More on Solo Survival

Prepper Website left a new comment on the post "Planning to Survive Alone",.......:When I think of someone going solo, I think of staying fast and mobile. I would think that the hope would be, in a SHTF situation, to stay low until some sort of normalcy came back to society, then join the living. I picture a heavily forested area with plenty of moving room and maybe several areas to hold up in...some caches along the way etc...."

UrbanMan's reply: Prepper, I agree - fast and mobile,.....or, stationary and hidden in a well stocked safe location. About anyone with decent survival training and a modicum of preparation can survive. I've done that in small increments for training. Ten days with nothing other than a fixed blade knife, 2 one quart Army canteens and one canteen cup, a small survival kit with snare wire, para cord, matches, button compass, a lightweight poncho and a map. It sucked. I lost about ten pounds. Learned much about isolation and being bored as well. And as stoic and tough as we think we may be, humans are not made for isolation.

I think the idea is to not only survive but live with some decent standard of living. The only way to do that is to have planned ahead, prepared well, and most likely be part of a larger survival group.

I'm not advocating some type of "survival commune" living, but planning and preparing with an alike minded group of individuals and families for mutual support.

Caches are always a good idea. To support the Bug Out plan, either at or near the safe location, or along the way supporting long range movements. I have written several posts on caches. And my student Jim (from Survival Chronicles of Jim) emplaced a couple near his family cabin which is his Bug Out location.

I hope not, but cannot help but think there are people out there thinking that if a severe enough collapse comes, they will survive on their own in a minimalist fashion.  Great to have those skills, but better yet to be prepare across the spectrum of needs and do so with a focused plan and a team.     

Lights Out, For Real

News Report from the Associated Press,....HIGHLAND PARK, Michigan. (AP) -- As the sun dips below the rooftops each evening, parts of this Detroit enclave turn to pitch black, the only illumination coming from a few streetlights at the end of the block or from glowing yellow yard globes. It wasn't always this way. But when the debt-ridden community could no longer afford its monthly electric bill, elected officials not only turned off 1,000 streetlights. They had them ripped out -- bulbs, poles and all. Now nightfall cloaks most neighborhoods in inky darkness.

UrbanMan's comments: Highland Park being $58 million in debt and taking out two-thirds of the light poles, is only one of many inner city and adjacent communities that are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy,...their own local financial collapse, which from a security pint of view sets the scene that many other communities across this country may very well experience in the coming months. In Highland Park's case, financial woes have taken this city to cut back on electric bills plunging many of the city's areas into darkness, causing crime, notable break ins and home invasions, to increased obviously from the advantage the unlighted streets give the criminals in casing, selecting, approaching and taking down houses.

This caused me to re-look my suburban community, adjacent from only a few short miles from the heart of a urban environment, and the possible security consequences of all public utility lighting turned off. Not only public utility lighting, but if the electrical grid goes down, which it will surely have the probability of doing in a large chaotic SHTF scenario, what will this mean to me and my survival team as far as added security requirements as all artificial light from ambient sources, mostly houses, will be gone?

Heretofore areas that provided good observations of oncoming traffic, friend or threat, were now dark with even darker shadowed areas that would provide concealed approach routes to our site.

The absence of lighting and threat of darkness can be mitigated somewhat with a larger security presence, obstacles and LP/OPs, but knowing ahead of time what areas will provide natural concealment will not only allow you to plan for security measures but also may allow you to channelize threats to where they be more effectively handled.

Solar powered flood lights that can be used in the motion detection role or modified to be turned on at the flip of a switch can be a great tool for early warning or to create the illumination for which to engage threats with verbal warnings and/or protective fires if need be. The problem with the sensitivity of motion detection lights can be gotten around by disabling that feature and using an initiator such as a pressure activated or pull release activated mechanism to turn the lights on focused on the appropriate area.

I have four solar powered floodlights currently mounted on my house, one on each side. All are mounted on bolts with wing nuts so I can rapidly take them down if needed someplace else or in case of a controlled Bug Out. Solar powered lights with low wattage bulbs can also be placed outdoors during the day time and brought inside during the night to provide interior illumination.

Of course, a robust night vision capability backed up by 81mm Mortar Illumination rounds would be a partial solution as well.:)

The bigger question is here is what does the bankruptcy of urban municipalities mean? This is a trend with debt ridden cities and the debt ridden national government. With less and less money to pay for entitlement programs we are much closer to seeing a Greece type economic collapse here and with 45 million people or so on welfare and that number growing every day, the Occupy Wall Street protests could turn rapidly into riots in major cities especially with any type of event that marginally interdicts the food supply.

Survival Roulette Wheel

I received this correspondence from "Jerry":............"Although this appears from as anonymous, call me "Jerry".  I am a former Marine Captain and have saw combat in Iraq, before I got out of the Corps.  I am now an insurance advisor for a nationally recognized company, have a side line business managing investments for some people (some of my old Marines for some), and have a network marketing business as well.  I live in a suburban area while it is not a gated community, we are governed by a Home Owners Association (HOA).  Most of the residents are older than my wife and I, and we are in our mid thirties.    

My wife doesn't necessarily agree with my preps.  She may even think my actions are part of PTSD.  I really don't care at this point, but I see a major event happening or starting to happen soon, so I want to be ready.   Next month the HOA is going to have elections again.  My wife is against me even attending these meetings, which so far I have not.   I think it prudent to be involved if for nothing else but to know the people in our area and have some type of ability to influence the actions of many and group think.  We live in a pretty good area, only one two lane road entering in and exiting out of our area.   Highly defensible for a Platoon of Marine riflemen, but not for a bunch of non-organized civilians. 

I am having a hard time explaining myself to my wife that I am not trying to take over the HOA.  In other activities I have became involved in, I have often found myself in a leadership role and I think my wife is worried that this will consume my time and degrade our businesses, and our family.   Any ideas on how to get her to see what I am going to do is a prudent measure?"

UrbanMan's reply:  Jerry, first of all, thanks you for your service.   Were you and your wife married when you were in the Corps?  If so, she ought to understand that your were, and are a leader and will continue to be in any segment of your life.  

Second of all, it seems like you are working like crazy on your life,....insurance, investment and a home based business.  Good for you. 

I would explain that trying to understand the HOA much like you did already with trying to get to know people and the credibility you establish with these fellow homeowners will go along way to providing some leadership or direction in the case of a collapse where, in all probability, your neighbor will have to stand together or perish separately.

It's kinda like this:  Imagine a Roulette wheel at the Casino.  You have 20 chips.  If you put all your chips onto one number, you have a small chance of winning anything.  If you place most of your chips on the three or four numbers you think will win, and then place maybe one chip on numbers that you are less sure off, you'll have better chances of winning something.......risk mitigation.  You understand this from the Corps where risk assessment and risk management are a fact of life.

If you think food and protection-security are the biggest risks then you put a high percentage of your resources into stored food, survival site selection and survival firearms.  If you think that even in the collapse, electricity won't be a problem, then you may save the money you would put into solar, wind and other energy technologies and use it for other higher priorities.  If you think that there will be no exchange of commerce except for barter and that precious metals will not be worth anything, then you would not be stocking Gold and Silver.   If you think there is a chance, however small, of being able to use Gold and Silver then you may put a minimum amount of your resources procuring precious metals. 

I think the idea of getting involved at least on the edges of your HOA can pay off big dividends if/when the SHTF comes.   The good thing a HOA would have is connectivity within that community. Placing names to addresses.  I know a local urban HOA that hosts gardening classes each month......ready made for converting to vegetables rather than flowers.   

Did you read a previous post from Selco who survived Bosnia in 1992 to 1995?  He said it best when it takes a team or a group to survive.  The HOA is part of the team you have.  Most of the people in the HOA will see you as a leader whether or not you serve on the board or not.   Getting involved in the HOA will give you the contacts to develop this credibility so it can be exploited when you need to.  Hooah Captain, Drive On.

Financial Collapse in Americans Cities, Counties and States

From the Yahoo! article titled: 9 American Cities and Counties Going Broke

Pension plans, rising prices, depleted population and therefore reduced tax base all contribute to the following cities going broke. Image the potential chaos when city and county pensioners, food bank recipients and city county employees are not paid.

Imagine if the city/county utilities fail because of lack of money....either to pay for fuel, maintenance, etc., or just fail because they cannot pay their workers. The aftermath of these local governments going broke may give us some insight to a larger U.S. collapse.

These are nine American cities or counties facing financial collapse:

1. Central Falls, RI
2. Pontiac, MI
3. Jefferson County, AL
4. Harrison, NJ
5. Detroit, MI
6. Salem, NJ
7. Riverdale, IL
8. Strafford County, NH
9. Camden, NJ

Not only is this happening with cities and counties, several states are near collapse.  2.2 million unemployed in California.  1 million of have been unemployed over one year.  Another 530,000 unemployed people have just exhausted their 3 years of unemployment benefits.  There are another 6 million Americans who are scheduled to lose federal unemployment benefits in 2012.  Almost one third of them (1.8 million) will be running out of these benefits in January 2012 alone. 

Illinois' is almost bankrupt.  The state had to borrow billions of dollars this year to pay for unfunded state pensions.   Business is leaving Illinois at about the same rate they are exiting California (5 viable businesses leaving every two weeks) due to unreasonable state regulations and anti-business taxation.   

Welfare rates in heretofore financially stable areas is increasing dramactically.  This is obvious due to the poor economy nationwide, dwindling employment opportunities, and changing demographics as there is a hidden exodus of people all over the country moving trying to find a sustainable way to live. 


Imagine what will happen to the already existing and currently expanding anti-capitalist demonstration being enacted across the country. Fueled to a large extent by liberal, leftist and union groups (sorry for being redundant) a hotter catalyst for these demonstrations, who currently only have a vague point, could be the
financial collapse of one or two middle to large sized population centers.

Some of these high population dense centers are going to cause follow on problems for outlying communities from any number of reasons: refugee traffic; collapsed logistics chains of supply from warehousing areas or supply distribution centers; utilities breakdown on water, electrical, consumer vehicle fuels or natural gas; and increased crime.

If you are near any of the nine population centers listed above you should be weighing the risks and possible threat streams. If you are near ANY population centers you should do the same.