# This is kinda scary...



## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

I got James Wesley Rawles How to survive TEOTWAWKI yesterday,
and took a look at his website Survivalblog.
Saw this article.

Three Letters Re: Four Great Preparedness Myths - SurvivalBlog.com

Does anyone agree with this guy,or any opinions?

BTW,great book if you don't have it.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

There have been quite a few threads about Rawles' stuff and his blog posted on here. Some of his stuff is "far-fetched" in and some of it is right on the money.

Jerry D. Young has written alot of stories - some that are far-fetched that can make you think beyond your normal comfort-zone and some have basis in reality showing what has actually happened and how the characters have responded.

What we should all take from the writings is that there are many levels of "survival" and each of us need to figure out where that level is within our comfort-level.

I don't know how comfortable I would be shooting someone else, but, I am comfortable creating deterrants that will make someone think twice about trying to take something that I worked hard to attain. The deterrants could be as simple as a "mess" that others would not be willing to traverse while they try to carry supplies and trip-up (think: left-over drilling-pipe criss-crossed partially hidden in deep grass). I am not thinking of having bear-traps set along my perimeter even though it might be kinda fun to do.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

Thanks for posting that. Good reading, and a lot of good defense ideas for one's property. 

I especially liked this part: "A study of history shows that most sieges were unsuccessful because the besieging force ran out of supplies. And remember, these people are hungry and desperate to start with, if they cannot rapidly gain control of your homestead they will probably be forced to move on to a more easily conquered target."

We need to be able to hold out longer than the besieging force. There was so much good info farther down on easy-to-make ways to take out a bunch of them before they get to you, that I saved it to my computer so I'd have it handy even without the internet.

I like what NaeKid wrote about making them think twice. If I can stop them and turn them back before they get here, that would be the most desirable. 

Ragnar Benson, in one of his books, said something to the effect that we should look like no one of interest and like we have nothing they want.


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

For those of us in town that can't set up barriers to any great
extent due to zoning regs and such,and can't afford to purchase
a BOL at this point,any suggestions?
Buy razor wire and sandbags and garage them for now?
I'm like you,I think I'll probably have qualms about taking another
life unless it's a "him or me" or a family member type situation.
And I'm sure I'd be a basket case for sometime afterward.I love
the Rambo attitude I read about on the boards all the time,wish 
I had it,not there yet.
On second thought,I hope I never get it.


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

Edited for stupidity.


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

Ok,newb mistake.
The blog entry I wanted to post was this.Sorry.
Four Great Preparedness Myths, by Dan B. - SurvivalBlog.com


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

One of the very first things we were taught in infantry training in the Marine Corps was that "any fixed position can be taken IF you can pay the price and are willing to do so."

The best defense will be the one that makes the price for taking your position too high. 

If you're going against the military, forget it. They'll just call in an air strike or artillery and the fight is over. You'd best have plans to evacuate and live to fight another day.

Non-military units won't have those resources so you may have a chance there. It will depend upon their skill levels, resources and tenacity.

Obstructions such as concertina wire, barbed wire stretched out at knee level, pipes, rocks, logs, old tires, etc. on the ground are designed to slow the enemy's advance to give you time to shoot them. (Or to route them into a kill zone.)

If you have enough trained people have a rapid deployment force that can flank your opponents and kill from the side or behind. It's quite demoralizing to any force, defensive or offensive, to be in a cross-fire.

I used to think being a veteran helped and it does to some extent but quite frankly, being a veteren of the navy or air force is going to leave you somewhat out-of-touch with infantry tactics (which is what you'll need). If you have infantry training or someone in your group who does, get them to teach you and your group basic defensive and offensive techniques. This is the training you'll need (unless you have a war-ship, plane or helicopter in your arsenal). Above all else get a military training manual for basic infantry tactics and study it. You can probably find one to download for free with a little searching.

And finally, always, always, always assume that your enemy is going to be well organized, well trained, well armed, and very tenacious. Then you won't be caught by surprise if they are.


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## mjdoa (May 19, 2010)

Thanks,mosquitomountainman,I'll look around for the manuals,and get the
F-15 tuned up.


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## GroovyMike (Feb 25, 2010)

I think Rawles has his head on straight about most things. But anything can look silly if taken out of context. As far as how to prep TODAY for a SHTF defense - one great idea is a chainlink fence - even a 4 foot one. The tip is to install it upside down so that teh ragged sharp edges of teh fence point up rather than the smooth rounded edge designed so folks can walk along and run their hand over the top without getting hurt. There are a thousand little things like that and replacing your 1/2 inch hinge plate screws with 2 inch screws to better secure your doors. Lots of little stuff adds up to multiple layers of defense.


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## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

mosquitomountainman said:


> I used to think being a veteran helped and it does to some extent but quite frankly, being a veteren of the navy or air force is going to leave you somewhat out-of-touch with infantry tactics (which is what you'll need). If you have infantry training or someone in your group who does, get them to teach you and your group basic defensive and offensive techniques. This is the training you'll need (unless you have a war-ship, plane or helicopter in your arsenal). Above all else get a military training manual for basic infantry tactics and study it. You can probably find one to download for free with a little searching.


Ok. I don't entirely agree with this. I, for example, am a Navy veteran. During my time, I served with NMCB-40 (seabees), the 31st Marines (MEU), several beachmaster units, Special Boat Unit 3, and a VBSS team and CBR-D team aboard the USS Fort McHenry.

I was weapons qualified on the Beretta M9, M-14, M-16a4, Remington 870 shotgun, M-203 grenade launcher, M-79 Grenade Launcher, M-60 machine gun, Browning M2 Machine Gun, Mk. 19 Grenade Launcher, and 25mm Cannon.

I took part in anti-terror operations in Iraq, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Anti-Piracy operations in the Indian Ocean and Strait of Malacca.

Hours of drills in small unit tactics, close-quarters combat, and marksmanship. All of this training and I was only in engineering.

I can't speak for the air force, but how can you say that we veteran sailors are out of touch?


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

allen_idaho said:


> Ok. I don't entirely agree with this. I, for example, am a Navy veteran. During my time, I served with NMCB-40 (seabees), the 31st Marines (MEU), several beachmaster units, Special Boat Unit 3, and a VBSS team and CBR-D team aboard the USS Fort McHenry.
> 
> I was weapons qualified on the Beretta M9, M-14, M-16a4, Remington 870 shotgun, M-203 grenade launcher, M-79 Grenade Launcher, M-60 machine gun, Browning M2 Machine Gun, Mk. 19 Grenade Launcher, and 25mm Cannon.
> 
> ...


I apologize in your case. (I've deleted that part of the post.) It was not meant to be an all-or-nothing statement. There are units of the Navy and people in it who are highly qualified for infantry/ground combat and tactics. I know one Navy WW2 vet who spent his entire time with the Marines island hopping in the Pacific (he was a corpsman). As an engineer I would expect you'd have a lot more training in these areas. Let's not forget the SEALs either.

I've also known quite a few who, while great at their jobs in the Navy, had little training for ground combat. I know some Navy vets who never shot anything other than 22 caliber training rifles while in the Navy. (And they've never claimed to know much about infantry tactics.) Obviously the training levels were quite different for some than others. Even then the discipline, command and other skills they learned in the service will come in handy in a SHTF situation.

It isn't my intent to denigrate any branch of the service. All have done their part in the defense of our nation.


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## allen_idaho (Oct 21, 2009)

The messed up thing about Navy bootcamp is that the don't even use .22 ammo anymore. Now they use this weird laser pistol thing hooked up to an air hose to simulate blowback. I feel sorry for the kids joining up these days. 

But out in the fleet, almost everybody gets some sort of training. Although if they are like sonar technicians or electronics technicians or something like that I could potentially see them not getting any substantial training. So you are right in that respect.


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## rastus1 (Apr 10, 2010)

*James Wesley Rawles*

I check JWRs website every week along with others . He has written that his is not the be-all end-all , but to gather all the info you can , and then make up your own mind . We all must take that responsibility and do what we think is right . I know it's tough , but in the end , we all have to answer for our own actions regardless of others opinions .


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## pdx210 (Jan 8, 2010)

This is one thing I ponder. People in cities aren’t going to stay there when food, water and utilities stop. 75-100 miles from town could be a nightmare. Can you fight them off ..maybe can you stay awake 24/7 ? don’t forget somewhere in that mess maybe a former navy seal, marine don’t think that someone out there can’t have more tactical experience than you 

Perhaps an unobtrusive/ hidden underground bunker ?


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

I agree with the "Nasty biting insect sitting on a hill in MT person" nothing beats training, BUT..if you have nothing else, buy several of the Military Training Manuals, this is where the " how to comes from" nothing can prepare you for the "Been there done that" part, but if you learn the basics and make it thru your first fire fight, you will know more then 90 % of the others out there..

I was shocked last year to realize it had been 50 years since I went off to the Marines, I've learned a lot since then and forgotten more, but it will come back if needed, this I believe.

I read the things in the OP from JWR site , I would point out the Battle for the Warsaw Ghetto for those who think they are helpless, it helps if you already know and accepted that your going to die, once you do that your light years ahead of those your fighting...

I don't think anybody really knows the facts of the Warsaw ghetto fight, but history pretty well agrees that a small bunch of Jews with no training and few weapons kicked the crap out of a lot of SS troops before dying..

I'm sure they were welcomed into Valhalla the day they died..

One can what if things to death , one of my main boogie man thoughts is that anybody can be gotten to, on your farmstead sooner or later your all going to be out there working and one person with a rifle from a few hundred yards can end it for you... this I've thought about for years and outside of having a place on the highest hill around with earth berms to prevent anybody from firing into the area you got a problem...

But as I'm sure MMM will agree, always take the high ground! let the other guy run up hill into the fire...

*The following is an excerpt from a "Fictional story" I'm writing...*

One thing I do advocate, regardless of the silly laws ( and they are) if your MBR's are based on the AR 15 platform, find the parts to convert at least a couple of them, put fluted heavy bbls on them and buy some Beta C drums, yes it's against the law, but if the SHTF that laws out the window, the stuff is all over out there, just don't keep it in your weapon and never where it can be found and keep your mouth shut.

Now I'm sure several of you are going to scream about this ..but realize this, the SHTF, things go to hell in a hand basket, the NG is called out along with the swat teams and the fed LEO's, then it gets so out of hand that they all say screw it and decide to go protect their own families... Do any of you truly believe these folks will go back to their unit armory and turn in their M-16's ? will the SWAT guys and the ATF turn in their MP 5's? no..you know they won't , would you?...SO is it ok for them to basically steal full auto weapons to defend their families while your restricted to your 10-22?

I will say that full auto fire is a waste of ammo for most folks, but the AR I described above will be the closest you can come to a SAW... and with the Beta's it could be the one ace in the hole between them and you watching them murder your family.

Laws are wonderful things, IF they fit the moment, but when the Zombie BG's are crashing your gate a SAW loaded with 100 SS109's just might save the day and your ass...

Yawl do as you wish, OH !! and I'm not saying I have any of these goodies, but I'm sure looking!

" Said the stories Hero and he walked away"...:beercheer:


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