Winter/storm preperations?

Its now December and usually by now we should have several feet of snow in the mountains.  But right now, there isn't a lot of it.  None of it around the STG homestead.  But does that mean you don't prepare for it?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  Being a prepper means you always try to Be Prepared like the scout saying says. 

When the temperatures start to change, we begin to go through our bug out bags, rotate our water stores, collect and split firewood, rotate out closets for warmer clothes etc.  We buy a cord of wood, split it and stack it so we can burn it in our wood stove if we ever needed to.  We also buy extra propane bottles for small heaters and stoves in case the power goes out and we can't use the kitchen stove or microwave.  I go through the house and make sure our rechargeable batteries and flashlights are fully charged. 

We had a wind storm come through 2 or 3 years ago that knocked out our power for about 17 hours and the wind made it extremely cold in the house.  We were somewhat prepared for this and we built a fire to warm up the house and  I fired up the generator a couple of times and plugged the fridge in so that we wouldn't loose any food.  Since then, I evaluate how prepared we were if the power had been out longer.  What did I learn? A few things!

Learning moment for me:

When the news said that we were going to get strong winds over the next couple days, I went out and fired up our small 800 watt generator to make sure it was ready.  Checked the fuel level and made sure it was topped off.  I also went out and split some more firewood and got it stacked in the house. 

We went to bed as the winds started to pick up.  Needless to say is was a pretty sleepless night with gusts up to 85 MPH.  We lost a small piece of siding off the side of the house and we just laid there waiting for more to go....luckily it never did.  When we woke up we surveyed the damage in our neighborhood.  Not to bad.  Power was out, lots of branches in the road, debris all over but we faired pretty good.  I went and fired up the generator and plugged the fridge in.  Well, what I didn't think about was extra fuel.  And the fuel I needed was mixed with oil.  Yup, I didn't have any stored up.  The generator ran good but I also felt it was a bit small.  It would only run the fridge, which at the time is all I was worried about.  Since then, we have a 1850 watt generator that will allow us to run/charge more items if we need to.  I also bought some solar generators from Goal Zero (www.goalzero.com).  From top to bottom pictures you have the Yeti family.  Yeti 150, Yeti 400, Yeti 1250 and then the 1250 kit with solar panels.

 We have since used all of them in various capacities and they work GREAT!  You can charge them by plugging them into the wall when you have power and they are ready to go!  OR, you can use solar panels with them and let the sun charge them.  The Yeti 150 is a smaller unit that is great for charging computers, phone, Ipad/Ipods etc.  The larger the numbers, the more power is stored and the more outlets you have.  We use the Yeti 1250 when we go to our property to run our coffee pot, lights around the campfire, charge radios etc.  We have 4 of the Boulder 30 solar panels that sit in the tripod shown above and let the sun recharge it.  Now, the 1250 is not light.  It weights a little over 100 pounds but it does come with a wheel kit that you can install. 

About a month ago or so we had the power go out again while we were all watching a DVD with our youngest daughter who is 3.  She got a little scared because it was dark.  Well, Goal Zero to the rescue.  You see, we also have some of their flashlights.  We have a couple of their Bolt flashlights as well as their Solo flashlights.  The Solo is very cool as it has its own solar panels built in!  I keep one of these in the window in the front room so its always charged.  Well, I give that one to our daughter who is happy to have light.  I then grab our Yeti 1250, wheel it into our bedroom and plug our TV and DVD player into it.  POOF!  Instant power and a happy little girl who can finish watching a movie.  Next, I grab the Yeti 400 and a couple of the Lite-a-life lights.  I plug the lights into the Yeti, string them from the ceiling and we have lights!  I grabbed the generator, fire it up and plug the fridge in and we are set.  The power was off for about 3 hours this time which wasn't bad but it did give me a chance to try out some of the items from Goal Zero and see how they performed. 

When I hear of storms coming in, I use that as a good "drill" to see how ready we are for it.  Needless to say with the new generator, I keep 10 gallons of fuel ready for it, plus its always full.  I run it 4 times a year, have the fuel stabilized and when I run it, I turn the fuel off before turning it off.  I let it run until it dies from no fuel.  This will keep the carburetor from gunning up with bad fuel. Also, a chain saw and chain saw sharpener has been purchased and extra fuel stored for it in case we need to cut up branches or fallen trees.

These are a few of the little things that we learned when the wind storm "blew" on through.  It blew over semis, uprooted trees and garbage was everywhere.....but we still had fun and none of us were injured.  Stay safe and let us know what YOU have learned in any "disasters". 

Armor and plate carriers

It's been a few months since I've blogged due to working on some things that have changed our life.  We have been adding some videos to our Youtube page on some reviews and our thoughts on some gear and will be doing more in the near future.  But for now, lets talk about armor and plate carriers.

As stated before, I was in the military and law enforcement.  This was in the era before plate carriers (PC) was standard use to all in service.  Lets look at PC's and armor for the "prepper".  What do you want to have?  How often will you wear it?  How much money do you have to spend? What are the threats you are worried about?   Do you even need it???

There are a lot of questions to consider when looking at armor.  Lets look at "do you even need it" first.  The simple answer is YES.  You do need some type of armor but AFTER you have the basics down.  Food, security, shelter and water filtration/purification should all come BEFORE you get into all the "ninja gear" that's out there.  People have been shot and still survived.  I don't know anyone who has starved to death....and lived, make sense?  All the gear in the world wont save you if you have nothing to eat, a dry place to stay and clean water so get the basics done first. 

How often will you wear it?  Depends.  What is the SHTF disaster that hit your area?  Is it like the looting/riots in Ferguson that happened this last month?  Is it an EMP?  Earthquake?  Did Red Dawn ACTUALLY happen?  For me, when SHTF, I plan to bug out as soon as possible.  Our Mutual Aid Team (MAT) have communication plans in place and know that we will all meet at our BOL as soon as possible.  I plan to wear armor while bugging out.  I also have armor for my wife and kids. We will also wear it religiously until the rest of the MAT arrives.  Why?  We don't know exactly what/who we will encounter.  Hostile?  Friendly?  Who knows, but we won't want to take any chances. 

What do you want?  This is a huge question.  Do you want plates that will stop rifle rounds?  will soft armor work for what you are anticipating?  Do you need it to be concealable?  Honestly, try and get one of each.  One set of rifle plates, even the AR500 stuff is great.  Ceramic plates get very expensive very fast as compared to the AR500.  Make sure it has the anti-spalling coating on it though.  One set of soft concealable armor as well.  This gives you flexibility.  You can even double up if you need to.  Put the rifle plates in front of the soft armor.  This is what most military issue vests do.  You have the SAPI plates in front of the soft armor.  Gives you extra protection.  Now take into consideration that layers will increase weight and make sure that you have ample clean water to drink.  You will sweat a LOT while wearing this, especially if in the heat and moving around.  Almost all of our armor are in carriers that at least allow the option of adding magazine pouches if we need to.  This also allows for flexibility.  Check out these videos I did of a couple of vests/carrier and armor we use at our training courses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0kVjboS_sY&list=UU4wO1Q6DZU4nde9oQlIizXA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL4ValfJ4DM&list=UU4wO1Q6DZU4nde9oQlIizXA

There are a couple of options for you. 

Now costs on items like these will vary.  You can pick them up for a couple hundred bucks off of KSL.com, Craigs list, gun shows etc.  If you plant to buy knew, they can easily hit over $1000 PER SET.  Do you have kevlar helmets?  If you have vests, why not helmets?  We have helmets as well as eye protection. 

This is a PC from Grey Ghost Gear with the ceramic rifle plates in it that I'm using at our rifle fighting class. 

Remember to work on the basics FIRST, then worry about armor.  But YES, you should get some when time and money allows.  Who knows, maybe you will never need it....but if you need it, there won't be a substitute. 

Be safe and prep on! 

How much is to much?

How much is to much?  People will ask me, and even the Supreme Allied Commander will ask, “How much is to much”?  Well, there isn’t a simple answer to this.  How much ammo?  How many firearms?  How much emergency food?  Let’s look at this.

Firearms and ammunition:

How many firearms do you think YOU need.  Are you a recreation shooter?  Competition shooter?  Collector?  Instructor?  From my perspective as an instructor I don’t think there is a number.  As long as you can safely store them and keep them away from unauthorized persons, especially children and “bad guys”, there isn’t a number.  I have a few in different calibers and platforms but I also use them to demonstrate for the variety of courses that we conduct.  Everything from Pistol, Rifle and Shotguns.  I have them in different calibers as well in case I get questions asked.  Then you have revolver versus semi auto, pump versus auto loader etc.  If you are looking at a survival situation, I recommend a semi auto pistol, semi auto rifle in a caliber larger than .22 and a good shotgun.  My emergency preparedness set up is a Glock 19 in 9mm, an AR-15 with an EoTech and a good weapon light.  My weapon lights are all Surefire.  Then a Mossberg 590A1 with side saddle and a Speed Feed stock so I can hold extra rounds. 

Now I’m sure some of you are going to get into that whole caliber issue again.  Why a 9mm?  Capacity, controllability and availability of the round is why I choose this for a survival situation.  PERSONAL PREFERENCE here people.  I do have handguns in .40 and .45 as well but this is what I CHOOSE to use.  Why Glock?  I’m an armorer and can fix them.  I also have spare parts in case I need them.  Once again, its personal preference.  Now why do I go with an AR-15?  It’s what I’m most familiar with.  I carried one for 8 years in the Air Force as a Security Police/Forces member, I have parts, magazines and ammo for them.  Plus, the recoil is very manageable for follow up shots if I need to.  I also happen to be an AR-15 armorer so I can repair mine once again.  Now for the Mossberg.  Why did I go with a Mossberg 590A1?  You guessed it, I’m an armorer for this series as well.  I also like the length, the thickness of the barrel and the ghost ring sight setup that came on it.  Plus, the price I paid for this can’t be beat.  I paid a whole $250 for this about 4 years ago brand new from the factory.  All I had to do was add the side saddle.

Some people will argue with my selection and that’s fine.  For some people, their choices are limited on finances available.  This is something I took into consideration as well but you also have to look at what these things will be used for.  For me, when it comes to my families’ safety, I don’t put a price limit.  I look at dependability, versatility and ease of use.  Plus, how many people out there have a Glock 9mm or an AR-15?  Extra parts, ammo, mags etc come to mind here.  Now on to ammo.   How much ammo?  Honestly, I go through several thousand rounds a year teaching and taking courses.  I’m a firm believer of always a student so this gets me training a bit each year in others courses.  So I keep a couple thousand rounds of each of my main calibers so I’m ready to take a class and not have to worry about rushing to try and find it.  I also keep a couple hundred rounds of various self-defense (SD) ammo.  I rotate out my self-defense (SD) ammo once a year on my birthday and the stuff that I have had for the previous year gets rotated into an ammo can and sits there or gets shot up the next year.  This will always ensure I have fresh SD ammo if the need ever arises that I need to utilize it.  As for shotgun ammo, I keep 200 rounds of slug and 200 rounds of buck shot and 100 rounds of birdshot.  So to answer the question on ammo; I keep a couple thousand rounds of my primary calibers for training and an emergency situation if it ever is needed.  And don’t forget holsters, magazine pouches, slings, batteries etc for those firearms as well as a good cleaning kit and/or boresnake!  Good luck and please share this.  We will get pictures of the firearms on here shortly.      

What to do as public safety.

I know I said that the next blog would have to do with prepping and what steps to take but I received a message from someone who posed a great question.  He asked “I am just starting my LEO career and I was wondering if you have any advice for someone in my position? How should police prepare when my job requires me to hold the line? How long do I wait till I am forced to protect my family?”  This is a great question and I’ll try to do my best to answer it. 

      First off, preparing and holding the line.  There is nothing about prepping that goes “over the line” unless you get into illegal firearms that you don’t have the proper paperwork for.  A lot of “preppers” are LEO, Firefighters, Medics and military.  For some such as military its kind of beat into them.  Look at what their jobs require.  They have to have their “BOBs (Deployment bags) ready to go at all times.  They have to make sure things are in good working order etc.   They see reality every day.  They know that things can go to shit at a moment’s notice and that they will be called to “protect and serve” those in the city, County, State or Country they work for so they need to know that their families will have what’s needed.   So they try to have food, water, shelter and protection.   If you watch videos on YouTube about prepping, a lot of them will say that they are veterans.  While you are in the military, you know that if you have to deploy that everything should arrive to your FOB that is needed.  When you get out of the military for a lot of people, they have lost this resource and must plan for it on their own.  So in a short answer to the question, just do it.  Don’t broadcast it and make it part of your everyday thing.  Plus, at least for the State of Utah, the predominant religion preaches it so this could fall in your favor.   

 As for how long do you wait to protect your family?  That’s tough but you have to look at each situation.  What has happened in society that makes you wonder what to do?  Earthquake? Flood? Economic collapse?  Alien invasion etc.  This is where prior planning can come into play BIG, especially the communication side of your plan.  Talk to you family and run scenarios with them.  In our family, I have advised the Supreme Allied Commander what to do on certain events.  We have a communication plan established depending on the situation.  I have even gone as far as to write it all down in a chronological order for her to follow as she might become overwhelmed with the disaster and what to do next.  Let’s say an earthquake hits and you are on duty as a LEO in a city 20 mins away from your family, and this is drive time.  What happens to cell phones?  The lines get clogged and that’s IF the towers have stayed upright.  So how would you let your family you are ok?  TEXT Them.  Text uses less bandwidth than calling, plus, text messages will continue to try and send themselves for a period of time which allows you to focus on your safety and helping others.  What about a Ham radio?  Get your license and keep one in your Get Home Bag (GHB) and let your family know that if something happens, they need to turn it on and monitor it until you contact them, Make sure you keep the batteries charged in them or have an option to get them charged such as a generator or solar.  What about getting on your Department radio and asking a fellow officer in the city your family is in to check in on them when they have time?  Lots of options to touch base with family and check on them.  Most Departments understand that their Officers, Deputies Troopers etc aren’t worth a shit if they are worried about their families.  Some departments I have talked to have even made it policy that if something big happens, the officers bring their families to the Police Department where they will have security and the officer can still work in his city.  This is a great idea and shows that those Departments value their personnel as well as their citizens. 

A lot of officers I know carry some basic food in their cars.  My first eye opener to this was Christmas Eve, 1999.  I was on duty and about 2 hours before the end of my shift I was dispatched to the mountain side on a possible line down.  I arrived checked the area and then left because I couldn’t find anything.  Well, a few minutes after I left, dispatch called me again and said that I apparently didn’t go far enough up the dirt road.  Something clicked in me, whoever reported this had been sitting there watching me.  WTF!  I went back up the road a bit farther and sure enough I found some wire lying in the road.  I got out, looked around but couldn’t see anyone.  I decided to follow the wire through the trees.  About 10 yards into the trees, I see that the wire is now thrown into the branches and not lying on the ground.  I thought to myself, “this is what they teach us to do with Communications wire in the military to keep the enemy from seeing it and cutting it” and I kinda chuckled a bit.  I follow the wire up a hill and see that it is now through a chain link fence and dropped down into a holding pond over flow.  So I start pulling on it a bit and I though, I wonder if this is a bomb…. Well, I called the manager of the holding pond who showed up and called me on the cell phone later and said he thinks it was a bomb.  Now remember the big Y2K scare?  The thought crossed my mind that this had something to do with it.  Long story short, it was a bomb and my 10 hour shift turned into 16 hours.  I was stuck on the mountain side with the sheriff’s departments EOD guys while they detonated the explosives.  What did I have to eat with me?  Not a thing.  After that I always kept a couple MRE’s and some energy bars in my patrol car.  This can be a huge plus when a disaster strikes as well.  So learn from me.  KEEP SOME POGEY BAIT with you at all times.  Your personal car, work car etc.   Needless to say, I don’t tug on strange wires anymore lol.  I hope this post helps answer his question.  But prep, you owe it to your family. Nothing says you need to advertise what you have.   

Where to begin preparing?

Well, after our first post yesterday it probably got some people thinking which is good.  I hope it did get some of you to start thinking, specifically about what to do for your family. Here is a little about me and my preparing.  I think it has always been with me.  Beit going hiking in the mountains as a young Boy Scout up until now and I’m almost 40.  I have a military and Law Enforcement back ground but my big eye opener was when I was working security in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina came through. 

When I first arrived, I remember being driven from the airport into down town New Orleans and just looking around.  Garbage and debris everywhere and you could see water lines on buildings and vehicles from where the flood waters were.  Then you look in the lower 9^th ward and it looked like a war zone.  Myself and a couple guys from my team went for a drive in the lower 9^th and just driving through there was an eye opener.  You look at all the homes, one that was in the middle of the road and you had to drive onto someone’s front lawn to go around it and realize how things can go to shit in a very short time.  That’s when I had a switch click inside of me.  I was down there for 7 months.  It was a 7 month education. 

When I returned home I started to look at things different.  When I would go to the grocery store, I would buy a bit more than I normally would.  This allowed me to begin keeping more food and water stored in my small apartment for me and my two children.  I increased my attendance in training courses and equipment.  Time went on and finances increased a little bit at a time and this allowed me to improve and increase what I had.  I have always been into camping and the outdoors so I was fortunate that I had camping gear already.

Then 4 years ago I met a wonderful woman who stalked me, we will call her “The Supreme Allied Commander” or TSAC for short.  Since I figured I wouldn’t be able to hide from her I better just give in and let life take its course.  We have been together almost every day since.  We have a little girl now who will turn 3 this year and I remember in 2012 looking at this new little girl and another switch just flipped inside of me.  I remember holding this new little life and looking down at her and thinking “How hard would it be for her to look at me and cry because she was hungry”.  For whatever reason this lit a fire under me and I began a journey that hasn’t stopped yet.

I began researching a lot of things; long term food, water filtration etc.  Then I stepped back to pull on my military background.  I sat down with a notepad and a pen and thought “when the military shows up in the middle of nowhere to create a functioning base, what they HAVE to have?” THIS is how I started my preparing.  First thing that I looked at were the basics.  Military has to have the following:  Troops, self-defense, food, water, communication, power and shelter.  Then I started writing. 

Food: 

This is simple but people think that they will start to death very fast.  Honestly, how many Americans can afford to miss a meal or three?  I know I can.  But TSAC and I began to buy a little bit more when we went to the store and filled up the pantry pretty fast.  It doesn’t take a huge investment at first.  When you go to the store, and you usually buy 3 cans of soup, you add two more and come home with 5.  Poof, you have 2 spare cans in case things go bad.  We just kept doing this for the first several weeks and before we knew it the pantry was full.  Then I began looking at longer term food storage that we wouldn’t use unless the SHTF (Shit hit the fan).  We looked and sampled several different brands and decided to go with Wise Foods brands.  A couple reasons, they are a Utah company.  Buy local and keep Americans in jobs. Second, I liked that they came in buckets that were stackable.  Once the food is gone, you have something useful to carry supplies, water, use as a toilet etc. STG became a dealer of Wise Foods so if any of our fans, friends or readers want some, just let us know and we can get it ordered for you!  Then we looked at how long a disaster would last.  Looking back on New Orleans and the American Red Cross said 72 hours.  New Orleans was almost a week and in some places longer, before help arrived.  You need to have a way to resupply your food.  What did we do?  Simple, we have a small green house, garden and fruit trees and strawberry plants.  We dehydrate a lot of the fruit because our three year old loves it! 

This is the beginning of a several part series on how to begin being prepared.   Keep checking back for the next issue that should happen in 3 days or so.  Maybe sooner if I get time.   

Connecticut and the 2nd.

Alot of people are passing around the letter from the Connecticut State Police that is directed towards Americans who have not "registered" their firearms and magazines in accordinance with a new State Law.  So lets see what the 2nd Amendment actually says;

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

That was taken directly from http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/second_amendment. 

Well, I think its pretty straight forward there.  "The right of the people to keep and bear arms, SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED".  It doesn't say anything about "with the exception for the State of Connecticut and with regards to magazine capacity and certain firearms.  It says SHALL NOT. 

When I was going through the Police Academy, our legal professor made it very clear.  SHALL means there is no room for guessing.

I know on our pages and our alumni, we have a lot of military and LEO's who have taken an Oath.  That oath says for Armed Forces:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Then for the National Guard members, theirs adds a small addition and theirs is as follows:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of (STATE NAME) against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of (STATE NAME) and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God.

Now, with reading the above Oaths, is there an expiration date?  Does it say anything about " Don't worry about State laws that are enacted by State governments that go against the simple speech in the Constitution/2nd Amendment".  I don't see it if there is! 

I know a LOT of people who have taken that Oath and have stated that there is no expiration date and that we all take that oath very seriously.  I have spoken to a lot of current military and LEO's who have stated that they will not enforce any law that they feel violates the Constitution.  Now lets also step back and look at it from a perspective of "But what if I need to feed my family".  Unfortunately I think a lot of them would give in and "follow orders".  The best advice I can offer on this is simple.  Know who the Military and LEO's are in your neighboorhood and sit down and talk with them.  Offer up a plan that if the order comes for them to start confiscating firearms, and if they refuse that YOU will help them and their families.  What does this mean on your end?  Better buy more food and medecine to stock up on and keep for just in case.

For a team within your neighboorhood who will also help that family if it comes down to that.  Create a "community within a community" a Patriot community!  The people within should know that help is ther from friends and that they won't have to rely on the Government to hold things over their heads. 

A lot of people are talking about an econimic collapse.  Honestly, I can't see how our Country can keep doing what its been doing and survive.  Our Country spends more than it takes in.  Now when I look at my family budget, If I spend more than what I make, cars get repossesed, power gets turned off, kids go hungry etc.  So how can the Government think that if they keep spending more than they bring in, that it will sustain itself?  Your guess is as good as mine.  I do have to say that I'm in shock that we as Americans just sit back and keep taking it.  Look at Ukraine, they weren't happy so what did they do?  Protested.  Greece?  Same thing.  Venezuala, ya, thay are protesting as well.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to march on D.C. or get violent, but I do fear that it will come and some people are even saying that Connecticut will be the spark that lights the fire.  Who knows,  I'm just a guy who trys to provide for my family and shares a passion with students.  But I can tell you, If that spark happens, it can get very ugly, very quick.  Bad guys will become worse.  LEO's can only do so much until they need to go home and protect their families. 

The biggest advise I can give and take it for what its worth.... Prepare.  I was a boy scout and that whole "Be Prepared" has followed me through life.  Take a couple of weeks and make a list of EVERYTHING you use and quantities.  Then go through that list and buy the items you use that you HAVE TO HAVE to survive.  Food, shelter, clothing, water, medicine, heat etc.  Create a team.  We have a team.  We have coordinated supplies, communication, transportation etc.  We know what to do, where to go, what to bring etc.  And this is for earthquakes as well as floods, and economic collapse if that ever happens.  This all starated because as friends, we worry about our families and as the "men of the house" its our job to do everything we can to make sure our Wives, kids etc have an opportunity at life.  We talk daily.  We tell each other what new supplies we purchased, how much and where to get them from.  We will do group orders to cut on shipping costs as well as get cheaper prices. Why, because we love our families.  This is what I think more people need to do. 

Thanks for reading, communicate with your LEO/Military neighbors and watch out for each other.  Unitl the next blog.. Be safe!