Have you made preparations re: the next terror attack?

[Jeff Thomas]

Lots of rumors swirling around right now. Suitcase nukes. "Dirty" radiation bombs. Smallpox.


1. Considering the numerous government warnings about another major terrorist attack, and the rumors cited above, have you made preparations for some of these contingencies?

2. If so, please briefly describe your preparations and reasoning.

3. If not, why not?

Thanks. Regards from AZ

 

[Guyon]

Yup, I've made some preparations, and I'm continuing to prepare. Why? Because it's the Boy Scout motto.

I'm just about done putting together a 72 hour bug-out kit--with attention to food and water, survival items, basic medical supplies, clothes, and certain tools. Much of it was already packed in my hunting backpack, so I've just built on those items.

I found some glaring holes as I was preparing my kit. For instance, I didn't own certain items like: a Leatherman, a small AM-FM radio (battery operated), a camp shovel, and a few other small things. I'm correcting these lacks and learning as I go.

As far as education, I've been surfing the web and looking at emergency preparation sites, survival sites, etc.

 

[Dave R]

Bein' a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I follow the advice of my Church leaders. That means I have a 72-hour kit (aka bug-out bag), and a years supply of food, clothing & firewood.

Spruced up the kits a bit for Y2k.

On 9/11, I thought about what I needed to get, and couldn't come up with much. Its a good feeling.

I guess there's always more gear to get, but the basics are there.

 

[AR-10]

I was sitting around tonight and it suddenly struck me that my truck only has about an eighth of a tank of gas. I usually try to keep it close to full.

We have stocked up a bit on food, and replaced stored water that was getting a little old. My wife found a heck of a deal on breathing masks rated to filter insecticide and paint fumes, so she bought six of them. I figure they might come in handy if a communicable disease outbreak occurs. Of course I bought more ammo, and will again this month. But who needs an excuse for that??

As for living arangements, we're more into hunkering than bugging. By the time my community is so unsafe that I need to flee, I don't think there will be any safe place to go to. Like most self defense scenarios, I really don't want to find out.

We could live with no utilities for a month with little difficulty. Water would be a problem after that. Food for two or three months. I could stretch my heat till Spring, but it would not be comfortable. We even have an emergency plan for human waste disposal that is acceptable for five or six months.

Is that paranoid or what?

 

[Mike Irwin]

Given that I live right outside of Washington, DC, I probably should put something together to keep in the car.

Some spare clothes, extra shoes, and a few things like that.

Food and water for the dogs, but I'm not really worried about it for me.

 

[tes3]

NO

NO. I consider it playing right into Osama’s hands to prepare, worry, or even get concerned about what he is going to do. If something happens, and I am still alive I will deal with it then.
My home has always been stocked because I live in a RR area, and we all know you cannot depend on the government for help. I have always had gas, food, water, generator, medical and weapons on hand. Basically the same stuff I had a year or so before Y2k.

To answer you question: If it is biological you are bound to be dead or dying before you can do much about it; Nuclear, well then your ashes or dying of radiation poisoning.

My advice to anyone is deal with it! Be prepared for everyday things like interruptions in utilities and conveniences, but don’t sweat the big stuff. Most of us can’t do anything about it except go into the hills and hide in a cave…like Osoma!

 

[SteveLS]

The area I live in is more likely to require sitting tight than bugging out, so I planned accordingly.

I don't have a generator, but I do have two power inverters, (400 watt, and 600 watt), plus three cars, (with full tanks, and 20 gallons extra in the garage), to keep the batteries charged. This gives me enough juice to run the small refrigerator, plus a couple lights, the tv, and satellite system.

We have plenty of dried food, and canned food, plus water, medicine, etc to last about two months, (and an abundance of game in the area if two months is not enough). Lots of ammo for all my weapons. And we have enough wood cut and stacked to last the winter, plus lots more available if we need it. A coleman gas stove, lanterns, lots of candles, and enough dog and cat food to last our three mooches for six months.

Should bugging out become necessary, we each have a bag packed, plus bags for the kids too, with enough to keep us going for a week or so. I keep mine in the car when driving to and from work, (2 hours, one way....yuck). So, we're as prepared as we can be....I hope. I think we've taken reasonable precautions, without going overboard.

 

[Thibault]

tes3:

NO! You are playing Osama's game by allowing him to catch you pants down!

Who will take care of you if TSHTF?

I can only politely suggest you to think again... and plan accordingly!

 

[Art Eatman]

Living in a rural area, sitting tight is the better part of wisdom.

When I'm in a city, I rely on major AM radio stations for information; they're set up to break into regular programming with alerts and warnings. I always fill my truck with gas when I first hit town. If I can get past the traffic jams, I have some 600 miles before my next stop for fuel.

I usually have some amount of "bugout" gear with me when I'm away from home.

Since terrs don't announce the time and place of their next effort, alertness is about the only actual "preparing" available. "Be ready to be elsewhere".

, Art

 

[Guyon]

On this board more than once, I've seen mentioning of Mormon church leaders advocating a 72-hour emergency kit. I'm just wondering if there are particular reasons (other than the obvious) that the church compels its membership to be on the ready.

 

[Bobshouse]

Yup, I'm casting like crazy. Cant afford to go out and buy a years supply of food, or fancy packs and such, so I figured I'd load up and take some poor unarmed individuals stuff.

Just kiddin!

Here in good ol' california you always have to be ready, cause if it isn't terrorists, it's earthquakes.

Bob

 

[Redlg155]

You can never be too prepared for any disaster. Stocking up, rotating stock and adding new items should be part of anyones plan for survival.

I'm lucky because where I live I can catch fish from the Gulf or hunt deer, so extra ammo and fishing equipment is part of my kit.

Have these events changed anything that I do?..Nope. Should it make other folks more wary of the dagers of the world and just how fragile our civilization can be? I hope so.

Good Shooting
RED

 

[Mike Irwin]

Panic is one thing.

Being prepared for a situation is entirely another.

Is carrying homeowner's insurance being prudent, or is it playing into the burglar's hands?

Is having a firearm to protect yourself and your family prudent, or is it playing into the fear that you'll be attacked in your home?

 

[FPrice]

Guyon...

I am not Mormon, but I have known a few over the years. It seems to me that they have always stressed self-reliance and preparedness, even before it was popular. A few Mormons have started a website (I "think" it's armedcitizen.com) that may give you a little more information on their thoughts on this subject.

Like all groups, I am sure that there are some Mormoms who push this issue more than others. It would not be surprising that some of them gravitate to forums like TFL and express their opinions. It may or may not reflect the thinking of the entire Mormon community.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Since it's impossible to know in what form the next attack will come, it's hard to know what to stock up on. I live in a large city, so I've increased the amount of ammo on hand in case of urban unrest. If it becomes a question of evacuating, we have close relatives who live in the country who don't own guns but, if problems arose, wouldn't mind having me and my arsenal at hand.

 

[yankytrash]

While growing up, I always our family's survivalist ideas and practices were ridiculous and embarassing.

Now that I'm older, I find that it's a great way to pass the time -

• bargain hunting for gear and food,
• figuring out new, greater ways to cook what is otherwise pretty crappy food,
• experimenting with making simple things like bread from scratch (also a good way to figure out if wheat or flour is a good or worthless thing to put on your list),
• running through the woods with my 5-year-olds pretending a 'bear' is chasing us,
• learning the family-togetherness of a good board game,
• burying stuff (no matter how old you get - nothing's funner than buried treasure),
• learning that your green thumb is sometimes a little black,
• sewing - taking a pair of large BDU pants and making them into a medium begets you your 'favorite pair of pants

In all, it can end up a very self-satisfying way to live, and is a great way to bring your busy family together. Also offers the piece of mind you need in times when then s*** may, indeed, ever hit the fan.

 

[Jody Hudson]

I already AM, bugged out, and have been for years. I have not made any special preps to speak of. On 9-11 I grabbed our son from school, just in case the school or the government decided to get stupid. I have more concern about our various governmental reactions than that of the terrrorists, because of where I live.

On 9-11 I did get an extra batch of batteries as we were down to a few dozen of some sizes. I also stopped by and got 20 gallons of wine for my mate! It IS important to keep morale up for everyone.

We keep about 6 months of everything on hand and a few more months of some things. We can be sort of laid back because of our location. We can fish from the yard and filter water there too. I do have a considerable stock of Instant Fishing solutions available. We have a low population of people and many fish here. We have a septic system and a couple of years of TP and plenty of cooking solutions. We also have lots of food that doesn't need any or very little cooking.

Our climate is temporate enough that I've cancelled the auxillary heating solutions I had before for the most part as we won't need them.

I do keep a large ammount of "possibles" in my car as I'm in it a LOT.

One thing that is an error on most people's part is planning to hunt if TSHTF. If there are even two or three dozen neighbors planning to hunt for food it will be unlikely that anyone will have any success after the first day as all the game bugs out in a matter of hours. In our general area there are HUGE quantities of deer and likewise huge quantities of Veterans and those who hunt once in a while. Any that plan to hunt for food will go hungry. I'll bet them 100 pounds of rice on that.

Hunting is not only time consuming but dangerous if there are ANY other needy hunters in the area and that is true of almost all areas.. I consider hunting to be the last resort unless you live in a community of a couple of dozen with several thousand square miles to hunt with no other people -- and you KNOW from birth all who will be hunting that property with you. So eastern Montana and parts of Idaho that would work... perhaps...

I keep a very small AM-FM-TV-Weather radio in my pocket all the time so I can tune in if I have to and I'm a ways from the car. Our local radio is very responsive and there is only one FM channel to monitor and only one weather channel and one TV channel to monitor.

Plus I live in a community that is pretty good about sticking together. We are working on improvements.

 

[Dave R]

Fprice got it right. The Mormon Church has always stressed personal preparedness. Not "just" SHTF. More like natural disaster preparedness.

I went through the Loma Prieta quake (the "World Series" quake) in '89 and Hurricane Andrew in '92, so the preparedness stuff made a lot of sense to me before Y2k etc.

 

[WESHOOT2]

GENTLE REMINDER

"Bugging out" may not work in certain areas; you won't be welcome.

Having stuff won't help if you can't reach it.

Being separated from loved ones means sacrificing ALL to reuniting.

THousands of years ago a wise man suggested preparing immediately. Those who followed that advice live in Vermont.






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"all my paranoid survival fantasies are Robert Heinlein paranoid survival fantasies 'cause THERE AIN'T NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH"

 

[Bear Flare]

respirators and bio-chemical

AR10 and all:

We need to throw some cold water on everyone right now that thinks that they can use a paint respirator or military surplus gas masks and M.O.P.S. gear to survive a chemical attack.

The respirators described for paint and such are only good for organic vapor. Bio weapons are NOT NOT NOT NOT organic vapor. To get the particulate that contains pathogens you need HEPA particulate filters as well.

Nothing protects you from viruses, nothing protects you from chlorine gas. If you get hit with mustard, your eyes are exposed, so you are then blind. Your skin is exposed, so it peels off and you die from infection. If you get hit with nerve agent, your eyes, skin, and umm... mucous membranes are exposed so you are dead.

There is nothing that protects you from bio-chem attack short of NOT BEING THERE when it happens. No amount of mil surplus M.O.P.S. gear will save you.

Take all the money you plan to spend on this and buy more food or something more useful.

Bear Flare