Preparedness Notes for Friday — January 24, 2020

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January 24th is the birthday of René Barjavel (born 1911, died November 24, 1985). This prescient French science fiction author wrote several books with survivalist themes, including Ravage, which was titled Ashes, Ashes in its English translation. It is also the birthday of Tamara K., the editor of the long-running View From The Porch blog.

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A reader wrote to suggest that I re-post some items on surviving a pandemic. Since i plan ahead, there is already a static page for that: Protecting Your Family From an Influenza Pandemic

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 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.

Ready for TEOTWAWKI: What’s Bringing Us Along – Part 2, by K.G.

23

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

Food for Health

I am also working on growing and preserving my own food. This is another family project that my wife and children enjoy participating in. We do not have a large plot of land, so we need to make the best use of what we do have. We really challenge ourselves to see if we can get more than the preceding year. We have had some successes and some setbacks. We learn more from the setbacks than we do from the successes. When the divine hand of providence reaches down and makes our garden thrive, we feel very blessed. It is humbling to see how the natural world of creation is not subject to the whims and fancies of man.

The biggest issue that we have in growing our own food is that we are city bound and unable to have an overly large garden plot. An organization in our city rents out garden plots at a very economical price on donated land and that does help increase our yields. The skills that we are acquiring in gardening under less than ideal conditions will help us when we are ultimately able to relocate. A number of circumstances will not allow us to relocate to a more desirable area for at least two years. It is our hope that when these circumstances are resolved that we will be able to relocate to an area that is conducive to the patriot mindset and self-sufficiency.

Natural Medicine

Another skill I am acquiring, is that of natural medicine and healing. My wife has had a huge impact on this area and could probably contribute volumes to this article. Our family library now consists of numerous works explaining how herbs and natural remedies will help the body. We also have like-minded friends that share many of their recipes.

Not only is herbal and natural medicine an important part of our prepping, but eating a better overall diet is contributing to our survivability. As I stated earlier, I previously took poor care of myself. I can do little to reverse the damage I did earlier in my life. But I am now focused on temple maintenance. By watching my diet and eating good healthy foods and avoiding the over-processed foods that contribute to many of our First World health and dietary issues I hope to at best maintain my health with the hopes of some improvement.

We eat very little white foods unless they occur that way naturally. Mostly we avoid the white sugars and flours that are so over-processed that they have little nutritional value remaining in them. We aim to eat locally grown foods that are naturally produced without GMOs, pesticides, and hormones.Continue reading“Ready for TEOTWAWKI: What’s Bringing Us Along – Part 2, by K.G.”

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 land investing. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Radomski (a chartist) posted this analysis: Gold Price Forecast: Tops, Reversals And Timing

o  o  o

South Africa: Gold has finally climbed out of its 25-month black hole

o  o  o

Platinum (PL) Price Forecast, “PL” to USD price prediction: Buy or sell Platinum?

Economy & Finance:

Seeking Alpha reports: December U.S. mutual fund, ETF flows hit 12-month high

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: The Fed “Just Let The Cat Out Of The Bag”, Admits Being Forced To Fuel Asset Bubble. A snippet:

“A long-time and favorite parlor game has been debating when, and if, the Fed “put” would kick in on any market upsets. It was even acceptable to try to argue whether one existed or not. Although that might have just been an attempt at being provocative. Now the presumption among investors, institutional and retail alike, is that it is fully in force. Maybe more so than ever. Fully enhanced by policies that are not changing anytime soon.”

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: US Freight Shipments Plunge at Fastest Rate since 2009, Hit 2011 Level: This is Getting Surprisingly Ugly

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“How vain, then, are the boasts and professions of some persons who assert themselves to be the children of God and yet live in sin! There is no perceivable difference in their conduct—they are just what they used to be before their pretended conversion. They are not changed in their actions, even in the least degree, and yet they do most positively affirm that they are the called and living children of God! Let such know that their professions are lies, that falsehood is the only groundwork that they have for their hopes, for wherever the Grace of God is, it makes a difference!”  – C.H. Spurgeon (Volume 58, Sermon #3332)

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — January 23, 2020

3

January 23, 1855 was the birthday of John Moses Browning. He was the brilliant designer of dozens of guns, including the M1911 pistol, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and the venerable M2 .50 Caliber Machinegun.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 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.

Ready for TEOTWAWKI: What’s Bringing Us Along – Part 1, by K.G.

19

As we age, we need to understand our new limitations and be able to adapt to them, overcome the ones we can and add new skills commensurate with our abilities. The timeless adage “if I knew then what I know now” is quite applicable to my prepping and survival journey. The focus of this article will be on adding new skills that will complement our existing skill set so that we can still be of service and not just survive but thrive in a TEOTWAWKI scenario.

The Importance of Family and Like-Minded Friends

Having a wife and family members that are on board is a huge asset and probably one of if not the most important aspect of preparedness. No man is an island, nor should we try to be when it comes to survival. The most important group of people that should be involved in your efforts are those that live with you. I am blessed to have a family that has a preparedness mindset. My wife as I will demonstrate throughout this article has accepted the challenge of being prepared. She is continually looking for ways to enhance our position in preparing for TEOTWAWKI.

I am fortunate to have a very like-minded wife. She is not turning a blind eye to what is going on around us. It was not easy at first to create buy in with her. Initially, I did not push, but I proposed things for her to look at and allowed her to reach her own conclusions. When a person allows themselves to look objectively at the truth, understanding will come quickly. There are now many days when I come home from work and my wife is pointing out issues out to me.

The Impact of Age and Health

I am now over 50 years old and I do not possess the physical abilities that I had 20 years ago. I am not nearly as fit as I was even 10 years ago. When I was forty, I graduated from a special teams training program at the department of corrections where I worked. It was a proud accomplishment in and of itself but being the second oldest person to ever complete the program made it more special. I turned 40 on the last day of training. We were roused out of our racks in the middle of the night to celebrate my special day with 40 push-ups, 40 mountain climbers, 40 Iron Mike’s et al…   Along with basic training it is one of my proudest accomplishments.

Not only am I in decline in my physical strength, but my overall medical health is not the best. I will spare you all the intimate details but suffice it to say some of my medical issues involve, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal and other conditions that leave me susceptible to infection which could possibly leave me compromised in a TEOTWAWKI scenario. After years of making poor lifestyle choices I have lowered my general health to the point that I cannot return to where I was, but I can work to prevent further deterioration.

My Efforts

I will now show how I am addressing these issues to make myself more of an asset and less of a liability in the event of TEOTWAWKI. What I will recommend is not for everyone. I have only recently started prepping over concern for the downward spiral that our moral, social, political and economic systems are in. I have been seriously prepping for less than seven years. Hopefully most of you have a good skillset and do not need this advice. But, the one thing I have learned in my prepping journey is that I can never learn enough. Knowledge is as important as equipment, possibly more so. It is my prayer that this is a blessing to all and a help to those that seek it.Continue reading“Ready for TEOTWAWKI: What’s Bringing Us Along – Part 1, by K.G.”

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 hacker threat to the U.S. power grids.

Iranian Hackers Prying the US Power Grids

Wired reports: Iranian Hackers Have Been ‘Password-Spraying’ the US Grid. JWR’s Comments:  Nefarious access to SCADA systems can result in more than just short-term power interruptions. By intentionally overloading circuits there could be permanent physical damage to transformers. Similarly, water utility equipment could be damaged by repeated or carefully sequenced triggering of solenoid valves, taking advantage of the “water hammer” effect of water–an incompressible fluid. I suspect that these sort of hacking probes have gone on for years. The hackers may be gathering detailed lists of “vulns” that can be scripted into massive Fire Sale hack attack that would most likely be launched over a holiday weekend.  Be ready to survive power grid failure, folks!

Puerto Rico Hoarding Disaster Aid Supplies

Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Leaked Video Shows HUGE Warehouse In Puerto Rico Full Of US Hurricane Aid After Governor There Claimed Trump Wasn’t Sending It.

Virginia Indoor Gun Range Bill Aimed at NRA

DSV sent this: Virginia Indoor Gun Range Bill Appears Especially Aimed at NRA Out of Spite

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“It is too true, however disgraceful it may be to human nature, that nations in general will make war whenever they have a prospect of getting any thing by it; nay, that absolute monarchs will often make war when their nations are to get nothing by it, but for purposes and objects merely personal, such as, a thirst for military glory, revenge for personal affronts, ambition, or private compacts to aggrandize or support their particular families, or partisans. These, and a variety of motives, which affect only the mind of the sovereign, often lead him to engage in wars not sanctioned by justice, or the voice and interests of his people.” – John Jay

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — January 22, 2020

2

On January 22 , 1944 Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 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.

Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 2, by G.H.

13
CONTROL THE AIR

Controlling the air often means transmitting, when necessary, large quantities of information accurately in poor conditions in a short amount of time. Even operators that are interested only in the hobby side of radio may fall into an emergency with the radio being the only source of working communications. Communications in an uncomfortable situation or actual emergency requires a much different style than “ragchewing” with friends on the radio as a hobby. If an emergency is the first time an operator faces a communication challenge, the likelihood of successful communications is poor.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Radio operators that control the air understand the following concepts:

To be better prepared to handle emergency communications practice being a “Net Control Operator”, even in a hobby club, on a regular basis. The purpose of a regular net is to ensure that both radio equipment and radio operators are working properly. The role of the Net Control Operator is to facilitate and control a “radio meeting” between many people attempting to transmit information. Performing the duties of Net Control Operator allows the operator to gain confidence and learn to control the transmission of information by listening, communicating and documenting all at the same time. These skills can become critical in an emergency and practice makes the likelihood of success greater.

Another method used to improve the ability to communicate successfully with a radio in an emergency is to participate in American Radio Relay League Field Day events, held twice each year. Some operators may believe that Field Day events are only for the hobbyist cashing points or bragging rights. However, during Field Day events, operators put up a makeshift station usually well away from civilization and test their ability to receive and transmit information in very poor conditions and without grid power. Participating in Field Day events teach operators to convey extremely high volumes of information accurately, in as short of a period as possible and under simulated stress. Several Field Day events may be required to ensure an operator is, as an example, able to self-deploy an antenna, without help.

Participating regularly as a Net Control Operator and in Field Day events strengthens the operator’s ability to control radio communications in difficult situations and can reduce anxiety when communicating in an emergency becomes necessary. Even in minor incidences such as helping stranded motorists in an area lacking cellular services, practicing Net Control Operator skills and being able to convey accurate information in poor conditions comfortably will help.Continue reading“Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 2, by G.H.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week, I’d like to emphasize the book Square Foot Gardening. (See the Books section.)

Books:

Reader “M” wrote me to recommend these quite practical books:

How to Survive Off the Grid by Tim MacWelch

Square Foot Gardening (3rd Edition) by Mel Bartholomew

The Minimalist Woodworker by Vic Tesolin

Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills by David Wescott

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Man Among the Ruins by Julius Evola

o  o  o

Reader Matt B. wrote to suggest: “Although it’s long out of print, I highly recommend the 1964 book, Your Engineered House, by Rex Roberts. The book explains the correct location of rooms for climate design, along with some basic engineering, weatherproofing and construction techniques. As a building designer, it’s changed all of my assumptions about how homes should be designed and built. Some of the technical details are outdated, but anyone who knows how to build can extrapolate the main ideas. There is an edition that was revised by Charlie Wing in 1987.”

And reader N.S. recommended: Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends. He notes:  “This book exposes the corruption of the Bidens in the Ukraine and the Bidens & Kerry clan in their dealing in China, Along with Pelosi’s son, and his dealings with wholly owned COSCO (a Chinese state wholly owned company) and it’s affiliates. Then there is Obama’s friends and close allies profiting from Obamas policies on energy reduction, namely coal and  natural gas. Mitch McConnell’s wife & how her family and the McConnells have enriched themselves from her fathers dealing with the Chinese government. And that’s just scratching the surface. Reading this will enlighten you as to the hard core corruption and balancing on the verge of being an illegitimate government our present government is. It will change the way you think and how/who you vote for in the coming elections. Our present government is anything but your friend. For well over 100 years they have only existed to enrich themselves and maintain as well as increase their power over the people.”

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 21, 2020

5

On this day in 1968, the siege of Khe Sanh began, as NVA regulars surrounded the USMC hilltop airfield near the Laotian border. Fearing a repeat of the French Army’s 1953 Dien Bien Phu debacle, the Pentagon assigned maximum round-the-clock air power to the region, including B-52 bomber strikes, to break the siege. According to the Infogalatic wiki this was “‘the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare’. On an average day 350 tactical fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, and 30 light observation or reconnaissance aircraft operated in the skies near Khe Sanh.” More than 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the area. American casualties during the siege were 274 killed and 2,541 wounded. ARVN casualties were 229 killed and 436 wounded. The NVA took massive casualties, before withdrawing. MACV’s report estimated 5,550 NVA killed and more 8,000 wounded. (Only 1,602 NVA bodies were counted, but the NVA was famous for recovering the bodies of their KIAs, partially for propaganda reasons, to “deny body count.”) Khe Sanh was finally relieved by American and ARVN ground forces on April 6, 1968.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  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 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 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.
  3. 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,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. 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).
  7. 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. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 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.

Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 1, by G.H.

18

Like many families, the miles between me and my brothers are many. Fortunately, we hold a conference call every Wednesday evening to stay in touch. We have been doing this for nearly a decade. Realizing how important communications are to all of us, and from my role as the Logistics Chief for our County during major emergencies, I accepted the assignment of finding communication tools that will ensure communications no matter what. It did not take long to realize that radio communication works when all others fail. I obtained my amateur radio license and have the honor of recognition by the American Radio Relay League for public service in the management of emergency communications.

Good communications are important in day-to-day routine lives and may become critical during stressful situations or extreme emergencies. During normal day-to-day situations, traditional communications methods such as telephone, texting and e-mail work flawlessly. However, minor incidents that occur in an area without cellular service or major events that knock out electricity and the internet require different tools for communications. In today’s world, there is no reason to lack the ability to communicate and a radio that can transmit and receive works when all else fails.

There are many published articles outlining the benefits and importance of amateur radio for survival purposes and this is not another one. While this article may introduce concepts that will spur unlicensed readers to obtain a radio license, it intends to provide concepts and tools any radio operator should use regularly to remain proficient in radio communications when an emergency does develop.
During Hurricane Michael, my family anxiously awaited news from my brother living directly in the path of the terrible storm and for more than four days, we did not know if he was alive or dead. Cellular services were down, texts did not go through and he was not able to get out to the highway to find an area where services worked. Continue reading“Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 1, by G.H.”

Letter: Thoughts From a Richmond 2A Rally Attendee

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As we all now know, the 2A rally in Richmond, Virginia on January 20, 2020 to protest the tyrannical gun laws proposed and/or passed by Governor Ralph Northam and his Democrat cronies, proved uneventful. This not only shows that gun owners are some of the most peaceful and law-abiding people in the country, but also that the hysteria drummed up in the weeks preceding the event was just that, hysteria. In fact, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “Civil War 2”, “It’s a trap”, “buffalo jump”, “false flag”, “Boogaloo”, or dozens of other terms designed to incite trepidation in members of the preparedness community, I could be writing this from the comfort of my own survival island.

In what will surely be spun as a public relations win for the tyrannical Left, there was not an ANTIFA goon or counter-protestor in sight to justify the cries of Richmond being a modern-day Lexington and Concord.

Much like other events that promised to be flashpoints of civil unrest, relentless tales of horrific outcomes at Richmond failed to play out, leaving gun owners and the preparedness minded to defend ourselves from misguided beliefs that we suffer paranoid delusions concerning the collapse of civilized society and rule of law.

Standing in stark contrast to the peaceful gathering I witnessed, almost every preparedness-themed web site I visited during the lead-up to this event used hypothetical extremes in order to stoke the embers of what is clearly a flailing “doom porn” industry– with SurvivalBlog being one of very few exceptions. Everyone from a former Navy SEAL to your garden-variety prepper used this event to promote their books, YouTube channel, or web sites in order to garner clicks and profit off the fear of others.

One thing that became clear to me in the hours following the rally is that despite what may have been their original intent, many survival-based authors and vloggers have morphed into preachers of a form of schadenfreude. Doubling down on years of failed predictions, I’ve read their responses belittling those who dared question their theories about Richmond or declined a seat on the doom train. Where once there was a modest desire to help the masses prepare in a reasonable and measured fashion, now it seems as if their only redeeming moment would be to yell those immortal words, “I TOLD YOU SO!” while standing atop a mountain of spent shell casings and MREs as the rest of the world burns around them.

Which leads me to the point of this letter: At what point do we, the rational and critical thinking members of the preparedness community, stop allowing those motivated by personal gain and notoriety to be the spokespeople for our movement? When do we stop clicking on the “Prepare for WW3!”, “Economic Collapse This Year!”, “Civil War 2 Any Day Now!” videos and articles that financially contribute to this over-the-top fearmongering?

It is my opinion that this type of notoriety only distracts from the true purpose of the preparedness mindset. It also deters new members who could potentially add to our strength as a group, but detest the thought of living in what they have been convinced is a near-constant state of fear and cynicism.

For now, the reality in Virginia is that Democrats will continue their push to disarm law-abiding citizens and any legislation they pass will be countered with lawsuits that could take years to settle in court. By all means, we should continue to prepare for the worst. Those unforeseen moments when we must defend our rights and our way of life from the forces of evil and tyrants, not to mention local or global catastrophes, always lurk in the shadows. Surely, there are enough real threats in our world that we don’t have to base our reasons for preparing on outlandish prophecies of doom and promote those that profit from them.  – D.D. in Virginia