From algeo@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu Thu Sep 29 10:38:10 EDT 1994 Article: 1077 of misc.survivalism Newsgroups: misc.survivalism Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uchinews!att-out!oucsace!ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu!ALGEO From: algeo@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu (the virtual valkyrie) Subject: Defensible retreat checklist Message-ID: Sender: news@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (news account) Reply-To: algeo@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu Organization: Ohio University Computing & Technology Services Date: Sat, 24 Sep 1994 18:41:15 GMT Lines: 179 This checklist for a defensible retreat is taken from Ragnar Benson's _The_Survival_Retreat_, without any permission whatsoever (don't tell). Bib-cite is at the end. ********** Will the retreat hold all of the people who are likely to use it? Does the retreat provide inherent protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical threats? Is water available independent of any municipal supply or source? Do I know how I will preserve my food? Have I identified how I will heat and cook? Is it possible to safely store food, clothing, explosives, guns, and ammunition at the retreat? Can the location be secured now before it is actually manned during the collapse? Does it have adequate facilities? Can all these people wash occasionally? Will the toilets work? Can the retreat be obscured and hidden, now and after the fighting starts? Do any neighbors or friends outside of those who will be using the retreat know of its existence? Have I devised a workable defense plan? Can the area be patrolled? Is the retreat actually defensible or am I just kidding myself? Can the approaches be mined and guarded? Do I have the proper equipment to guard them? Is the retreat in an area where I can raise a garden, scrounge, and generally set up a viable existence after the collapse? Do I have a library in the retreat? Is the library good enough to provide the information needed after the collapse? If not, what books do I still need? Do I have adequate amounts of everything to implement my mine field and mantrap plans for the retreat, given a fair and honest evaluation of what I will probably have to face? What about medical supplies and information? Have I got that covered? Have I provided for nuclear/biological monitoring? Do I have Geiger counters, dosimeters, etc.? Do I have decontamination suits so at least some of my people can leave the retreat to guard, patrol, and take care of outside chores? Have I made plans to keep hordes of people from coming anywhere near my area? Have I evaluated my people and attempted to fit them into the various duties the best way possible? Am I psychologically equipped to defend my retreat? Can I actually shoot intruders? Does everyone know which situations will actually trigger the defense plan and when to set off the mines and explosives and start shooting? Do I have a stock of barter goods? Are they properly stored? Do I know how everyone will get to the retreat? Do that have a least one alternative contingency plan for getting to the retreat, preferably two? Have I evaluated the various thread possibilities and then made realistic plans to counter them, especially the nonconfrontive, nonmilitary threats? Are the immediate approaches to my retreat such that they can be made impassable by booby traps or just plain physical means? Do I know how much time it will take to close the approaches and who will be in charge of this job? Do I have a battle plan that fits everyone into the defense structure? Do I know the warning signs that will indicate that it is time to put my retreat plan into operation? Do I have the correct guns and enough ammunition or have I been swept away by the armament gurus into believing tons of hardware can replace the right amount of the proper equipment? Have I planned for retreat communications? Do I know what means and material the enemy will have at his disposal or even who the enemy is, in a realistic sense? Have I put together a psychological plan to keep people away and discourage them if they do attack? Have I planned for special medical/dietary needs of the group? Have I taken care of my group's current medical/dental requirements so these won't be of immediate concern after the collapse? Do I know how to handle explosives safely? . . . reload ammunition? . . . operate and repair guns? Am I skilled in using alternative means of transportation? Am I highly motivated and self-confident? Do I know my home territory? Have I tried to look at defeating my retreat from the eyes of an enemy? Is the retreat adequately stocked with tools and utensils for use in the new economy? Do I know where to get the consumable items we will need such as light bulbs, grease, oil, toilet paper, soap, canning lids, salt, needles, and thread? Have I thought about these items in terms of my retreat? Are fires a danger? If so, what can I do to counter that threat? Is blast a danger? Will my retreat withstand an explosion? Can I properly evaluate situations? Am I prone to hysteria or passivity? Do I have a continuing survival training program? Have I studied other collapsed societies and how people are surviving? Have I made plans to defend against heavy equipment such as tanks and helicopters, if that becomes necessary? Is it possible for attackers to sneak up on my retreat unseen, or more importantly, for them to detect my retreat without exposing themselves? Do I know how to use fish, game, and wild plants in my area? Do I know how to garden in my area? Do I have a postcollapse skill I can use during the readjustment? Do I know how the actual retreat will be ventilated? What about lighting? ********** Benson, Ragnar. _The_Survival_Retreat:_A_Total_Plan_for_Retreat_ _Defense_. Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87364-275-9. -- Melissa Algeo algeo@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu algeo@monolith.mit.edu From jdc@taligent.com Thu Sep 29 10:39:20 EDT 1994 Article: 1112 of misc.survivalism Newsgroups: misc.survivalism Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!taligent!kip-33.taligent.com!user From: jdc@taligent.com (Dave) Subject: Re: Defensible retreat checklist Message-ID: Sender: usenet@taligent.com (More Bytes Than You Can Read) Organization: Banzai Institute References: Date: Sat, 24 Sep 1994 18:36:26 GMT Lines: 10 In article , algeo@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu wrote: > This checklist for a defensible retreat is taken from Ragnar > Benson's _The_Survival_Retreat_, without any permission > whatsoever (don't tell). Bib-cite is at the end. > This book is very good reading once you get past all of the "when I was a mercenary" type anecdotes and such. The main premise is a valid one- being unnoticed is your best defense.