Home Invasion #1

Just some quick notes on this one. I missed the Spike Surviving Disasters episode on this one. But it is a truly timely issue. With Hope and Change spreading unemployment and, with "cap and trade" threatening to collapse our economy, home invasion could soon happen here in Montana. In 2007, there was a home invasion attempt in Butte, but an un-PC 11yo girl shot the two invaders, killing both innocent "wealth redistributors".

The Spike episode seems to stress evolutions for unarmed home owners. Which is good so that Massachusetts and California viewers or others, within the Party-held areas, can also benefit from the series' advice. I think this is a good thing as over reliance in a gun, or other self defense tool, limits your options in an assault.

Here are some quick notes on setting up a safe room, so-called "panic room" in your home. As always, get legal input and make sure all family members know their role come the invasion.

It is important to have a safe room set up where you and your family can retreat if need be. If you have young kids or infants, use their room as it is easier for the adults to rally to the childrens' room than it is for the kids to retreat in good order to the parents' room. The hinges and latch hole need to be secured with long screws, not the low-bidder short screws used by default. The door needs to be solid core and it would be useful to install a single cylinder deadbolt lock on the door. Room must have survival kit stored and easily accessible.

In your safe room, be aware of windows, having bars without a fire release just traps you. Plus, the well organized gang could send a second breaching team in your window so your side must watch the banging door and the window(s). As Murphy says: if you make it hard for the enemy to get in, you make it hard for you to get out.

An old street fighting trick is to have a bare live wire to lay on the door knob to give the bad guys a little jolt, assuming they didn't cut your power. Another nasty trick is to retreat deep into the safe room, while crying piteously, and let the bad guys breach. When they rush in they encounter quickly scattered caltrops, or other tripppers. Obviously, in most jurisdictions, doing street fighter traps could be construed as an element of murder if you are not careful, but you and yours will be alive. As with any of this, consult an attorney before going Beirut in your own home on a criminal.

The room needs a reliable communication device; cell phones are good as the invaders will cut phone and power if they can. A couple of good flashlights are needed; consider having one of those nice 1 million + candlepower searchlights in the room also for temporarily blinding the bad guys if they break in. Having a set of keys , attached to a light stick, to throw out a window to the police when they arrive is a good thing. When you call 911, remember: describe who the good folks are and how they are dressed. The responding officers will be in survival mode too, wouldn't want one of your side shot by accident, eh?

Body armor or not? It takes several extra seconds, when milliseconds count, to don. It is heavy, especially if rated to stop rifle rounds. It can give the non-professional a false sense of security and bravado.

But it might save your life. If you have multiple family members, maybe add a body-armor-donning evolution to your practice. With this, one member covers while the other one dons their armor, then the roles switch. But, it would be tragic if the bad guys burst in just as one good guy was donning their armor and the bad guys killed the covering good guy. There are many many sources for body armor. The folks at Bullet Proof Me are nice , offer quality gear at good prices, and are commonly cited on survival blogs.

"When they kick in your front door, how you gonna come? With your hands on your head or on the trigger of your gun."
Guns of Brixton, The Clash

At a minimum, know if your state has a Castle Doctrine law. Montana now has one, it is common sense and allows defense against those intent on entry to commit a violent felony. It states that there is no duty to retreat/flee, or summon police, first before defending yourself from a violent assault.

The new law is currently being invoked in two court cases here. expect controversy for awhile with this one, and the Party railing against armed peasants. Read the law, know it, comply and stay alive. Think it through ahead of time; decide on your courses of action before the heat of the moment, else tragedy can result.

Weapons of your choice in the room. Even in California, we were politically incorrect and included guns in our safe room "arms locker". Your mileage would vary if you were in a Party controlled region where armed self defense is illegal and proof of racism/disbelief in "social justice".

But prior drill is vital. We had an alarm situation at home that nearly ended in needless tragedy with two armed good guys separated; with one entering the other's line of fire about 10 yards downrange in the dark, with no recognition signals/challenges worked out ahead of time. A recipe for disaster, a potential "accidental discharge" at one of your own in an unsecured, unlit area!

With guns, make provision for hearing protection for when you must fire. Most of the time, you will know and hear the bad guys trying to breach even with ear plugs/muffs. Your hearing is important for the rest of your life, firing in an enclosed area will hurt at a minimum and might damage your hearing for an extended time--use protection if you can.

If you have several family members in the safe room, one can light up the bad guy while another violates his civil right-to-"social-justice" with the gun. Don't forget shooting through the door if the bad guys are actively trying to breach it and you know there are no friendlies on that side of the safe room door. If possible, blast both sides of the door frame and the door simultaneously to get maximum roach knockdown.

Other weapons to consider are: going medieval with a solid fighting knife or modified bayonet-on-a-shaft; if allowed by local law, a baton; or use pepper spray. Remember that OC (pepper spray) can easily come back on you if used in an enclosed space. Include some OC "antidote", such as Sudecon Wipes, in your kit.

Don't forget to have a good first aid kit in the safe room. Consider getting one of the nice compact ones made for SWAT officers as these are designed for scenes of violence, unlike nearly all kits on offer at the local variety store. Quick Clot or the like is invaluable for quickly stopping bleeding, just follow directions or it won't work as advertised. Know how to stabilize a sucking chest wound, pack a wound to stop bleeding, and deal with a facial wound which impacts breathing.

Train ahead of time, again and again so your body will know what to do in that moment of chaos and terror. As the saying goes: the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.

Part #2 will deal with common sense home security measures, to include advanced precaution for post-disaster times. Here are a few links for buying or making trauma blowout kits:

http://www.afmo.com/QuikClot_Blow_Out_Kit_1_p/210-00139.htm Very bare bones kit, but used properly, it will do the job.
http://www.lmsdefense.com/forum/index.php?topic=743.0 Blog thread on making your own kit.
http://connect.jems.com/group/swat/forum/topics/whats-in-your-kit Article on assembling an advanced kit. Makes good point: these kits are for use on you, the owner of the kit, just like military battle dressings.
http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/tacems/bokrevisit.htm Good, short article on assembling a kit.
http://www.promedkits.com/blow_out.html I own one of these kits and use it for demonstration in classes. Company makes many useful kits at a good price.