Okay S&W friends... I am going to put some information on here that might seem very basic to some of you... And if it does, good - that means you have done some preparation work for disasters. The first section is the outline of my 30 minute speech I give to local civic clubs when they ask me to come and speak. It is actually just a very basic outline of what is a three day course that I teach... But it is at least enough to get people to think about the subject. I hope it helps those that haven't given disaster preparedness much thought. The second part of this post is actually a reprint (if you can call it that) of something I posted at another forum over a year ago, just after the elections... Ammo had gone through the roof (if you could find it) and there were articles all over the place about people buying guns and ammo. I think you will easily "get" the point of my post on that other forum.
I don't claim to know all there is to know about this subject... I learn something new everyday. But if I can share what I do know with those that don't know as much, then maybe I have helped... Here it goes:
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Disaster Preparedness for the Average Home
presented by Mike XXXXXXX
You should make sure you will be able to:
1 – EAT
2 – DRINK
3 – SLEEP
4 – RUN
And for those that choose to do so,
5 – FIGHT
Being able to EAT
•Store at least a two week (longer is okay) supply of non-perishable food
•Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water
•Pack a manual can opener, disposable eating utensils and paper plates, and trash bags
•Avoid salty foods, as they will make you thirsty
•Choose foods your family will eat
Durable Food Items List:
•Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables
•Protein or fruit bars
•Dry cereal or granola
•Peanut butter
•Dried fruit
•Nuts
•Crackers
•Canned juices
•Non-perishable powdered milk
•High energy foods
•Vitamins
•Food for infants
•Comfort/stress foods
Remember:
•Pick items based upon what your family will actually eat
•Figure out how much food to store and make the additional one-time purchase to stock your pantry
•Use the food on a normal basis, making sure to eat the oldest stock first. Replace what is used on the next trip to the store. FIFO Method!
•The only additional costs are incurred when you stock up the first time
Being able to DRINK
•Water is more important than food. We can go for days without food, and though not comfortable, we can survive. We can not, however, go for days without water. More people die from dehydration than starvation in survival situations.
•One gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation
•Children, nursing mothers, and sick people may need more water
•If it is summer and the temperatures are high, more water may be necessary
•Keep at least a two week supply of water per person
Water Storage:
•Largest container, and you have to do nothing: the WATER HEATER!
•Plastic bottles or jugs. NEVER STORE WATER IN PLASTIC CONTAINERS ON A CONCRETE FLOOR! Insulate them with carpet or wood. Substances in concrete interact with the plastic and cause it to deteriorate, ruining the water
•Rotate your supply every six months, or when you re-set you clocks for standard or daylight savings time.
Being able to SLEEP
•In order to SLEEP, you need SHELTER and COMFORT
•Do you stay at home, or move?
•If you stay at home, you need:
► A First Aid Kit – not just a box of band-aids, get a real first quality, top rated first aid kit
► Items to cover Special Family Needs – infants, elderly, and any special needs family members might have. Check with doctors to see if they will allow enough extra medication in your prescription to hold you over through an emergency.
►Communications – A "plug into the wall" telephone that will keep working even if the electricity is out AND an operating battery powered radio along with a set of spare fresh batteries.
►Sanitation – A five gallon bucket and a large box of plastic trash bags for use as a temporary toilet. We do not need to use our water supply for this purpose. Just set the used bags outside.
Being able to RUN – remember, the minute you leave home, you've just become a REFUGEE…
•Plan the places where your family will meet – food, water, and shelter should be available there
•If you have a car, keep at least a quarter tank of gas in it at all times in case you need to evacuate
•Become familiar with alternate routes out of your area
•If you do not have a car, have a plan – make sure you can get a ride out with someone before a disaster happens, and make sure they are aware of your plan to ride with them!
•Take an emergency supply kit - A small backpack with a couple of days food and water, extra clothing and shoes, toiletries, medications for each member of the family, AND CURRENCY IN SMALL DENOMINATIONS
•Lock the doors to your home before you leave
•Check with neighbors who may need a ride
•Take your pets with you, but understand that only service animals may be permitted in public shelters
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Part 2, the post:
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Okay folks... Nothing wrong with buying ammo. But I am reposting something that I have been saying since September, for the benefit of those that have not already seen it. Here it is:
BEGIN POST:
Jittery Californians Buying Bullets And Safes
Wednesday, October 01, 2008 3:25:21 PM • 114 of 210
Raven6 to All:
I'm glad that all of you are wanting to be prepared... But I want to offer something here that I hope you will all understand is offered as help, not criticism to anyone.
First, quit bragging about what you have in your weapons and ammo inventory. That is equivalent to flashing a big wad of cash while paying for your meal at a restaurant. Know your weapon and how to use it. 'Nuff said about that.
Now besides having a weapon and ammo, what else have you done? Eight days ago there was a post about civil unrest in cities in the event that Obama looses. A lot of posts about defending ones self... The author of the posted article wrote of "knowing the ranges down to the corner and across the street." Again, the same general tone as in this thread we now read. This was my post, please read it and think about it.
Posted by Raven6 on 23 SEP 08:
On the off-chance that you do have to defend your life and the lives of those you love during civil unrest, you had better know more than the yardage to targets within the field of fire. In fact, if you have your weapon properly zeroed (battle sight zero being 300 yards) you will not likely need to know yardages at all in the urban environment described in the article. A 300 yard battle sight zero is still going to provide a center mass hit inside of 300 yards, and the chance that you have a target beyond 300 yards in an urban environment is pretty slim unless you are shooting down the street from a position IN THE STREET. You shouldn't be in the street, remember?
More important than knowing yardage within your field of fire is knowing, as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, the most likely avenues of attack on your position, and knowing how best to counter that attack. If you don't know the topography of your area, learn it. If you don't have a map of your area, get one. If you don't have a good satellite image of your area, get one. Do yourself a favor and do all three. Walk around and drive around your area and study how you would assault your own position, looking for weaknesses. Figure out how to correct the weaknesses. Prepare for the worst. And remember, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy - so you had better have in mind more than a few scenarios.
But beyond shooting, what else? If the power goes off in your home, how well will you function? Eat? Drink? Get rid of waste? Communicate? Can you do all this without catching a round yourself? There is a lot to be said for having a disaster preparedness plan and the supplies to back it up. A disaster is a disaster whether natural or man-made. You have to think of everything (or at least try to.)
I work behind the tables at local gunshows for a FFL dealer - I'm a firearms instructor. It never ceases to amaze me the number of people that have the mentality of "I have a gun and plenty of ammunition, therefore I am okay." These same people have never looked at the position they intend to defend from the attackers' point of view. They have no means of sustaining themselves or their family for any period of time over (let's say) two days. And that is only because they just happen to have a two day supply of groceries in the cabinet. The majority of them follow the thinking of "I'm an American male, therefore I can shoot and defend myself and my family - it's just genetic." Overconfidence has killed many an otherwise smart person.
Another side of this unfortunate syndrome is that the same people that bring their pimped out AR-15 rifle (that is a 5.5 to 8 pound carbine or rifle with an additional 10 pounds of crap fastened on to it that usually turns out to be useless) to the gun show (so that others can see it and "OOOOHH! and AAAH!" over it - they enjoy the jealousy factor) couldn't run a half mile without having a massive coronary. Rambo wannabe's... That will get you nowhere WTSHTF.
I'm not trying to be ugly towards obese people or people that want to pimp out their weapon - what I'm trying to reiterate is this: HAVE A PLAN BEYOND A WEAPON AND PLENTY OF AMMO! If you can't run, you'd better be able to defend your position until the end. And in order to do so, you need to be able to outlast a siege.
Were I a betting man, I would wager that we will see lots of posts of "BLOAT!" (buy lots of ammo today!) in threads over the oncoming weeks. And while my philosophy is that you can never have too much ammo, you can not eat or drink ammo, or use it to patch a wound... You have to think things through...
END OF POST
Now, beyond what I had posted above... I've done more than just my current career in firearms instruction. I have been under fire, and know a thing or two about defending positions. I don't offer this long post for my amusement, for I don't particularly care to type and format posts of this size. I offer it for the sole purpose of making people think. One person can not successfully defend a structure against huge mobs or even small groups if, while that person is shooting from a position on one side of the structure, the other side of the structure is left undefended. Unless the defender has CCTV monitoring devices and Claymores properly dispersed so that he can "fight by wire." They will otherwise enter and kill you. You don't win by dying, so discretion can be the better part of valor. Live to fight another day. As my grandfather, a WWI Argonne Forrest infantry veteran, once told me: Always have plan that will allow you to eat, drink, sleep, fight, and run - and know when to execute each part of the plan.
Again, I'm not out to flame anyone - if so I would have posted to specified individuals. I just want us to think realistically. What good is all the ammo in the world if you starve to death or die of dehydration? Can you apply first aid to yourself with nothing but ammo?
Regards,
Raven6
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END OF PART 2...
And that is just my 2 cents worth...
Regards,
Mike
Sounds like a place where everybody gathers and makes it easier for the Zombies or the Democrats to find you...
