# One man's real experience in Bosnia link to another forum



## on_the_rox (Jul 17, 2011)

I ran accross this on anther forum. It is a great example of an actual urban survival situation by a guy that was there. He has some great insight and it just may change some people's ideas about the importance of some preps. It is a long thread but there is also an associated blog that the guy started. I hope this has not been posted previously and I hope that I am fine just posting the links here.

my shtf expirience-wartime - Survivalist Forum

survive


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## on_the_rox (Jul 17, 2011)

The gist of the story is you need a larger group of 10-20 people to defend, singles are easy targets and are the first to be killed by gangs. You can go on scouting missions at night with 2-3 people. You cannot go out during the day. Small trade items are vital (ammo, flashlights, candles, lighters, antibiotics, hand sanitizer, flint, matches, etc). Vehicles are pretty useless. You should blend in (old clothing, trashed house, look hungry, etc).


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

on_the_rox said:


> The gist of the story is you need a larger group of 10-20 people to defend, singles are easy targets and are the first to be killed by gangs. You can go on scouting missions at night with 2-3 people. You cannot go out during the day. Small trade items are vital (ammo, flashlights, candles, lighters, antibiotics, hand sanitizer, flint, matches, etc). Vehicles are pretty useless. You should blend in (old clothing, trashed house, look hungry, etc).


I was just in Herzegovina talking with some locals who had been involved in the fighting. They said anything less than village level defenses were quickly over run. It just goes to show you that we really do need our neighbors, even if they aren't well prepared.


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## on_the_rox (Jul 17, 2011)

I agree. This guy says he had 15 people in his house and that was a good number, and they were all trusted relatives. He also said that his street became its own territory, pretty much isolated from the other territories. The street community set up armed watches on his street with all of the neighbors pitching in so it really was a little community effort. Hygiene was one of the biggest issues also. He lost two people from his group and those deaths were attributed to hygiene. He also says to have a skill that will be tradable. That was something that could not be taken away or used up. He had medical skills to offer. It does open my eyes.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

Very interesting read... REALLY makes me wish I were back home with family. Depending on SHTF it may be impossible for me to get to them unless I have advance warning of the coming disaster. Family is SOO important.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

Padre said:


> I was just in Herzegovina talking with some locals who had been involved in the fighting. They said anything less than village level defenses were quickly over run. It just goes to show you that we really do need our neighbors, even if they aren't well prepared.


Interesting comment, Padre. I recently read "Lights Out". Although fiction, what you were told makes the story ring more true.


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## Herbalpagan (Dec 8, 2008)

I found his post most interesting. What was even more interesting were the follow up quesitons and concerns and the requests for more details. I think that shows how worried people are about something like this happening!
thanks for posting the link!


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## SurvivalNut (Nov 13, 2008)

rox, thank you for posting the link. VERY informative and I adjusted my thinking cap a bit. 

I would hope if we had such a wonderful asset drop in the midst of our forum we could hold back a bit and manage our questions better than the free-for-all that happened in that forum. I'd have loved to have a few questions answered by a surviving SHTF vet.

I personally want to pull his posts out less all the cross-talk to save for future reading and reference.


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## dirtgrrl (Jun 5, 2011)

Yes incredibly moving and eye-opening. I found myself engrossed in it instead of doing things like sleeping and going to work.

Besides the stuff mentioned above, another couple of things jumped out at me too: #1 There was no "religion" any more. I don't remember him saying whether they (priests, ministers, imams, etc.) were killed, went underground or just gave up, but I do remember him saying it didn't matter. #2 He was profoundly grateful for the help the USA gave them with supply drops and eventually ending the war. I'm grateful to know that my tax dollars have been supporting more than Blackwater and Halliburton. But who is going to make supply drops for us?

And I personally think a lot of the trash talk he got on the forum was due to his story trashing a lot of people's fantasies about what it'll be like. Some believe that all we have to do is get rid of the libruls and homos and the gubberment and it'll be peace on earth the way god intended. Yessiree we'll be obeying the bible and the constitution and everyone will pull their weight.

No offense intended to anyone who believes, but if TSHTF here like it did there, people will be using those sacred texts for toilet paper...


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

What he had to say jibes well with parts of the book by Ragnar Benson, Urban Survival. The only difference I can see is that Ragnar downplays the violence and advocates hiding, as if you can avoid fighting by staying hidden.

I think that's one area where Ragnar had it wrong and this guy had it right. 

Wait for the panic to subside, and false hope to rise. Then, get out of dodge while there is relative peace. Because once the hope fades, all heck will break loose.

It scares the you-know-what out of me to think of the things that happened in Bosnia happening here.

I think I need to buy some water treatment tablets, and some more buckets...and a few rain barrels...


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## Herbalpagan (Dec 8, 2008)

I hope no one minds me posting this, but after reading this, I will be discussing this on my radio show tonight. shtfradio.com tonight at 8 eastern. you can get on the chat and participate. This is worth reviewing, though my show deals with food and home preparedness, I got a lot of info out of what this guy said!


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Ezmerelda said:


> I think I need to buy some water treatment tablets, and some more buckets...and a few rain barrels...


And maybe a tank. 

I've only read through 5 pages of the thread but it is certainly an eye-opener. I'll go back and finish it later.


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

Wow, what a read!

I would caution everybody here to add one more layer of thinking... While the SHTF in his community, the rest of the WORLD continued on and was able to lend a helping hand to fix things later on.

Fast forward, if the SHTF in the US, the loss of technology AND just raw knowledge will take centuries to regain. How many of us know or know someone that can
make gasoline
make solar panels
make a wind powered generator

Load their own bullets
make the bullets
make gun powder

In this little world, most of us know how to grow and store our own food. Canning is great, but how do you time it? I use a microwave clock or my cell phone clock... no power, no timer. IMO, after armageddon is one of the greatest films ever made.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

partdeux said:


> Canning is great, but how do you time it?


No power required.


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## Ponce (May 3, 2009)

What happened to him lasted for only two or three years and the US came to his aid.......but.....when it happens in the US who do you think will come to our rescue?.......China?, Russia?...........what will happen here will last for many, many, years and we will be all alone.

In Cuba WTSHTF has already lasted for over 50 years and it would be the best place to be at when the time comes.......lucky for us no one has guns so that killings are no involved......but........you do have a lot of burglary and so on.

Don't keep all your guns and ammo, food, first aid, water......or anything else.......all in one place and keep ALL guns away from your property till there is need to use them (unless they are register).


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## lefty (Sep 29, 2011)

It is already happening here just not as bad as it will get IMO, 

And no one will be coming to our aid, but thats ok that was the way the founding fathers started it. The only bright side if there is a bright side is a lot of the parasites will die off.


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## on_the_rox (Jul 17, 2011)

I am glad that this thread is giving people a little different perspective. I am new here but I have been reading a lot here. This seemed so unique and important that I was hoping it would get people talking. I hope to keep learning, keep adjusting and become better prepared. Hopefully along the way I can contribute good things too.


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## lefty (Sep 29, 2011)

I posted this on the homestead security forum but it kind of ties in here with the getting a look at SHTF around the world and how people deal with it. I found this on another forum but it relates to Farmers in Rhodesia during their civil war

(from the Small Wars Council forum)
I knew many Rhodesian farmers and have visited many farmsteads over the years. At every farm, defensive arrangements were made up to suit their particular situation and infrastructure. The following would be a general overview:
1. Most farmers fitted hand-grenade grills to the outside of all windows. Doors leading outside were likewise security grilled.
2. Many farmers built thick walls about a meter in front of bedroom windows to stop bullets, but particularly to deal with RPG 7`s. Beds were never placed against the outside walls of a farmhouse.
3. It was usual to have a designated safe room within the farmhouse that could be defended until support arrived. Sometimes this was a central corridor that allowed the farmer to move into other rooms to attack those outside through the windows. In the loft or ceiling over the safe room, some farmers laid sand bags to deal with possible mortar attack.
4. Every farmhouse in a given area was linked by a radio system called “Agric Alert”. This allowed radio contact with other farmers who formed their own defence units, usually under the umbrella of PATU (Police Anti-Terrorist Unit), which would react to a call from one of their neighbours for assistance. Another means of alarm raising was the use of a signal rocket – The Agric-Alert system was not done away with after the war, such was the lack of trust in Mugabe`s promises. It performed admirably as well when dealing with criminal activity such as stock theft. The alert system arranged for all farmers to check in with each other at a given time in the morning and evening as a means of monitoring their status.
5. Around all farmhouse gardens were erected security fences with barbed wire (or razor wire) and which often had simple alarm systems built into them. Some I believe were electrified, if not before the end of the war, certainly afterwards. Within the fence boundary, every farmer usually had a couple of large dogs. The dogs were fed their largest meal in the morning instead of the evening, in order to help keep them awake at night. Other farmers had geese or ducks, which made excellent guard “dogs.” Gardens were kept deliberately trim so as to keep clear fields of view and fire etc. The farm houses also had outside flood lighting erected in such a way as to blind those outside the fence, but not to interfere with the vision of those within the farmhouse.
6. All farmers and their wives were armed with an assortment of weapons, and most farmers were trained military men. They had at least one assault rifle, usually an FAL 7.62, assorted shot guns, .303 hunting rifles and so forth. It was also not unusual for wives to carry Uzi`s around with them, or other equivalents such as the Rhodesian Cobra. All members of the family were trained on the various weaponry available to them, including the kids. In one famous incident a child successfully fought off the attacking terrorists after both of his parents were wounded. The main defensive weapons were at all times within immediate reach of the adult farmhouse occupants, and were placed next to the bed at night.
7. Some farmers used mine protected vehicles, as a favourite of terrorists was to landmine the driveway outside the fence. A great deal of time was spent looking at the dirt roads for freshly dug earth points and so forth when driving around the farm.
8. Some farm gardens and particular points external to the fence were wired with home-made claymore like devices strategically placed in areas where attackers were likely to take cover. In a few instances farmers deliberately erected “cover positions” for the terrorists to use outside the fence, which were then blown up upon attack. A particular favourite was a section of plastic piping filled with nails, nuts, bolts, screws and so forth. I witnessed tests with these and the tubes cleared large areas of their intended aiming point of all bush cover and leaves from trees etc for about 30 meters into the bush. By placing a number of figure 8`s in front of these tests, it was apparent from the strike patterns that not one of them would have walked again had they been terrorists.
9. Some farmers also hired soldiers on leave to guard their premises at night. Usually these were men looking for extra “beer” money. They were called Bright Lights, and often ended up in fire fights with the terrorists, where they came as a nasty surprise to the terrs when the latter were expecting a nice soft hit and run. Like all farmers in an area, Bright Lights would participate in the support of other farmers when the situation required.
10. Good relationships with farm labour, particularly the house staff, very often warned of problems before they occurred. All of us who grew up in the country have fond memories of those employees who took care of us as kids, and who often placed themselves at great risk for doing so.


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## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

A must read again!!!!

http://beforeitsnews.com/self-suffi...rom-serbia-1269137.html?currentSplittedPage=1


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

Rurals of survival in a war zone!

Look like everyone else.
Limit your exposure by staying off the street.
Harden your dwelling as unobtrusivelly as possable.
Fight only when directly threatened but respond leathally.
Be flexable , (Don't get killed defending somthing you can take back later.
Use your head when making decisions not your heart.
Do not trade anything from your home.
Never allow anyone to follow you home


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

I"m not done reading this fella but am liking what I am seeing. Probably because it doesn't require me to change much of the way I think about things. I remember seeing alot of the stuff from over there. If I wasn't knee deep in family at the time I was very nearly hunting for civilian contractor jobs to get me over there I was soo pissed about one particular story I saw about snipers staking out a water point and shooting civillians on purpose!! well back to reading never a better source than someone who has been there and done that.


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