Monthly Archives: July 2014

Ebola Bio Kits Deployed to National Guard Units In All 50 States

The Department of Defense informed Congress that it has deployed biological diagnostic systems to National Guard support teams in all 50 states, according to a report published by the Committee on Armed Services. The report, published in April amid growing fears that the Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus might spread outside of West Africa, says that the portable systems are designed for “low probability, high consequence” scenarios.

Some 340 Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS) units have thus far been given to emergency response personnel. The systems are “rapid, reliable, and [provide] simultaneous identification of specific biological agents and pathogens,” says executive officer for the DOD’s Chemical and Biological Defense group Carmen J. Spencer.

The Chemical and Biological Defense Program has sharpened the DoD diagnostics portfolio by increasing the capability of our fielded system, some 340 of which have been provided to the Military Services.

The Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System is a portable system capable of rapid, reliable, and simultaneous identification of specific biological agents and pathogens. By partnering with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Food and Drug Administration, we have made accessible additional diagnostic assays for high consequence, low probability biological threat agents for use during declared public health emergencies.

This collaboration has facilitated the availability of viral hemorrhagic fever diagnostic assays for use during a declared emergency and adds previously unavailable preparedness capabilities to this fielded system.


To address the need for a near term capability to combat emerging threat materials, we have already provided Domestic Response Capability kits to the National Guard weapons of mass destruction civil support teams resident in all 50 states.

These kits provide emerging threat mitigation capability that includes detection, personnel protection, and decontamination.

Full Congressional Report via POTR

According to manufacturer BioFire Diagnostics, the JBAID is capable of detecting a variety of infectious disease targets including Anthrax, Plague, Ricin, and various forms of influenza. The detection kits sent to National Guard units also include hemorrhagic fever detection capabilities, giving the military the ability to identify potential infections in as little as thirty minutes:

The ruggedized JBAIDS is an open platform that analyzes 32 samples in 30 minutes and is deployed in field hospitals, mobile analytical labs, shipboard medical labs, food and water safety test centers, research labs, and other mobile scenarios.


(Pictured: Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System)

The Ebola threat recently popped up on the global radar when an infected individual traveled via airplane from Liberia to Nigeria’s capital of Lagos, alarming bio-specialists who say it could just be a plane ride away from U.S. shores.

As noted by Steve Quayle, Department of Defense planners had already taken steps to deliver the biodetectors to the National Guard before April of this year, suggesting that, while no infection of Ebola in North America has been confirmed, the military is already taking precautions.

The military has response plans in place for national emergency events that could include anything from a pandemic outbreak to economic collapse, both of which could lead to civil unrest.

Video Update (Provided by POTR)

It is unclear how real or imminent the threat may be, but it is clear that a massive surge of Governmental spending and preparedness has occurred since Hemorrhagic H7N9 Bird Flu came on the scene in 2013 and those preparedness activities are accelerating as EBOLA has started to gain momentum in Africa.


In that regard, spotting the field use of the biomedical equipment shown below is an extremely strong indicator that a Biodefense operation is underway. Pay special attention to the JBAIDS device shown below, its presence at any medical or field facility is prima facie evidence of a high risk medical event of disastrous proportion.

 


 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan

L.A. Officials To Send Homeless To Internment Camps: Will Be Implanted With RFID Chips

An anonymous source claiming to work inside of the Los Angeles Department of Health Services recently dropped a bombshell that could set a dangerous new precedent in how the government deals with those they find to be a burden or threat to a stable society.

In a report penned by Paul Joseph Watson, the whistleblower says that Los Angeles County is preparing to round up and forcibly house homeless citizens in detention facilities referred to internally by department employees as “FEMA Camps,” though the source says that they have been instructed to refer to the detention areas as “low cost housing” facilities.

According to the source, law enforcement teams will soon be rounding up homeless individuals on the streets, checking them into the facilities, and detaining them indefinitely for “their own health and safety.” What may be even more alarming, however, is that the government is reportedly planning on embedding these individuals with RFID chips presumably to track their whereabouts.

The program is focused around removing or relocating homeless people from the streets of downtown L.A., starting with Skid Row.

“We will approach them on the street asking if they need or want help usually offering food to get their direct attention, if they come into the office it makes our jobs twice as efficient,” said the supervisor.

“In most cases the decision is already made for them unless they become combative or belligerent in which case we send them in for a 72 hour psych evaluation and then transfer them while under sedation or heavy medication to the “facility.”

The supervisor stressed that the program would be “humane,” that it would help clean up the streets, and that the citizens being processed into the housing units would receive medical treatment, an RFID chip, room and board, but that “they cannot leave.”

The supervisor elaborated that the facility was not a prison, but that its population would be kept there “for their own health and safety.”

The whistleblower points to a page on the Department of Health Services official website which details how “roving teams” will help “provide short-term housing with health oversight to homeless DHS patients who are recovering from an acute illness or injury or have conditions that would be exacerbated by living on the street or in shelters.”

Full Report at Infowars

Many Americans will no doubt support these facilities because it’ll “clean up” their neighborhoods, making them safer and eliminating an eyesore. They won’t even blink about people being forcibly rounded up, drugged, detained and tracked like animals, so long as it happens out of view of their Utopia.

The government will, no doubt, hail the successes of such a program and will likely look to expand it to other cities and perhaps even to larger segments of the population.

One hypothetical scenario that could be imagined is that as more and more dangerous individuals are added to domestic terror watchlists, the government will look to intern suspected terrorists and their associates in such facilities, for their own health and safety of course.

The White House recently approved a substantial expansion of terrorist watchlists, which already boasts a threat list that includes hundreds of thousands of Americans. Under the recently declassified guidelines, being added to a watchlist requires no “concrete facts” or “irrefutable evidence.” The guidelines go so far as to grant broad powers to White House administration officials to unilaterally add not only individuals, but entire “categories of people” to the lists.

One possible future envisions a scenario where specific “categories” of people are identified as dangerous to the public and, like the homeless, are rounded up for internment.

The dangers of such facilities and the means by which they will be populated if this is the actual plan in Los Angeles are a blaring warning sign that should be heeded by all Americans.

To paraphrase the poem by Martin Niemöller about the cowardice of Germans in the face of mass roundups – when they came for the homelesss, I did not speak out because I was not homeless...

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: shtfplan

Ebola Outbreaks: Two Americans Now Infected

Fear is growing around the globe after the Ebola Virus has spread to at least four West African countries and infected two American aid workers this week.


Doctors decontaminating after treating patients with Ebola

An American doctor and a U.S. aid worker helping to fight an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa are now infected with disease. Even more troubling, is how our government allowed the doctor’s family back into the U.S., despite the fact that they were living with the doctor during a period where he may have already had the virus.

Although American health officials are denying the family is infected, they were living with the doctor right before he fell ill. Ebola can be present in the body 21 days before the symptoms first show, so the fact that our government is so carelessly allowing these healthcare workers and their families to come and go from these infected areas is troubling to say the least.

Ebola can have up to a 90 percent fatality rate, which makes its spread throughout Africa something our health care officials need to take a little more seriously, especially since we have healthcare workers flying back and forth from these infected areas.

There is no vaccine and no known cure for Ebola, which causes vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding.

Are American Health Officials doing enough to protect us?

The only way to really stop Ebola from spreading is to find and isolate everyone who has come into contact with it, so why our government is allowing healthcare workers who are treating these patients back into the country without a quarantine period is a bit perplexing.

MERS Outbreak another major cause for Concern

At the same time, a number of countries in the Middle East are dealing with an outbreak of MERS, a deadly virus first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 that has a mortality rate of 30%. Just like with the Ebola Virus, U.S. health officials seem to be taking a wait and see approach instead of taking measures to ensure the virus doesn’t reach the U.S.

Earlier this year, the Obama administration said they were closely monitoring the MERS outbreak in the Middle East. But just like with Ebola, they have done nothing to stop healthcare workers who are treating these patients from coming back into the U.S.

Because of the influx of international and U.S. healthcare workers into these areas, world health officials say there’s a good chance MERS and Ebola could hitch a ride on workers as they return home. from the infected areas.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: offgridsurvival

Delivered By Airplane: Ebola Now Threatens 21 Million People In Major Metro Area– ALERT

In January the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the next plane could bring a pandemic.

At the time, they were referring to highly contagious strains of deadly flu virus, but in reality any killer virus could travel around the globe in less than a day.

In March we warned that the deadly Ebola virus, which kills upwards of 85% of its victims, was spreading at an alarming pace in West Africa. It was so serious that governments in the region had locked down their borders. The following month in April, officials in the U.S. and Canada were alerted that the virus may have made its way to North America, though no follow-up information was provided after the initial report. Then, just last month, the World Health Organization issued a dire warning – Ebola could go global.

Despite these warnings and the fact that over 650 people are confirmed dead by medical officials in Africa, global governments failed to take any significant action. Flights out of West Africa were still being allowed to leave without any real screening procedures, even though medical professionals in the region had warned that containment of the virus was spiraling out of control.

Now, amid the highly publicized infection of a leading Ebola doctor, the first case of the virus travelling aboard a commercial passenger airline has been confirmed.

Nigerian health authorities raced to stop the spread of Ebola on Saturday after a man sick with one of the world’s deadliest diseases brought it by plane to Lagos, Africa’s largest city with 21 million people.

The fact that the traveler from Liberia could board an international flight also raised new fears that other passengers could take the disease beyond Africa due to weak inspection of passengers and the fact Ebola’s symptoms are similar to other diseases.

Officials in the country of Togo, where the sick man’s flight had a stopover, also went on high alert after learning that Ebola could possibly have spread to a fifth country.

Screening people as they enter the country may help slow the spread of the disease, but it is no guarantee Ebola won’t travel by airplane, according to Dr. Lance Plyler, who heads Ebola medical efforts in Liberia for aid organization Samaritan’s Purse.

“Unfortunately the initial signs of Ebola imitate other diseases, like malaria or typhoid,” he said.

As always, government officials did nothing until it was too late.

Perhaps the death of the Liberian Ebola patient was an isolated incident.

However, the plane on which he traveled stopped for a layover where other passengers disembarked and then headed to Africa’s most populated city of 21 million residents.

If this man came into contact with just one or two others who then mixed with the rest of the population, it’s quite possible that scores of others are now infected. Because the symptoms during the onset of the virus are similar to a flu, by the time infected individuals realize what is happening it’s too late – too late for them, and for those who they came into contact with.

The virus may not be airborne, and because of its genetic profile it may not spread as quickly as a flu virus, but with its possible exposure to a population of 21 million people there is a distinct possibility that Ebola may mutate into something even more contagious.

While the United States claims to have screening procedures ready, at this point, with global air carriers using numerous hubs to transfer passengers, it is becoming more and more likely that the virus will eventually make an appearance in North America.

For the time being there are no active procedures being implemented to screen passengers from West Africa. If the virus were to arrive in the United States via an airplane, the infected person could easily come into contact with scores of other people who would jet off to various destinations around the country.

If that were to happen, all bets are off.

Tess Pennington, author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, says that Preparing for a Pandemic before information about it hits the news is absolutely essential:

When the pandemic begins, many will remain in a state of denial about any approaching epidemics and not want to think of the long lasting repercussions of such a disaster. Being prepared before the mass come out of their daze will ensure that you are better prepared before the hoards run to the store to stock up.

Ebola could potentially end up all over the United States within a matter of hours, a situation that would very quickly become untenable for medical emergency response teams.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: shtfplan

 

Keeping your family safe – PLANNING FOR THE OBVIOUS

Knowing what local threats are all around you is the most important step in your path toward preparedness. This step requires some research and study, for the area immediately around your home or business, and for the larger region where you are located, in your county, state, or region. It should be repeated if you move around often, or if you decide to relocate to a safer place.

Don’t take your surroundings lightly. Situational awareness is the most basic of all preparedness and survival planning. You don’t walk into a known crime ridden area in the dark, unless you’re not paying attention to crime rates, signs, news, or any other warning bells around you. In many daily activities, you are doing the equivalent of heading into dark places, unless you make the personal decision to act safely, with every part of your life. The warnings are everywhere. You just need to see them for what they are.

One of the most important senses you have as a human is your sight.  Understanding what you’re seeing, with every waking moment, is what will always give you the best chance of living through any disaster. This means heads-up, eyes-up, and looking where you are going. Use what God gave you, to live a happier, healthier, and longer life.

Nature can trick you, thrill you, enthrall you…and then kill you. It’s a fact of life. But, nature is not the only threat out there. Understanding what you’re seeing is most important, but that comes from real world experience, personal study, or knowledge from other sources. When it comes to your family, you really want to know and understand what the real threats are. It might be nature, it could be mechanical failure, or it may be your fellow man, coming to take what you have…just because.

Think for a moment…during the March 11, 2011 Japan mega-quake and subsequent tsunami, do you think that the Japanese drivers in vehicles closest to the coastline could comprehend what they saw through their windshields as cars, buildings, bridges, and boats begin moving toward them in a massive wall of swirling water and debris?

No one, except those who paid attention to the events from the Sumatra quake in 2005, would understand that at that very moment, their lives depended on how fast they could turn around and get the hell out of the way seeking higher ground.

Visit YouTube and research those two quakes, the wreckage they caused, and what you would want to understand as a trigger point for you to take immediate evasive action, should you see the same thing heading your way. Now, repeat that same investigation for every single natural or technical hazard that can occur exactly where you live. I like to call this exercise “preparedness due diligence”. Not taking the time to understand real world events, means you are that much closer to not surviving when that disaster comes to your town.

The most obvious things that Preppers think of when making lifestyle changes due to threats is natural disasters. Other threats are often more mundane, such as travel, workplace safety, bad habits, crime, and a huge potential list of everyday technical breakdowns in industry, infrastructure, and government control.

NATURAL HAZARDS

There are many good sources online to check for local and regional natural and technological hazards. One FEMA publication, Risks and Hazards, State by State (FEMA-196 …right click to download) gives you a great head start for learning about the most likely natural hazards, as well as some historical context for cold war nuclear targets for every state…a rare document to be sure. A visit to your local emergency management office can also provide you with specific natural hazards that are possible in your area. Your local library can also help you find out more.

Using some simple research methods, even Google Maps or Google Earth can give you a bird’s eye view of your city and neighborhood for potential flooding, landslide, technological threats, wild fire, and other types of disasters. Think of the lay of the land around your city…the topography and watershed…the rivers, streams, and drainage ditches. Floods are going to be your most common disaster, but you need to know when, where and why. Earthquakes can occur anywhere in the nation, covered from coast to coast with thousands of fault lines. San Andreas, New Madrid, and many other historical fault lines are well known. Thousands more are not.

Flooding, and many other kinds of natural threats, like to travel downhill. Severe storms can occur anywhere or anytime, from severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, straight line winds, lightning storms, hail, flash floods, and everything else. These thunderstorms occur where cold fronts from the north and west of the continent hit the warm, moist air of Atlantic, Pacific, or Gulf Coast high pressure areas. That is a vast area of millions of square miles in the heart of our nation.

As you begin to research your local natural and man-made hazards, you want to think about the entire range of threats, dependent on exactly where you live. Are you near a coastline? 80% of Americans live within 100 miles of the oceans. Are you near any rivers or major streams or watersheds? Are you in a mountainous area? Winter time events can create killer avalanches, ice jams in rivers, killer sub-freezing cold and wind, and all kinds of threats, especially in most mountains across the west.  Flash floods, huge out of control wild fires, and more usually start in the mountains, before heading down into civilization.

Live near any volcanic regions? Remember Mt. St. Helens and the widespread damage it created coast to coast in 1980?  One catastrophic natural hazard event can kills thousands, and affect millions. Mt. St. Helens provided a tremendous learning opportunity of what a volcano does before it explodes. But, when it exploded, we learned the hard way, even after massive historical events like Krakatoa, Pompeii, or the Toba event some 70,000 years ago, in an eruption which very nearly killed off mankind, that exploding volcanoes are DEADLY.

We were reminded, live and on TV, that volcanoes do kill hundreds of people every year, all over the world. In May 1980, we all had ring side seats to a national calamity. Nature likes to repeat itself…often.

SEVERE STORMS

Are you in an area that has very active and severe weather? Tornadoes happen with great regularity in certain areas of the nation, but have occurred in every state, on every day of the year, from sea level to 11,000 feet above sea level (an F-4 hit Yellowstone many years ago on a mountain top). Here in Wyoming, in the least populated state, nestled in the Rockies, we’ve had 6 tornadoes during the month of May 2014, due to monsoonal rains, and wind sheer caused by geological factors in the east half of the state, mainly the foothills of the Rockies in the middle of the state leveling out into the flat plains of the great plains of the United States. The closest twister to me? 10 miles to the north, in open country. Wow. I moved across the country to get away from tornadoes in 2000.

Our nation’s biggest threat, over the long term? Yellowstone. But, it isn’t exploding, spewing lava, or killing everyone in the nation with a 20 foot ash fall at this precise moment in time. I think we’ve got a long time before the next audition for “Best. Disaster. Ever.”

It’s been 640,000 years since the last caldera eruption, 70,000 years since the last lava flowed, and 55 years since the last major earthquake in the park, with the 1959 Hebgen Lakequake registering a 7.5, and creating Earthquake Lake on the Madison River, in an event that caused a huge landslide, killed 28, and left $11 million (1959 US$, $74.1 million 2006 US$) in damage. In the big picture, I think we have at least another 1,000 years before we have to consider relocating out of state. In other words, Yellowstone is NOT a current threat.

Important note here…if a huge earthquake right in the heart of Yellowstone did not instigate the entire caldera exploding…what do you think it will take to cause the caldera to blow?  Something to think of.

Hurricanes have caused incredible regional destruction along the gulf coast and eastern seaboard lately, such as Katrina, Sandy, Andrew, and many more. The most powerful typhoon ever measured, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, destroyed vast portions of the main islands last year (November 2013), and as of the time of this writing, has a current death toll of 6,201 dead and 1700 missing, FIVE times the number of deaths of Katrina. 14.1 million people were affected, and 4.1 million people displaced. Utter devastation. And, it could happen here, in the US…at any point in the future.

This nation has approximately 95,471 miles of coastline. Every foot of that coastline is potentially going to be affected by hurricanes, storm surges, or typhoons, at some point in the future.

UNNATURAL HAZARDS

There are also plenty of threats that aren’t natural hazards, but still occur with alarming regularity. Transportation incidents (train wrecks, highway pileups, airliner crashes, etc.), infrastructure disasters (power grid issues, water plant breakdowns, crumbling roads and bridges, dam breaks, home and business fires, water main breaks, sewer system backups, and so many more), technological breakdowns (internet threats, cut optic or communication lines, computer meltdowns, food delivery system snafus, data corruption, etc) and many more threats occur with everyday, all over the nation.

Interstate highway interchanges allow the nation’s food, fuel, and retail and wholesale goods to travel anywhere, but on any given day, there are almost 15,000 vehicle accidents. Let me repeat that…15,000 wrecks A DAY. How many of those are tractor/trailer rigs, huge 40 ton rolling metal storehouses of our daily needs, traveling between 60 and 80 miles an hour, every hour of every day?   Someone not paying attention is usually the beginning of the end.

When highways cross and allow shifting from one road to another, tens of thousands of vehicles are crossing paths, sometimes at the same time, giving us that huge number of daily accidents.  The image of burning wreckage below happened recently along a 2 lane county highway 40 miles from nearby Interstate 80, in an small crossroads call Baroil, Wyoming.

Two semi-trucks collided head on, killing both drivers, and shutting down that highway for three days, because one of the semis was carrying hot oil, which is what you see burning in the picture. The driver at fault was inattentive to traffic, and was following too close. When the car in front of him slowed down to turn off the highway, he went around and crossed the line, straight into another massive truck heading the opposite direction. Combined speed of the two trucks was over 100 miles an hour.

Imagine that in your backyard or neighborhood. Not good.  Small accidents dent fenders and break glass. Large ones explode like bombs, normally at intersections, overpasses, and sometimes the ditch by the road. Inattention to traffic is the leading cause of injuries and death to all Americans, and little things like texting, or looking away from the road, for even a few seconds, can result in life altering events.

BOTTOM LINE – HERE’S YOUR TAKEAWAY…

Situational Awareness. All day, every day. The smallest thing can injure or kill. Poisonous bugs and spiders under your bed. Snakes and other reptiles out in your yard and neighborhood. The occasional supercell severe thunderstorm. Not coming to a full stop at a stop sign or red light. Leaving a worn power cord for your power tool or bedroom night stand to fray and short out. Not doing regular maintenance to your car or truck. Allergies to food or medicines. Driving around train crossing barriers or traffic blocades. Not watching traffic as you stand on the sidewalk. So much more. Being on the wrong bus, train, plane, or boat, when the operator has a bad day, or one of his trusted mechanics leaves just the wrong bolt off an engine or wheel.

Preparedness starts with the very basics of everyday life. Only after you’ve got that under control, can you even begin to prepare for the huge, deadly scenarios that exist in our current society, covered so well by main stream media…in real time…live and in living color. Doomsday Preppers give us ideas of possibilities, but not necessarily probabilities. It’s up to each of us to do our own homework, and prepare for the most likely threats in our families lives.

Invest the time now, to have a longer and safer life later. Don’t become a victim of the obvious. Ever.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: survivalring


Preppers Checklist : 10 Things To Do Now!

No matter how much I beg, some of you, no doubt haven’t done anything to prepare (you know who you are). I don’t know what else to do. All I can do is give you the information, it’s up to you to act. No one can do it for you. No doubt some of you are intimidated by my repeated suggestions of storing and using whole grains and beans. If it doesn’t come from the supermarket shelf it’s strange and unfamiliar and you want no part of it. Fair enough.

But you still need to prepare. Here are ten things that you can do now that will make you better prepared than 90% of the population. And everything is available at your local shopping center – so it’s easy.

You can do all ten steps at once or divide each into a separate week and shopping trip. But you need to get it done as soon as possible. Keep in mind that this is only a starting point and isn’t presented here as a completed list.

1. Head to the nearest Wal-Mart, Kmart, Costco or whatever and pick-up 20 lbs. of white or brown rice and 20 lbs. of pinto beans. White rice has a better storage life while brown rice has more nutritional benefits – your choice.

2. While you’re there grab 5 lbs. mixed beans, 5 lbs. of white sugar, 5 lbs. of iodized salt, one gallon of olive oil (can be frozen to extend shelf-life), 5 lbs. oats, 10 lbs. each of white or wheat flour and cornmeal.

3. Now head over to the canned foods and pick-up 20 cans of canned fruits and 20 cans of canned vegetables. Be sure to buy only those brands and contents you normally eat and nothing exotic. No need to shock the senses.

4. Now over to the canned meats. Pick-up 20 cans of various meats, salmon, stews, spam and tuna. Again buy only those brands with contents you normally eat and nothing exotic.

5.
Okay. Now to the to the peanut butter shelf and toss two 40-ounce jars in the cart. The listed shelf life is just over two years and each jar has over 6,000 calories. Peanut butter is an excellent instant survival food.

6. Over to the powdered drink mix – go on I’ll wait…Okay, pick up two 72 Ounce Tang Orange drink canisters (provides 100% of the US RDA vitamin C requirement per 8 oz. glass). Also grab six 19-Ounce Containers of Kool-Aid Drink Mix.

7. Off to the vitamin and supplement aisle, pick up 400 tablets “one a day” multivitamin and mineral supplements. I buy this brand at the local Wal-Mart – comes in 200 count bottle for $8 each.

8.
Now to the department we all love – sporting goods. Go to the camping aisle and pick up 4 five gallon water containers. Fill with tap water as soon as you get back home.

9. While you’re there buy 250 rounds of ammunition for your primary defensive weapon. More if you can, but this will be a good start. Also a good universal cleaning kit.

10. And lastly pick up the best LED flashlight you can afford, extra batteries and bulb. Also grab two boxes of wooden matches and several multi-purpose lighters. Don’t forget to date, use and rotate – remember first in first out. Let’s get started.

 

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: thesurvivalistblog

3 Things Your Family Should Know, When Mom and Dad Can’t Help

Moms do a lot. In fact, I think my mom deceived me growing up! I had NO clue how much Moms really did. The list never ends, the house is in constant disarray, and someone is whining at any given moment (at least in my house).

About the only thing that scares me more than my kids, is the thought of what they would do without their mom (or me). As much as I hope and pray I will be there for them at any given moment, which may not always be the case.

This year I’ve definitely had a awakening as I’ve witnessed a teenager lose her mom to cancer, a young mother die after giving birth to her 2nd child, and the most tragic event of all happened when a family of 7 was attacked leaving only one survivor.

Fortunately these instances are rare, but at the same time, what if something did happen to my family’s mom (or me) and she couldn’t be there to help my family? What would I want them to know? Be able to do? Or even remember about me?

Here are a few things I thought of!

3 Things Your Family Should Know When Mom Can’t Help:

– Where Important Items are Located

Knowing where things are located might seem obvious, but I’m surprised how often a husband can’t find things, usually because mom move things around and forget to tell him.

So I encourage you to think of all the important items your family needs to know about and take them on a tour of your house. You can even use inventory sheets or make a map of your house if it helps, just keep it in a safe place.

Here are a few of the items I made sure to point out in our home tour:

– How to do Things for Themselves

I really am trying to make sure my kids have real-world skills into their lives, instead of just virtual ones.

I believe one of the greatest gifts you can give to their children is to teach them how to do things for themselves, especially if you’re not there to do it for them. I know it’s a lot easier said than done, but go ahead and try teaching them how to do a few things, if nothing else hopefully they’ll appreciate you more. Maybe eventually, they will be able to do it all and you can kick back and build a few houses on Minecraft too (ok, maybe I’m dreaming; but it is a cool game)

Here are a few things my kids will know how to do (at least in my dreams):

  • Cook (especially with the food I have stored)
  • Garden
  • Pay Bills & Manage Money
  • Clean Anything, especially Toilets
  • Pick-up after themselves
  • Basic Survival Skills (Here’s a list of 48 if you need ideas)

– How Much You Love Them

I know I said earlier it worries me to think of not being there for my kids or more importantly their mom, but I just thought of something even worse – for them to not realize how much we love them!

Does your family know how much you love them? If today was your last day, what would you want them to remember about you?

Here are a few things my wife (our mom) does to try to keep up with so they can always know how much I love them, especially if I’m not here to tell them myself:

You could also do:

 

Remember mom (and dad) is important and you need to make sure we pass good information/skills on in case were not around to help.

 

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: thesurvivalmom

 

Could you stomach these Great Depression meals?

With all the talk about food storage and growing our own food, I did a little digging around to find out what some people ate during America’s Great Depression of the 1930′s.  Surprisingly, a few of these were made by my mother and grandmother, traditions, I’m sure, from a more frugal era.  I still have a soft spot for Chipped Beef on Toast!  How many of these are familiar to you, and do you have any others to add to the list?

Milk toast

Chipped beef on toast

Cucumber and mustard sandwiches

Mayonnaise sandwiches

Ketchup sandwiches

Hot milk and rice

Turtle/tortoise

Gopher

Potato soup – water base, not milk

Dandelion salad

Lard sandwiches

Bacon grease sandwiches

Sugar sandwiches

Hot dogs and baked beans

Road kill

One eyed Sam – piece of bread with an easy over egg in the center

Oatmeal mixed with lard

Fried potatoes and hot dogs

Onion sandwich – slices of onion between bread

Tomato gravy and biscuits

Deep fried chicken skin

Cornbread in milk

Gravy and bread – as a main dish

Toast with mashed potatoes on top with gravy

Creamed corn on toast

Corn mush with milk for breakfast, fried corn mush for dinner

Squirrel

Rice in milk with some sugar

Beans

Fried potato peel sandwiches

Banana slices with powdered sugar and milk

Boiled cabbage

Hamburger mixed with oatmeal

American cheese sandwich, ‘American’ cheese was invented because it was cheap to make, and didn’t require refrigeration that may or may not exist back then.

Tomato gravy on rice

Toast with milk gravy

Water fried pancakes

Chicken feet in broth

Fried bologna

Warm canned tomatoes with bread

Butter and sugar sandwiches

Fried potato and bread cubes

Bean soup

Runny eggs with grits

Butter and grits with sugar and milk

Baked apples

Sliced boiled pork liver on buttered toast (slice liver with potato peeler)

Corn meal mush

Spaghetti with tomato juice and navy beans

Whatever fish or game you could catch/hunt

Tomato sandwiches

Hard boiled eggs in white sauce over rice

Spam and noodles with cream of mushroom soup

Rag soup: spinach, broth and lots of macaroni

Garbanzo beans fried in chicken fat or lard, salted, and eaten cold

Popcorn with milk and sugar – ate it like cereal

Lessons learned from this list?  Stock up on ingredients for bread, including buckets of wheat.  Bread, in some form, is one of the main ingredients for many of these meals.  Second, know how to make different types of bread.  Next, have chickens around as a source for meat and eggs, and if possible, have a cow or goat for milk.  Another lesson is to have a garden that will provide at least some fresh produce, and plant fruit trees and bushes.  Finally, don’t waste anything, even chicken feet!

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: thesurvivalmom

Six maps you need for an urban evacuation

Guest post by Leon Pantenburg

Let’s assume an urban disaster scenario, and you must leave quickly. How will you find your way? What maps do you need?

We’re talking about the printed, paper in hand type. Don’t plan to rely on a GPS. They are as reliable as their batteries, and constant use could mean the unit is soon powerless. Also, any electronic device can break or just quit working.

So before you worry about maps, get a good compass. I prefer one with a clear baseplate that is designed to work on maps. Invest in a good one with declination settings, and then learn how to use it. The smaller compasses that come with some survival kits are only useful as backups and for giving a general direction.

Here are the maps you need:

City map: Your evacuation will start with this map, so get one with the finest detail possible. This map can help you figure out alternative street evacuation routes if bridges and/or overpasses are closed. Also, gridlock on major highways and freeways is a given, so you might need to plot a course around them.

Topographical map: A topo map is a three-dimensional view of an area. Looking at it, you can get an idea of the terrain.

According to the Geospatial and Analysis Cooperative of Idaho State University: “The concept of a topographic map is, on the surface, fairly simple. Contour lines placed on the map represent lines of equal elevation above (or below) a reference datum.

Topographical maps show the terrain features of an area.

“To visualize what a contour line represents, picture a mountain (or any other topographic feature) and imagine slicing through it with a perfectly flat, horizontal piece of glass. The intersection of the mountain with the glass is a line of constant elevation on the surface of the mountain and could be put on a map as a contour line for the elevation of the slice above a reference datum.”

I have the National Geographic mapping software for Oregon, so I create a custom topo map for every outing. I print them out on standard-sized letter or legal-sized paper. These sizes fold nicely in half and fit in a quart Ziploc plastic bag. This bag, in turn, rides in the thigh pocket of my BDU pants. The map is easy to pull out and check, which means it will be.

During an urban evacuation, you might need to go cross-country through a park or open space to avoid crowds or other potential dangers. The city map gives street details, but it may not show water obstacles or other physical barriers. With your topo and compass, you should be able to plot a course effectively.

State Highway map: This gives the big picture of your situation. It shows major highways and roads, and gives general directions. It could be useful for figuring out where to go once you get away from the urban scene.

Forest Service map: I carry this in my car in central Oregon. Commonly referred to as a fire road map, this is a large overview of the national forests and public lands. Most importantly, it shows fire and logging roads. The map doesn’t show if the roads are improved or not, so don’t depend on this map to tell you if you can drive on it. In some instances, the roads may have overgrown into trails. You may be able to hike or ATV them in the summer, or, in the winter, snowshoe or operate a snowmobile.

These maps help you figure alternative routes in wilderness areas. Assuming you make it to a wilderness area, a good compass, this map, and the appropriate topos will be worth their weight in gold.

These four maps should help you get out of town.

Here are some others that could also prove to be useful:

History maps: I buy any historical map I come across. Some of them, such as the Oregon Trail or Lewis and Clark maps, show routes used by historical figures. While the trails may be obscure right now, that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful. Overland pioneer routes were established because wagons or pack trains could travel on them. Those trails might be a good thing to know at some point.

River charts: My fishing obsession and map nerd-ism combine again with these charts. Every navigable river in the United States has detailed charts showing river terrain, danger areas, and topography of the stream. These charts allow a traveler to plan a river evacuation or trip. I carried a set of Mississippi River charts on my end-to-end journey in 1980. It was easy to plan overnight stops, or decide where to pull out.

On smaller streams, the maps can show take-out points, landings, and water dangers.

Hunting maps: Put out by your state fish and wildlife departments, these are useful to anyone who goes into the wilderness areas. I carry one to see the boundaries of my hunting unit, road closures, and the terrain, to some extent.

None of these maps are of any value if you don’t know how to read and use them. A good training activity including some exercise could be to take your compass and maps, create a possible evacuation scenario and practice navigating somewhere using alternate routes, streets and cross country travel.

So check out these maps, practice with your compass, and give some thought to how you might get out of town if you had to.

For more info on land navigation, visit Staying Found.

Also check out:

Orienteering series

Why Should I Learn Map Reading?

The Pace Count

The Pace Count 2

Using the Pace Count

Parts of the Lensatic Compass

Understanding the Topographic Map

Discussion of Grid and Magnetic Azimuths

Converting Azimuths

 

 

About Leon Pantenburg

As a journalist for three decades, covering search and rescue, sheriff’s departments, natural disasters and outdoor emergencies, Leon Pantenburg learned many people die unnecessarily or escape miraculously in outdoor emergency situations. Leon now teaches common sense techniques to the average person in order to avert potential disasters. His emphasis is on tried and tested, simple techniques of wilderness survival on SurvivalCommonsense.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: thesurvivalmom

 

Sheepdog’s Prayer

I came to this through the USCCA and would like to send out special thanks for sharing this with us. I thought it deserved to be shared. To see the prayer with Tim Schmidt’s comments join the USCCA.

There is one thing I would like to add to it though. It mentions our LE and military brethren specifically as the sheepdogs. I would include those of us who have taken up the defense of our families and neighbors, the family of Concealed Carry.

 

The Sheepdog’s Prayer

The Knights of Old were Men of Honor

Who used their Might For Right!
Today they’re known as Sheepdogs,
Those who carry on the fight.

I am a tired old Sheepdog,
The guardian of my flock.
I keep the predators at bay
And stand watch around the clock.

Please stop the Sheep from pulling my teeth.

I’ll need them for the fight,
When the hungry Wolves come calling
Some dark and deadly night.

I pray I’ll never need my gun,
But someday if I do,
May my cause be just!
My draw be quick!
And my aim be ever true!

Heaven holds a special place
For those who do the deed,
Defenders of the innocent
In their hour of need.

May the Sheep someday be grateful.
There’s a debt they can not pay
To the Sheepdogs who lay it on the line
Each and every day.

I am proud to be a Sheepdog.
I’ve done my very best.
I’ll stand my watch until my Maker
Calls me home to rest.

But when I meet St. Peter
There’s just one request I’ll make,

“Please let me spend Eternity
Standing guard at Heaven’s Gate”.

Lord, help us bring this ”Age of Sheep”
To a rapid end.
Then fill this land with Sheepdogs,
Men of Honor, once again.

This prayer is dedicated
To those who bravely face,
The dangers all around us,
To make our world a safer place.

To the soldiers, cops and warriors-
Sheepdogs through and through.
Thank you for your service
And your sacrifices too.

Amen