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.

Children and Emergencies

Children are part and parcel of prepping at the family level. And where necessary, at the level of the day care. We all pray that children need never experience privation or be harmed. Yet life sometimes happens to them too. How can we minimize the harm to the child in the event, and help them integrate the frightening experiences in a healthy way to learn valuable life lessons?

"The wind howls through the empty blocks looking for a home
I run through the empty stone because I'm all alone"
London's Burning, The Clash

Child Emotional Stress:
Children can develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder too. But good early care, coupled with healthy reassurance can greatly reduce the likelihood of this developing. Here are some useful links to learn more:

Link to the American Red Cross page about their Facing Fear... series of books that deal with helping children cope with the stresses of terrorism, natural disasters, and the "24 hour news cycle".
As of today, the link to download the lesson plans does not work, nor the link to the Red Cross online store. But the book is available at your local Red Cross. Donate generously so the Red Cross can complete their website redesign.
http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.d229a5f06620c6052b1ecfbf43181aa0/?vgnextoid=749bf655c099b110VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default


This is a link to a very useful website from Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. This site has a short quiz for the parents, and the child, to fill out re: stress reactions post-injury that gives helpful, positive advice on how to further help the injured child.
The link: Find ways to help your child recover provides excellent advice on basic, immediate crisis intervention for the child and best communication practices with the child in the hard times. Also covers dealing with new fears in the child, a significant factor in development of longer term problems if not dealt with. Good section on self care for you, the parent. Common sense section, with resource links, for when to seek outside professional help for the child or you.


National Child Traumatic Stress Network offers free, online courses in child disaster trauma , grief, sexual abuse, provision of services, complex trauma, etc. Requires free registration but the courses seem worth it. The Terrorism, Disaster, and Speaker series seems most onpoint for the general prepper parent or day care provider.

Day Care and Disasters:
Nice link from Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association about rating your child's daycare for disaster readiness as well as resources for better preparing your family for life disruptions.

Learning Prepper Skills, For Kids:
FEMA has a great website for kids that will teach them valuable skills in how to prepare and how to cope with uncertain times.
A family of mountain lions, and their hummingbird friend, guide your kids through various fun family activities around disaster prepping. Kids learn about the types of natural disasters, and how to best survive them. They learn how to make a communication plan and how to make up a disaster kit. Site also has very good links for teachers and parents to learn more, especially about post-disaster coping skills. Good resources on this page for the teacher or school principal.

The City of Vancouver, BC has a site that guides parents in how to teach children disaster survival skills, in how to prepare the family home for disasters, and how best to return to the home post-disaster.


Children, the next generation, the future citizens. Get them involved in prepping now so that they can pass on the skills of self reliance and can-do attitude to their kids in turn.

Crime Prevention Conference

Part of prepping is doing your part to help your neighbors and community in preparing. The Montana Board of Crime Control and Crime Prevention Council are holding a conference next month.

The 3rd Annual Montana Crime Prevention Conference will be held in Bozeman October 14-16 at the Best Western Grantree , 1325 N 7th Avenue. Registration is free and available online.

If you are affiliated with a law enforcement agency, court, service provider, educator or the like, then sign up for this conference. There will be some good sessions this year on police-citizen cooperation, some good youth-related sessions, and a session on our state's high suicide rate.

Bozeman is a great town for a conference too. For a great lunch; try the Pickle Barrel just off campus of Montana State University or Naked Noodle on Higgins, just off Main. For dinner, Montana Aleworks, on the far East end of Main serves awesome food and brew. Montana Harvest Natural Foods, on South Higgins just off Main, is very prepper friendly and has an excellent selection of grains and other prepper needs. Gallatin County Pioneer Museum is a real treat and is only about 1.5 miles from the Conference.

If you come to the conference or if you are in the Bozeman area, let's meet. I'll be the guy from the NRA with the cane.

Preparedness Month Exercise

While the heads of state are having their fun
Are they ready?
We're looking at the world through the barrel of a gun
Are we ready?
And you stand there beating on your little war drum
Are you ready?
And it won't be long before your time has come
Are you ready? ; Warhead; UK Subs

Today's idea is from MT-Mauser, a thoughtful prepper here in Montana. I like the sound of this drill. MM estimates that a high percentage of people would fail this exercise, would you? I figure my family might pull through this one ok other than the lack of power (we are on well water) causing a worrisome run on water supplies. Try this one, take notes, learn. I sure will!

Here's a little drill to try with your family or prepper group to test your level of preparedness. Announce to the group that there will be a group get together [a dinner and strategy meeting] in two weeks. between now and the time of the meeting, you cannot go to the store for food [major regional grid-down conditions] and must make do with only what you have stored in your home/retreat as of that moment. For best test conditions, live off the grid for the next 14 days and off whatever fuel you have stored. This also means the toilet won't work unless you have solar power for your well pump, etc.

The day of the drill, you must act as if the power grid is down [so cooking is by LP or the like, lighting is candle/lantern, etc.]. You must assume that there has been wide spread social unrest, with looting, for the last 13 days [post an EMP event]. So you must travel armed to the meeting, with full use of bounding overwatch/covoy, etc.

The house where the meeting is to be held must have full black out precautions [looters, like moths, are drawn to light]. Sentries must be posted, incoming vehicles must be identified and challenged as needed. Full security must be maintained during the meeting.

The food on offer may be potlucked from all attendees but again, must come strictly from stores which were in place two weeks before. maybe throw in a simulated medical problem for additional fun.

Self Preservation or Political Correctness?

"Hold your head up high-for there is no greater love
Think of the faces of the people you defend
And promise me, they will never see the tears within our eyes
Although we are men with mortal sins, angels never cry"
Winterborn ;The Crüxshadows


Short one today on whether to resist a criminal intent on doing you and yours harm. Or to be sensitive to their "cultural issues", be "practical", and give them what they want free of any effort.

Noted self defense writer Gabriel Suarez decries the modern tendency of the authorities to advise potential crime victims to just be "reasonable" with the criminal and give them what they want. Suarez rightly points out that the urge to self preservation, to say nothing of basic human dignity, calls for us to resist those who would harm us (The Tactical Pistol; Suarez, Gabriel; Paladin Press; 1996; page 2).

In South Africa, the criminals nearly always go above and beyond the "reasonable demands" of robbery or rape, etc. into protracted torture, mutilation, and wanton destruction. As the recent events in St. Louis schools, two assaults in one week, and the dismissal of the Black Panther intimidation case by the US Justice Department indicate, we are on the same road to culturally sensitive crime here.

Lest anyone mistake me, I am writing to readers of all races and ethnic groups. No one deserves to be a victim of crime and no one deserves to be a victim of assault just because of the color of their skin or their origin. Demagoguery only serves the speaker, it demeans and divides the rest of us at a time when we should be looking toward working together.

Here are links to two proponents of opposite approaches for dealing with being faced with crime against us. You decide which approach better becomes a prepper.

The first is a news story about an academic who interviewed 30 robbers in prison. His advice is effectively based on what the robbers said would make them most comfortable when robbing you and yours. This fellow could come here and be a czar for our Justice Department with his brilliance.

http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/5525775ad0c94f53b9e0ac76a0304ff4/03-09-2009-09-41/How_to_survive_a_robbery

The second article is by a missionary with extensive experience in numerous war zones. His advice is based on his experiences with the Rwanda Genocide, the Rhodesian war against the Communists (and Progressives), and in South Africa. Consider reading some of his other books for the history which you never read in the PC MSM.

http://www.christianaction.org.za/firearmnews/2004-03_Howtobeagoodvictim.htm

Evil can and should be resisted. But at the same time, you must factor in your personal situation at that moment. If you can talk your way out of the tight spot, do so. Maybe read up on basic crisis negotiation to help give you the edge if crime comes to you and yours. Do what you must, think it through ahead of time to reduce your reaction lag time.

Pain Relief and the Prepper Medic, Part 2

Control of pain post-disaster can be problematic. Getting your personal physician to write you the prescriptions for effective pain meds can also be problematic. Many of the “good” painkillers are on the DEA schedules, so you and your physician can easily become targets of a DEA no-knock raid. Better to avoid the potential problem in the first place by stocking only non-scheduled drugs.

Non-drug pain management is best for our purposes. Consider learning hypnosis for pain control. I had good results using hypnosis as an EMT, etc. In any event, account for pain management in your medical kit and plan. Read the link below from the University of Basel re: pain management. Then integrate pain management into your prepper medical plan.

There are some useful prescription pain killers that are not on DEA lists and should be fairly easy to obtain. All have the potential for significant side effects so thorough study is required before using these drugs.

Toradol (ketorolac) is the strongest drug in the NSAID class and is available in pill,eye drops,and injectable forms. As eye drops, it can be used for a [very] few days for relief of pain from a corneal abrasion. It provides excellent relief of post-operative pain. It is also an anti coagulant so any bleeding must be under good control before giving Toradol. It can cause serious liver or kidney problems in relatively rare cases. Because of these “side properties”, Toradol cannot be used for more than 2 days of continuous dosing for injection or 5 days of oral dosing.

Tramadol is a pain killer which works well for moderate to moderately severe pain. Or in laypersons terms, it will do for pain relief for most of the common injuries the survivalist might deal with . It is available as both a pill and in an injectable form. It does not elicit as much nausea as other opiods such as morphine and unlike morphine, will not completely shut down the breathing reflex at high doses.

Another bright spot is that tramadol is rarely associated with addiction as it relieves pain without euphoria. But addiction can occur sometimes. If needed, it can also be used for your dogs or cats. On the downside, it does lower the seizure threshold so it is a poor choice if the patient has a history of seizures or is taking other drugs which lower the seizure threshold.

Nubain® (nalbuphine) is a very strong pain reliever that is only available in an injectable form. It is incompatible with ketorolac and is an “opiod effect reverser”. This means that giving Nubain to someone who is addicted to opiods will result in withdrawal symptoms. I was told by an Army medic, who had completed the US Army Field Anesthesia course, that Nubain is ineffective for bad war wounds.

There are a few prescription “para anesthesia” drugs which should be stocked. For reversal of overdoses of opiods, stock Narcan (naloxone). It has significant side effects, be aware, be proactive. Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is a useful antiemetic, antihistamine, and mild sedative. Prilosec or the like would be useful for victims of significant injury to help prevent stress ulcers.

Murphy's Law says that the group member who requires emergency surgical care will have a full stomach, risking aspiration of vomitus, a serious complication. Reglan (metoclopramide) is an anti nausea/vomiting drug and it accelerates stomach emptying. But do not rely solely on Reglan in the patient who ate or drank within a few hours pre-surgical- need.

Phenergan (promethazine) is a venerable anti emetic and sedative that also helps dry up secretions. It is available in both pill and injectable forms. If injecting it, dilute and give slowly and carefully as it can cause tissue damage and does cause pain on injection. When injecting phenergan, correct technique is critical as the drug can damage tissue if not injected properly.


Again, local anesthesia is the safest for the prepper medic. Here are some good online resources for learning more about local and regional anesthesia. As always, study hard, practice, talk these issues over with your personal physician or nurse practitioner.


http://www.anesthesia.wisc.edu/med3/localanes/localhandout.html (from University of Wisconsin Dept. Of Anesthesiology. Quick overview of how local anesthetics work, basic technique and spinal blocks—do not attempt these)

http://www.nda.ox.ac.uk/wfsa/ (an international online journal of anesthesiology; a few articles on local anesthesia, many articles on the fundamentals of anesthesia for practitioners in developing countries. Good site for preppers)

http://www.palmer.net.au/talks/regional_anaesthesia_blocks/default.htm (Very good slides on various regional blocks. Site is for Internet Explorer only)

http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/published_volumes/anesthesia/anesthesia.html (Anesthesia volume of the US Textbook of Military Medicine. Very good reference on anesthesia. Good chapter on local/regional anesthesia)

http://www.medana.unibas.ch/eng/internt/AC_PAIN.htm (from University of Basel, Switzerland. This link is to a page re: pain management. There are many more useful pages here: http://www.medana.unibas.ch/eng/amnesix1/amnesix.htm)

http://www.operationalmedicine.org/Powerpoint/Lectures/Local-Regional_Anesthesia.htm (Excellent PowerPoint-based course on local anesthesia. Many more courses in operational medicine available from this site)

http://www.nysora.com/peripheral_nerve_blocks/index.1.html (New York School of Regional Anesthesia. How to do regional blocks if you have local anesthetic agents in your kit. Thorough, with very good illustrations).

Anesthesia and pain control must be factored into planning a survival medical kit. I hope this article has helped point you in a useful direction. With the items described in this article, you can provide better, more comfortable medical care to your group members in a crisis environment. In a 96 hour crisis, you will have the ability to perform exigent minor surgery. In a TEOTWAWKI scenario, you will have a solid base for providing [very] basic anesthesia care to your group members.

Bibliography:

Introduction to Anesthesia; 9th Edition; Longnecker, edited by: David E. and Murphy, Frank L.; Saunders; 1997. Good coverage of the theory and practice of anesthesia from the ground up.

Special Forces Medical Handbook; Citadel Press; 1982. ISBN: 0806510455 A very good general reference. Good, simple chapter on anesthesia using ether as an inhaled agent, local /regional anesthesia and excellent charts showing signs of anesthesia depth).

Immunizations

All survivor group members need to keep up their immunizations! Critical ones are: Tetanus & Diphtheria (1/ten years), Hepatitis B (series of three, retest antibody titers at times), Hepatitis A (series of two, good for 10-20 years), measles-mumps-rubella (MMR; for measles, those born after 1957 need to have 1 dose unless they have contraindications). Contrary to endless hysteria, the measles vaccine does not cause autism; the original study which "proved" that the vaccine caused autism was poorly designed and used statistical analysis that would embarrass a ten year old.

Why bother? In the 1990s, it was estimated that about 30%+ of the US population of age 50+ had no immunity to tetanus, due to not keeping up on vaccination. Now, tetanus is a horrible disease; the death rate can be as high as 78%, it causes extremely painful muscle spasms that can be triggered by something as trivial as a slight breeze, and death occurs due to a spasm being so prolonged that the patient suffocates, fully aware until the end. Good reason to get a booster every ten years.

With hepatitis A, the average time lost off work is about six weeks from the infection. Imagine your group having to care for a patient with tetanus, diptheria , or hepatitis A post-disaster. Precious resources and personnel used to care for a person with an easily preventable disease.

For those survivor group member who are susceptible, varicella vaccine (chickenpox, a serious disease for adults). For those at risk, due to chronic illnesses, the pneumococcal vaccine. A good one to have anyway as it is a common bacteria in the nasal passages of people. Rawles merry band in his book, Patriots, Surviving the Coming Collapse, were all immunized against pneumococci.

A single dose of zoster (shingles) vaccine is recommended for those over 60. A single dose of polio vaccine, as an adult ,would be good and neighborly to do in case NWO really opens our borders.
For those survivors under 18 years of age, completion of CDC recommended vaccination schedules is necessary. Especially, in Montana, pertussis (whooping cough).

For preparedness for true TEOTWAWKI times, consider keeping up on: typhoid (every 5 years for oral form, not 100% effective), yellow fever (1/ten years, was a significant problem in the USA until early 19th Century, negligible risk ever in Montana) , meningitis (roughly 3 years of protection, a disease of young adults, in crowded places in the USA, shows up in North Dakota)

The CDC publishes adult and child vaccine recommendations. as needed, please read them. They also maintain a good page that answers common vaccine questions.

There is an good series of information sheets CDC publishes called Vaccine Information Statements that cover each vaccine in good detail, with the risks and benefits spelled out. I passed these out to the day care providers who attended our course and heard reports back of how well received the forms were by the parents in their programs. Print these out for you and your group.

Be prepared for the coming Change. Get immunized now, survive beyond the American Year Zero of Dear Leader and his cadre. More on this aspect of prepping in part two of Civil Unrest. In the meantime, remember to live your faith, tell truth to the Party apparatchiks and do your part to make this a better world.