Survival Planning - Reader Comment on Jericho

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received this comment from Anonymous: " just this week I started watching a tv show called Jericho - it is available on netflix streaming for those who have it. maybe on other on demand services or via dvd etc.  I never saw this show before but I do remember it being talked about when it was on during 2006-2008 seasons.  So far very interesting - and quite realistic so far in most situations, reactions etc... barter is being done episode 7-8 with household goods or anything of value etc... not everybody has gold etc... nearly everybody was unprepared for any event (just like in real life).  I recommend it, it sort of reminds me of a television series based on the book One Second After (at least so far it does) I can't wait to see how the show ends....."

UrbanMan's comments:  Some one gave me the DVD series on Jericho.  Pretty entertaining but you can't help but cringe on all the mistakes they make.  I watched it over a year ago, but let's see if I can remember those mistakes.  

During the first couple of episodes,  the town seemed to be waiting for the power to come back on,....pretty realistic, but a more prudent approach would have been to do some parallel planning and preparation just in case the power did not come back on, or, to get ready for things to get worse....and they did.

The two biggest mistakes up front was the lack of organization for security and a more complete attempt to ensure a food supply through the immediate development of gardens and food conservation/rationing efforts....and this is rural Kansas!  Where growing food is a way of life.   This was the same mistake the survivors in "One Second After" made.  Wintertime is no excuse.  In both scenarios these people should have built some green houses and planted crops.  Sure it would take months to get any produce, but they did have some food in the beginning, especially when that kid found the train in Jericho. 

A food rationing and distribution program where people worked for the community and were fed from community stocks has got to be one of the solutions on the table.  With everyone for themselves, anarchy reins. 

As I remember it took a few episodes for the town of Jericho to organize a security group, what they called the "rangers".   I think picking a few of the best men (and women) in town, conducting some training and building the police force a little larger would have been a prudent measures, especially when Jericho lost a couple of lawmen  earlier on.  A separate police force and security force, who work together but have distinct basic tasks may work best.   Plus it helps spread the power a little.   

I won't ruin the show for you by writing about the last few episodes where a form of national government(s) come into play.   But at the local level in Jericho, I would have tried to create an advisory board to back stop the Mayor's decisions and this would also create an atmosphere where there is better representation and better planning.

Book Review – One Second After by William R. Forstchen

This is book is one of our favorites as it takes the reader through the trials and tribulations of an very unprepared family living in the mountains of North Carolina preceding an attack of nuclear missiles detonated in the atmosphere over the East Coast causing incredible damage to the infrastructure through Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) . With all electrical components are fried,….no frigerators, no cars, no computers, no airplanes, no cell phones,…in short a trip back to the dark ages with the resultant starvation, rampant disease and security-protection issues. Not only is this a viable scenario for preparedness, the book also takes the reader through EMP 101.

Even the survival minimalist will recognize the haplessness of the book’s key figures, a retired Army Officer and his teen age daughters. Many lessons can be learned from the subjects lack of basic preparation as this book does not paint a rosy picture of a community banding together like one of our other favorite EMP books, Lights Out, an e-book available on the web.

This book is recommended reading, available from Amazon through the link at the bottom of our page, or through your favorite brick and mortar book store.

Publisher: Forge Books, 1 Edition March 17, 2009; ISBN-10: 0765317583; ISBN-13: 978-0765317582