Saturday, June 9, 2018

My Story of How I Became a Prepper

My journey to become a prepper started in 2011. Until one fateful day in July, I had mocked my beloved husband’s survivalistic tendencies. I would roll my eyes when I walked into the root cellar substitute room in our basement to grab something and had to maneuver around his buckets of long-term storage food and other preparedness gear.

My Bobby is nearly 20 years my senior and had been prepping for in one form or another since before I was old enough to drive. He was more than ready for the “Y2K bug.” Now, even though I mocked his prepper habit, I grew up country and surely had more...

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Accidents are Increasing on the Information Superhighway

Written by Wild Bill on The Prepper Journal.

Preppers are planners and the basis for our planning is information. We collect it through the methods we have learned through the normal processes of education, life experience, observation, analysis, and my favorite, trial and error. And as soon as man discovered how to record information, in crude cave drawings, etched into stone, or clay there, I believe mis-information was invented as well. There is an old joke about two cavemen talking, the first says “Ugh!” and the second says “Ugh! and then the first responds “Ugh, Ugh!” and the second replies “Don’t change the subject!” I know somewhere during the stone age Gork was rejected by Petunia and he etched some insults in a cave wall about her. Funny thing is someone college professor probably used those etchings to do his or her PHD thesis.

Fast forward a few eons and now information, and its counterpart misinformation, travel at speeds approaching the speed of light. For example in the financial world if you are reading about some investment opportunity in the Wall Street Journal you have already missed the boat because it reports what already happened. Others closer to the origins of the data have already seized the opportunity, set the base price and you will be paying their dividends should you bite.

The information super highway has so changed the world that while we attempt to catch up and think we are keeping up we are like the racing greyhounds forever hoping to catch that mechanical rabbit.

And, as preppers, seeking information upon which to base real economic decisions on (do I build out that greenhouse to increase my sustainable food production? More ammo or more MRE’s?) is challenging as we now live in a world where we are bombarded with information and misinformation – “thousands WILL DIE as a result of (fill-in-the-blank)!!!!!” has lead to a new equation of skewed TRUTH:

Where E = Establishment source, a = Agenda, F = Fake, and T = Truth, and the only solution is null; one must be prepared for increasing accidents across the information superhighway as a result of skewed information. I have used this example before: a horse race between an American horse and a Russian horse. The American horse wins. Headline in America: “American Horse Wins!” Headline in Russia: “Russian Horse Finishes Second, American Horse Finishes Next to Last!” – both true statement.

So, in  a recent post on finding information when the grid is down I thought it appropriate to followup with a post  on the challenges of finding information before the grid goes down, something that has become a labyrinth. And since the Internet is becoming more the source for information I want to focus on that medium. For instance I question the following map presented by Oxford University claiming to show internet usage worldwide:

Really, the world’s second most populated country and the home of call centers and outsourcing IT services, India, is less “connected” than some Central African Republics??!! Really? (And I would feel slighted if I were Canadian though it does depict where most Canadians live.)

Okay, so where does the internet stack up against print media and television in the delivery of news.

The internet surpassed print media several years ago and it is now challenging television, and that passes my smell test. Everywhere we go we see people heads-down focused on their electronic devices. Even if only 15% of that time is watching the news it makes sense AND so many people get their news feeds through social media outlets, Facebook in particular.

This has become so prevalent that there are college degrees now in optimizing web content (SEO.) I have taken a couple of on-line courses through the University of California in the past year to learn how to increase market penetration, to place keywords and phrases strategically to get better results from searches, to mimic the searching patterns that most people use. I use it everyday, all day in adding pictures as well as key phrases that are relevant to the posts you see on TPJ.

Really, What Are They Selling?

“Every time I Google a current news story it give me the related articles from CNN, The New York Times, Vox, NBC, Express.co.uk, Salon, and the BBC”…..TPJ – all impeachable sources. All sources that even Wikipedia lists as “leftist, or left-leaning, or skewed to liberal politics.”  Why? Because Google is also left-leaning. Few secrets in this world are as guarded as the specifics of Googles search algorithms. 

The news media is a business, and like every business it sells a product or service in exchange for monies (advertising). The product is content and their business used to be information as content. But dry factual information does not sell itself or well in our faster and faster paced society. Information needs to be “embellished”, that is spun, dressed up, and packaged for the target audience. This has lead to specialization which, in some things is very good (medicine, for example) but alas in the media it brings with it agenda, spin and secondary goals.

There is an upside to this – we don’t have to sit and watch all the fluff news stories to get financial information we might be interested in, we can go to those sources directly and thus attempt to keep up with the ever increasing flow of information. We can also go directly to sources for weather information as opposed to again, sitting through the story on the truck load of live chickens that were loosed on the interstate as the result of an accident. Specialization I believe is the result of so much information being available. If one were to attempt to get a degree from a university in Physics these days, 4 years is not enough cover all the specialties. The same with medicine, the law (legislators just have no discipline) and many other technical degree programs.

But really, What Exactly Are They Selling?

The news media is selling Google Analytics, period. Bold statement, let me make my case.

Google Analytics are used to sell advertising. The higher their rating the more they can charge for ads. Google provides the web best audience analytics on the planet and is the go-to source for all media outlets when it comes to the details on their audience. And the more the “news” is skewed to their demographic, the higher their score, the more they can demand for advertising, the more they can narrow in on a demographic (female voters between the ages of…., professionals….., etc.) This circle is indeed vicious as it is self-perpetuating, it feeds upon itself and spirals inward faster and faster – in that sense it is an amazing thing to watch. By this I mean that the analytics received are the result of the SEO and the manipulation of the data presented to generate better scores in the analytics. There are rules in place to stop the obvious ways to skew the results (excessive use of key phrases, use of unrelated keywords to increase traffic, etc.) but where there is a way, there is always a way around.

TV vs The Internet

I know I don’t have to convince anyone that when Frank Loyd Right said “Television is just chewing gum for the eyes” (or did he?) some 60 years ago he was speaking to what has become a universal truth. Bruce Springsteen released a song titled “57 Channels and Nothing On” in 1992 and now cable TV services have 300+ channel of nothing on. I counted my Direct TV channels once and it was 336 at the time, with 157 being 24/7 infomercials. Dish and all the cable companies have the same business model. They sell content masked (poorly) as infomercial channels that are pure advertising.

The internet has clearly disproved the age-old theory that if you put enough monkeys at enough typewriters (keyboards) for long enough they will eventually produce – the works of Shakespeare, the Bible, or some other established literary accomplishment. Mythbusters would declare this “Busted!”

While the world of information it has opened is impressive and pervasive the information superhighway is now blurred it its reporting of news, in a fog generated by Google, FaceBook and the other social media platforms. I have seen videos on YouTube related to chemicals and weapons that are downright dangerous in the misinformation they provide, more a case of lack of knowledge as opposed to some sinister agenda in my opinion. I do not cut the news media the same slack, which is my whole point.

On social media every political statement by a celebrity, one currently working, or one from a sit-com cancelled in the 1970’s “gets the pulpit” as long as they have said something negative and political. Fox News and Breitbart promote these just as much as all the sources I mentioned above. Why? Because they draw endless comments and the more comments they get the better the Google Analytics they receive, the more that can make the case for larger audience penetration and ask for increased fees for advertising. But that is only the first layer for social media. The next layer is the fake-comments. In almost every post on any subject, be it politics, or a cat video, or a swift water rescue, there will be a comment about politics. They will state an outrages position. These are usually done by the news producer who posted the article in the first place in order to generate comments which generate higher Google Analytics which…you see the agenda. They are usually in the first three comments posted and if you look at the poster of the comments most are fake, made up, just a few pictures, no real data on the individual. Tools of the new advertising trade. THIS is how the internet news business is now run on the information superhighway. It was not taught in the courses I took but anyone looking for “a way” to increase traffic will think of it when they see the Google Analytics Case Studies.

As preppers making financial and lifestyle decisions on an almost daily basis by processing the information at hand and our understanding of it I think most of us knew already that the “news business” is first and foremost a for-profit business, and that the news presented is merely content to produce their product, increased Google Analytics . All the old cliche’s apply: follow the money, Caveat-emptor, believe 50% of what you hear and 90% of what you see.

We prepare as a result of the information we get and the information we get is highly suspect from the news media. Proceed accordingly.

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Friday, June 8, 2018

Watchdogs and Guard Dogs for Survival

No survival homesteading retreat or bugin home regardless of location, would be complete without a dog. Not just any dog will do. To protect your home/retreat, family, or livestock, requires specific breeds of dogs that are trained to enhance their natural watchdog, livestock guardian dog, or herding tendencies.

During a SHTF scenario, keeping what you have will be a 24/7 chore of the utmost importance. The predators attempting to claim your livestock for their dinner will now roam on not just four feet, but two, as well. The civil unrest and almost immediate looting will turn any dwelling...

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The Weapon of Next-to-Last Resort

Basics Of Earthquake Preparedness

The most annoying and disturbing fact about earthquakes is that they have the potential to strike anytime/anywhere, hence prepping for an earthquake should be taken seriously by everyone, regardless of your location.

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Thursday, June 7, 2018

The Best 9mm Ammo for Self-Defense

As of 2018, thanks to continuing research in wound ballistics and ongoing advancements in the fields of projectile science and manufacturing, the 9mm Parabellum is currently viewed by many professionals as the best all-purpose defense or service handgun cartridge for most applications.

The 9mm’s combination of low recoil, good terminal performance and greater capacity in the same size handguns than its peers affords more advantages for more shooters. After rigorous testing and examination of all bullet and shooter-performance metrics, the FBI, long one of the most dedicated professional...

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Simple Summer Project – Composting

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: Another guest contribution from valknut79 to The Prepper Journal. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards  with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, then enter today!

Composting is a natural, effective way of improving your soil quality – a must for any preppers who plan on doing any kind of gardening. As it stands, it’s possible to hit your local hardware store for a few bags of compost that you can integrate into your soil to help improve it, but post-collapse, this “black gold” of gardening is going to be in demand if you plan on creating bountiful crops. In addition, compost is also a highly effective method of ridding yourself of garbage without relying on the local garbageman.

Setting up a composting system is super simple, and is an easy project you could completely set up within two hour’s time. Following through with your system is an ongoing process, but only slightly more complicated than separating your garbage between regular and recycling piles.

What is Compost?

Compost is, essentially, decomposing plant material. When you toss out your leftover lettuce stumps, carrot heads, or onion skins, you’re wasting valuable compost material – simply burying or speed-composting this leftover vegetable mess could take all of the beneficial nutrients that are stored in the food and gift them back into the soil, to be pulled out in next year’s radish or broccoli crop.

The plants that you grow must take their nutrition from the soil around them. If your soil has been drained of nutrient resources, your crops may struggle to take root and get off the ground. Compost is part of the magic that keeps our natural life cycle running by taking the leftovers you wouldn’t use anyways and putting their nutrients back into the system.

Compost looks and acts just like a regular soil – it’s simply a little denser than normal soil, and a lot healthier than a chemical supplement like Miracle Gro.

How to Create Compost

At our house we have a variety of composting areas, because over the course of the year, we create a lot of vegetable garbage. When cooking, we dispose of our leftover pieces – the greens of cauliflower, the tough ends of asparagus, and the rinds of watermelons – and we put them in a bowl to be placed in a composter at some point later in the evening or the next day. Once the garbage is disposed of, you just need to wait for nature to take it’s course.

Some gardeners simply pile their compost in an area that’s outside of view, but I think that this is not the ideal method. Depending on how fastidious you are about what you put in the pile and how well you hide or cover the material, it may attract bugs or animal visitors that you don’t want anywhere near your home. Even tied-up or bound compost piles create some danger of this, and it’s slow. Because it’s open to the air, you may have to wait a year or more to access your compost.

The simplest method that I can recommend is using a compost bin. Ours is a round black trash can with hinge and a locking mechanism on the lid. I drilled holes in the top and bottom of the can to promote air flow, and as it starts to fill, I tip the can over and roll it around on the lawn to aerate the contents. If the bin is filled with the right mixture of fast-decomposing plant material (see later in this article) we can have compost ready in as little as two to three weeks, although in most cases it takes a month or more. Nothing has yet broken into my mobile bins, and I use two or three at a time to create a balance of rotting and readiness times.

Another very simple method to create compost is to use the trench method. This is pretty much exactly what sounds like – a shallow and narrow trench running through your garden where you place your composting material, then burying it as you fill it. If you do a lot of non-vegetable plant waste (i.e. grass clippings, wood, etc), then this is a great way to improve your soil quality. Some vegetables will sprout if you bury them, so you may end up with a few eggplant or pepper plants popping up if you compost these remains.

If you have particularly large things to compost – fallen trees, logs, etc. – then a hill compost may be best. Line up the material you wish to rid yourself of, wet it thoroughly, and pile dirt or sand on top. In as soon as four to five years, you should have the material completely broken down, and have a rich pile of soil just waiting to be transplanted into your growing areas.

Materials

Compost can be created using almost anything “natural” as well as many everyday products, like boxes from Amazon, coffee cups from many local establishments, cigars or bread and pasta products. The best mix, in my opinion, is a widely varied group of materials, but certainly, there are composting superstars. I like to call them “breakfast compost” – coffee grounds, egg shells and banana peels are three highly nutritional ingredients that can help to improve your plant’s conditions.

Generally speaking, the thicker and larger pieces you put in your composter, like straw, sticks, boards, root vegetables or cardboard boxes, will be slow decomposers. They have some nutritional benefit, but if not chopped or broken down before being added, it could be a while before they rot to the point that they make nice smooth consistency compost. Things which break down particularly quickly are grass clippings, ash, tea bags, bread, weeds, and dead plant material. Fallen leaves from your trees fall somewhere in the middle – occasionally they break down quickly, and at other times they take their time.

Do not add meats, dairy products, or animal feces to your compost mix. They’ll break down, certainly, but they smell, and can attract many animals. I’ve also seen people recommend staying away from composting citrus fruits and onions, stating that while they decompose, they can potentially harm some of the beneficial bacteria that you’re harvesting in your compost, and slow down the rotting process. I have not had detrimental effects, but as I do not use these products to great excess, I can’t say that I’ve added too many of either to my composter. A few never hurts.

With weeds and fruit parts, it is particularly important that you put them into a sealed composter bin. Both contain seeds, or at least, the impetus to spread. Planting either into a trench or pit composter may simply mean that you’ve moved them from one area to your garden into an area where they can propagate more quickly and prolifically. The high heat created by the rotting materials within a sealed composter will kill off any ability for these plants to grow, and will instead break the materials down.

Using Compost

Compost is a must-have. We use it as the basis for most of the soil mixture in our gardens, mixing it into the topsoil or commercial mixture because of it’s high nutrient content. We also use it as a soil amendment if we have a group of flowers or veggies that are not growing to their potential. Simply mound up a handful of compost around the plants which need a boost, and usually after a few watering’, they’ll perk up as the nutrients seep from the compost into the soil and root systems below.

Another method for using compost, or even just the ingredients for compost, is to put a handful of finished compost into a pot, and fill with water. Let it sit overnight, and then use that liquid to water your plants. I’ve had half-dead plants come back to life completely with one watering. Banana peels, particularly hard-packed into a jar, covered with water, and left in the sun, make a super effective plant tonic

A composting system set up takes two hours or less for the vast majority of people, and is an effective way to not only help out your garden, but deal with garbage and reduce the waste you create. What are you waiting for? Go get those trash cans!

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Why Beekeeping Is A Complete Survivalist Pursuit

More than just a hobby, beekeeping is a lifestyle, and one that really could make you the ultimate prepper. Plus, beekeeping is both a science and an art that we all should learn.

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Wednesday, June 6, 2018

How to Make a Cheap Chicken Run out of Basic Materials

Building a secure chicken run is just as important as crafting a solid chicken coop. If a predator can get inside (sometimes even reach inside) the run, you could lose at least half of your flock in a single day. Even if you choose to free range your chickens, a run should be constructed to use as a brooder for chicks and to quarantine both sick and new flock members.

During the warm months of the year, I use the chicken run to start chicks. Because the run is attached to the coop and is centrally located in the barnyard, the chicks become familiar with their surroundings, the daily routing,...

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Grid-Down Missing-Person Searches

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

Loved ones go missing every day, all over the modern world. They always have. Disasters – especially fast-moving disasters – have more than their share. In a major crisis, we can expect to continue to have lost souls we want to find. As always, a little prep work will greatly improve our odds of success.

A while ago I wrote an article about missing persons that focuses on steps to take now that applies to both continuing “normal” or near-normal life and temporary disasters. Many can assist with various limited-comms, bug-out-route and grid-down missing person searches as well.

“Psh, Only Idiots Get Lost/Lose People”

It’s easy to watch the news from our chairs and scoff over the idiocy of somebody who managed to lose themselves, partners/buddies, children, or seniors, or the choices made after somebody became lost. But it happens, all kinds of ways.

Many of us believe we’ll be busier than ever in a disaster. Busy leads to tired. Tired leads to falling asleep in an instant, in some pretty incredible places – ask a newborn’s parents. In that brief moment, kids, pets and senile seniors can be gone, gone faster and further than we sometimes expect.

It’s also pretty easy to lose your bearings in snowstorms, in less-familiar terrain, if you’re not noting the local trend for which way things pile around trees and how your direction of travel relates when tracking/stalking/retrieving game, if it’s a gray day with little sun or there was or is now deep fog, or if there’s little terrain difference to help. Then there’s disorientation from things like relative contraindication from medications, taking a different cold/allergy/PMS pill than usual, or getting bopped in the head, and making poor decisions or staggering somewhere before we get our senses back.

We’re preppers, supposedly planning for even the most improbable worsts. If nothing else, take it from that tact and make a plan. Otherwise, we’re the ones guilty of complacency bias and only hoping for the best.

MPs Are Not Always Lost

MPs can know exactly where they are and exactly how they would get home, if they could. A vehicle accident/malfunction, rotting wood giving way, being treed by a bear/dogs, getting Tigger’ed into a river, gored by a buck/bull, snagged in a game trap or barbed wire, pinned by the vehicle/equipment we were working on, dislocating a shoulder when we fell out of a tree stand so we’re hanging by our harness unable to climb or release … all kinds of things can happen, even to experienced folks.

Again, preppers here. They were worth planning to feed and defend. They’re worth planning to find if they go missing, even when there’s no agency to tap for help.

Communication – Pre, Peri & Post

Just like we need to communicate the 3x-primary and 3x-alternate bug-out plans/routes to family and partners in case we’re not actually there, everybody needs to understand our missing person plans. Add the list of steps you’ll take to everybody’s pocket/wallet/fridge/bag medication, patient history, and ICE lists.

The steps will be conditional, just as our get-home and bug-out steps vary by needs and abilities. It’s going to depend on personnel, terrain, weather, and human climate conditions as well as if we’re home or mid-bug out. Create a quickie reference guide akin to SALUTE reporting or RTFA assignments for facets/functions you need to address. Game plan as many variables as possible, amending the outline as you go and creating an SOP for each general situation.

Share that plan. If it’s a group that meets or if the family is a captive audience in the car or around a campfire, that’s a great time to bust out printed outlines and gather input to create our plan.

Especially with family, remember, you’re not conducting training or a lecture unless you’ve been invited to conduct training or a lecture. Approach it as “hey, guys, saw this on the news… what if… check this out… Adam, what do you think about… Eve, how would you handle… Hey Zus, do you have any ideas on… Bani, what would you change with…”.

The perceived input opportunity will greatly impact how information is received, how well it lodges, and whether some five-year-old has the chance to offer one of those brilliant “the elephant is still in the fridge” observations that seriously impacts your success.

So does our communication when something goes wrong.

Part of ALL crisis planning needs to be eliminating “calm down” from our vocabulary. I seriously question if ever in the history of human speech has “calm down” actually had positive effects, argument or panic mode, but it’s even less likely to work with a missing loved one. The goal is “chill” but we don’t want to actually say “dude, chill; you’re/that’s not helping”.

They may shut down – costing us their input – or it can backfire entirely with “Don’t tell me to calm down!” arguments or people heading off on their own. If our people are important enough to find, it’s important enough to learn how to communicate under stress, in a way that doesn’t create additional distractions.

Find alternatives that express a “why” and convey action instead. “I’m spastic, too. We need everybody together to gather information and eliminate possibilities so we can find them without losing extra time.”

Having ready-to-go plans, with and without current resources/authorities, can help. It eliminates the willy-nilly checking and “what do we do” stages, streamlines information gathering, and creates definitive action steps. Just having set steps takes away panic, and following them gives us the “do something” outlet of action, keeping everyone productive (and calmer).

Common MP Thoughts

Let’s face it: Most people do not want to admit they’re lost. They’ll keep going another “five more minutes” or “one more hill”. Repeatedly. Fighting that ego from a searcher’s end is impossible. (Also, delays from: “Ermagad, I’m in so much trouble” from both MPs and babysitters/caretakers.)

Therefore, we plan for MPs to cut some circles, zig-zags, and perpendicular trail even if they do eventually go “okay, fine, Imma hug dat tree now that I’m 500-5000 yards from where I was when I went ‘uh-oh’.” We also plan for them to have had time to wait, dehydrate/become tired (poor decision-making), fret, and start moving again.

That means we start with checking specific locations, but when we search, we search wide.

MP Search Basics

Whistles – Whistles can be heard when you’re behind/under rubble or too dehydrated/exhausted to purse your lips or make sound. They get dampened by thick brush and forest, but the shrill still carries further than croaks and shouts, and it’s a much more distinct, unmistakable sound.

I understand not wanting to add more to pockets and keyrings. Still, daily task kit buckets/boxes, and range, hunting, GHB/BOB/72-Hour/GOOD, and day bags can all handle a small piece of plastic or metal clipped to them. So can life vests, horse tack, the mower, ATV, tiller, PTO on-off switch or attachment point, and tow hitch (ideally somewhere low – like, where it can be grabbed if you’re on the ground pinned or broken).

Mark Your Trail – Urban or wilds, once you realize you’re lost and as you search, mark where you’ve been and where you’re headed. Put supplies for marking on the pocket list so it’s not forgotten.

Make sure to mark both “sides” and “top and bottom” when you go over a verge, change direction to reach resources, or circumvent impasses. It can be breaking branches, notching trees, colorful cord/rope, strips of cloth or tape, clothespins, hi-vis spray or tube paint, dragging a foot the direction of travel, paper to wrap or tuck, or using rock or a chunk of metal to hammer/scratch a mark in concrete or brick.

From the MP side, we can also leave messages. “Water”, “fire tower” or “downhill” can be carved into a stick, door, etc. Had Bill Ewasko http://www.otherhand.org/home-page/search-and-rescue/searching-for-bill-ewasko/ scratched his “well, boogers” and then his “oh crap” intentions into a bone or written in blood on a shirt sleeve and stuck them atop or sticking out of a mound on a ridge or the center of a trail, we’d probably know what happened to him.

Teamwork – Ideally searchers go out in at least pairs or foursomes. It’s a safety thing, and it provides options for communicating and reacting to developments.

Base/Control – Whether we have radios/phones or are totally non-electric, even if we only have 2-3 people, one stays “home” (or wherever the MP is supposed to meet us). The home-base body is going to mark cleared areas and coordinate most-likely spots and searchers as information/personnel become available. They’re also there to keep people there as they return, MP or searchers.

Base/control personnel can be chosen either for coordination skillsets, or to decrease their risk exposure. If I have an ER nurse and a basic shooter-grower with equal search skills, Doc holds the fort. Likewise for even just a head cold, or whose available gear/boots are most suited. Continually assess available assets for who you’d send where (for all scenarios, not just MPs).

If you can’t leave a body, create a message board where the MP disappeared, where they’re heading, at the campsite, at nearby water sources, etc., telling the MP to stay put and leaving information about coverage and plans/goals for others.

If there’s only one map, it goes with the searcher(s) unless they’re very familiar with the area – in which case it reverts to base/control. Keep BOB and vehicle maps in insert sleeves or have Contact or parchment paper that can be used as overlays for non-permanent notations (and inside Ziploc’s in case it’s raining).

Come-Back & Rally – Create recall signals or rally intervals that fit grid-down, no-electronics home and on-the-trail situations. We need to pass incoming information (like finding the MP), especially in risky terrain/climates/weather. Arrange flags, flares (wildfire hazards), foghorns, sirens, gunshots at interval, a return-to-base every 2-6 hours, whatever fits our needs and abilities.

Pattern Awareness – Habits can help establish timelines and clue us if somebody left in a hurry or is acting out of character. Absent and present bags, clothing/shoes, and equipment can tell us where MPs aren’t as well as where they might be. Know where somebody was going to garden, hunt, fish, and collect wood, and the routes they use to get there.

List a reminder on pocket checklists if searchers need to carry out must-have’s like an inhaler, insulin, blood thinner, or seizure meds.

Specific Targets – Nobody goes out to “just” look. The ones checking likely spots work off a list. If there is not positive contact with base/control, they return before they re-deploy, even if they think of another or found a trail to follow. If somebody trails, they stick to trailing. They return/make contact before acting on any brilliant idea that occurs.

Without likely spots or a tracker, you work a spiral or you zig-zag a set of square grids or cones leading from the MP’s last-known location and likely destination or alternate destinations. Again, those souls do not re-deploy without positive contact with base/control.

Otherwise, the same locations get checked by multiple teams while others go unchecked for hours/days, searchers end up looking for searchers who failed to rally (resources away from MP, or unnecessary endangerment/exposure after an MP is found), and only one team has information that would be valuable to all of them or would contribute to forming a better picture, which sometimes completely changes how and where you’re looking.

Grid-Down Missing Persons

While the grid is up and for however long authorities exist, getting them involved immediately makes a huge impact on missing-person recovery. On our own, we need to act quickly, but it needs to be orderly. An SOP and pocket quick-reference checklist to guide information gathering and searches – one that includes communication plans for all scenarios – will prevent costly mistakes and wasted time.

There are steps in “Preparing for the Worst Day” http://www.theprepperjournal.com/2016/04/29/preparing-for-the-worst-day/ that can make things faster both in normal life and a power-out, limited-comms disaster. Many also apply to extended grid-down mega-crisis scenarios.

People of all ages and skill levels go missing every day. They always have and always will. Don’t let this be the prep that gets pushed aside until it’s too late.

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Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Assembling a 72 Hour Survival Kit

In times of trouble, having what you need close at hand to better endure or even survive a crisis is crucial. Disasters and other emergencies come in all forms and kinds, either natural or man-made, and all but the most minor will be necessitate some type of material preparation in order to ensure sustainment of yourself and loved ones. You don’t have to be a hardcore prepper or survivalist type to see the value in having a ready, easily transportable pack of needed and useful pieces of equipment and other supplies.

A 72 hour go-bag (or Bug-Out Bag, Jump Bag, etc.) is simply a bag that will...

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Why You Should Write Down Your Emergency Plan

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Why written emergency plans (EP) are better than just having one on your mind

Terrorism attacks, accidents or natural disasters can occur any time and if you are unlucky enough, leave you dead or in a hospital and in a dire financial situation. Fortunately, most emergencies are somewhat foreseeable such as flooding, wind and solar storms and hurricanes and to some extent, health problems. As it were, constant disaster preparation is a life philosophy of every prepper, and one of the ways to prepare for an emergency is to have a logical emergency plan for you and your family.

The purpose of this post is to analyze why written emergency plans are better than just having one on your mind. But before we even go there, why do you need to plan for emergencies in the first place?

  • It reduces potential losses and damages – Emergency planning may involve, for instance, buying and placing fire extinguishers all over your house and teaching family members how to operate them. Thus, they will be able to stop fires before they spread and raze the whole house.
  • It’s a confidence boost – With an EP, you and your family will know what exactly to do in case of an emergency. In the event of a disaster, they will be calmer and organized as opposed to the panic, chaos, and feelings of helplessness that accompany unpreparedness. Isn’t that what makes preppers ‘better’ than other people? Well, more dependable for sure.
  • Helps you get through emergencies – Planning for food, clean water, and medical supplies for sick members of your family makes it easier to go through difficult situations and saves you much-needed money.

Having said that, we can now agree that emergency plans are too important to be stored in memory or on your phone or laptop. You need to put it in writing for the reasons discussed in the next section.

5 Reasons Why Your Emergency Plan should be in Writing

Below are some reasons why hard-copy emergency plans absolutely rock:

  1. For Easy and Fast Reference

Keeping your EP in hard copy and making enough copies for everyone enables them to quickly check what to do or who to contact in an emergency. On the flipside, keeping emergency phone numbers or procedures in your memory may cause panic when, in the face of disaster, you forget some numbers or steps. As a matter of fact, it is quite hard to focus or remember things in such occasions. Additionally, when your family members are not privy to your plan, they might get panic attacks or get hopeless when faced with a calamity, which can, in turn, affect your psyche and your reflexes.

It is even worse if you keep your plan on your phone or computer as it could go off exactly when you need it the most. You might also not be in a position to access your electronics and as you know, emergencies and time wait for no man. With printed copies, which by the way should always be in your and every other family member’s sight, you won’t have a problem with communication and managing disasters as they happen.

  1. Writing Keeps You Focused and Self-Aware

When you write, your brain is focused on the act of writing and strives to create a logical flow. As such, you are able to write what’s on your mind without filtering any thoughts. Most importantly, old-school writing (using pen and paper) will help you remember disaster preparation concepts that you’ve learned whether from life experiences or government programs. You will also retain knowledge by noting it down as your brain will go into overdrive trying to decide the words to use, committing to long-term memory in the process. In an unfortunate situation, you will be able to remember at least some parts of your plan even without referring to the binder.

When it comes to emergency planning, we recommend that you first write all your concerns and aspirations in case of emergency on a draft paper then compile them into an organized document.

For Fast Review and Corrections

When you plan things in your head, the chances are that you won’t be able to see any faults in your thoughts. On the other hand, when noting down your plans, you can always review later to check for mistakes and do corrections. In this context, you can do further research and consultation with experts, authorities and your family and compare their thoughts, opinions, and suggestions with your plan. Also, keeping a hard copy of your emergency plan close to you gives you the chance to read it over and over at different times and with time, you might be able to see some mistakes you overlooked and amend them in time.

It’s Easy to Make Helpful Noted and Schematic Drawings While Writing

As mentioned in the first point above, the act of writing focuses your thoughts on one idea at a time. Sometimes, as you jot down a fire management strategy, for instance, you can almost ‘see’ a certain thing or action in your mind that would be convenient in such a situation, such as an available door for quick exit.

Depending on the clarity of the mental image, you can make a drawing to show how one can move from different rooms in the house to the exit door and on to safety. Whether you are a good artist or not, as long as you can focus on a single image and make a draft, it can always be improved and polished by another person. Furthermore, it would be easier explaining to your family the movements and procedures to follow in case of a disaster using images and drawings as opposed to only words

If Something Happens to You, Your Family Can Use Your Plan

Keeping everything to yourself or on your phone, which probably requires passwords for every action, will only make things difficult for your people in case something bad happens to you. For one, they probably won’t be aware that you had an emergency plan in the first place. Secondly, if they can’t access your plan, they will come up with their own which could be ineffective due to panic. Sadly, statistics from the US government show that only 33% of Americans have communication plans in case of emergencies.

In essence, by writing a comprehensive emergency management plan in an easy to understand manner, you not only make things simpler for yourself but to your family, neighbors, and friends too. They will know exactly what to do in case of anything and everything and who will be in charge of what, thereby minimizing confusion, chaos, and stress.

Conclusion

It is often said that failing to plan is planning to fail and as a prepper, it’s hard to argue with that. Emergencies and disasters are messed up by themselves. You don’t want to add disorganization and disorder to it. Create a plan for such occasions, put it down on paper and circulate it to every member of your family and close friends. With that, you will be able to at least minimize the disastrous consequences of those bad days on you and your family’s lives.

About the Author: Lucas Cappel is a writer and an educator from Ohio. Graduate from Ohio University, he has a deep-rooted interest in education and sharing knowledge – interest that he shared in his work as a writer/editor at Theessaywriter.net and a philosophy tutor.  

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What You Need To Know Before Getting Started In Prepping

If you’re just getting started in prepping, you’re probably a bit overwhelmed. Don’t worry, we all feel that way at the beginning. There’s too much information for any one person to absorb quickly and too much to get done.

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Monday, June 4, 2018

Beyond Distaste: Bug Eating For Survival

Bug eating is not at the top of any survivalist’s list of fun things to do, however, in a survival situation, when food and water are scarce, one may find his taste in food changing radically.

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Will Level 3 Body Armor Protect Against 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm Threats?

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about body armor and its protective capability, or lack thereof, against rifle threats today. This is due in part to a lack of factual information, and in part due to virtually obsolete official rating system that is poorly understood among the general public and more than few professional users.

I am of course referring to the National Institute of Justice’s NIJ 0101.06 armor protection ratings.  Since the early 1970’s this has been the standard by which body armor protection levels are measured. Unfortunately, changing threats and technology,...

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