Civil preparedness (I'll admit that has a better ring to it than "Logistics," the heading I would have chosen) is a pretty huge category. It literally encompasses everything we do before the shooting starts, and almost everything we will do once it does. Despite this, logistical planning and preparedness is all too often overlooked.

The consequences of that neglect can be catastrophic. History is replete with tragic examples of logistical failures, but we need look no further than the once great--and now even more historic--City of New Orleans. For a graphic account of what can happen without realistic logistical planning and execution, there is no more timely example.

For the sake of simplicity, we'll divide this discussion into three categories: Personal and Family Preparedness, Militia Preparedness, and Resupply. these categories are arbitrary, with more than a little overlap, but we have to start somewhere.

I. Personal and Family Preparedness

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of New Orleans policemen, firemen, security officers, and paramedics who should have been preventing looting and violence, rescuing people trapped by the flood, and providing medical attention to the sick and injured, weren't. Why not?

Because their own families needed assistance. Duty to their own loved ones quite understandably took precedence over their duty to the City of New Orleans. Let that be a lesson for us.

Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else, will come to the battle until our own families are out of danger and supplied with the necessities.

And, that may not just include just our immediate families. Are your parents and grandparents taken into account? Can you really leave that old family friend to fend for himself? Who will look after your mistress? (Just kidding--I know you don't have a mistress.) You better make at least some provision for all of them.

For too many of us, "preparedness" means having a three-day supply of MRE's for everybody. If that is your plan, I hope to change your mind. I am going to recommend enough water to provide two gallons of water per person, per day, for fourteen days--and a way of getting more. A year's supply of food will see your family through any foreseeable disaster (or an extended period of unemployment, which for most of us means the same thing).

I'm not crazy about the idea of the militia hunting and trapping for food, but this is practical for families, especially when it comes to saving money while you're making preparations for hard times. During a crisis, your family is likely to be too busy with other things to go hunting for food. Still, it wouldn't hurt to get them involved in gathering wild foods now. (I intend to include a topic on recipes for wild foods so, if you're an Iron Chef when it comes to Cat Stew or Rat Pot Pie, I'd like to hear some of your ideas.)

Before we leave this category, let me bring up the subject of looting. Any number of commentators in the weeks following Katrina have pointed out that stealing TV's is wrong, but looting food, water, and infant formula for your family is alright. Well, let's ask God for His Opinion on that:

"Thou shalt not steal."

Pretty unambiguous, isn't it? Not much room for quibbling, either.

If you follow the recommendation in this forum, you should have no need to resort to stealing. Unforeseen events do occur, though. If you find yourself needing something that belongs to someone else, either leave payment for it, or leave a note saying who you are and how you intend to make restitution. And, don't be surprised if you're greeted by a load of buckshot anyway. Enough said.

II. Militia Preparedness

A while back, I added up what it would cost to keep a 16-man militia squad fed with MRE's for a two-week period. The price tag--over $3000--came as quite a reality check to a lot of people. MRE's are great, but we're going to be eating a lot more beans, rice, and canned goods than we are "Chicken a la Freeze Dried."

We must be brutally realistic about what we can accomplish in the field. The three general limitations are time, labor (or manpower), and resources. None of us are Rambo, and none of us are Daddy Warbucks either. If you're planning on putting 25,000 people in the Superdome, you better plan to feed them, police them, and clean the damn latrines, too.

-----

I was watching the Fox News Channel the Wednesday after Katrina hit. Reporter Jerry Rivers (er, "Geraldo Rivera") was outside the New Orleans Convention Center (he was, he said, afraid to go inside) interviewing the Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department.

"We need help now," cried the Superintendent. "It's chaos in there, pure anarchy! We have 20,000 people in there, with no food or water since Monday! If we don't get help, this place is going to explode tonight! We need help desperately, now!"

Well, first of all, Mr. Superintendent of Police, isn't it your job to maintain order and prevent chaos? Instead of complaining to Geraldo, how about getting back in there and doing your job?

Furthermore, Mr. Superintendant, you knew on Monday you had that many people. Didn't you realize then that a certain number of them would be criminals? (You must have; it was you who emptied the jail and sent the inmates there!) Didn't you realize a few others would be sick or injured, or have serious psychological problems? Didn't you know some of them would be going through drug or alcohol withdrawal? Didn't you figure that everyone there would be under a great deal of stress? What did you expect to happen? Why didn't you make plans to deal with the violence?

Furthermore, Mr. Superintendent, you knew on Monday there was no water. Did you expect the problem to fix itself? Why didn't you organize some work details to gather cooking pots and fuel, construct some improvised water filters, and go about boiling and filtering some water? You're the Superintendent--why didn't you use a little initiative?

Likewise, On Monday, you knew there wasn't enough food. You look like you could lose a few pounds anyway, Mr. Superintendent, but didn't you see this would be a problem?

Finally, Mr. Superintendent, I'm sorry for singling you out. You were far from the only incompetent public official in this sorry, tragic fiasco. Honest, it was just your whining like a punked-out inmate on national TV that made me want to bitch-slap you.

-----

Folks, don't be like that hapless Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. Be realistic about what you can do with your available time, manpower, and resources. Plan on using them effectively and, when the plan goes awry (which it surely will), don't whine about it. Be a leader, and fix the problem.

III. Resupply

This is where the first two categories come together. If you think your guerrilla force can "live off the war," think again; no successful force has ever been able to do so. Even people as resourceful as the Hmuong tribesmen of Vietnam and Laos needed constant resupply by U.S. forces.

In this category will be discussions on caching and storage, the development and management of an auxiliary force, and the ever-present limitations of time, manpower, and resources.

We'll include some novel approaches from the history books (resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto, for instance, donned uniforms from dead SS troops to "requisition" supplies of oil and gasoline). And, we may even include some fun stuff, like getting supplies past FEMA and Homeland Insecurity roadblocks to flood victims.

So that's it, a rough overview of the subject of Logistics and Civil Preparation, and of what I hope to accomplish in this forum. Now, let's get to work.

Onward and upward,
airforce




Posted by: ConSigCor Sep 22 2005, 07:22 PM


The following snippet is part of a forthcoming report on the state of the militia.


The militia's state of readiness is alarming. The combat effectiveness of many units would be negligeable were they ever to be deployed. One internal study done by the MMCW several years ago found that their "units were barely prepared to sustain operations in the field for two weeks".

9. "Militia operations suffer from the most completely crippled logistical tail in the history of organized warfare. On the one hand, they fancy themselves to be the defenders of the oppressed people of the United States. On the other hand, they have no way of feeding themselves... Their lack of a functioning supply system eventually reduces them to a nomadic pursuit of food which will expose them to destruction..."

"Their primitive medical and commisary arrangements will inflict more casualties on their forces than enemy bullets and they will suffer from rapid force depletions due to dessertion."

“You need the resources to provide medical care for your people, and this has to include safehouses that have rooms in them suitable for providing medical care and the recovery of the sick and or wounded. This has to include real medical care, not just "lets pretend we know first aid" medical care. Antibiotics, drugs, and the ability to perform operations on a level similar to that of a field hospital. If you can't find some people who are capable of providing this care, then you need to be able to train your own even if it means sending one of the kids to medical school.

On the medical care issue, you need to have medical teams set up that can discreetly and securely travel between safehouses and provide medical care. Set up agreements on discretion and plausible deniability with regards to the treatment of "friends who are staying over after that accident at work".

"Quartermaster and Ordinance supplies will presumably be liberated from the oppressors via guerilla warfare. The last operation that used this method of supply, the Viet Cong, suffered 1,000,000 dead against a US loss of 50,000 and the bulk of their military supplies was actually coming from the Soviet Union and China. What nation on earth is going to be forwarding military aid to the freedom-loving guerillas of North America?" The militia's only source of supply is what they can carry on their back and 99% are armed with nothing more than a rifle. There is almost no weapons standardization within the units themselves which will lead to a logistical nightmare.”

10. “Militia’s suffer from an incredibly naïve view of what martial law would look like or the character of a guerrilla war waged within the confines of the United States. “Given that militias expect the USA to be taken over by a cruel, and possibly satanic, dictatorship, it is highly unrealistic to expect them to observe the ordinary constitutional niceties when investigating acts of guerrilla warfare.”

“There isn’t going to be any dusting for fingerprints or collecting DNA for use at trial. The civilians in the neighborhood are going to be lined up and asked to betray the names of the perpetrators. If they don’t know or fail to answer, they are going to be shot---all of them. So the next mission you run, you are going to have to ask yourself the question: ‘Will the death of three UN privates justify the massacre of 300 innocent civilians in reprisal?’

“The families of those members serving in the field are not going to be eligible for food stamps or able to keep working their civilian jobs while hubby goes out to fight for freedom. They will be hostages, the sicker and more starved the better, used to encourage their men to surrender and save their own families from ruin at the expense of the country’s need.” In many cases “brother shall turn against brother”, father against child, wife against husband…just to save their own skin.

*********************************************************************

Think about the above for a minute.

It is irrelevant if my rifle is bigger than yours if I can't feed or supply myself in the field. You must make preparations to provide for your family totally "off the grid". Further, the family is THE support element of the militia. They are the backbone of our supply and logistics system.

Posted by: ClanWolf Sep 24 2005, 07:54 AM
Please look at these pics long and hard.


These barrels hold enough food for 2 people for 4-5 yrs. Thats enough for 8 people for 1 year.

Thats not including TP, soaps, mills, water filters, and other needed items.

The militia is not living in the real world when it comes to be ready for anything. When was the last time any unit had classes in food storage, water purification, trapping, food prep or anything that wasn't military? Can anyone even sew up a tear in thier BDU's? Build a latrine?

I have tried in the past to get AWRM and AM to have forums just for logistical and resupply, but no, thats not want is really wanted. On Firstshirts site, he put three forums for this and there are no post about anything there. The militia is more into bitch sessions about the best rifle or gear or that the cheapest china junk is best. Or who's religious views are right.

Until people start putting money into supplies instead of weapons, the militia will be a joke.

Posted by: airforce Sep 24 2005, 09:08 AM
Agreed, Clanwolf. Maybe this forum will help turn this around.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Posted by: Irish Jaeger Dec 19 2005, 11:32 AM
This is an EXCELLANT topic...thanks guys.

Posted by: Laconicus Dec 19 2005, 12:06 PM
I tried to start a thread a while back on AWRM concerning logistics, but most people aren't that interested in beans and bullets since it doesn't involve being Rambo. Also, those few who did discuss it were of the idea they'd be able to survive by hunting and picking stuff off the dead.

Hopefully we'll have better luck with this thread.

The way I see it is this: Most of our caches will, at one time or another, be compromised. Its up to individuals and units to see to their supply needs. Quantity has a quality all of its own, and when it comes to stockpiles of food and other gear, I wholeheartedly agree. It's far wiser to have a lot of smaller caches of food and gear (enough for a couple of weeks tops) scattered all over than a few larger caches. That way if one, or several, are compromised you still have a wide variety of options. Also understand that the fewer people who know about the locations of your caches, the better off you'll be. This includes people in your units. Supply officers and their assistance (and the leader, of course) should be the only ones who know the locations of all the units caches (as they should be the ones establishing and stocking them). Individual members should be encouraged to make their own caches as well in the general area of the units caches. This will relieve a huge amount of the supply burden.

What I'd stock at an individual cache:
Food (1-2 weeks worth, no more)
fuel (5-10 gallons)
cooking fuel (tabs or whatever)
medical supplies (for ind. kit)
ammunition (no more than a full combat load)
parts for weapons (those most likely to break, firing pins, etc.)
sewing kit
weapon cleaning supplies
Spare uniform/CW Gear (depends on AO)
Boots & socks (1 pair boots, 2 pairs socks)
Extra ruck (store as much of the above mention stuff as you can in it)


Understand that once you've used a cache (even for only a day or two) it's been compromised and is now useless. Take everything you'd ever want and destroy the rest and never, ever, under any circumstances go back to that area. A lot of people are gear heavy (hey, its fun I know), but I would encourage everyone to learn to move with as little gear as possible, and to survive effectively that way.

Posted by: Ringsider Dec 21 2005, 01:00 PM
QUOTE
...Until people start putting money into supplies instead of weapons, the militia will be a joke.


Everyone reads about the H5N1 Avian Flu virus, and about the possibility of of it becomeing a super-flu. The individuals living in outlying areas could stand a beter chance of survival if they were to isolate themselves from exposure. That could only be accomplished with proper stores of supplies.

Posted by: Dhass Jan 11 2006, 11:46 AM
Be advised that caching supplies and materiel will have to be modified for the AO that they are stored in. If you have all kinds of stuff in an ALICE ruck in a city or urban environment, you will stand out much more than if you were wearing a coat & tie and carrying stuff in a somewhat large shoulder-strap gym bag. To complete the picture and "achieve the look," add a sports drink bottle (some gym bags have netted side pockets for this).

Larger duffle bags (padlocked) stashed at garages/homes in your general area are an excellent method for the suburbs. Older ones are best, so watch the garage sales. If possible, stencil different names, etc. on them. Don't put a friend at risk by storing illegal stuff this way as they will roll over on you in a heartbeat.

Keep clothes in each location for the ability to blend in wherever you are. If you have very long hair, a set of hair clippers can totally change your appearance after you don that coat and tie. Money, food, ammo, water purification, footwear, clothing, sidearm/holster, (small) rifle--maybe a folding stock or breakdown style, and other items that you can think of.

Another option would be to do the "musician routine." Get an older instrument case (trombone & tenor sax cases work well) without the horn, re-do the interior for your weapon, gear, or whatever. Then, arrange to place a padlock on the case. Also, get a music stand to "achieve the look." If you do the trombone routine, remember that brass players generally have another bag for their mutes--so get some. Now, remember that little old lady across the street that really hates you? If she sees you with a tenor sax case, music stand, etc., she will become your best friend because her dead husband played with Stan Kenton (Lawrence Welk, Woody Herman, etc.). You had better be able to talk about sax players with some authority (or trombone players, bassoon players, etc). An old tux shirt with studs in it always adds to "the look."

If there is a Boy Scout Troop in your area, you might consider trying to affiliate with it. Having a Scout Leader's uniform in the back seat of your Olds might help to get you away from a nosy LEO when a ruck and boots are seen.

If you do decide to do the burial routine, DO NOT DO SO WHERE YOU RESIDE. DO NOT DO SO ANYWHERE THAT YOU NORMALY GO. THEY WILL CHECK THESE PLACES. Chances are (sorry, Johnny Mathis) that they know about your freinds & acquaintances also. Plan accordingly!

More later.

Seems we need to kick start this a little.

When I posted as Clan Wolf, I showed a picture of a 5 year supply of grains for 2 people. In other words, enough for 4 people for a year.

Here it is again.

[img]http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1464/6114268/11939152/174979827.jpg?SSImageQuality=Full[/img]

Those barrels weigh three hundred pounds each! Its around 5,000 pounds!

If people are really serious about being in the militia, resupply or logistics must become a priority. The reason irregular forces in the past needed 10% of the population on thier side was the need to be resupplied. A fighter can't take the time needed to go farming. He'd be lucky to have the time to even trap.

What is desperatly needed is a change. Training in combat must be blanced with training in how to feed and take care of yourself. How many training sessions does any unit devot to how to cook your own meal? When was the last time did members not bring in MRE's or stopped at a party store to get something to eat for the day?

Can you grind wheat and make bread? Butcher a deer in the field and preserve it? Do you even have the right equipment to even try or did you buy another rifle instead? Do you even have some spare parts or another XboX game?

Can you sew up your new digital cammies or even have some Goop for your boots?

Can your wife do any of this? Or is she going to run off the minute your not around?

Remember, the US Military has 8 support troops for evey fighter! The militia will need even more.

As I said before:

I will take up the standard here. If you need sources for food and water supplies that will not ruin your finances, then check the following sites.

www.honeyvillegrains.com
they have the best shipping quote $5 per order...their stuff is freezed dried and not too bad.

www.harmonyhousefoods.com
they have regular dried stuff. It will last about a year unopened.

water is a major need. filters and tabs are great but you really need to draw the line and get that bo plan written and reviewed and practiced.

If you need further information PM me.

Just got to this thread and have really enjoyed it.

It would be nice to see some new comments here though. AIRFORCE had a lot of good common sense comments.

I too have been trying to get on board with the self sufficiency angle. Learning lots, but have a LONG way to go.

Thank you, Pixelman. Unfortunately, my time is pretty used up with other priorities right now. I really hope to resume my discussion of logistics eventually, but I don't know when that may be.

If someone else would like to pick up the reins, I would be overjoyed.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Excellent and well needed! I have some input that i will put in soon!!

I'm involved with Boy Scouts, and we're called some of the best scavengers around. I'm also a purchasing agent so I can determine the best value for every dollar spent.

Develope contacts now, that might be useful later on. Work with other people in your profession or your business.

Another buyer can get me all of the used 55 gallon poly drums that I'd ever need. They had food grade ingrediants in them. A good washing and they are good to go. The local soybean plant will sell 100# bags for under $20.

You've got to look around your community and see what's available and how you can put it to good use.

Well, it's been a year since my last post and things have really changed in the nation/world!

One thing that hasn't changed is the need for logistics to keep people fed, clothed and running in adequate shape for whatever comes up.

In the last year I have gotten my preps more in order but I've also come to the realization that my significant other is not "on board" with certain aspects of the way things may develop.

I've tried to get myself in better physical conditioning but I also understand the limitations my 50+ body has compared to the 25-35 year olds.

Therefore, while I see myself as being a front-liner, the reality is that I'd probably be better at logistics. (Notwithstanding becoming a "dangerous old man.)

One really big impediment to practicing the realm of logistics is the current government's view of militias. (MAIC, HDS communiques, etc.)

Therefore, how does one set up a logistics and supply "facility" without being hammered?

I'm interested in intelligent discussion about this. Discussions about warehousing and trucking arrangements, how to camo a supply, etc.

Look forward to responses.

As a mental exercise a couple friends and I often try to plan how we would set up a facility for something and keep it from being discovered. Being as we're military, the 'how would you set up to resupply a covert group operating in an urban or rural environment without standard supply drops' vein came up about a month ago, and here's a few of the requirements we came up with after about an hour of discussion.

1. People coming and going can not be suspicious
2. Must be a 24-hour or late night operation
3. Must be able to conceal supplies/equipment amid other items
4. Must be public enough to avoid scrutiny
5. Must be private enough to make exchanges

The best possibility I could think of would be a hardware/feed store. This would allow you to have large amounts of tools and foodstuffs concealed among the rest of your inventory, and the resupply could take place at any point, and appear to be no more than a regular purchase. Replacement parts for a rifle could be concealed in parts to fix a leaky faucet, and foodstuffs could be concealed in a bag of grain or even fertilizer (properly sealed so it isn't contaminaed, of course).


How well would that work to camo a supply?

It sounds like a good idea. I don't think that I would try hiding foodstuffs in fertilizer. The risk is too great. Any cross contamination at all could be fatal. The important thing is you're thinking about it, and that's a good start. A bag of grain is definitely a good idea. Good thinkin'

I don't know why I typed fertilizer, I meant to say soil, like potting soil for flower beds. My bad, I was trying to give examples that could be used in either urban or rural situations and my mind got stuck in rural.

Good suggestion with the hardware/feed store concept. As a thought exercise, I'll put this to several folks for discussion and see what we come up with.

I have all kinds of practical questions….
• How would a cache be funded?
• What size group are we talking about?
• How many folks would need to make 'donations' to support a group?
• Do we pool from our personal foodstuffs or buy extra?

When it comes to medical needs, we have your everyday sort of thing; illnesses, fevers, broken limbs, viruses; and then you have the more dire needs such as severed limbs, head traumas, and maybe the odd bullet wound.

Therefore, you’d have to have medical folks that were qualified to deal with the above that were part of your “group” and they’d have to have access to the necessary supplies (most could be stockpiled, excepting plasma and some meds).
I don’t know much about religious groups that have tried to make their own community, such as “Yearning For Zion” group in Texas. Anyone know how they were set up for medical needs, assuming they did more than just prayed for their injured? (Of course, they are already at their “bug out” location so transportation and warehouse issues would not be endemic to their cause, unless they had to relocate.

While I have enjoyed fictionalized stories of possible scenarios, I wondered about the logistics of feeding small armies and getting their supplies from place to place without detection or confiscation.

A great book (non-fiction) for logistics in wartime is “Moving Mountains: Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War” by William G. Pagonis. It really lays down the needs of an army that is often overlooked by folks just interested in the battle aspect.
Until then, Cheers.

-Funding could be accomplished in two main ways. It could be funneled into the group setting up the cache through blind transfers and money drops.
Or
It could be funded through above-board activities, from 'burglar-proofing' homes (which would give a convenient excuse for having alarms and other material) to landscaping (you'd be surprised how in shape this gets you and what you learn)

-Group size is entirely dependent on the type of area you are in. In an urban environment it would be much easier to conceal resupply of a large group than in a relatively rural area (this is assuming you don't have full control and civilian support). I would say, however, that whatever you do you want to have at least a secondary, and possibly tertiary, position already set up. The standard operating procedure of most militaries the past seventy or eighty years is to take out lines of communication and resupply. After all, it doesn't matter how motivated someone is if they can't get beans, bullets, and backup when they need them. For that matter, you might even want to consider investing in construction of what appears to be a central supply warehouse for the express purpose of allowing it to be eliminated. This would serve two purposes. One, ambush; and two, misdirection. If they are convinced you lost your main stockpile, they'll be sure you will fall in a short time and plan for a completely different style of warfare.

From a strategic point of view I see the your point. From the practical point of view I think it will be difficult enough just getting supplies together enough in one (or more) places to handle a platoon.

I would think a better method would be (assuming you had all the materials needed) to equally split up the supplies into three (four?) amounts and have them dispersed among non-fighting elements that have little "exposure" to enemy forces. This could be folks like me that are not prime fighter material but can hunker down and drive when needed.

Just wondering, how much space would materials for a platoon's supplies for 1 month of eating and munitions re-supply take?, a two car garage? Larger?

Also, how do you think enclosed trailers would be for storage? Especially if they could be hidden during storage. That way, they could be zipped out when necessary. The only danger here is that they could be questioned by enemy forces as to their purpose for being on the road, etc.

"Enemy Forces" will need resupplying too. Given that any domestic offensive would be on such a large scale such as would require contracting civilian vehicles for their supplies, just like in Iraq. So, your best camo would be forged papers as there would be road blocks and check points.

Exellent topic,certainly needs more attention then who has a better lbv or knife.Cacheing your supplies is definitely a great idea. In the woods or cities is a must. Depending on your plan,by yourself or a group. Security is a must!! Proper caching is important to certain items.Sometimes the most obvious is the least obvious. And make sure your cache will not come under developement of roads ,houses,demolition or any type of disturbance that you can't monitor.

Another couple of years later from previous posts and the interest in common folk to be prepared for rising food/fuel/energy prices has grown.

Maybe it's because I'm more aware of others preparing, or maybe its because more people are actually putting away food stuffs, etc. But it's not too late to get going on your family's stockpile of goods.

If each militia family has a stockpile plus reserves, they will be better equipped for any emergency, regardless of nature.

Sometimes I find myself spiraling into "what if" scenarios that become unrealistic to the current catastrophes that could actually befall me. I don't think a guerrilla war fought like the French Resistance would occur as who will give us support (already mentioned in another's previous post).

Just think about it, Canada and Mexico have entered into an agreement with the U.S. to help martial each others country. (Comprehensive Defense and Security Agreement)

It would be just as valid to have meetings/trainings focusing on the more mundane issues mentioned in previous posts. Maybe in this environment (political) members could be encouraged to attend courses and classes taught locally that deal with bushcraft and homesteading. I envision a group of militia members taking a particular course incognito so as to not receive unwanted attention.

What do you all think?

Let us update this topic since we have had Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast and a nor’easter. We have seen many people upset at FEMA and other non- government organizations for not supplying immediate relief items.
I work with many non-profit organizations such as BSA, HAM Radio, Red Cross and CERT. The CERT and Red Cross are recommending 7 days’ supply. I do not recommend being in a shelter, but it may beyond your control at times.
Those that plan and practice their plan survive better than those who wait until it is too late. There are two basic categories of preparation to think about. One is to stay in place and the other is to evacuate. Do all of your emergency plans address these two choices?
Now we need to keep this topic going so reply about your thoughts.

This is an excellent topic. I know, I've been gone from this forum for a long time. I've been working out of state, and prepping. I'm pretty busy these days, homesteading and being gone 4 days a week.

I'm not going into great detail, but I will say this. Hunting and trapping is not going to be a reliable source of meat, as there will be many people who will be after the same game. If you like meat, raise it. The same goes for vegetables and fruits. Anyone can grow a small garden, even in most apartments you can hang plants on a windowsill or in pots on a patio. Canning is easy, not to mention cheap.

Grains store well, when stored properly. I can offer advice on this. My rice, flour and oats are well past the expiration date, and use them with no doubts or problems.

There are many pages written on homesteading, prepping food and household items, etc etc. If you want a huge resource for this kind of stuff, check out http://www.shtfm.com . I am a long time member there, good people and next to no bull. I realized the need to provide for my own without the assistance of a grocer or market a couple years ago, and I actually spend most of my free time/money prepping household items.

Don't worry, the wife and I still devote time/funds to learning, training and planning for defense, especially as I'm gone more than I'm home. She has become a good shot, we work intruder drills with her 870 as often as we can(empty and safe, of course.) She's learning, and I'm learning from my own mistakes. Anywhere there is not a plan A, B and C in place, we're developing one.

We've also enlisted a rescued German Shepherd to keep the peace while I'm gone. He's successfully kept a bear, and another unidentified four legged livestock thief at bay. We're searching for a playmate for him, a pup for him to train.

We're working on a 2 year plan for food and supplies, I suggest everyone else do the same.

P.S: For those of you who are in an active unit, I would suggest making this kind of preparedness a requirement. What good are you going to be without food and water? I still have no real affiliation with anyone, the others I know who are awake are either too lazy or too far away to count on when the shit hits the fan.