Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), by Pudge

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What are standard (or standing) operating procedures (SOPs), and why should you have them? According to the U.S. Army, a SOP is “a clearly written set of instructions for methods detailing procedures for carrying out a routine or recurring task or study.” Now what does this really mean and how can I actually apply this to both my daily life and also high stress situations?

First, a quick background so that you can understand why this topic is so important to me. I’m an active duty Army Special Forces officer (O-3) with extensive experience around the world. I make my living using and creating Standard Operating Procedures for every situation you can think of within my team as well as with indigenous persons from other countries. I use these SOPs to enhance my lethality, effectiveness, survivability, and capability. They are what help separate my team from other units and allow us to operate at a much higher level. Okay, let’s get down to it.

What is an SOP, really? It can be as simple as: Each person will carry x-number of magazines on them for their rifle and handgun, or as complicated as exactly what you will need to do during a night time linkup with another friendly element. Why do we have them? We have them to eliminate extra steps or remove overthinking from the equation. We have them to make sure everyone follows the same standard for loadout on a patrol around the area. We have them so that no matter who is on guard shift, when a potential threat comes stumbling up to the gate at zero dark thirty, we all know exactly how to respond, even while still half asleep. They are used for all of these situations and many more.

At work, my team has a SOP booklet that is handed out whenever we receive a new teammate. Their job for that first week is to study this book. Now this alone isn’t going to get them up to speed with the rest of the team but it will make the learning curve not quite as steep. Additionally, whenever we go out for training, we review the SOPs for topics that we are going to cover. We do this so that everyone is on the same page and that everyone knows exactly what needs to be done and in what order so that we can work as efficiently as possible.Continue reading“Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), by Pudge”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on real estate sales reports and projections for the Redoubt region.

Idaho

Idaho Governor Gets Flak From Own Party on Virus Decisions. An excerpt:

“Little last week extended his stay-at-home order for Idaho’s 1.75 million residents to the end of the April, further irritating his fellow Republicans, but lifted some restrictions on non-essential businesses. Meanwhile, nearly 100,000 Idahoans filed for unemployment benefits from mid-March to mid-April.

Little plans to hold a news conference Thursday morning where he plans to announce a four-phased approach to reopening the state, but cited his concerns of a potential second wave of infections.”

o  o  o

Boise Idaho real estate is still booming.

o  o  o

A coronavirus yard sale? Idaho cops say woman cited for violating stay-at-home order

o  o  o

13 vehicles involved in crashes due to dust storm

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 27, 2020

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On this day in 1789, the crew of the British ship Bounty mutinied, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific. This famous incident has inspired many novels, plays, and movies.

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A reminder: My mail order antique gun business — Elk Creek Company — is on Pandemic Hiatus until May 4th.  I’ve taken this opportunity to re-stock heavily. This now includes some replica guns in obsolete (not factory produced) calibers such as .44 S&W Russian and .45-90 Winchester that qualify as No-FFL “antiques”, in most states. Take a look at our store page, and build your Wish List. Thanks.

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For those of you who are stocking up on canning supplies, Harvest Guard is offering a 20% discount just for SurvivalBlog readers. Enter the code “survivalblog” during checkout to receive 20% off any order for Harvest Guard Reusable Canning Lids.

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Today we present another review by our veteran Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio

ETS Magazines, by Pat Cascio

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I’ve said it thousands of times, that when it comes down to firearm magazines, its just hard to beat those that come shipped from the factory with the firearm. Many aftermarket magazines just aren’t up to the quality we would like to have in our guns. You know something isn’t quite right, when the aftermarket mags don’t come in any packaging, and there are no markings on the mags as to what company made them. I won’t mention any particular magazines – aftermarket brands – that are still in business, but there are some big name companies out there, that produce substandard magazines.

I’m sure we’re all heard of Mec-Gar magazines, and to their credit, they produce magazines for more than 50 firearms companies. Just because a magazine that comes with your gun is stamped Colt, S&W, or SIG-Sauer doesn’t mean they actually made those mags. In reality, there’s a good chance they were produced under contract by Mec-Gar. If you are buying a Mec-Gar made magazine, odds are, they are the same magazines that come with your big name gun maker. Gun companies don’t want to be in the magazine business – first of all, they might produce more than a hundred different gun models and that requires a lot of different machines to make all those magazines. So, why not contract out to a company like Mec-Gar? Simply give the specs to Mec-Gar for a particular firearm and Mec-Gar can produce what you need.

Then we have some of those lesser magazine makers, who boast of producing magazines made out of the finest steel, with the strongest springs – if that’s true, then why don’t their magazines work – all the time? Hmmm, something to think about. So, for the most part, I stick with the exact same magazines that come with a gun in the box.Continue reading“ETS Magazines, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Savory Chicken

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The following recipe is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the bonus items in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021.
Ingredients
    • 1/4 cup butter or butter substitute or other fat
    • 1 tablespoon chopped onlon
    • 1 chopped carrot
    • 1 slice turnip
    • 1/4 cup flour
    • 1 cup water
    • 1-1/2 cup strained tomatoes
    • Salt, pepper and paprika, to taste
    • 1 chicken
    • Salt-pork fat
    • 1 cup button mushrooms
    • 2 tablespoons chopped olives
Directions

Make a savory sauce by melting butter or butter substitute and cooking in it chopped onion, carrot and turnip cut in small pieces. Stir in flour and add gradually boiling water and tomato, previously stewed and strained. Season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Cut up a chicken, dredge with flour, and sauté in salt-pork fat. Remove from the pan, place in a saucepan and cover with the savory sauce. Cook until the chicken is tender. At the last moment, add the mushrooms and chopped olives.

SERVING

Arrange the pieces of chicken in the center of the platter and pour the sauce around them, garnishing with triangles of toast and stuffed olives.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB).

Precious Metals:

Bank of America: Gold set to hit $3,000 within 18 months

o  o  o

Over at Kitco: Gold prices up as bulls continue to flex their muscles

Economy & Finance:

Brandon Smith: Pandemic And Economic Collapse: The Next 60 Days

o  o  o

Peter sent us this:  3 million Americans are not paying their mortgages right now

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: How Far Will the U.S. Economy Plunge During Lockdown?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 26, 2020

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On April 26, 1986, one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire in the No. 4 reactor sent radioactivity into the atmosphere; at least 31 Soviets died immediately.  I had the misfortune of being down-wind from Chernobyl, since I was TDY that year with the 2nd MI Battalion (Aerial Exploitation), working a live Guardrail intelligence gathering and analysis mission. I was stationed at Stuttgart Army Airfield. That was the operating base for the 2nd MI’s Beechcraft RC-12D (IGR-V) aircraft. By the time that I returned to CONUS on May 22nd, I had undoubtedly absorbed far above normal background radiation.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 88 ends on May 31st, 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.

Facing Lockdown in an Apartment – Part 2, by J.F.J.

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Barricade doors and windows with heavy or bulky furniture. Keep the intruders out of your apartment, but do not trust your barricades to stop bullets. Remember that reinforced doors, boarded-up windows, and bookshelves-turned-barricade are for keeping out intruders; they are not for ballistic cover. Building bullet stops for a safe room is not the focus of this article. Please consult the shooting and ballistic experts for advice on that subject. For our purposes, let us turn to the needs of water, food, and fuel.

Water

Unless facing a water outage because of the failure of the municipal water system, continue to use tap water for as long as possible, using decontamination protocols if needed. For example, suppose that the municipal water supply is still operational, but a broken water main results in a boil order for downstream users. Filter and boil (or use chemical or other purification) the tap water for drinking and food preparation to avoid using your emergency water. In some situations, such as impending storms moving toward one’s town, store extra water beforehand in case of utilities outage. Those who have ever lived on a rural or private water system that has failed because storms knocked out the electricity to the neighborhood pumps know to fill up pitchers and the bathtub with water just in case the system goes down.

Even if the municipal water is out, water trapped in the pipes on the apartment floors above yours (if applicable) may run out of your sink or tub taps because of gravity flow. The same applies if your community uses a water tower to create water pressure. If the municipal water is likely to be out for an extended period of time, one can use the water stored in the hot water heater, but with two caveats: first, apartment hot water heater drains may not be easily accessible to tenants; and second, if no pressure exists in the water lines, gravity can force water from the heater back through the cold water lines of the building. (I have had this experience with a house that sat on piers, placing the water heater about three feet above ground level. I later had a plumber install a cutoff valve to keep the tank full so it would not drain back into the cold water pipes.) Continue reading“Facing Lockdown in an Apartment – Part 2, by J.F.J.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the great chicken cull.

Judge Suspends California Ammo Background Check Law

Good news for California gun owners: The onerous state’s ammunition background check law has been temporarily suspended! United States District Roger T. Benitez. wrote: “The experiment has been tried. The casualties have been counted. California’s new ammunition background check law misfires and the Second Amendment rights of California citizens have been gravely injured.”

It is noteworthy that this is the same Judge Benetiz who created California’s “Magazine Freedom Week”, last year. Clearly, he has common sense which is all too uncommon in the Federal courts. So he’s on my hero list.

I strongly recommend that Californians stock up heavily on ammo, while they can!  Notably, Brownells (a SurvivalBlog affiliate advertiser) has announced that they are again shipping ammo to California.  This window of opportunity might be brief, so don’t hesitate!

61,000 Minnesota Chickens Culled

Reader DSV sent this: Egg demand shifted, and 61,000 Minnesota chickens were euthanized

Bankrupt States Now Want a Bailout

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: States Made Risky Bets with Pensions Before Coronavirus. Now They Want a Bailout.

St. Louis COVID Snitches Get Outed

Our own Michael Z. Williamson sent this: COVID-19 snitches in St. Louis were in for a surprise

Coronavirus at Meat Packing Plants

Reader H.L. sent us this: Coronavirus at meat packing plants worse than first thought, USA TODAY investigation finds. A selection from the article:

“More than 150 of America’s largest meat processing plants operate in counties where the rate of coronavirus infection is already among the nation’s highest, based on the media outlets’ analysis of slaughterhouse locations and county-level COVID-19 infection rates.

These facilities represent more than 1 in 3 of the nation’s biggest beef, pork and poultry processing plants. Rates of infection around these plants are higher than those of 75% of other U.S. counties, the analysis found.”Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3: 1-14 (KJV)

 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 25, 2020

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Today is the birthday of physicist, inventor, and entrepreneur Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937). He was known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission as well as for the development of Marconi’s Law and a radio telegraph system. He is often considered the inventor of radio.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 88 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  4. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  5. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $100 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 88 ends on May 31st, 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.

Facing Lockdown in an Apartment – Part 1, by J.F.J.

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Having recently moved from a home on a one-acre lot at the edge of the country to an apartment complex on the outskirts of a small town, I have had to change my disaster contingency plans to suit my new environment. Living in an apartment in the suburbs has the advantage of allowing people to have a comfortable environment close to city conveniences and entertainment. However, apartment living has its significant disadvantages when in dire circumstances.

Communications may be cut off if landlines are damaged or cell phone towers are without power. Natural and man-made disasters play havoc with local or regional infrastructure, causing days-long emergencies with storms, floods, utilities outages, and the like, which may be difficult enough to weather even for well-prepared homeowners. Unless you and your family bug-out during a disaster you will be limited to your apartment and its immediate environs and also surrounded by the other tenants whom you may or may not be able to trust.

The basic needs of shelter, water, food, fuel, and security are constant regardless of one’s mode of housing. However, apartment living presents special challenges involving storage space, proximity to others, modifying the rented property, general security, entrance and egress to the property, and resource procurement. While some of these problems are endemic to apartment life, they can be exacerbated by emergencies, especially in true disasters and SHTF situations. Since so many Americans live in apartments in bedroom communities outside larger cities, they are obliged to use city services and conveniences. High-rise apartment dwellers in major metropolitan areas, especially those in government housing projects, face even greater challenges because they may be even more restricted in resources, activities, and space than their suburban counterparts.

Continue reading“Facing Lockdown in an Apartment – Part 1, by J.F.J.”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

This week I did a lot of fence building, and I have some sore muscles to prove it. I invested a full day to build a new woven wire fence to extend our main garden, (around the Extension Garden) by another 48 feet by 48 feet. I used 10 foot long heavy duty T-posts, making the fence just over 8 feet tall. (That will make it deer and elk proof.) The posts were spaced at 6-foot intervals. I wired up a 7-foot long piece of cattle panel–positioned vertically–to act as the gate. The gate latches were just a couple of eye bolts and a pair of double-ended snap fasteners. (Pictured). As an aside, I should mention that I’ve found umpteen uses for those, so several years ago I bought a quart-size yogurt container full of them, when once found them deeply discounted at a ranch supply store. I still have about half of them left. For gates, I’ve often found that “Simpler is Better” — especially in snow country. Building a minimalist gate doesn’t create a horizontal surface for the snow to pile on, nor a wide base to be impeded by un-compacted snow. Yet this new welded wire gate is plenty wide to allow someone with a wheelbarrow or rototiller to pass though. Anything larger can just enter from the main portion of the garden, since I’ve already taken down a 48-foot section of fence.

At Lily’s request, I also got some unused Langstroth bee hive boxes and supers from storage in JASBORR. We have two swarms of Italian bees scheduled to arrive at our local farm and ranch store, next week. (I paid for them in advance, back in January.) I constructed a stout platform for the hives in the annex garden, where hopefully the hives will be safe from any interloping bears. The platform project took less than an hour. Rather than getting fancy with carpentry, I just made the platform out of four fir rounds that were about 15 inches in diameter and 18 inches long. I simply set those on-end, and topped them with a heavy duty wood pallet, and then a piece of scrap plywood. Again, “Simpler is Better.” Or, as we used to say in the Army:  “Better is the  enemy of Good Enough.” This platform didn’t need to be fancy, just sturdy. And as long as I’m quoting aphorisms, I should mention that my father was fond of saying:  “Ranching isn’t a beauty contest.”

Later in the week, I constructed yet another garden fence for the Shed plot. It measures just 24 feet x 48 feet. This one was built with T-posts (at 8 foot intervals) and cattle panels.  Since it already had a solar electric fence charger mounted nearby, I made this fence just 5 feet tall. The plan is to run a hot wire on top. The deer might just laugh at that, or perhaps not. We’ll see…

Now, on to Lily’s much more interesting and detailed part of the column.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”