Effective Partner and Small Team Tactics, by Officer Tackleberry

Please consider the following scenarios:

  • You are sitting at a table in a local restaurant with your family, significant other, and/or friend when a person enters the business and starts shooting.
  • You are shopping with your family at Christmas time and several subjects enter the mall and start shooting.
  • The “Crunch” has happened and it’s now full-blown TEOTWAWKI.   Looters are present and have forced their way into one of the buildings on your homestead.  The 911 system doesn’t work and the area police force is non-existent.   It’s up to you and one other person from your homestead to find the looters and remove them.

These scenarios, plus many others, are very probable.   Unfortunately, the first scenario has happened in the U.S. several times in the past few years and the second one has occurred hundreds of times in other countries.   Our responses need to be thought out and trained for, especially if you plan on having an armed response.

Some of the training necessary to prevail in these types of situations means being willing and even somewhat comfortable with shooting a target that’s next to or behind a loved one or another innocent person.  How prepared are you and your loved ones to do this?

Disclaimer
Before I go any further with this article, I need to provide a disclaimer.  To many of you, this will be common sense but I still need to write this.
Training and using a firearm can be very dangerous, especially when it’s done carelessly and without proper supervision.  A person can be severely injured or killed with a firearm and they need to be respected at all times.
 Treat every firearm as if it’s loaded and always keep pointed in a safe direction.
Use proper safety equipment, such as eye and ear protection.
Please get quality firearms training from a reputable instructor/training center before doing these training drills live-fire.  If you do these drills live-fire on your own range, have a knowledgeable safety person present whose sole purpose is to watch those doing the drills and to stop the drills any time something unsafe occurs.
The #1 rule of firearms safety is that the gun will not fire unless pressure is put on the trigger.  So, keep your trigger finger away from the trigger and the trigger well until you are ready to fire the gun!

Tools and Props
Many of these drills can be performed dry-fire, with an inert training gun such as a “red” or “blue” gun and with airsoft guns on a regular basis.  Make sure that you and your training partners check each firearm used for dry-fire training to make sure they are not loaded.  Also, keep all magazines and ammunition away from the “training area”.
Other props that are useful for training in partner tactics are cones and/or barrels for movement drills and a table and at least 2 chairs.  Having a booth to train with would be nice since most restaurants have them but you can use a couch or a love seat and a small table to a least practice the concepts.

The First Drill
The first drill is often referred to as “warrior inoculation”.  This drill is used by our military, especially in Special Forces units, and SWAT teams on a regular basis.  Fortunately, it has also made its way to some patrol officers, including myself, and I feel I am better off for it.

You start this drill by having you and your partner about 15 feet away from the target.  Your partner is directly in front of the target and you are 2-3 feet to their left or right.  Now you walk forward 5-6 feet.  With your back towards your partner, your partner now fires 2-3 rounds into the target.  Your partner’s bullets should not come anywhere close to you (I mean as far as inches go.  The bullets should still be 2-3 feet from you.), but you will feel the concussion of the gun being fired.  On your partner’s cue, you turn to face your partner.  Once your partner is sure you haven’t inadvertently moved into his line of fire, then your partner verbalizes he’s ready to fire.  Unless you object for some safety purpose, your partner then fires 2-3 more shots into the target.   Once the line is safe and your partners has re-holstered, you and your partner switch places and repeat the drill. 

Now, you may ask, why in the world would I ever do such a drill?  I’ve heard this objection voiced by several officers as well and the answer is pretty simple.  Where is a gunfight most likely to happen, in a flat open area devoid of any other people like the practice range?  Or, is it most likely to occur where innocent people and/or your loved ones are present?  This drill helps you and your partner get used to shooting at targets near “friendlies” and also keeps you from freaking out when your partner shoots a target near you.

The Weave Drill
The 2nd drill involves using cones, barrels, or some other barrier that’s set up at 10-foot intervals from the target, so the 1st one is at 10 feet from the center of the center target, the 2nd at 20 feet and the 3rd at 30 feet.  There should be at least 3 targets for the 2 of you to shoot and use steel targets if you can since they give instant feedback while you are moving.  That “ping” of a hit on a steel target is always reassuring.
Before the drill starts, you are on left side of the barriers, about 10 feet back from the last barrier, and your partner is on the right side, about 10 feet back from the last barrier as well.  On your command of forward, you both draw your weapons and move forward while shooting the targets.  Your partner should be slightly in front of you as you are both moving forward and as soon as you clear the first cone, you yell cross.  As he crosses in front of you, he keeps shooting the targets as you dip your muzzle towards the ground.  Once he is clear, your gun is back up in the fight.  This process is repeated all the way past the cone closest to the targets.
Once you are past the first cone, you start moving backwards using the same commands and safety precautions, only now the roles are reversed.  Your partner should now yell cross.
If you do this drill correctly, you use several critical skills.  You must constantly use your peripheral vision, good movement since a moving target is harder to hit, vocalization under stress and magazine changes while moving.
A quick note on pointing the muzzle towards the ground when your partner crosses in front of you:  This is known as position “sul” but rather than your hands being pulled all the way back to your chest, it’s done with your arms extended.  There are several articles/videos posted about position “sul” so you can Google it.  A quick description is that you lay the barrel of you gun across the back of your support hand and point it towards the ground.  This position allows you to get your gun back in the fight as quickly as possible.

Moving From Seated Position
Many of us eat at restaurants on a somewhat regular basis.  How many of you have thought about, let alone practiced, accessing your concealed firearm while in the seated position and engage targets while seated and while trying to stand up?  I personally believe that this is a very critical OPSEC training task for you and your loved ones in today’s world if you conceal carry a firearm.

Many contributors to this blog talk about discussing possible scenarios with your loved ones and even playing the “what if” game.  I couldn’t agree more, especially when in a restaurant, which has limited movement area and people are crammed close together all the time. 

For this drill, start with at least two of you on the same side of the table.  The first several times you do any of the seated drills, do it dry-fire and/or using Airsoft and make sure that the designated safety person is watching that safety rule #1 is being followed.  Keep your finger off the trigger and away from the trigger well until pointed at the target!  Draw you firearm and engage the target from the seated position.  Once you have practiced this several times, then do it while standing and moving away from the table.  Consciously train yourself to move the chair with your leg as you stand.

This drill can be continued by having your partner move to the end of the table and eventually sitting on the other side of the table.  These parts of the drill become even more challenging for the person sitting at the end or on the other side because that person must turn towards the target and engage while moving.

Getting used to drawing your firearm from a seated position, engaging the target while standing and engaging while moving are key skills since there may be more than one attacker and/or you may want to draw the attacker’s focus away from your loved ones.

A booth would be great to get additional practice in but obviously most ranges don’t have them present.  This can be practiced in the home dry-fire and/or Airsoft using a couch or love seat and a table.  Also, think about how you would react to an attacker each and every time you are in a restaurant.

Conclusion
I know that there are many, many other drills that can be used to strengthen your partner tactics.  Many times, we are only limited by our imagination.  But please, in any and all training that you do, keep safety as the #1 priority of all involved.

I pray for God’s blessing on each and every one of you!

Letter Re: Medicinal Herb Gardening-Making Herbal Balms

After reading “Medicinal Herb Gardening” by Mrs. Celena J. I was prompted to write more about making medicinal herbal balms and ointments. They are easily made once you get the hang of it and different ingredients can be used for different applications. My two favorites are Healing Muscle Balm and Rose Balm for the lips and skin. My family and friends also love these two combinations and have found them very effective.

Healing Muscle Balm is a combination of infused oils of Arnica, Meadowsweet, and Comfrey leaf. These particular herbs help with reducing the inflammation and alleviating the pain of muscle injury and arthritic problems as well as encouraging healing of the injury. I add beeswax to harden the oils, coconut oil for increased absorption into the skin and Vitamin E. oil for a preservative.

Rose Balm is a combination of infused oils of rosebuds/petals and rosehips as well as Calendula for a soothing and healing ointment which can be used on rashes, eczema, and other skin irritations and is a wonderful lip balm.

INFUSING THE OILS:
It takes a couple of weeks to prepare everything.
1. Fill a quart canning jar with herb of choice. Flowers (dried roses, arnica flowers, calendula flowers) can be packed into the jar. I usually fill the jar half full of the leafy herbs (one herb to each jar) – it’s not an exact science.
2. Pour oil over herb or flowers to rim of jar.
3. Cap, label, and shake.
4. Place the jars in a very warm area – I use my garage here in the South. (I’ve tried a heating pad but never felt comfortable leaving it on when I’m not at home.)
5. Turn the jars upside down a few times at least once a day to move the herbs around and allow their medicinal qualities to infuse into the oil.
After 10 days to 2 weeks the oils are ready for use.
6. Strain the plant matter out using cheese cloth placed in a strainer and return the strained oil to the cleaned jar (don’t forget to label everything!)
7. Keep in refrigerator for freshness.

I’ve experimented with a number of oils and prefer Grapeseed oil with Vitamin E already added (I still add a few drops of Vit E oil.) Sunflower oil is also very nice. Olive oil hardens in the refrigerator and then I have to wait for it to soften up to make the balms.

These recipes use dried herbs and flowers. Fresh herbs (like St. Johns Wort) need to be treated a little differently but I’m not going to cover that here. Be sure you purchase the herbs (if you don’t grow or wildcraft your own) from a reputable company. I really like Mountain Rose Herbs and Herbalcom.com herbs.

GENERIC SALVE (BALM/OINTMENT) RECIPE:
Ingredients:
1 cup infused oils – choose your mixture (I mix them together in a large pyrex measuring cup)
1 oz of beeswax
large tablespoon of virgin coconut oil

1. Melt beeswax in double boiler (I have an old one just for balms)

2. (Fill another pot with water – just enough to sit the pyrex measuring cup in after mixing – bring to a boil and then leave simmering – see below)

3. Add oil mix slowly and stir as it melts into the beeswax

4. Pour beeswax/oil mixture back into the pyrex cup and sit the cup in the simmering pot of water (see above – this gives you a little more time before the mixture hardens) – add essential oils per preference – about 40 drops.

5. Pour (QUICKLY) into containers.

(I purchase 1.8 oz and 4 oz jars for this but you can use any jars at home if you’re not selling them or giving as gifts. The mixture will harden on the side of the glass measuring cup. I scrape that off with a rubber spatula and put it into a small canning jar for my own personal use.)

For lip balm you can use 2 oz of beeswax to one cup of oil (This would be to put in the lip balm tubes.)

RECIPE FOR HEALING MUSCLE BALM:
NOT FOR USE ON BROKEN SKIN
RUB INTO SORE AND ACHING MUSCLES
ARNICA infused oil 1/2 cup
MEADOWSWEET infused oil 1/4 cup
COMFREY infused oil – just a little less than 1/4 cup
Beeswax 1 oz (add large spoonful of coconut oil) drops of Vitamin E oil for preservative
Add several drops Spearmint essential oil (or essential oil of choice, blends for muscles are especially good.)

RECIPE FOR ROSE SKIN SALVE:
1/2 cup rose petal/buds infused grapeseed oil
1/4 cup rosehip infused oil
1/4 cup calendula infused oil
Beeswax 1 oz (add large spoonful or more of coconut oil/few drops of Vitamin E oil to preserve)
Rose Geranium essential oil drops (Rose essential oil is extremely expensive to I use a rose blend with the rose geranium – a little bit of lavender added to that is also nice.)

An extra nice touch is to “double-dip” the roses. Infuse them for the two weeks – strain- and add the strained, already infused oil to another jar filled with the roses and let them sit for another 1-2 weeks.

Personally, I’ve had great success with both recipes. After smashing my big toe into a doorjamb, I used it liberally.
The toe turned black and blue but healed within a week and the nail remains in place. Also was very helpful for muscle spasms in the back (sequelae from injured toe incident.) And the Rose ointment is very soothing for chapped lips and minor skin irritations.

Letter Re: Practice Night Hiking to Get Ready to Bug Out to Your Retreat

Mr. Rawles:
A recent letter about reaching a retreat on foot caused me to think back over 20 years to when I was in the Marine Corps and I thought I would share some of what I’ve learned about trying to walk long distances with heavy packs in hostile environments.

In the Corps, as you can imagine, we ‘humped’ a lot (for you soldiers or civilians that’s Marine speak for road marching, rucking or hiking) and if I learned anything it was that walking long distances with heavy loads, weapons, communications equipment, water, clothes and food is tough for even the toughest at times.

First, despite the phenomenal shape we were in as Marines we generally never attempted long road marches without working up to them first. Sure, if we had to hump 20 miles we’d do it right then and there but if we had time (and presumably we as American’s still have time) then we wouldn’t attempt that without first working up to it.

To work up to such strenuous hiking we’d start with light gear (782 gear to Marines, or just Deuce Gear is I think TA-50 to Soldiers: standard issue web gear, combat gear, or field equipment.). We’d step off in Utilities (“Utes”, also called BDUs by the Army) and boots and hump a good 5 miles at a brisk pace. During these short humps we didn’t stop and kept about a 5 mile per hour pace. We called these ‘Utes and Boots’ runs if we dropped the 782 gear and picked up the pace. It is tough if you’re not used to it so starting off at a 3 mph or 4 mph pace might be better for a civilian trying to train up – but don’t forget to increase the pace later on when carrying light loads. Of course since we ran PT in formation at a very brisk pace (I once clocked our formation run at a 7 minute pace – that’s 3 miles in 21 minutes in formation) we could start off humping a 5 miler at a much faster pace than you might imagine. 5 miles an hour is tough and more like a walk/run then a walk but it’s doable, indeed we once humped 5 miles in 45 minutes but that was more a run than anything else – side note: don’t volunteer as a road guard when the commander decides to set records in Utes and Boots and 782!

To survive the beating your feet will get, powder them well and wear good boots – Marine Corps combat boots were not the best back then, but we mostly had them modified ourselves to improve the comfort and reduce the shock of long road marches. Any good cobbler/shoe maker can take a combat boot and change the sole, eyelets etc to improve the boot so don’t be afraid to have it done if you plan to wear military issue (unless the new ones are as good as I’m told).

Once we did this for a couple weeks (once or twice a week mixed in with regular PT schedule) we’d step it up to two 5 milers and a 10 miler. By this time we either ran the 5 miles or carried a heavier load (782 plus Alice pack with Air Alert gear — 2nd set of Utilities, extra socks, poncho and liner etc etc plus MREs). For the ten milers we carried the medium load also and kept a steady pace but stopped at 5 miles to change socks and powder our feet.

By the end of the 4th week we were hitting 15 miles with fairly heavy ALICE Packs etc and stopping 3 or 4 times for sock changes and foot powder and by the 5th week 20 miles was the norm.

By the end of about six weeks of serious humping (often spending part of the time in the field and humping from AO to AO) we were ready for anything and if deploying somewhere would take the MCRES (Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation Systems) test of 25+ miles in under 8 hours with no more than 10% losses. We generally did this at night since there had been too many heat casualties during the day in the summer.

In 1988 we did 32 miles in 7 hours and 50 minutes and lost 10% of our 2,000 man BLT (Battalion Landing Team). Humping 25-30 miles at a 4+ mile pace with a heavy load takes its toll and many succumb to heat exhaustion, sprained or broken ankles, twisted knees and worse and we were highly trained and very fit Marines but that doesn’t change the dynamics of humping long distance at night carrying a heavy load and injuries will happen.

At the end of the 8 hours of walking with over 100 lbs of gear (I also carried the PRC-77 [14-pound VHF transceiver] for 7-1/2 miles during that march) I’d pulled some ligaments in my left foot and was dragging it, I had more bruises (from gear) then you might imagine and could barely get into the back of a 5 Ton for the ride to the barracks!

Planning on bugging out and carrying a heavy load might be something you can do, but I want you to understand the risks involved and the serious training required if it’s longer then a few miles that you have to walk carrying a heavy load.

Things you should consider if you plan to walk to your retreat even after much training:

1. Change your socks with dry socks every five miles and powder your feet with foot powder when you do – so carry extra socks and plan to dry the wet ones by hanging them on the back of your ruck if it’s dry out.

2. Bring along fruit to graze on if you can — eating an orange along the route will boost your energy and a banana will help with foot cramps due to electrolytes lost during the hump.

3. Plan to drink at least one gallon of water! You will sweat out massive amounts and must replace what you lose or you will cramp or worse. Perhaps keep some electrolyte mix and mix it up during the sock change break.

4. Plan points along your route that you can hole up in for a day or two in case of injury — it is possible you will sprain an ankle in the first 5 miles and will need to rest before moving on so doing so in a safe place is important. While you may not be able to rest for two weeks, even a two day break will give your ankle etc time to recover a bit and with a slower pace and perhaps a splint you may be able to continue then.

6. Carry a walking stick if possible and sling your weapon if you can (if in dangerous country do not sling [your rifle over your shoulder], instead carry using a ‘Swiss sling’ which keeps the weapon hanging comfortably in front of you ready for action).

7. Remember, the old saying: ‘If you can’t Ruck it, Truck it – if you can’t Truck it, Chuck It’. Seriously, carrying more than 50 lbs of gear for 10-25 miles or more is tough if you are not used to it. Carrying 100 lbs for 10-20 miles is very hard, carrying 150 lbs is for the best trained hikers only! You won’t make it 5 miles with that load if you aren’t prepared, trained, and well hydrated.

8. Keep first aid kit handy – concentrate on pain killers, mole skin (for blisters) and splint making materials. Expect injury, plan for it and if you make the long march without one all the better. But don’t assume you can make it! I’ve seen tough Marines collapse under a 100 pound pack after 15 miles with their eyes rolled up and feet kicking! We called that the ‘funky chicken’ and while that might not be nice it helps me stress a point: Do not think that can’t happen to you, it can if you aren’t prepared or went out drinking the night before and suddenly find yourself 15 miles down the road, exhausted, dehydrated and overheating.

9. Keep light snacks in your pockets in an accessible place (having some gum or a little hard candy can really help when you’re at the 15 mile mark and starting to seriously drag).

10. Make sure you have a good water filter or purifier handy because you will drink more than you think and may need an alternate source of water. Water weighs nearly 8 pounds per gallon so if you have just 4 canteens you’re now 8 lbs less gear you can carry. If you have two gallons (canteens and camelback maybe) then you’re carrying 16 lbs of water — think about it.

For those who have a chafing problem my advice is “work up to it”. While some Marines did try things like nylon stockings, Vaseline and other ‘fixes’ I found that briefs and Utilities were all that is required (sorry, but boxers were the worst thing to wear on a 25 mile hump) provided you trained that way and allowed the body to get used to the constant walking (rubbing). I lifted weights for many years like a lot of Marines and had big thighs but chafing wasn’t an issue after a month or two of constant humping in the North Carolina humidity. Your body will adjust usually. If it doesn’t then try spandex shorts – these will provide the relief you need, guaranteed.

Hydrate, eat lots of carbs before each hike and plan each one carefully and you will be happy you did if TSHTF and you’ve got to ruck up and step out. Semper Fi, – Erik M.

Cell Phone Outage-Induced Chaos Illustrates an Over-Dependence on Technology

James,
The cause of the recent cell phone outage in Kentucky isn’t being stated, but they are appearing to distance themselves from an CME or EMP event. Nevertheless, how much preparedness do most of these AT&T users demonstrate? (This could of course happen with any carrier.) One of my employees who has an AT&T phone said the only number her school age son has to reach her is her cell number, as an example. Why her son can’t have her work number I have no idea. An embedded terrorist cell springing into action and striking a school during such an event would evoke even greater terror than during a normal day.

That cell phones not working led to the 911 [police/fire emergency telephone service] being overwhelmed is laughable on an ordinary day like this. Should this happen on a broad basis, or during a natural [disaster or other large scale] emergency then the consequences would be significant. And, gasp police had to use their radios instead of their iPhones.

Best Regards, – G.

Economics and Investing:

Fortune magazines asks: Is this finally the economic collapse? (Thanks to Jeff L. for the link.)

G.G. suggested this article over at Forbes: Collapse In Internet Time.

Also from G.G.: America Is ‘Bankrupt Mickey Mouse Economy’: CIO

B.B. was the first of several readers to send an article by Laurence Kotlikoff: Is Bankrupt and We Don’t Even Know It?

Items from The Economatrix:

Major Leading Indicator in Free Fall

Stocks Retreat as Fed Grows More Cautious

Trade Deficit Widens to $49.9 Billion in June

US Dollar Falls to 15-Year Low Against the Yen

China’s Industrial Growth Slows, Inflation Jumps

Bank of England Warns of Rocky Recovery

Oil Falls Below $80 Amid Growth Slowdown Fears

Recession Causing a Banking Awakening in Tough-Hit Midwest

Many Shun Bank Accounts But Pay More for Financial Services

Gold Drops as Stronger Dollar Erodes Demand for an Alternative Investment

Odds ‘n Sods:

RBS sent this: ‘Seed ambassadors’ spread the word about saving

   o o o

Linda Y. was the first of several readers that sent us this news wire article: Scientists find new superbug spreading from India. Linda’s comment: ” While most readers probably looked over this story with an ‘another-cry-wolf’ view, it definitely caught my attention. This is very worrisome. I have seen first hand how the US-300 strain of MRSA can ravage a body in no time. My son came home ill from college and doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him and kept sending us home. By the time they figured out that it was MRSA, he was near death in less than a week. Antibiotics were not working. The MRSA caused kidney infarcts, destroyed part of his aorta, aortic valve, mitral valve and created a hole in his heart, and finally had to have a bypass around the endotoxins to get his heart to properly beat again. He miraculously survived but only because we had one of the best team of doctors on his case from Loyola University Medical Center and thousands of people around the world were praying for him. One doctor called the bacteria an ‘Entity.’ That is the best lexicon for these antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This should be terrifying news to all. Let’s hope they get this new ‘Entity’ under control with a new antibiotic quickly.”

   o o o

Scott B. sent this preview of the coming urban riots as the nascent Depression progresses: Housing crisis reaches full boil in East Point {Atlanta]; 62 injured

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"A wild boar stood under a tree, and rubbed his tusks against the trunk. A fox passing by asked him why he thus sharpened his teeth when there was no danger threatening from either huntsman or hound. He replied, "I do it advisedly; for it would never do to have to sharpen my weapons just at the time I ought to be using them." To be well prepared for war is the best guarantee of peace." – The Fables of Aesop, published by Henry Altemus Company, 1899.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 30 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) 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 $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 30 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Grub, Guns, and Gold!, by Barry P.

I grew up in a home where the parents believed in being prepared. When my dad went back to dental school after working for fifteen years as a biochemist, we lived for three years on the food storage they had acquired. But we didn’t use the food storage during those three years only. We had always enjoyed wonderful whole wheat bread, pancakes, cookies and cakes made from the wheat in our food storage. We learned that this food wasn’t to be used just in case of emergencies. We ate and rotated the items in our storage on a regular basis. We became used to the ingredients contained in these home-cooked meals made from scratch, and really learned to enjoy them. This is important, especially with whole wheat, because it does take some getting used to. You can’t just begin using it when your emergency starts and expect your body to immediately adapt to it.

When my wife and I were married, we wanted to be as prepared as my parents. We started small because we didn’t have much money or room. During the last 25 years we’ve been able to expand our food storage program and also make some additional preparations. I try to help as many people as possible become prepared by summarizing the basic requirements with these three words: Grub, Guns, and Gold! Of course the list is much more comprehensive than just those three items, but it’s a good starting point.

1) Do you have a year’s supply of basic food and water? If “no”, do have any money in the bank. If “yes”, take as much out as possible and buy a year’s supply of food. If you can afford more than that, that’s even better. Food storage calculators on the internet tell you how much of what items you need based on your family size. The major groups to consider include: Grains, Fats and Oils, Legumes, Sugars, Milk, Cooking Essentials, and Water. Additional items might include vegetables and fruits, whether canned, dehydrated, or freeze dried. Also, in order to fully utilize wheat in your food storage program, you’ll need to have a grinder to convert it into flour. We have a stone-ground grinder powered by electricity, but we also have a hand crank grinder just in case! For water we have eight 55 gallon barrels. We also have a Berkey water filter. What’s good about these filters is electricity isn’t needed – they work via gravity. We’re using our Crown Berkey right now with the additional fluoride filters so that we don’t end up with fluoride and other toxins in our bodies. We could even put Mississippi River water in the Berkey and it would make it safe to drink!

2) Do you still have money in the bank after buying your food? If so, buy guns to protect your family and food. The most effective home defense weapon is a 12 gauge shotgun. You may also want to acquire some type of semi-auto rifle, such as an SKS, or my favorite, the M1 Garand. The SKS is an effective killer out to 300 yards, and the Garand is effective out to 800 yards. Some people like the AR-15. Any of those are great. I also like to have a handgun nearby as well, at least 9mm or larger. If you’re not very familiar with guns, take a hunter education safety course at a minimum (your kids too), and maybe a course for concealed carry. And make sure you have enough ammo on hand for whatever might happen.

3) Do you still have money in the bank after buying your food and guns? If so, buy gold. Or if you’re poor like me, silver. Right now silver is trading at 65 times less than gold. In 1980 it was only sixteen to one, and is historically closer to fifty to one. So there is a greater likelihood that silver will be better insurance for you than gold, especially since it has many more industrial applications than gold. I call precious metals “insurance” because I’ve never considered them investments, and have sold silver only one time – to buy more food, guns, and ammo! Precious metals are what will allow me to do those things that will be necessary for my family to survive after the American way of life collapses. But don’t buy precious metals until you have your grub and guns first! Or at least take care of all of them concurrently.

I think we all realize that the best option for us would be to have remote and secure places we could go to if needed. Unfortunately, this isn’t an option for most of us. That being stated, some additional considerations – for those of us trapped in urban or suburban settings, include:

A) You need to be able to cook your food without electricity. So my first thought was to buy a new propane gas grill and fill up our three tanks. So we did. Then I realized that three tanks wouldn’t last very long. So, we bought a Weber grill, and acquired a lot of free firewood. Then I learned that charcoal is better than wood for cooking applications, so we bought charcoal. But the Weber grill requires too much charcoal, so we did some cooking experiments with our dutch oven. We found that we could cook five dutch oven meals with one bag of charcoal. We ended up buying enough charcoal to cook one meal per day for six months. Unfortunately, the next thing we learned was charcoal in paper sacks tends to absorb moisture, and over time, will eventually become useless. So if you buy a lot of charcoal for your storage, you’ll need to repackage it in plastic bags inside the paper sacks, or put the charcoal in five gallon buckets. But, if there is some cataclysmic event and you’re the only house in the neighborhood with food, the last thing you want to do is cook outside where everyone in the neighborhood can smell your tasty stew. So, what do you do? You install a wood-burning stove in your house and cook on top of it! Whatever you do, don’t cook with charcoal indoors – carbon monoxide kills!

B) Many people put their guns in gun safes, like I did. That would protect them for the most part. But I think it’s more likely that my own government would take my guns than anyone else – remember Katrina. So I moved my favorite guns out of the house to secure locations. Now all I have available are one shotgun, one rifle, and one handgun, but I could get to the other ones fairly quickly if I really needed to. Someone recently wrote a book and created a web site called HideYourGuns.com. My question is this: What if someone in the government wrote that book? They’d know pretty much where you hid your guns! And they would have a record of every address where one of these books was delivered! Even if that book were written by an individual not associated with the government, anyone could read that book and know the most likely places people hide their guns! This one is a tough call, especially since your gun is registered when you buy it. So they know where you live, and they know the most likely hiding places for your guns!

C) When you buy your gold or silver, you won’t want to put it in a safe deposit box in the bank. You’ll want to have it in your hot little hands, or somewhere else safe. And you’ll want to buy it before January 1, 2011. I recently heard that one of the provisions of the recently passed ObamaCare legislation is that effective 1/1/2011, all transactions over $600 have to be reported to the IRS. That surely is reminiscent of 1933, now isn’t it?

D) One more very important thing to consider is related to #3 above. Any financial instrument or vehicle denominated in dollars will be worthless sooner or later. If you read what the experts have to say on this subject, it isn’t a question of “if,” it’s a question of “when.” So at the very least, after you have your grub and guns, take as much of your savings out of the bank as you can and buy precious metals. Also, I took as much of my 401k out as I could and rolled it into a precious metals IRA. There is real silver in a vault with my name on it. When the value of the dollar goes down, my IRA will increase in value. If/when a new currency is adopted, my IRA will still have value. For the rest of my 401k, I was able to open up a brokerage account within it and I purchased two different Exchange Traded Funds: CEF – Central Canada and SLV – Ishares Silver. These ETFs own millions of ounces of actual precious metals and investors buy shares in them. These are still based on the dollar, but there isn’t anything else better I can do to make this money safe.

Numbers 1-3 are what I tell everyone who asks me about preparedness. If they show an interest in becoming prepared themselves, I help them acquire the food storage items at cost through my local church cannery. I also then tell them about items A-D. Once they’ve started working on A-D, I tell them about some additional items to consider. I’ve found if I just dump all of the information on someone right up front, they tend not to do anything. Milk before meat!

Letter Re: Advice on G.O.O.D. Bags

Hi there,
Do you have an opinion on what is the best G.O.O.D. bag?

1. Waterproof?

2. Backpack?

3. Multiple ways to carry it?

4. Wheels?

Thanks and keep up the good work. – KJ

JWR Replies: Unless you have a bad back, I’d recommend waterproof whitewater rafting “dry bags” in a backpack configuration, like this one. It is prudent to get them in earth tone colors–or at least spray paint them to tone them down. And, as mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, anyone with a bad back should consider a small wheeled cart or even a wheeled golfing bag.

Economics and Investing:

G.G. suggested this piece by veteran economist Howard J. Ruff: Why Gold and Silver Seem Stuck

Also from G.G.: Chorus of QE calls is deafening. Stand by for price inflation, folks!

K.T. sent a link to an interview with Gerald Celente: Double Dip Depression Will Lead Us Into War

Readers of my novel “Patriots” might find this familiar: Fed Looks to Spur Growth by Buying Government Debt. ( A hat tip to Wade C. for the link.) This is a highly inflationary move!

And speaking of inflation: Wal-Mart Prices Are Rising: JP Morgan Study. A 5.8% increase in one month!

Items from The Economatrix:

Productivity Falls 0.9% in Second Quarter

Stocks Cut Losses on Fed’s Economic Stimulus Plan

GOP Destroyed American Economy

Geithner’s Claptrap About “The Recovery” Exposed

Gold Thefts Prompt Police to Monitor Sellers

San Fran Fed: Significant Chance Of Recession Next Two Years

A Democratic Panic Attack? Rumors of an “August Surprise”

Side Effect of the New Frugality: Happiness

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader A.J. wrote to tell me that the classic medical book (circa 1913) book “Materia medica: pharmacology, therapeutics and prescription writing” is now available as a Google book. While some of the techniques are dated (such as the use of some chemicals that in more recent times have been determined to be carcinogens) and the safety standards for some anesthetics (including fire safety) fall short of modern standards, there is still some very useful information.

   o o o

KAF sent us this: Meet the first man to walk the Amazon. “After 859 days, thousands of miles and “50,000 mosquito bites,” Ed Stafford became the first man known to have walked the entire Amazon river’s length.” See what kept him going in this report.

   o o o

R.F.J. spotted this over at Life Hacker: Build a Container Water Garden to Cure Your Pond Cravings. Here is a quote: “Small-container water gardens are actually a collection of submerged potted plants, which makes them easy to set up and to rearrange at will. You can use just about any container to start your water garden, but pots with dark interiors give an impression of greater depth, discourage algae growth, and make algae less obvious when it does grow. Best of all, most water plants are tough so the garden is low maintenance, and even those of us with a black thumb have a chance because they are generally hard to kill.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not even done in concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried and minuted) by quiet men in clean, carpeted and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices." – C.S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 30 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) 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 $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 30 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Surreptitious Suburban Survival, by Suburban Survivor

I didn’t start out being a “prepper,” I was born into it…My father was a Command Sergeant Major in the US Army, we lived on many posts and in many cities, and had to travel at a moment’s notice. So, we were always prepared for the most part as a way of life. OPSEC was drilled into us at an early age, strangers asking questions about dad’s job, deployments, etc., were reported and we “army brats,” stuck together like glue on a hot summer day. Mom, kept the home front squared away, and we always had a nice place, warm bed, and hot food, no matter what… We grew up being in the great outdoors, hunting, hiking, fishing, stalking, and shooting each with Crossman BB/Pellet guns and wrist rockets with marbles…Learned real fast about cover vs. concealment…

Fast forward to today, I am 46 years old, married to a wonderful woman who views life thru rose colored glasses at times, US Army Veteran (PSYOPS) myself. I own a small IT consulting firm that pays the bills, and my wife is a Yoga Instructor/Business Coach. We live in a golf course community on the outskirts of a large Southern city. I stay active working out, fly fishing, Krav Maga and Judo, of course Yoga…We own a Mini Schnauzer, actually, she owns us and is a great dog, she thinks she is a giant. We entertain and visit with family and friends, travel..In short, the “typical” suburban couple, with a twist.

As the title implies, we are surreptitious survivors/preppers..It has been a long journey, taking many baby steps, more to come, to get where we are today. I had to get “buy in,” from the wife, as she did not share my “worldly view,” on these matters and has come to appreciate and understand my upbringing and military background, which has driven, and continues to drive, many of my decisions.

It started a couple years ago when we sold our home, and moved into our current one, downsizing to a Ranch…How to prepare, without looking like it and alerting the new, unknown, neighbors? Like many folks, we are not in a position to buy a mountain home and boogey at the first sign of trouble, and we live in a close knit community with a decent, defensible location, typical Scottish requirements, high ground, with open space and clear fields of fire, one way in, one way out. Zero lots lines means we have neighbors 10’ to the left and right of us, homes 100m across the back, and nothing except a big pond and a couple hundred yards to the front of us…Yes, I do have range cards. Not the perfect set up, but okay.

We developed a plan and worked it, with most of the info/strategies coming from insights learned here, and other reference materials, and prior military training.

Basically is went like this: Secure the home, upgrade storage, create and promote the neighborhood PSYOP piece, (our story) and take baby steps to prepare, all under the radar..

I upgraded the basic security system to a full blown, full perimeter, with smoke and heat detectors, glass breaks and dual tec interior motion sensors installed. The garage door is alarmed and there is a Xenon strobe light that flashes when the alarm goes off, and is visible throughout the immediate area. A siren too, that can wake the dead.. Extra exterior lighting was installed too. I upgraded the lower sashes on our single windows to tempered, dual pane units for added security. After move in, I added extra deadbolts with reinforced hinges, and custom steel door jamb guards installed to prevent the easy door kick…

As a former Brinks Home Security Consultant, I learned, saw a lot of home break ins, and invasions..Also, I turned our master bedroom closet into an improvised safe room. I replaced the outward swinging hollow core door, with a solid wood door, reinforced hinges, with a keyed dead bolt that can only be opened from the inside. Once closed, it can’t be kicked in, or pulled open. It is equipped for easy 24 hr stay. The nice thing is that it really doesn’t look like a secure room; deadbolt not withstanding…I also put hardened combo locks on electrical/utility panels to deter easy turn off and send a signal that we are security conscious. I purchased a small safe, dial type so EMP is not and issue and we have enough cash, silver, and nickels to last a month or two if the banks are down. If “it,” really hits, we have other major issues to deal with.

The garage is a totally finished/insulated space and I had a stronger garage door installed, without windows. We had extra shelving installed from the ceiling and on the walls. In addition, we have several wall mounted and free standing cabinets in place to hold our, “stuff,” and keep it from prying eyes. Yes, I also store some of our firearms in a hidden, wall and floor mounted safe, painted to look like the garage walls, and covered by ladders, etc. You have to literally be right on top of it to notice it. It is also hidden by a 4’x6’x24” steel shelf unit that holds my entire “man cave,” stuff, television, stereo, and computer networking routers, switches, etc.

How to hold and hide the ammo and other miscellaneous supplies? I use paint cans with my own codes in sharpie on the lids, and bankers boxes. All nicely stacked on the lower shelves of the rack system, very innocent looking and not worth anyone’s time. These are easy to grab and go

As an IT guy, I am always receiving packages from UPS/FedEx and the like. So, having large boxes shipped is not unusual for me, and does not violate OPSEC. My wife also gets her Yoga and cosmetic supplies shipped to the home as well. We both have home based business and come and go throughout the day, random schedule and have retired, and other home based business owners and teleworkers around us for added eyes and ears.. I also use a P.O. Box for all of our sensitive mail/parcels, and haul away the cardboard boxes to dumpsters in another area, (grocery stores & construction sites) not just dumping it in our trash for all to see or snoop.

Our plan is based on making it thru the first 72 hrs to couple weeks, then bugging out if things look like they’re getting worse, to a close friends place in the mountains a couple hours away..In the meantime, we need to be able to manage/survive in place..We have been buying foodstuffs from the local grocery store, big box stores and online to stock up. A mix of everything from soups, to MREs, Mainstay Rations to five gallon buckets, pre-packaged, freeze dried food and 25 lb bags of rice and beans.. Everything fits into the two interior pantry closets and/or on the garage shelving in five gallon buckets bought from Lowes for just that. You can’t tell that we have enough supplies for 3-6 months, depending on how we ration, and how charitable we feel. We purchase from several of the advertiser here on the blog site, our little way of giving back.

Water was another issue to tackle, as we are on city supplied water and gas, electrical…So, taking the advice here, I did the following: Bought a small 3 person hot tub, 300 gal, that we actually use quite often, and use the minimum and natural sanitizers. I also refresh the water every 3 months. This gives us approx 75 days of water if necessary. I have an REI filter system with extra cartridges and bleach to clean. We also have the 40gal water heater to drain, a 100 gal Water BoB and 12 gal of water on the floor of a pantry, more to be added. In addition, I have the pond in front of our home to draw from. Got water covered I think.

I have a propane grill with three 20 lb tanks, and plan to buy a large, 100 lb tank..That should cover us for a little bit. Our home uses gas for cooking, so we can manage eating until the Gas Co goes south and the gas stops flowing…

Fuel for autos is handled by always keeping the tanks ½ full, having two 5 gal containers, and knowing where there are two, 1,000 gal diesel and unleaded gas tanks nearby that are left unlocked and available for siphoning if necessary. I recon at night while “walking,” the dog…I can get gas…

I have not gotten the electrical covered yet, am in the market for a portable generator to power the HVAC/fridge, basic stuff, as I am not allowed to install en exterior, fixed, tri-fuel generator due to HOA rules…That is the next “big purchase,” and it too, will fit into a space in the back of the garage, created for it, and accessible quickly if need be.

I have developed two 72-hour kits for our autos, that we take daily, The wife’s stays in her car, because she parks in the garage. Mine, goes in and out of the trunk daily, as it parks on the driveway and I do not want it stolen. I have totally sanitized my car, no decals, nothing visible to steal, no personal info on anything inside the car. A police friend told me not to worry about it, since cops can determine instantly if it is yours or not and rarely ticket for such things. Our kits are in nondescript backpacks and contain everything to easily survive 3-6 days on the road..

There are: three 3,600 cal Mainstay rations, 100 oz camel backs with purification tabs, rain gear, Eton radio, shelter, fire, tools, etc…You get the idea. I also included a pair of fence pliers, in case we have to cross fences, etc., I’d rather cut them than climb over/under..They also make a good improvised weapon…I added a Cold Steel AK-47 folding knife, a robust, brute of a folder, that is legal carry, but effective at camp stuff and CQC if necessary. There is also a folding wrist rocket and steel ball bearings for 2-4 legged pests..

The Eton radio has a crank, and USB ports to power our cell phones, and GPS units, and I keep extra cables in the bag. If SHTF, texting will be the way to go, and you’ll need to charge your gear. This does it nicely..

I have slowly changed my wardrobe to be more covert and tactical in nature, thanks to pants, shirts and shoes from 5.11 Tactical. There are a couple of LEO stores and I regularly go in and buy and item or two here and there, always paying cash…

I have swapped my Swiss laptop bag for a Maxpedition Tactical unit, and have it stocked with various and sundry first line survival gear. Expensive, but worth every penny.

Now, on to the other piece put in place, or should I say removed: Social Networking sites and the like. I have gone dark, deleted several online accounts, to reduce my exposure and data points…Remember, I’m an IT guy, know firsthand what is collected on us, and how we, in many cases , make it so much easier for “others,” to glean info about us. Think it thru..How much data do you put on Facebook et al; about your firearms, hobbies, etc.?

My business does not depend on such online sites and found that it was taking more time and energy that they were worth to maintain.

Yes, we have been stocking up on other supplies as well, per JWR’s preparedness course materials, and recently bought the fish meds from Amazon as a recent article suggested…

In closing, I feel we are in pretty good shape, compared to most around us, not up to snuff on some other folks here, but again, meeting the goal of: Surreptitious Suburban Survival.