Delta Force Personal & Family Defense

What Ever Happened to Storm and Defense Shelters?

When I was a kid, growing up at times in the Southland country particularly, virtually every home-place had a stand-alone below-the-ground concrete storm shelter. These often doubled as root-cellars to preserve fruits, vegetables, and root crops well into the spring.

During the 1960S, driven by the fears of nuclear holocaust, a surge of fall-out Shelters was a way of life. You were nothing if you had no well-stocked shelter. Though just a kid, it seemed to me that it was a given that if we had such a shelter that we and a few fortunate others might emerge to repopulate the barren, but brave new world. It didn't happen soon enough, and like 9/11, people have a tendency to forget such nonsense. But during the Cuban Missile Crisis I think even Khrushchev was of the same inkling. But a defensive emergency shelter makes more sense now than ever.

If I were doing it, and I might be, I would obtain one of those large steel storage pods, rent a backhoe, and bury it a away from the house. I'd be careful of cables and underground utilities, and I would do my best to provide longevity to the container by reinforcing it with fiberglass or some of the new almost magic polymers and sealants both inside and out, taking care to use one that is non-toxic--maybe made from soybeans (am I green enough?) Of course, due to my propensity for adventure and intrigue, I'd have a hidden trap-door to access the tunnel leading to the shelter, which would be accessible from both upstairs and downstairs. I always wanted a trapdoor as well as a fireman's sliding pole (well -hidden of course.)

To conceal it and aid in the passive heating and cooling as well as other obvious benefits, I would plant a vineyard on and/or around the surface of my shelter. They would leaf out broadly during the warm seasons, providing shade and fruit, and shed leaves for maximum sunlight in the cooler seasons. Maybe less enticing a target for marauders would be a thicket of briered but domesticated berries.

An underground cellar stays an even temperature-range year around and is comfortable if not a bit on the chilly side. This promotes the proper and long-life storage of MRE's and other steerable rations properly prepared. Heating and cooling is unnecessary. Of course there would be a turbine ventilator and an alternate escape tunnel/hatch to the outside--invisible above-ground; perhaps secured in a stump or decorative structure or maybe in the middle or beyond the vineyard are Brier thicket. A ventilated bird bath would be a though too, Plus you could use the collected rainwater in many scenarios. Of course a NBC filter (Nuclear,Biological,Chemical [although blocking out NBC stations would be a good thought too) would be available  if needed,or permanently installed in the vents and openings.

It would be prudent to store proper foods, medical aids, utensils, bedding, and make cooking arrangements. A solar panel or two would provide light almost indefinitely. Maybe they could be made to look like, and maybe actually function partially as, an alternative energy source to the main house--for lights and other low-amperage electrical requirements. Such panels are relatively cheap and widely available.

A gas or otherwise-powered generator could be installed as well. It would of course need to be properly out-vented so as to not kill the occupants with carbon-monoxide and such. Fuel would also have to be stored.In areas that have an average wind-speed of over 15 MPH, a windmill could also be employed to generate and charge batteries. as well. In my area, a separate (than for the house) fresh water well would be no problem at all. I think I would prefer a hand-drawn method for water (my memories of the almost sweet flavor of cold water drawn by hand on hot Arkansas country days are among my best.) A passive solar water heater in the form of a loose-laying coils of black pipe somewhere on top of the ground in a sunny area would provide comfortable bath water. It too would need the capacity to be filtered however.

For each family member an NBC suit and gas mask would be preparing for the worst. They are available new and used from military surplus suppliers such as those mentioned in my other blog entries. I like Cheaperthandirt.com and similar suppliers as their prices are very good. Blankets are inexpensive. Wool, even when wet, will maintain warmth. Surprisingly, so will silk. Maybe some silk clothing would be good too--like pajamas--several pairs. Military BDU's are both camouflaged and wear very well. Why camo? I don't don't know, but as they taught us in the Boy Scouts, Be Prepared.

speaking of which I am guessing that a good quantity of guns and ammo would be suitable too. Maybe a steel reinforced turret concealed in that same stump would be nice too. I won't be too irresponsible in this, but there are, for those who research, means of automating some weapons with little more than a bread-tie, or trigger crank--just in case. It is illegal under our current laws. However anarchy, if our government ever fell would super-cede those laws as replaced by the laws of survival.

Waste disposal could be handled minimally with a chemical toilet such as those used in RV's. A septic tank with field lines would be a long-term solution, but great care would need to be taken so as to not pollute your well-water, but this is standard practice in the country where commercial water and sewer systems are still used routinely. For added safety, drinking water can be both treated chemically and filtered to remove virtually any contaminants including radioactivity. Geiger counters are not very expensive if bought surplus to be sure. Most bacterial contaminants can be killed by boiling for 15 minutes or distilling water. Personal water filter bottles which handle up to 500 gallons of water before a replacement filter is required will remove most contaminants. These cost as little as 50 bucks.

General survival supplies would be obvious staples. Radio receivers, hand-held Walkie-Talkies, and CB or Ham Radios (with a horizontal long-wire antenna running above), and lots of batteries, butane lighters, flashlights, and waterproofed matches, as well as fire-starting supplies come immediately to ming. Gross, but possibly practical, would be biologically secure body bags. These have a lot of uses besides bodies, but one dead member of the family decaying next to you could spell contamination and death for the rest of the you without a bag. Plastic, tarps, duct tape, WD-40, basic tools, seeds (for planting), are essential to any semi-long-term endeavor.

I, as well as many others, have written much on this subject--survival. These books are a good thing to keep, especially on the identification of edible plants, although learning to do this before a disaster is better. This kind of information is readily accessible. Best-case scenario: you take the kids on a weekend outing (underground inning rather) in a comfortable place for fun several times a year (just make sure they don't take their friends alone, especially of the opposite sex, in there unsupervised. Seriously, it should be used frequently but not made known to others outside the family nor used as a plaything, as it can get out of order and unusable easily. Or perhaps condoms should be stored anyway. Be prepared?

Or maybe the next level of scenarios are that you are prepared for tornadoes, the outer reaches of earthquakes, power loss, ice-storms, war, civil unrest, disasters causing wild hungry and desperate flights from the city (New Orleans). What about floods? Maybe your shelter could be made water tight and breathable, TURBINE ABOVE THE Water-line, or maybe it could be made with a tree-house contingent or Pole-vaulted addendum. A look-out tree-tower would be great anyway. I don't live in a flood-plane, but if I did, I THINK YOU OR I COULD COME UP WITH A SOLUTION for floods..

Speaking of turbans, too, the kind you wear on your head, might be helpful as well. I like the black and white or red and white dish-towel variety personally, as they could be used multi-purposefully. DW

Feedback about Church Shootiing

Reprinted from a TFA member email

For those of you who don't have much chance to surf the web due to other inteferences, e.g., earning a living to feed the family....

Some interesting articles on the church shootings in Colorado.  Seems the killer was taken down by a sharpshooting young lady who was a member of the church and had a Colorado CCW.  Most news stories omitted the CCW part and tried to make it look like the church had it's own private security outfit.  Truth was that this lady got the pastor's approval to have church members with CCWs patrol the church.  She was a former police officer but quit the force some 7 or so years ago, but her training stayed with her.  I wonder how many of us would have reacted under the circumstances.  When was the last time you went out and practiced shooting your carry gun?

Gunman was said to have had an assault rifle, two handguns and a 1,000 rounds of ammo.  Seems like he planned to stay a while in what he probably thought was "a gun free zone," like some of our local malls with the unarmed "rent-a-cops."  I doubt he had "a 1,000 rounds," but he probably had enough to do some real damage.  Even a thousand rounds of .22LR weighs a lot.  At least in this case, the good guys won.

Two interesting points were that "no innocent bystanders were killed by the lady,"  and there was "NO deadly crossfire" killing bystanders.  With some 7,000 people in the church when the gunman came in, he would have had lots of targets.  Our critics always yap about permits holders would shoot wildly and with so many of them shooting , there would be a deadly crossfire, killing even more innocents.  Gee-- didn't happen did it?  I don't know if the links will work but you can give them a try.

Here's a quote from the lady as printed in the Denver Post"

COLORADO SPRINGS — Amid deafening cracks of gunfire, smoke-spewing canisters and the flight of thousands of New Life Church members, Jeanne Assam said God was with her when she shot the gunman and helped her prevent more lives from being lost.

"I saw him, it seemed like the halls cleared out, and I saw him coming through the doors, and I took cover. And I waited for him to get closer. And I came out of cover. And I identified myself. And I engaged him and I took him down," the 42-year-old volunteer church security guard and former law officer said Monday at a news conference in the Colorado Springs police station. "I didn't think it was my sole responsibility. I didn't think about this. It was — it seemed like it was me, the gunman and God."

Deadly Shootings

• Watch the press conference with Jeanne Assam, the security guard who shot Matthew Murray, stopping the rampage at New Life Church
• Watch the law enforcement press conference officially linking the two shootings.
• Read the five-page El Paso County search warrant issued for Matt Murray's car, parked in the lot of New Life Church.
• Discuss the Colorado church and mission shootings.
• View a slide show from the Arvada shooting.
• View a slide show from the Colorado Springs shooting.
• Watch a report about police searching for a link in deadly shootings.
• Watch video: five killed in shootings at two Colorado religious sites.
• Listen to an audio statement about the shootings from Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter.

The web site "Arms and the Law had these comments:

A comment on a previous thread noted that the person whose shots stopped the mass killer at New Life Church was actually a church member with a CCW permit, not a hired guard, and that the media is spinning the story so as to make it appear she was the latter. I did a bit of checking, and that appears to be the case.

This story from CNS news reports:

"Many people are expressing relief that a volunteer security guard used her own gun to stop a man on a shooting spree Sunday. "She probably saved over 100 lives," the Brady Boyd, the pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, said on Monday. The female guard, a church member dressed in plain clothes, killed the gunman after he opened fire at the mega-church."

UPDATE: Ahab has confirmed the lady who brought down the killer was not a church employee, and was carrying her personal gun.

But the AP coverage describes her as "a member of the church's armed security staff" and "the security guard." Since it quotes the pastor much the same way as the CNS story does, it sounds like a report on the same interview or conference. And the Rocky Mtn News describes her as "a church security officer."

72-Hour+ Emergency Preparedness Kit

By all accounts of Family Preparedness advocates, an emergency preparedness family kit ready to go out the door in a hurry, good for 72 hours, is now considered standard good family responsibility. I concur. Virtually every geography is subject to some kind of natural or man made disaster.

I feel so strongly about this emergency kit, that I gave one, or the good beginnings of one, to each of my four grown children, for Christmas. It might be worthwhile to discuss what it contained. If you need my sources and specific item info or if you have something to suggest to make it better, please comment.

The next Post will Convert the above Concepts into practical items to go into your emergency supplies.

I have been at this sort of thing for a long time. So you might accurately say that I am constantly researching new and better ways to prepare for disasters of every origin. A short-term emergency kit is a must for ever family. That's just a proper start.

Several aspects of EP should be considered before properly selecting the minimum supplies to cover most plausible contingencies.

1. Likely, then possible, emergencies for which preparation would be necessary. These may include: Natural Disasters such as Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Storms, Hail, Drought, Floods, Earthquakes, Wildfires, Blizzards, Ice storms, Hailstorms, Depression, Pandemics, Meteorites or Falling Space Debris, Etc.
2. Or Man made Disasters such as, House fires, Civil Unrest, Fight from Natural disasters, Toxic Spills, Toxic Industrial Emission Disasters, Criminal activities such as Home Invasion (Burglary while House is Occupied), Domestic or Terrorist Mischief, Anarchy resulting from any number of factors where there is an attempted Over-throw of the Government, Race or Cultural Riots, Oil Embargoes/Gas Shortages, Financial Collapse, Food Distribution-Breakdown (such as caused by terrorism or a trucker's strike), Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical Attack, Totalitarian Governmental Overthrow (It could Happen unless you vote right.)
3. Localized Personal Mishaps and/or Accidents, Gang Mischief, Foul or Enraged Neighbors (It happens, so be nice), or Personal Enemy Activities, Wild Animal Activity (Bears or Wild Dogs in some locals), Other Weird & Unpredictable Stuff.

Then you back into your likely needs in order of likely priority. These are some logical bases to cover as these scenarios are considered.

1. Water. You cannot survive without water. It is possible, though inconvenient to store water. Sources may include: Swimming pools, ponds, rivers, streams, rain collection cisterns, Solar Stills, Bottled Water, Filtered Water, Chemically Treated Water, Natural Underground Wells with Manual Extraction Capability, Recycled Water, Boiled Water, Plant and Animal Carcasses.
2. Shelter. You can easily die of exposure from either extremes of heat or cold, or flying debris, or marauding men or animals. A portion of your house or safe room, or other garage or outbuilding is the best choice (usually), A tent is a good temporary shelter if driven from your house. A hand built more permanent shelter made from natural and man made materials or debris are better than tents for longer term, Shelter from sight,villains, insects, heat and cold, NBC Agents, Rain, Hail, Smoke, and other elements is necessary in some if not all cases. Even relatively unsophisticated shelters require some knowledge and tools. With a few tools and proper planning and preparation, a person can live virtually anywhere, in relative comfort. People have done it since the beginning of time.
3. Fire (and Fuel). Fire is very important to sterilize, purify, warm, cook, light, and repel undesirable THINGS. Fire is also psychologically comforting. Knowing how and having means to make fires in extreme situations with less than the normal means is an important skill set. There are many books and resources to learn these skills from. I eventually hope to cover them later in this Blog. But storing the easiest means to do this is the most provident way to accomplish this.
4. Food. Can't go long without food. In the short-term, energy bars, prepackaged meals such as Military Ready to Eat (MRE) Style Rations are Great, Garden Vegetables (and seeds/basic tools), Canned and Stored Foods are great too. wild (or domestic) game and fish is important but they require the equipment and skill and ability to utilize this source of food. Edible Plants require Careful Knowledge and Identification. Supplies and utensils with which to cook and prepare foods.
5. First Aid, Medical Treatment Knowledge and Supplies, Regular Medicines (like insulin), Common Analgesics and Disinfectants, Bandage Materials.
6. Hygienic Supplies. Soap, Feminine Needs, Tissues, Rags,Towels, Clean Clothes and Means for washing dirty ones, as well as bathing and washing hands and bodies.
7. Fuel. Mentioned previously in conjunction with food, for heating and other needs, you may need to store Gasoline or Diesel (Family farmers use to routinely store liquid fuels in an elevated steel cylinder with a standard gravity-fed gas pump on it. It is still done), Fuel oil or coal must be appropriately stored. Replaceable fuels such as dried corn can be burned with a specially adapted burning stove. Live and dead trees are a source of fuel for many rural people today. A wood-she will delay the deterioration of seasoned wood. Of course the means to cut the would, grow the corn, etc. is necessary. Propane can be stored in appropriate tanks. The larger tanks or use of multiple tanks will be required for extended periods. Kerosene can be used to heat small spaces with relatively small expense.. Proper ventilation will help prevent death by suffocation.
8. Although not actually fuel, wool blankets and proper shelter materials and clothing and insulation can reduce the need for warming fuel. Shade and water can reduce the effects of extreme heat.
9. Small appliances, tools, lights, and personal heaters may be powered by batteries. Light home usage of electricity can be maintained by Wind-mills, Water Driven Turbines, Solar Panels, Gas, Propane, Diesel, and Methane (which, conceivably can be created from refuse, garbage, human and animal waste), Animals and People can also manually drive generators.
10. Candles and the above fuels can also power lanterns and devices for light. Various oils can also be burned for these requirements. So can certain dried, oily fish, or animal fats.
11. Communications. Cell phones are great as long as they work, which probably won't be long or very dependable during a disaster. A basic low-power radio receiver Will help receive available news in many cases. A ham radio or CB transceiver would be very useful. They must be powered some way. Surplus generators are available to generate radio telephone devices. With knowledge and a few simple parts and a length of wire a crystal-diode receiver can be made for reception through low-impedance headphones. Among family members a base unit and longer-range walkie talkies are very desirable to store.Signal mirrors, smoke, semaphore flags can be used over straight-line or relatively short distances during the day as can lights and Morse Code,  and fires and lanterns at night.
12. For those so-inclined, satellite dishes may offer independent Internet connectivity--of course powered by electricity. As long as satellites orbit, an ingenious person can use them to communicate. anything that can be scrambled can be unscrambled.
13. Foot Protection. Yes they are clothes, but special consideration should be given to durable shoes, boots, and moisture connection for your feet. Multiple, comfortable, pairs of shes and socks are extremely important.
14. A small boat or canoe. Especially in flood-prone areas.
15. Bedding. Wool is the all around best material for warmth per weight with the exception of goose down (not just features) in most cases. Wool will keep you warm even when it is wet. Although leaves and rubbish available can make a fairly comfortable bed when required. a sleeping ground-cloth and/or a cot, hammock, or air mattress will make your life much more bearable in a tough situation.
16. Tools. Just think of hat you may want to fix or build and stock the bear minimum.
17. Transportation. Cars and motorbikes or four-wheelers are desirable, but the require gas. Trail bicycles are a good alternative for the young and fit. Wheel chairs might be better for the infirm. Riding animals have potential. Pioneers crossed the planes in handcarts--basically wheel-barrows.
18. A Plan. For gathering of extended family or separated family members during a crisis. Everyone should have a copy and understood.
19. Protection from bad things and people. I have written a lot about personal protection. Look back at these blogs. I will simply say here that a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle lie a Ruger 10/22 and lots of Long Rifle, Hollow Point Ammo, properly stored is, in my opinion, the minimum of firepower to even begin to equalize the odds agains potential criminals. It would be my preference to have a variety or arms and ammo at my disposal. Hiding, camo, and stealth means are also desirable.
20. Resource books and entertainment material might be a God-Send under extended conditions. Games for adults and kids can help pass the time while utility crews or whatever get to you.