by Mama Bear, Survival Blog:

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article series.)

SECURITY/DEFENSE

There have been many articles on the blog about security and defense. Let me just throw out a few thoughts.

• What is the field of fire from each side of your grid-down retreat?


• Have you practiced with your family/group how to defend your retreat? Paintball is great for this.


• Have you thought about how far you are willing to go to defend your supplies, your home, your family?

• Have you thought about a procedure for admitting additional people to the retreat?


• Have you thought about which of your friends/family you would admit and which you would not?


• How will you maintain a security watch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?


• What is each person’s responsibility in case of an alert or attack?


• How much charity are you willing to extend and how will you do so without endangering your group?


• Are you willing to kill to defend the group?


• What supplies/skills do you and your group have for the security/defense of the home, supplies and people?


• How will you conduct barter/trade without endangering your group?


• How will you enforce discipline in the group?


• What circumstances would cause you to expel someone from the group?


• How will you defend against the knowledge that the expelled member has about your defenses?


• What identification codes can be put in place for use by the group?


• What training do you and other members of your group need to be effective?


• Do you have a detailed map of the local terrain?


• Have you learned the local roads and alternate routes?


• How will you perform long range patrols (LRP) for security?


• How far can you see to keep watch?


• Do you have binoculars?


• Can you navigate your property/area in the dark without articial light or night vision?

Old military manuals are a wonderful source of information for operational security, light discipline and other issues. Thinking through organizational structure and putting it and guidelines in writing ahead of time may also be helpful. I have made a list of friends and family and their potentially useful skills and behavioral pros and cons as a guideline for who is acceptable and who is not. For some their skills may outweigh difficult personality traits. For others it may not. Think about this ahead of time. Medical skills may be particularly valuable. This list may also be valuable to those who succeed you.

There is a game that youth groups in our area play that is great training. The group picks a location, such as a home, and drops off several defenders. The rest of the group is taken 2-3 miles away and dropped off. This is done after dark. It is the defenders job to catch each of the incoming group before they can reach the position being defended.

Assess local resources such as libraries, medical facilities, pharmacies, stores and determine which are feasible for your use and which are not. Assess the local area for feasible locations for barter/trade.

• Is there an existing farm market/flea market/swap meet within feasible travel distance?


• If not, is there an area where one could be developed after the SHTF?


• How will your group be safe in traveling to and from the market?


• Are there alternative routes so that your travels are not predictable for ambush?

WATER

Like waste disposal, water is a critical piece of being prepared. If you are on a municipal water supply, that water will NO longer be available. What will you do to have safe drinking water?

• Do you have water stored for at least 72 hours for your family?


• Do you have access to a water supply other than a municipal water supply? A well, pond, lake or stream? Rainwater catchment?


• Is your alternate water supply safe?


• When is the last time it was tested?


• Do you have a way to filter/purify water?


• What quantity of water is needed for your family on a daily basis for drinking? Cooking? Cleaning? Hygiene?


• Can you adequately supply this quantity of water?


• Do you have a way to filter/purify water while traveling?

I purchased property with a previously installed well. The water has been tested and is safe. The well has been in existence for over a century of documented good water supply. It is currently operating on a solar pump but is shallow enough that I intend to obtain a hand pump in case of emergency as well as a spare solar pump. Although the well has been tested, I still filter the water before use. The well used to have a rod and sucker pipe system and at some point I may look at restoring that system.

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