Shelter building, for fun and for practice, A lesson to learn from.

One of the things I like to do with my family when we're camping is to take the kids out and build a rough shelter. Whether it is a lean-to, a debris hut, or even a simple tarp tent, we all get together and build a nice livable shelter from whatever we have available.
It has been a couple years now and now it has become a tradition when we hit the woods or when we go camping for an extended stay in the forest. My Son and Daughter are excited to get out and see what kind of materials are available and what kind of shelter can be cobbled together. The most fun is when we get to use the shelter for an overnight stay or even as a place to nap while day camping.

Teaching our kids to be able to do things on their own through hard work and earned skills is a tradition that has been left by the wayside by for far too many generations. It isn't just about survival and it isn't about teaching bushcraft... It is about preparing our future generations to be hard working, and to enjoy the results of a hard task done well. Teach them to take pride in their work and to enjoy the quality of what they make for themselves.

Every day you spend with your children is a lesson you have taught them.

Teach them well.

Emergency Supplies - When and where you might need them.

When considering the availability of supplies after any kind of disaster you need to realize several factors. 

1) What do you have stored in your home?

2) Do you have supplies stored at a retreat location?
3) How many supplies can you effectively transport in a bug out situation?

During a disaster of any kind, you never know which locations or which areas will be affected. An associate of mine, that contracts with his rural fire dept., was recently called in to help with a fully involved facility fire. Unfortunately, the building in question was the BOL of some poor unfortunate chap who literally lost everything. This could easily become a discussion about how to safely store fuel and other things, but that is another post for another day.

Just think... You invest heavily in a BOL only to lose it all in a freak accident, then something occurs where you must abandon your primary location. You have nothing left and nowhere to go.

Even if you are able to load quite a bit of your at-home supplies into a vehicle, there is no way to guarantee that you can get them to where you need them. Roads can be clogged, washed out, or heavily patrolled by a hostile force. With a bug out bag on your back, and who knows what else you will have to try to carry, its not remotely realistic to get out of Dodge carrying your pantry on your back.

A series of Survival caches placed in key locations en route to your BOL, or even en route to a very remote rural camp site where you can set up and attempt to subsist could be the difference between making it and... not making it.

Even if the Bug out Vehicle proves to be reliable, Militant check points or highway piracy may deprive you of any number of things. Hurricane Katrina is a good learning tool. There were National guard soldiers stopping evacuees and scavengers on the streets and confiscating firearms (and doing much worse things by many reports). Even going so far as conducting house to house sweeps and seizing firearms, leaving people defenseless against looters, rapists and all manner of human filth.

A survival cache can be tailored to fit nearly any need. A rifle with ammo in a PVC pipe with several pouches of Mountain House, some toilet paper and several packages of batteries and some fire making and water purifying supplies can mean you make it through the chaos.

Home Incursion Defense

I was recently asked by an associate what they should do if someone broke into their home. At first I was tempted to laugh the question off and say "get a dog" or "shoot first" but it dawned on me that a lot of people seriously don't have a counter incursion plan and no solid tactical training.

Here I am, worried about those I know, knowing that they have no idea what to do.

First, don't panic. Size up the situation and take a mental tally of everything you KNOW.

1.     Do you 'think' you heard a noise or did you HEAR A NOISE?
2.     If applicable, where is your family? Did they fall asleep in their bed, or on the couch in the living room? If you don't know, don't guess. If you need to open fire, avoid aiming into EITHER DIRECTION. You can always adjust your firing arc and angle to compensate.
3. Is there an intruder in the house, or is your Pet/Housemate/Family Member just noisy? This is something you must KNOW before you make the decision to even put your finger on the trigger. 
4. HARMS WAY. Who will be in it?
5. If you are alone and/or have positively identified the presence of an intruder, make the decision whether or not to shoot BEFORE you encounter them. You don't want to be struggling with your psyche while the enemy is not.

This is the one I call the golden rule. People generally don't like it but it may save you. ALWAYS FIRE AT LEAST TWICE. Your first shot should be used on the intruder, then fire the same number of shots into the floor or in another safe direction, then immediately eject your shells. When the police start their questions, you tell them that you fired X number of warning shots and they kept coming and you were forced to shoot to kill.
It may sound underhanded but it helps avoid pesky laws.

Now that my wild hillbilly side is showing, I think Ill just post a vid now....

No Backpack, No Worries. The traditional bushcraft and Yukon bags

          I have been telling people that they need to look up how to make a Yukon Bag online. These simple backpacks are something I learned about in survival school YEARS ago and I thought they would be common knowledge in the survival/prepper circles, but when I went to look up a site for a friend to look over, I couldn't find ANY with a good How-To. I did find a couple YouTube videos that show the rough basics, so I will be incorporating them in this blog.

YUKON pack. 
These were awesome when I was doing the long wilderness treks. Basically, you lay out your tarp and put your stuff in it in the smallest and most compact way possible. a small square or rectangle is the best in my opinion but rolling it into a tube works really nicely too, especially if you build a back frame for it.

Bushcraft Backpack 
These are simple and easy to make if you develop a need to carry something on your back for a long distance. I have made these on hiking adventures and, during my younger years, when I would simply vanish into the forest for a week or so.

Training is more important than talking

Practice what you Preach

  I have been doing a lot of networking these days with other groups and learning about what they believe will be important should the system collapse or if there were a disaster large enough to cripple the supportive infrastructure. I have found that many people have good plans, they talk a good line, but most have never put in any time on the field. 

  Every day, the Captains of SWORD and I are working to bring actual training events to our members. Thus far these have all been free of charge and have covered things like basic hunting, fishing, camping, alternative cooking, wild edibles, and have even reached up to official classroom events and 3 day courses in things like Disaster Management, triage, search and rescue, etc...

  We firmly believe that for a group to function with any fluidity, they need to train as a group too. Everyone needs to be on the same page relatively speaking. In life, people usually just develop skill sets in areas where they have aptitude. Some people make better Nurses than Welders, Some can grow a field of corn, some can turn a wrench... such is the way of things. Fortunately, some skills can be taught in basic form so that everyone can learn to get by or to help with endeavors outside their main skill set. In a survival situation, your hunters should be able to pull security and perform field expedient trauma care, A farmer should be able to change a fan belt and install a water heater and your Medical personnel should know How to fire a weapon and coax a row of corn from the earth.

  This doesn't even scratch the surface of tactical or rescue training. If a tornado blows through your Survival Compound, EVERY SINGLE PERSON should be able to automatically fall into place to mitigate and/or respond to the damages and possible injuries that may follow.

  The main purpose of having a team is to train together so that everyone is practiced and competent at their roles and can function with confidence under duress. Anyone that has been at the scene of a major accident can attest that, though they may have had the skills that would have helped the victims, they lacked the wherewithal to simply step into action and help those in need. Even just being in a restaurant when someone starts choking leaves most people in a stunned state of panic, unable to do anything constructive to help the gasping victim with so much as a slap on the back or a Heimlich squeeze.

  Another problem is that many new preppers read a lot of books and may know how to do things In Theory but not in practice. If you have never put a seed in the dirt, how would you grow your own food? If you have never held a firearm, how could you be certain you could defend yourself against a hostile home invader? Also, many preppers invest in cool toys and expensive gear that they believe will give them an edge in a disastrous event, but they leave it in their bug out bag or in the trunk of their car where they ultimately either forget about it or it gets damaged or lost.

  In the end, it all comes down to your personal skill level. Not who owns the most military style guns, or who has the most long term food storage. Food eventually runs out, guns are useless if you don't have experience or ammunition. In the long run, a minimally supplied skilled person has a better chance to survive than a well supplied person with no skills. A skilled group with a decent stockpile can be a force of positive reconstruction after a catastrophic event.

Don't just talk, DO!

and teach your Kids TOO!

My kids wanted to be in one of my videos, so I fried up some quick bannock and let them taste test it.

Home and Family Safety in Tough Times

After a series of local violent crimes, home invasions and flash mob attacks, I felt it would be wise to go over some family security measures.

Incident: Home invasion
My Baby Sister's fiance was a victim of a home invasion while visiting a friends house. They were hanging out when there was a knock at the door.They saw a mutual friend through the window, but when they opened the door, gun wielding gangbangers burst in and held everyone at gunpoint while everyone gave up their valuables and watched as everything of value was stripped from the home. Ultimately, one person was shot and everyone else was pistol slapped.

What happened?
The friend that was at the door was taken hostage at gunpoint as he approached the door. The thugs forced him to knock at the door, thus preying on the lack of OPSEC in your average household.

What can people do to prevent this?
My family has a special knock we require friends to know if they are going to show up unexpected. If someone knocks at the door, and it isn't that knock, we answer the door with weapon in hand.

If someone is going to be showing up after dark, we make them call first or we don't come to the door. If the knocking continues, we come to the door with a weapon and make everyone back up off the porch before the door opens. One of us will be at the door, the other will have a defensive position with a clear shot.

People say we are too security minded, but read the news. Home invasions are at an all time high. Rape, burglary, murder... people are getting crazy and I have a family I love and will protect. 


Communications
A family needs to establish at least a few code words that can be used to quickly convey information in times of duress. For matters of OPSEC, I wont share our words but I will give some good examples. 

1. False pet names - Mom and Dad always have names for each other. "Honey butt", "Pumpkin", "Muffin", whatever! But if you establish One Specific Term of Endearment, as a signal of danger. If you want to expand on it further, certain names can mean certain things.
   "Pumpkin" Might mean Get in the truck and bail. Like Cinderella's fabled pumpkin ride.
   "Doll Face" May be something as innocent as Something is up, be on alert.
2. One Word Instructions - You can establish single word trigger commands where everyone knows to do a certain thing when they hear that word. The word should be outside common use but also be something that can be used with total clarity because you may need to either whisper it or yell it at the top of your lungs.
   "Hollyhock" May mean "We are being attacked/invaded, children get to your safe place and everyone man your defensive posts."
   "Alabaster" May mean that there is an active shooter and to immediately get low and follow a pre-made escape plan.
3. "Duderino" May easily mean "Don't trust this guy." Example: Check out El Duderino over there.
   
   Very simply, come up with easy to use terms and make sure everyone knows them.