Earlier threads have covered advice on guns However,last week,we had an salutory essay on the difficulty of defending a fixed position against a determined attack..especially from concealed sniper attack.

It appears that many people are going to be in exactly that situation.

Maybe we need to ask ourselves some questions.For instance:-

What might be the level & type of threat in your area ? ie Un-armed groups.Size 1-5.Up to 10, and so on up to mobs.

Armed groups of varying sizes. What kind of weapons might be used against you ?Baseball bats,firearms,stones,petrol bombs.

What would be the different tactics used against each level or type of threat.How many people would be needed to implement such tactics?

By preplanning,can the potential for conflict be reduced ? (Concealment,warning systems,the use of light or noise,the art of misdirection,defensive positioning of supplies,blocking up of unecessary windows,provision of locks & removal of tools and ladders from view.)

Quite a few people have said that they would not hesitate to shoot anyone stealing their supplies. I suspect that many others would be uncomfortable with the idea of shooting somebody who is removing a tub of beans or a can of kerosene even if rationally they know that in the long run,that tub or can could make a big difference. I'm not saying this attitude will not change but all it might take to wipe out months of preparation is that first attack !

I have never been in the Military and I have never been threatened or physically attacked.I do not know how I am going to react if this happens.I am slow to anger,except when a member of the family is threatened.I try to avoid conflict & seek solutions by negotiation. I habitually mix with people from similar backgrounds to myself so it could be very difficult to deal with people coming from different directions.

I therefore believe that we need to question the personal validity of the assumptions behind a chosen defensive strategy.They may well need modifying especially in a family mix-sexed household.

Any constructive or humorous thoughts???

PS>Thank you to Sparks for his "in your face" comment re air rifles.Boy,was I upset,but at least it got me thinking !!

-- Wife & Mother (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), March 30, 1999

Answers

For basic home security, contact your local police/sheriff's office for Neighborhood Watch or Community Watch, whatever they call it in your area. They very often will have a service where an officer comes over and checks your house out for vulnerabilities. If you get lucky, the officer will be a GI and you can get additional information from him or her. Fire service, same thing.

I wouldn't rely too heavily on lights, even the solar kind, because bad guys will simply shoot them out (as they do street lights around open-air drug markets now) or destroy them in some other way.

Let me give you some idea of the average home's vulnerability. For those of you in Norfolk, VA, think Little Creek Road, a major highway in that city. Two cars were shooting it out on the road with bullets flying everywhere. One of the bullets went into a house on a parallel street, a block away, through the exterior siding, through the dining room, through an interior wall into a bedroom closet, through clothes, through the closet door and into the butt of a sleeping neurosurgeon who, ironically, does emergency ops on head shots. Lucky it was only his butt and was, literally, a pain in the ass for a week or two. What kind of gun? The gun of choice for most bad guys: 9 mm. Yup, it's true, one of our neighbors. Now imagine what a rifle or shotgun could do at close range.

I don't want to make you unnecessarily afraid but you know there's not much sugar-coating around here.

Knowledge is power. Got Kevlar?

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 30, 1999.

I am enclosing an area on the side of my house with a 6 ft. wood fence. I will be storing all my firewood, propane, and my rain water catch barrels in this "unseen" area. My lights will be off at night, no loud generator to attract looters. If things get real bad, stay inside, park your cars in the garage, pull the shades. By spring you should be able to get out to plant a garden, get water, etc... Have a gun and learn to shoot it. Get some extra fire extiguishers. Don't "go down with the ship", be prepared to move within a half hour or less. Keep the car loaded with supplies. Have a plan. Good luck.

-- Bill (y2khippo@yahoo.com), March 30, 1999.

Someone has suggested a safe room before, and that's still not a bad idea...you might consider HOW TO IMPLEMENT A HIGH SECURITY SHELTER IN THE HOME, by Joel Skousen, for starters.

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), March 30, 1999.

There is a book (available at Amazon.com) Patriots, Surviving the Coming Collapse. It is a work of fiction, but is quite a survival manual. In my opinion most people are not located in a place to take advantage of the level of preps in this book, but it is chock full of info & much food for thought. The author James Wesley, Rawles is a former Army Intelligence officer. I'm only about half way through it right now, so far as a work of fiction it is only so-so, but the survival info is valuabe. ISBN 1-56384-155-X

Plenty of things in this book that are just plain painful to think about.

BTW I ordered the book from a local bookstore (part of a chain) boy did I get some bizarre looks/reactions. What is this?! Is it fiction?!!! Is this the book you ordered??!! It was kind of funny. The mere title seemed to alarm them.

-- Deborah (infowars@yahoo.com), March 30, 1999.

Just a couple thoughts. First, you would be amazed how people change after 48 hours without food and under a little stress. I've been through various military survival courses and attitudes get readjusted in a hurry. That meek, mild mannered CPA down the street might well cut your throat for a Snickers bar by the 3rd day of deprivation. Walk around your house at night. Think how you would break in. Now ask yourself what you are willing to do to defend. The best tactic is avoidance. Stay invisible. Make it look uninviting. Second, have an escape plan and route (with alternates). Stockpile some supplies away from your main residence. Stay flexible. Never confront a crowd (armed or not) unless you have overwhelming firepower and you're willing to use it.

Lastly, remember that Infomagic is unlikely to happen - maybe a 1% - 5% chance. A Depression is much more likely. Prepare as best you can for the worst, but don't let the darkest vision weigh you down.

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), March 30, 1999.

Personally, at the neighborhood watch meeting this summer, I hope to talk our local police beat officer into getting me some 'crime scene tape." I'll put it all around the perimeter of my house. I might also try to get some biohazard signs for my front and back door. A few dead squirrels in the front yard might not hurt either.

Got taxidermy?

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), March 30, 1999.

wood burning(I live in WI)stoves seem as good a way of saying "here I am"bar shouting

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), May 07, 1999.

RD, you said: "...remember that Infomagic is unlikely to happen - maybe a 1% - 5% chance. A Depression is much more likely".

What is "Infomagic"?

thanks.

sdb

-- sdb (sdbays@intplus.com), July 10, 1999.

Deborah,

I'll second that on 'Patriots'. Chock full of good ideas.

FM,

They sell yellow "Caution" tape at Home Depot. Got a roll myself.

-TECH32-

-- TECH32 (TECH32@NOMAIL.COM), July 10, 1999.