From the monthly archives:

October 2010

URBAN WINTER SURVIVAL: The Home – Part 2

by James G · 12 comments

in URBAN WINTER SURVIVAL

cowboys didn’t need electricity to survive entire winters, so you will be fine for a week

Read part 1 HERE

Yesterday we went over FOOD, WATER, HYGIENE and reasonably preparing for an Urban Winter Survival Situation for people living in a town or city.

Today we will continue that theme and cover HEAT, ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, COMMUTATIONS, TOOLS, SECURITY, MEDICAL and Non-ESSENTIALS

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URBAN WINTER SURVIVAL: The Home – Part 1

by James G · 17 comments

in URBAN WINTER SURVIVAL

“honey, did it snow last night?”

This is the first of several feature articles on winter urban survival, starting with Urban Winter Survival – The Home

Note: This advice is for people who live in small towns to large cities – not so much for people who live in extremely remote areas [like places where your nearest neighbors are more than 10 miles away and the Sherriff is your cousin twice-removed].

Urban Winter Survival situation = Snow, Ice, Extreme Cold Weather in a light to densely populated area that creates a situation where your movements are restricted or completely blocked, utilities are shut down and public services are limited or unavailable for a temporary amount of time.

Having spent most of my 20’s living in the great Commonwealth of Virginia I have had to learn how to prepare for some pretty nasty winters. Now Virginia is hardly like living in the arctic – but unlike people who live in places where 10 foot of snow is a regular occurrence every year most of us city or town dwellers live in places where winter weather can range from a few days off of work one winter to no water or electricity for a week the following winter.

Because of the varying degrees of severity each year Urban Survivalists tend to underestimate their Winter Urban Survival needs for their homes or [in most cases] they way over-prepare [yes, you can be over-prepared]. Now just like any Survival advice you will have to tailor it to your specific situation – If you live deep in the woods in Montana you will probably want to “kick it up another 20 notches,” and if you live in New York City you will probably want to take it down a few notches.

First off – let’s be realistic here

Even after a nasty ice storm in a small hick town [like where I grew up] that would knock-out the power and all but make the roads un-drivable – if you really had to you could just walk to the main road and wait for some fool in a 4WD that is out doing donuts in the ice and snow to take you to the Sherriff’s Office, or you could just ask a neighbor for help [the smaller the town, the more likely a neighbor you don’t know will help you].

You will not see any advice to buy shit that is only good in an emergency [with one exception], actually most homes already have everything a family needs for bugging-in during an Urban Winter Survival Situation so you probably won’t have to buy anything.  I do suggest a few things that you may now already own, but they are useful for non-emergency uses also [with the exception of a few things that are optional].

Also these preps are base on having to survive no more than 15 days without having to ask for outside assistance. Generally speaking if you live in a town or city that will be the max amount of time you will be snowed in before outside help becomes available or the event subsides. For people like us who live in populated areas you will more or less have some sort of way to seek outside assistance [within a few days after the storm] even during the worst winter weather if you really need it.

The advice here is more geared more towards self-sufficiency and comfort during an Urban Winter Survival situation – not holding out for months during “the big one”.

In this first part I will cover FOOD, WATER and HYGIENE preps for an Urban Winter Survival Situation:

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MEDICAL: Traumatic Injury Management Skills

by George Matheis · 22 comments

in Medical

Its just a flesh wound!

For a long time people would show up at edged weapons and firearms classes, and at breaks questions about first aid would always come up.  The folks asking the questions were not usually police, military, or paramedics, since these people get training as part of their job.  They were coming from your average Joe who realized that if you are training to use guns and knives, you may have the need to treat an arterial bleed or GSW (pro-speak for gun shot wound).

Because of this we started adding a one hour block of instruction to in every class on TIMS (Traumatic Injury Management Skills).  There is no shortage of information on first aid an emergency medicine.  However this can be overwhelming to the lay person who is trying to put together a first aid kit to deal with the most likely events.

While serving as a police officer what I found was the it was the worst scenarios that required my intervention.  I also found that the things you do in the first few minuets can mean all the difference in the world between life and death, or just quality of life following a traumatic event.  The worse the injury the more gross your initial response will be.

Couple that with the fact that in most locations emergency medical services are only minutes away.  TIMS will allow you with minimal equipment, to provide first aid and keep yourself busy which is the key to mental survival in many situations.

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COMMENTARY: Why DVM Challenges Widely Held Beliefs

by James G · 40 comments

in COMMENTARY

Should I buy a BOB, take a sniper course or Pay Off my credit cards? Hmmmm…

The Urban Survival Community is Stagnant and the Tactical Community Only Wants to Sell You Shit

Recently I was re-reading my series on “Do You Really Need a Bug-Out Bag”, I hadn’t really read all of the comments thoroughly, so that was one of the things I really wanted to look over. I was actually surprised how much discussion and buzz this article created; the original article has been talked about in podcasts and on several different forums online.

Most of the responses were pretty constructive with just a few “you suck balls” posts you get whenever someone challenges widely held [but not backed in reality] beliefs in the survival community. Given, I did go straight for the nuts on that one; the BOB is probably one of the most revered subjects in Urban Survival.

But one of the things I wanted to do with that article was to start good constructive dialogue on one of the most prevalent subjects in urban survival.

In my opinion one of the biggest problems in the survival community is the lack of new and innovative ideas along with the general atmosphere that questioning any widely held belief is somehow taboo.

And this closed train of thought is opposite to every other academic community where questioning and challenging your peers is the backbone of innovation and new ideas.

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DVMcast #2

by James G · 17 comments

in DVM Podcast

get some!

I finally found a place and the time to record another epsode of DVMcast, for this DVMcast I will be answering a bunch of questions from listeners along with yapping about a few other things.

Play

Podcast: Download

Click Here to Read the DVMcast #2 Show Guide >>>

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CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS: The Nepali Gurkha in International Security Contracting

by James G · 18 comments

in Civilian Contractors

Two Gurkha security contractors in Iraq

“If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha”
~ Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw
Former Chief of staff of the Indian Army

If you work in the Civilian Contracting business as a PSC (Private Security Contractor) one of the most common things you will do is work side by side with ex-military guys recruited from countries around the world (oftentimes referred to as “TCN Guards” [1]). The US Department of Defense allows PMC’s (Private Military Contractors) to hire these individuals for security jobs on Military Bases because they are able to have experienced ex-soldiers for security operations at a fraction of the cost of an American or Brit.

These TCN Guards are always recruited from parts of the 3rd world, with Asia and now Africa being the most popular recruiting grounds for PMC’s looking for the unemployed ex-soldier. But ex-Brit Gurkhas have always been the first choice when PMC’s are looking to recruit highly skilled and disciplined ex- soldiers from the 3rd world.

Most ex-Gurkha PSC’s work on Force Protection contracts doing everything from checking ID’s at gates to manning ECP’s, with the majority of the contracts in the Middle East. Some ex-Gurkha PSC’s work in higher risk jobs like convoy escort, I remember seeing these guys running the roads as turret gunners back in 03-05 during the “golden years” of security contracting work in Iraq.

Being a big Military history buff I was already somewhat familiar with the history of the Gurkhas before I started working overseas as a PSC. The story of the Gurkhas working for foreign Army’s all started back in the early 1800’s when the British East India Company rolled into Nepal thinking they could just throw up the Union Jack and start building white columned colonial houses after crushing whatever native resistance there was – well, they were in for a bit of a surprise.

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TACTICAL TRAINING: The Active Shooter Threat is Way Overblown

by James G · 48 comments

in Tactical Training

Is this really so likely to happen to you that you need to spend money training for it?

Over the past few years I have been seeing magazines, tactical blogs, the law enforcement community and tactical trainers presenting the threat of running into an Active Shooter situation as a likely scenario – or at least a likely enough of a possibility to warrant a person or agency purchasing tactical gear or paying for specialized training.

But statistically speaking the chances of someone running into some wacko going postal while buying a pair of chinos at the Gap is right up there with being struck by lightning – certainly not a likely enough possibility that would necessitate the average Joe (or even most Police Departments) to go out and spend money on gear or training centered around an Active Shooter scenario.

Now some people may say “people do get struck by lightning so it is better to be prepared” – well going by that logic I should go out and buy a rubber suit or wear a grounded lighting rod on my head.

You are more likely to get punched in a bar than being at the right place at the right time with the right tools to take down a guy who is randomly shooting people – that really can’t be argued, it is a statistical fact.

So why don’t the gear companies and tactical trainers tell you to spend your time and money on a boxing gym membership instead of buying some silly ‘active shooter fanny pack’ or taking a 2 day 500 dollar active shooter course?

In my opinion this is just another “scare the sheep into parting with money for crap they don’t need” scenario created by people wanting to profit from peoples fear.

Every time I hear about someone buying some sort of kit or training centered on the unlikely chance they will get into a shoot-out with a crazed gunman at Wall-Mart I can also guess that they have a basement filled with food and water for when all computers were supposed to shut down at midnight New Years Eve 1999 (or for when the Commies were supposed to invade in the 80’s, or for the next Terrorist attack, or for the impending zombie pandemic).

Now, not all of the folks teaching courses or slinging gear are trying to hustle you, many of them have also fallen into the trap of believing an extremely rare media hyped incident is a very real possibility – when it is not.

The following are a few points on Active Shooter Gear and Counter-Active Shooter Training that I would like to touch on:

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MOVIES: G.I. Joe Rise of the Cobra Review – Thanks For Taking a Big Fat Dump on an American Icon for a Few Bucks Mr. Hollywood

by James G · 24 comments

in Books & Movies

This movie sucks more cock than a 5 dollar ho

After finding “The Pit” schematics from Soldier Systems I was hit by a wave of G.I. Joe nostalgia so strong I finally decided to break down and watch the G.I. Joe live action flick despite knowing it would make me sad. Now considering how huge a fan of G.I. Joe I am most people would probably think that I have already watched it.

Well, after being disappointed beyond words after watching the Transformers movies I decided to save myself the sorrow and skip the G.I. Joe Movie. Plus after I heard Channing Tatum who plays “Duke” say that he originally didn’t want to do the movie because it glorified the wars (and presumably the soldiers also) in Iraq and Afghanistan I had about zero interest in seeing that douchebag playing one of my favorite Joe characters.

Anyway, I strolled down to the local Hajji Shop here in Iraq and picked up a copy of G.I. Joe Rise of the Cobra, grabbed a chicken and dumplings MRE and hesitantly hit the play button.

A little over an hour later I felt like crying (fortunately Old School Men do not cry) or immediately burning the DVD. This monstrosity of a movie sucked balls in so many ways the internet is not near large enough for me to call out every one in this article.

But – I will go ahead and list out the main things that annoyed/made me sad/angry:

Click Here to Find Out How Much Weiner This Flick Sucks (Hint, ALLOT) >>>

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SEARCH AND RESCUE: The Use Of Mountain Bikes For Search and Rescue

by Alex S · 27 comments

in Search and Rescue

ALEX S. DECIDES SAR BIKING IS CLEARLY NOT HIS THING

Lately I have seen lots of search & rescue teams leaping onto the “Let’s Make a Bike Team” band wagon and rallying up members who are mountain bike enthusiasts to start tearing around sectors on wheels.

I have talked about this with several folks and always get mixed opinions back. Some think the concept is outright stupid with no value in the field whatsoever and others are more open to it.

In this article I’m going to weigh up both sides of the argument as I see it, and would encourage SAR folks reading this to put in their 2 cents as to what they think in the comments section. Is this merely a fad or a useful asset to have in the operational toolbox?

I shall try my best not to let my prejudice of not being able to ride a bike very well get in the way…

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K-9: The Nose Knows

by Frazier D · 13 comments

in K-9

I can smell yo nuts and a vbed from 10 feet away

One of the frustrations I have had since arriving in country is the lack of K-9 understanding by both military and contractors. It is not anyone’s fault in particular, but it leads to confusion about what the dogs are capable of and what exactly they tell us when they are searching.

Dogs search for odor, not for actual explosives

Dogs are trained to sniff for the odor of explosives. This does not mean that there are actual explosives at the source of the odor. For example, is someone borrowed your car and smoked in it (assuming you had never smoked in it before); the odor of the cigarettes would remain in the car for several days after the car was returned.

You might not be able to tell how much that person smoked in your car or how long before it was returned, just that the car still smells like cigarettes. This is similar to what happens when the dogs “alert” to the odor of explosives. We have no way of knowing (outside of a controlled training scenario) how much explosives were in a vehicle or how long ago they were removed.

Click Here to Keep Reading – CIVILIAN CONTRACTOR K-9: The Nose Knows >>>

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