How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It

by James Wesley, Rawles

  Never Trade Hard for Soft

  When negotiating a trade, keep in mind the absolutely fundamental rule: “Never trade hard for soft.” This means if what you are offering in a trade is a compact, valuable, durable, tangible item that is in short supply or highly valued, don’t make the mistake of trading it away for items that are less durable or desirable. Otherwise, at the end of the day your counterpart will be going home with the better goods. The only exception to this rule is if your counterpart is willing to trade a much greater quantity of his items and you know that you have a ready market for them. It is better to trade your bulky for his compact.

  Barter takes time to learn. Invest that time. Also invest in the proper references. Lastly, invest in a stock of top-quality barter goods that you predict will be sought after in a post-collapse world. With the right goods and the requisite knowledge, you and your family will never starve.

  14

  IT COMES DOWN TO YOU

  The “Come as You Are” Collapse: Have the Right Tools and Skills

  I have repeatedly and strongly emphasized the importance of living at your intended retreat year-round, but I realize that because of personal finances, family obligations, and the constraints of making a living at an hourly or salaried job, this is not always realistic—except for a few of us, mainly retirees. If you are stuck in the big city and plan to Get Out of Dodge at the eleventh hour, then pre-position the vast majority of your gear and supplies at your retreat. You will most likely only have one—I repeat, one—G.O.O.D. trip. If there is a major crisis there will probably be no chance to go back for a second load. So WTSHTF, it will truly be a come-as-you-are affair.

  We must recognize that in these days of rapid news dissemination, it may take as little as ten hours for supermarket shelves to be cleaned out. It make take just a few hours for queues that are literally blocks long to form at gas stations—or at bank branches in the event of bank runs. Worse yet, it may be just a few hours before the highways and freeways leading out of urban and suburban areas are clogged with traffic.

  The come-as-you-are concept also applies to your personal training. If you haven’t learned how to do things before the balloon goes up, don’t expect to get anything but marginal to mediocre on-the-spot training after the fact. You have the opportunity to take top-quality training from the best instructors now, but you certainly won’t once the Schumer hits the fan. Train with the best—with organizations like Medical Corps, Wilderness Emergency Medical Services Institute, Front Sight (frontsight.com), Gunsite (gunsite.com), the RWVA/Appleseed Project, the WRSA, and the ARRL. Someday, you’ll be very glad that you did.

  As for provisions and equipment, the come-as-you-are concept definitely applies. The demand for them during a societal collapse will be tremendous. How could you compete in such a scant market? Anyone who conceivably has spares will probably want to keep them for a member of their own family or group. Use the advice and lists in this book and take precautions.

  Stock your retreat well. If there isn’t someone living there year-round, then hide what is there from burglars. Maintain balance in your preparations. In a situation in which you are truly hunkered down at your retreat in the midst of a societal collapse, there might not be any opportunity to barter for items that you overlooked. What you have is what you got. You will have to make do, so be sure to develop your lists of lists meticulously (see Chapter 2). If you have the funds available, construct a combination storm shelter/fallout shelter/walk-in vault. It would be virtually impossible to build something that elaborate in the aftermath of a societal collapse.

  Don’t overlook the “you” part of the “as you are” premise. Are you physically fit? Are you up-to-date on your dental work? Do you have two pairs of sturdy eyeglasses with your current prescription? Do you have at least a six-month supply of vitamins and medications? Is your body weight reasonable? If your answer to any of these is no, then get busy.

  With careful preparations, even if you have a modest budget you will have an advantage over the average suburbanite. Your knowledge and training alone—what is between your ears—will ensure that.

  A Call to Action

  If you are serious about preparedness, then it is time to get out of your armchair and start training and preparing. It will take time. It will take some sweat. It will take money. But once you’ve prepared, you can sleep well, knowing that you’ve done your best to protect and provide for your family, regardless of what the future brings. Don’t get stuck in the rut of simply studying preparedness. Unless the shelves in your pantry and garage are filling with supplies, and unless you are growing muscles and calluses, you are not preparing.

  Learn the crucial skills for self-sufficiency and self-defense. Once you’ve mastered them, share them with others. Future generations need to learn these skills. Raise your children to be God-fearing, practical, and thrifty. That will be a lasting legacy.

  If and when challenging times do arrive—whether natural or man-made—you’ll be ready and able to be part of the solution. You can help to put the workings of the Big Machine back in motion, give charitably, and restore law and order. Without folks like you and me, the lights of civilization may go out for a very long time. Are you up to the challenge? I pray that you are.

  Appendix A

  GLOSSARY

  1911: See M1911

  4WD: Four-wheel drive

  AC: Alternating current

  ACP: Automatic Colt pistol

  ALICE: All-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment

  AM: Amplitude modulation

  AR-15: Semiauto civilian variants of the U.S. Army M16 rifle

  AUG: The Austrian army ’s 5.56mm “bullpup” infantry carbine. Also issued by the Australian Army as their replacement for the L1A1.

  Ballistic wampum: Ammunition stored for barter purposes (term coined by the late Jeff Cooper)

  BLM: Bureau of Land Management, a U.S. federal government agency that administers public lands

  BOB, BoB, or B-o-B: Bugout Bag: Synonymous with G.O.O.D. kit

  Camo: Slang for camouflage

  CAR-15: See M4

  CB: Citizens band radio. A VHF broadcasting band that requires no license for operation in the United States. Some desirable CB transceivers are capable of single-sideband (SSB) operation. Originally twenty-three channels, the citizens band was later expanded to forty channels during the golden age of CB, in the 1970s.

  CC&Rs: Covenants, conditions, and restrictions

  CCW: Carrying a concealed weapon (typically in reference to a permit)

  Channelized areas: In the context of this book, the most likely routes that the Golden Horde will take WTSHTF. Also called refugee lines of drift. See also: Golden Horde and WTSHTF.

  CLP: Cleaner, lubricant, protectant. A mil-spec lubricant, sold under the trade name Break-Free CLP.

  COMSEC: Communications security

  Conex: A continental express shipping container. The standard steel or aluminum international shipping containers used on trucks, rail packs, and ships. Usually manufactured in twenty-, thirty-, and forty-foot lengths.

  CPAP: Constant positive airway pressure (some sleep-apnea patients require a CPAP machine at night)

  CPR: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

  CQ: Charge of quarters

  CRKT: Columbia River Knife and Tool

  Crunch, the: See WTSHTF

  DC: Depending on context, direct current or District of Criminals

  Deep-larder concept: A pantry stocked with foods and essential oils for a family for two or more years

  DMA: Daily moving average

  E85: A gasoline/ethanol blend, 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline

  EMP: Electromagnetic pulse

  EMT: Emergency medical technician

  ER: Emergency room

  FDA: Food and Drug Administration (U.S. federal government agency)

  FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency (U.S. federal government agency)

  FFV: Flex-fuel
vehicle

  FIFO: First in, first out

  FM: Depending on context, field manual or frequency modulation

  G.I. or GI: Depending on context, general inductee (draftee), Government Issue (equipment specifications), or gastrointestinal tract. See also: U.S.G.I.

  Glock: The popular polymer-framed pistol design by Gaston Glock, of Austria. Also derisively known as combat Tupperware by its detractors, because it was the first maker to ship its pistols in a plastic box with a snap lid.

  Gold Cup: The target version of Colt’s M1911. Has fully adjustable target sights, a tapered barrel, and a tighter barrel bushing than standard M1911s.

  Golden Horde: In historical contexts, the Mongol horde of the thirteenth century, but in the context of this book, the anticipated large mixed horde of refugees and looters that will pour out of the metropolitan regions WTSHTF. See also: WTSHTF.

  G.O.O.D.: Get Out of Dodge, a generic term for leaving the big city in a hurry WTSHTF (acronym coined by JWR). See also: BOB, WTSHTF.

  GPS: Global positioning system

  Grid down: An extended period of time when the power grid is nonfunctional

  Grid up: A situation in which the national power grids stay functional except for brief interruptions

  HDPE: High-density polyethylene, used in milk, juice, and water containers in order to take advantage of its excellent protective-barrier properties. Most five-gallon food-grade buckets are made from HDPE. See also: LDPE.

  HEPA: High-efficiency particulate air (filter)

  HF: High frequency

  HK: Heckler und Koch, the German gunmaker

  HMMWV: High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, commonly called a Humvee

  IBA: Interceptor body armor, the current U.S. military-issue Kevlar body armor. The base vest weighs six pounds. The front and rear trauma plates are an additional six pounds each. Additional shoulder armor and groin protectors add even more weight.

  In-town retreat: A retreat inside or adjoining town limits that depends on some local infrastructure. See also: Isolated retreat.

  Inverter: A device that converts DC electricity (anywhere from twelve to six hundred VDC) to AC electricity (typically 120/240 VAC)

  IR: Infrared

  Isolated retreat: A privately owned stronghold designed to be almost entirely self-sufficient and self-contained. Also often called a remote retreat. See also: In-town retreat.

  JWR: James Wesley, Rawles

  KW or kW: Kilowatt

  L1A1: The British and Australian “inch”-measurements versions of the metric FAL rifle. Also known as the SLR (self-loading rifle).

  LDPE: Low-density polyethylene, used in grocery shopping bags and trash bags. Not all LDPE is food grade. See also: HDPE.

  LDS: The Latter Day Saints, commonly called the Mormons

  LED: Light-emitting diode

  Lines of drift: See Channelized areas

  LP/OP: Listening post/observation post, usually the same position, used for observation in daylight hours and for listening and use of starlight devices at night. See also: Starlight

  LR: Long rifle

  LSD: Low self-discharge

  M14: U.S. Army-issue 7.62mm NATO selective-fire battle rifle. These rifles are still issued in small numbers, primarily to U.S. Army-designated marksmen and as U.S. Navy deck rifles. The civilian semiauto-only equivalent is the M1A.

  M16: U.S. Army-issue 5.56mm NATO selective-fire battle rifle. The current standard variant is the M16A2, which has improved sights and three-shot burst control. The civilian semiauto-only equivalent is the AR-15.

  M1911: The U.S. military’s standard-issue semiauto pistol, chambered in .45 ACP, that was issued for more than seventy years. It was replaced by the Beretta M9, 9mm Parabellum.

  M4: U.S. Army-issue 5.56mm NATO selective-fire carbine. It is essentially a shortened and lightened M16, with a collapsing stock.

  M4gery: (pronounced “em forgery”) Civilian semiauto-only version of the U.S. Army-issue 5.56mm NATO carbine. Typically with a 16-inch barrel instead of the military-issue 14.5-inch barrel (to meet the U.S. 16-inch minimum-rifle-barrel-length requirement) and a collapsing stock.

  Mag: Depending on context, short for magazine or Magnum

  MIL-SPEC or mil-spec: Military specification. A product made to the demanding standards of military organizations.

  MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat (U.S. Army field rations), aka “Meals Rarely Eaten” and “Three lies for the price of one”—viz., “It isn’t a meal, it’s not ready, and you can’t eat it.”

  NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

  Night vision: See Starlight

  NiMH: Nickel-metal hydride, a type of rechargeable battery

  NRCS: National Resources Conservation Service (formerly called the Soil Conservation Service), part of the USDA. See also: USDA.

  Off grid: Not connected to the power grid (as in a home that is typically powered by phovoltaics, wind power, micro-hydro generators, or gas/diesel/propane gensets)

  OPSEC: Operational security

  POTS: Plain old telephone service

  PV: Photovoltaic. PV power panels convert energy from sunshine to DC electricity.

  PVC: Polyvinyl chloride (white plastic water pipe)

  Rawles Ranch: The full-time home/retreat for the Rawles family, in an unnamed western state

  Refugee lines of drift: See Channelized areas

  Remote retreat: See Isolated retreat

  RF: Depending on context, radio frequency (radio waves) or rimfire

  Rule 303/Rule 308: Civilian law enforcement, post-TEOTWAWKI (Rule 303 in Canada and Oz; Rule 308 in the Americas)

  RV: In the context of nuclear weapons, a reentry vehicle—a method of delivering a nuclear weapon. In the context of survival retreats, a recreational vehicle.

  SCADA: Supervisory control and data acquisition.

  Schumer: A euphemism for the stuff that the septic-tank pumper truck hauls away

  Schumeresque: Intolerably bad (post-TEOTWAWKI) living circumstances. See also: WTSHTF.

  SHTF: Schumer Hits the Fan. See also: WTSHTF

  Spec: Specification(s)

  Starlight: An electronic light-amplification technology that was first developed during the Vietnam War. A starlight device literally amplifies low ambient light by up to one hundred thousand times, turning nighttime darkness into daylight—albeit a green and fuzzy view. Starlight scopes are critical tools for retreat security, especially in a grid-down situation. Note: Starlight is also the name brand of a manufacturer of heavy-duty mil-spec gun cases.

  Steyr: Steyr-Daimler Puch, an Austrian firearms and military-vehicle maker. See also: AUG.

  S&W: Smith and Wesson, an American gunmaker

  TA-1/TA-312: U.S. military hardwired field telephones

  TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World as We Know It (acronym coined by Mike Medintz)

  The Crunch: See WTSHTF

  Trijicon: A maker of tritium-lit sights and rifle scopes

  Tritium: A glowing radioactive gas (a hydrogen isotope) with an 11.2-year half-life

  Truck farming/Truck crops: Farming crops that are not processed before selling and that are directly used or sold fresh, such as lettuce, celery, and flowers

  TSHTF: The Schumer Hits the Fan. See also: WTSHTF.

  USDA: United States Department of Agriculture

  U.S.G.I. or USGI: United States Government Issue equipment specifications

  USGS: United States Geological Survey

  UV: Ultraviolet (commonly called black light)

  VDC: Volts, direct current

  VHF: Very high frequency

  WAPI: Water pasteurization indicator

  WTSHTF: When the Schumer Hits the Fan. Synonymous with

  TEOTWAWKI, the Crunch, worst case, and the old military saying “when the balloon goes up.” See also: Schumeresque and TEOTWAWKI.

  YOYO: You’re on your own. When government ceases to provide essential services such as fire and police-department protection, and when utilitie
s no longer provide water, sanitation, electricity, and phone service. Acronym coined by David Weed.

  Appendix B

  BOOKS AND ONLINE RESOURCES

  There are more than seven thousand archived articles and letters on family preparedness available at the author’s blog site, SurvivalBlog.com.

  The author’s book and DVD recommendations can be found at survivalblog.com/bookshelf.html.

  The author’s recommended Web sites for preparedness supplies, trainers, and further research can be found at survivalblog .com/links.html.

  Appendix C

  PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY FROM AN INFLUENZA PANDEMIC

  The emerging threats of the H1N1 (“swine”) flu and the still-present Asian avian flu virus bring into sharp focus the vulnerability of modern, highly mobile and technological societies to viral or bacterial infectious diseases. The last major flu outbreak (H2N2 in 1957, which killed 69,800 people in the United States) took five months to reach the U.S. With the advent of global jet travel, it is now clear that highly virulent disease strains can be transmitted to population centers around the world in a matter of just a few days.

  You can take measures to protect yourself and your family from the next great pandemic. Although the likelihood of H1N1 mutating into a more virulent strain is relatively low, the potential impact if this were to occur is devastating. The current strain of the virus has a low lethality rate for humans, but even if H1N1 turns out to be a nonevent, in the next few decades there is a very high likelihood that some other disease will emerge. Influenzas have a tendency toward antigenic shift. Because influenzas are viral and are spread by casual person-to-person contact, the majority of the world’s population could be exposed in just a few weeks or months.