a greenstick fracture is similar to bending; a complete fracture is like breaking the foam in two; a comminuted fracture is like breaking the foam into multiple pieces.

Strains, sprains, and bones heal by gradually filling in the gap.  To do so efficiently, the gap needs to be minimized and stabilized in good position until sufficient healing occurs.  Immobilization prevents further injury and facilitates quicker healing.

Immobilization may be accomplished by any means that achieves the above requirements.  One significant advance in recent decades is the recognition that prolonged bed rest leads to blood clots which may kill.  Therefore, it is best to immobilize only the affected area and encourage movement otherwise.

Traditionally plaster splints and casts have been employed, but they are not the only option.  In my classes I teach both techniques and principles.  After learning how to apply plaster correctly, I encourage students to improvise with materials on hand.  Adequate splints may be manufactured from cardboard, Styrofoam, wood, plastic, duct tape, magazines, etc.
However, the benefit of plaster is versatility and durability.  A 3 or 4” roll of plaster can be adapted for use on essentially any body part.  The material is easily cut to smaller dimensions if needed.  A properly constructed splint or cast can last for the required duration, whereas other materials will likely need to be removed and replaced periodically. 
It behooves anyone prone to injury – which is all of us – to learn to apply a plaster cast or splint.  The technique of working with plaster is fairly simple, though mastery of diagnosis, positioning, timing, and adequacy of healing takes longer to acquire.  Even if you don’t plan on being the sole medical provider for your group, a doctor would appreciate the assistance of someone with knowledge of casting.

Any injury that is suspicious for a sprain or break should be immobilized with a splint and re-evaluated regularly.  A doctor may be confident that an injury could be re-checked in a week or two, but for the layman, I’d advise checking daily until the situation is clarified.  A cast may be applied later if needed.  Accurate diagnosis is not always possible, so immobilizing until pain, swelling, and bruising are resolved is indicated.  Full weight-bearing should be avoided until walking can be accomplished with little if any discomfort.  Don’t forget to stock crutches or a walker for potential leg injuries.

Anyone can purchase Gypsona plaster bandages online without a prescription, as well as cast padding and stockinette.  Even if you don’t plan to cast or splint yourself, having the equipment on hand is advisable for emergency use.  I recommend investing in the following:
1 case each 3” and 4” Gypsona plaster bandages
1 box each 3” and 4” stockinette
1 case each 3” and 4” cast padding (synthetic is least expensive)

Additionally, you will need a bowl, bucket, or basin for wetting the plaster, a tarp or other floor covering to protect against plaster drippage, and a source of water, preferably warm.  Using cold water will take longer for the plaster to set; using hot water will shorten the period and may cause burns, since plaster heats as it sets.  Gloves are not mandatory but they do minimize the mess.  Protective clothing is rarely necessary. 
If you cannot afford both 3” and 4” supplies, I’d advise only 4” plaster which can be trimmed as needed along with 3” cast padding.  Applying stockinette underneath the cast padding yields professional results, but a thin sock could be substituted, or simply use cast padding alone.

For arm splints and casting, the plaster width should equal the width of the palm; for leg splints the plaster width should be a little wider than the widest part of the foot; for leg casts, 3” or 4” plaster works well applied from the foot to the ankle, then 4” or 6” plaster from the ankle to below the knee.  

One important point that I stress repeatedly is to NOT apply a cast unless you are sure no further swelling will occur.  Splints are fine and are secured with elastic wraps or gauze, which has some give to them and can be easily loosened.  A circular/circumferential cast may compromise the blood or nerve supply to the injured part if it becomes too tight due to increased swelling.  A fracture is rarely an emergency, and a splint may be applied for a few days until it is clear that further swelling is unlikely.  Before applying any cast check the circulation, sensation, and movement in the affected limb, then check again after application.  If there’s any question that the cast is too tight, remove it immediately.  Pressure sores beneath a cast can take months to heal or yield permanent problems, even infection and death.

Never apply a cast over an open wound, unless you are able to cut a window in the cast for frequent inspection.  Even then, applying a cast may be a problem if swelling occurs and bulges through the opening.  It’s best to use only a strong splint until the skin is completely healed.
Nowadays cast removal is typically accomplished using an oscillating cast saw, but any plaster cast can be removed by wetting the cast thoroughly and gradually unraveling or cutting it off, layer by layer, especially when electricity is not available.

Numerous YouTube videos demonstrate plaster splinting and casting, so I’ll not go into detail here.  The most useful are short arm casts and splints, and short leg casts and splints.  (Short means below the elbow or below the knee.)  For those who prefer live instruction, see my web site at www.ArmageddonMedicine.net for upcoming hands-on training opportunities.