The Tactical Gardener: Backyard Ponds

The Tactical Gardener

Backyard Ponds

Backyard ponds make a wonderful addition for your yard.  These stressful times require  ways to relax and unwind, and a backyard pond has a nice Zen-like quality to it, perfect for unwinding at the end of a hectic day.  Feeding the goldfish, koi, or whatever aquatic critters you have, and listening to the sound of water falling across stones can have a real soothing effect on mind and spirit.

For those people who live in an urban environment like I do, backyard ponds could also have real benefit in a post-collapse long-term survival situation.  Turning your pond into an aquatic survival larder would be relatively easy, requiring only that you replace your ornamental fish with something more useful, like catfish.

There are many varieties of catfish, and the nice thing about them is that they will eat practically anything.  Bugs, allege, rotting vegetation, minnows, worms, carrion, etc.  They also eat each other, but if you can keep them fed with all the other stuff, more than likely that wouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Wildlife

Another benefit to a backyard pond is that they attract other forms of wildlife.  I have seen numerous species of birds, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, deer, snakes, and fox drinking from the pond, especially in the winter time when their natural water sources may be frozen solid.  The pond also has a growing population of frogs, which would make an ideal protein source, and they are extremely easy to catch with a net.  Traps and snares set up around the pond would give you an excellent chance of adding meat to your diet.

Pond Construction Basics

If you don’t already have a backyard pond, they are relatively simple to build, depending on the size and scope of your plan.  I started with a pre-formed 200 gallon shell, which was fine, but it had some drawbacks.  It wasn’t deep enough to fully protect the fish from birds and other predators, and it’s small size limited the amount of fish it would support.

Last year I replaced the old pond with a new 800 gallon one, using a flexible liner instead of a pre-formed shell.  I hand dug the hole, using a good spade, five gallon bucket, wheelbarrow, and about two weeks of work, a few hours each night and a couple of good weekend days.  Oh, and use a good weight lifting belt or other back support, so you don’t blow your back out.  Remember, lift with your legs, not your back.

Aquatic Plants

I dug the hole to different depths, so the fish have a variety of places to hang out.  There are two shelves on the sides, at a depth of about two feet.  Cattails, ranked in the top ten survival plants by a lot of experts, could be grown in buckets sitting on the shelves.  Cattails and other varieties of edible aquatic plants can be grown in the marshy areas around the pond.  I built a bog at one end of the pond where I now grow ornamental plants, but it could easily be converted to grow some of the plants listed in this link.

http://natures-water.com/education_information/edible_plants/index.html

Underlayment and Liner

Once the hole is dug, make sure you have smoothed out any rough spots, and removed any protruding rocks or tree roots.  Put old pieces of carpeting or thick cardboard down at the bottom of the hole as an underlayment, to protect the flexible liner.  You can buy underlayment made for this purpose, but the improvised stuff works just as well and it’s cheaper.  If you haven’t bought the liner yet, now is the time to figure out how much you’ll need.  It would suck if you put your liner in the hole and found out it was too small.  To calculate how much liner you will need, follow this simple formula.

Liner Width=  Pond width + 2x depth + 2-foot overlap

Liner Length=  Pond length + 2x depth + 2-foot overlap

Pumps and Calculating Pond Volume

You’ll need a pump that can move the entire volume of your pond in about an hour, to make sure that the fish have enough oxygen.  If the grid goes down and there is no power, you’ll have to agitate the water by hand to make sure the toxic gasses created from fish poo and rotting vegetation have a chance to release, as well as providing oxygen to the fish.

I figured out the volume of my pond by timing how long it took to fill up a five gallon bucket from my garden hose.  I did this four or five times, and it was within a few seconds each time, so I was pretty sure it was accurate.  Once you know how long it takes to fill up your bucket, you simply time how long it takes to fill your pond from start to finish.  It took about one minute to fill the bucket, so I multiplied the number of minutes it took to fill the pond by five (gallons in a minute) and presto, 800 gallon pond.

Filtration

Another important consideration will be filtration.  Again, with no electricity, you’ll have to clean excess debris from the bottom of the pond by hand, but catfish would eat a lot of it for you.  Covering the pond full time with a net would also help keep unwanted debris from getting into the pond, as well as protect the fish from predators. 

In the meantime, you will want to put in a filter.  Store bought ones for a pond my size can run around $200 for a solid one, which seemed a bit much to me.  I made the one shown below out of an old bucket and salvaged parts from my original smaller pump.  I took my $200 savings and bought pork n' beans and bullets.

Remember, in a true survival situation, you could also improvise a pond out of an existing swimming pool or hot tub.  Bathtubs, large waterproof containers, and trash cans could also be used for smaller ponds.

Hope this helps.  If you need any advice or suggestions for your Zen/survival pond, let me know, I’ll be glad to help out.

Zen/Survival Pond

Pump in filter bucket with allege strainers.

Completed filter.

Cute frog/food source.

Terrorist Attack Methodology

Terrorist Attack Methodology

In order to avoid an attack, it is important to understand the basics of terrorist attack methodology. A study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, working in conjunction with the Rand Corporation, found that the vast majority of traditional terrorist attacks follow a seven-step formula.  

Seven Steps of Attack

The seven steps are:

Initial target selection/initial surveillance

Surveillance phase

Final target selection/continued surveillance

Planning/rehearsal phase/continued surveillance

Deployment/final surveillance

The attack phase

Escape/exploitation phase

During the initial target selection phase, the terrorist group may examine several potential targets.  The terrorist’s ultimate goal is to bring attention to their cause.  In the majority of terrorist attacks, the final target is chosen because of a perceived weakness in the security procedures of the close protection detail.  The terrorists want to be successful in their attack in order to fully exploit the deed.  If they have a choice between two targets, one of which is heavily guarded by a proactive, alert and professional security team, and one which is guarded by a security team that has fallen into a routine, travels the same routes on a daily basis, and otherwise presents a security posture that invites attack, the terrorists will almost without fail attack the softer target.

Although surveillance is a continuing process throughout the preparation, the second phase consists entirely of the surveillance effort.  It is during this phase that the terrorist group gathers information about all of its possible targets before choosing the final target in phase three.

During phase three, the final target selection is made based on the intelligence gathered during the initial two phases.  Final target selection is based on a number of factors.  During their surveillance, did the terrorist notice patterns and trends in the posture of the security team?  Has the detail become complacent in their behavior?  Do they travel the same routes at the same time every day?  Are the agents actively engaged in detecting surveillance?  The answers to these questions play a large part in the target selection process.

During phase four, the terrorists will use the information gathered during the surveillance effort to formulate their attack plans.  The terrorists have a tremendous advantage in this respect.  They possess two very valuable pieces of information:  the time and place the attack will take place.  The terrorists will choose their attack site carefully, based on several criteria.  The attack site will be a piece of terrain the motorcade travels through with predictable regularity.  It will provide natural barricades to help prevent the motorcade from escaping, while at the same time allowing the terrorists ease of escape.  It will have good fields of fire, provide good cover and concealment, and allow the terrorists to blend into the environment while waiting for the target to arrive.  The terrorists will carefully plan their attack and practice it repeatedly, often conducting “dry runs” on the actual motorcade before launching the ambush.  During this phase, surveillance operatives continue to gather information and intelligence on the target.

In phase five, the terrorists deploy at the attack site on the day of the planned attack.  They will normally position themselves ten to fifteen minutes prior to the estimated time of arrival of the motorcade.  They will have developed some disguise or ruse that will make their presence in the area seem natural, and avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves.

The sixth phase—attack, is the culmination of all of their effort and planning.  Target surveillance is conducted right up until the time of the attack, with the final phase of the surveillance effort being target identification.  The surveillance and attack teams are normally kept separate for operational reasons.  The attack team will rely on the surveillance team to provide the final confirmation of the target’s identification before initiating the ambush.  To complete a successful attack, the terrorists rely on a combination of surprise, superior firepower, aggression, and violence of action.

The seventh and final phase is the escape from the attack site and exploitation of the act through the media.  If the attack is designed as a kidnapping, means of securing the victim and holding him or her throughout the negotiation process must be accounted for. 

Route Survey and Analysis

Route Survey and Analysis

A properly conducted route survey and analysis is a crucial element in any close protection detail’s security posture.  The term route survey and analysis refers to the procedure of first planning a route to be used, then actually driving the route, looking for and noting danger areas, chokepoints, safe havens, construction sites, etc.  

Map Study

The first step in the route survey process is for the team to procure quality maps of the area to be driven.  Primary and alternate routes should be tentatively planned, and the location of hospitals, police and fire stations marked.  There are several good internet based map companies that can generate various routes based on such criteria as highway or street preferences, fewest stops, shortest time or shortest distance.  Satellite imagery of a proposed route may also be obtained from the internet.   

Driving the Route

The next step is to physically drive the routes.  Depending on the time available, the routes should be driven on several different occasions, at different times of the day.  This will familiarize the drivers with the routes, lessening the chance that they will become disoriented during the movement of the principal, as well as gaining a better understanding of traffic patterns.  The detail will confirm the locations of hospitals, police and fire stations, and any other suitable locations for a safe haven where the detail could take refuge in the event of a major problem.

Danger Areas and Attack Sites

The detail is also examining the routes for likely attack sites, danger areas, and chokepoints.  By identifying those sites most likely to be utilized by terrorists during an attack, the EP detail can plan their routes to avoid this area entirely.  If avoidance is not possible, and it is often not, as nearly every route will contain some location that would make a favorable attack site, the detail can spend time analyzing the site.  It is important for the detail to think like a terrorist.  By careful analysis of a potential attack site, the detail can already have a plan of action formulated.  In the event that an attack does ever take place, the agents have already spent time visualizing their response.  This mental preparation can save valuable time during an attack.  Examples of danger areas where attacks might occur include intersections, blind curves, one-way streets, narrow streets and alleys, construction zones, and bridges.

Chokepoints

Another area of concern for the protective detail is chokepoints.  Chokepoints are defined as those areas that a security detail must travel through, as no other route option exists.  A chokepoint may be as short as the principal’s driveway, the one-way street leading to the office, or the only bridge that crosses a river between the principal’s office and home.  A chokepoint may also be as long as the only highway between the office and home.  The principal may insist, despite the detail’s objections to the contrary, on traveling a particular route to and from work.  If the detail is forced to use one particular route, the entire route becomes a chokepoint.

The primary danger of traveling through a chokepoint is that terrorists, through careful surveillance, know that the motorcade will travel through a specific area during the movement.  Two of the main concepts the protective detail must utilize during their movements is to remain time and place unpredictable.  Pattern avoidance by the security detail makes it that much more difficult for the terrorists to plan their attack.

Max Velocity Tactical: Video: Rally Point LLC Tactical Firearms Training

Evasive Driving Training

In addition to our firearms training, Rally Point LLC and Max Velocity Tactical offer a comprehensive, custom evasive driving program.  Contact us today for pricing and scheduling information.

Max Velocity Tactical: Video: Rally Point LLC Tactical Firearms Training

Introduction to Executive Protection Motorcades

Close protection details and the executives they protect are most vulnerable to attack while they are traveling.  Studies indicate that about 85 % of all terrorist attacks, assassinations, and kidnappings take place in and around vehicles.  There are several reasons why the threat levels increase so dramatically when the details get into their cars.  

Physical locations can be protected by an array of security measures, including fences, gates, locks, armed security personnel, lights, and CCTV.  Once the executive is secured inside a building, his chances of being attacked are greatly reduced.

While the principal is in transit, the close protection detail is traveling through an environment that is largely beyond their control.  Available security measures and resources are limited.  Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, attackers who are unable to gain access to a secure facility have more freedom to conduct surveillance, plan, rehearse, and conduct an attack on public roads.

A comprehensive transportation security plan relies on both proactive and reactive skills in order to lessen the risk involved in moving the principal from one location to another.  Just as the physical barriers of a secure facility create concentric rings of protection around the principal, the transportation security plan relies on multiple proactive strategies to mitigate the risk. 

The proactive strategies for attack avoidance include:  understanding terrorist methodology, proper motorcade management, intelligence gathering, surveillance detection, pattern avoidance, and route surveys and analysis.

Should the proactive measures fail, the close protection detail must also be well trained in a variety of reactive countermeasures.  These include:  barricade breaching, the PIT, break contact drills, emergency turns, and backing.

The Will to Survive

The Will to Survive

  There are countless examples of suitably equipped, trained, and experienced people who died in a survival situation when they should have lived.  There are also numerous examples of people who did everything wrong, by all rights should have died numerous times over, and yet somehow managed to find a way to survive and live.  In many cases, the difference between living and dying is a matter of having the will to survive. 

The will to survive is a combination of many things.  It is a positive mental outlook and a refusal to give up, no matter how bad things get.  It is an inner drive to live and survive.  It is the ability to accept the reality of the situation while not being overwhelmed by it.  The will to survive is the ability to identify priorities, set and achieve goals, organize yourself and others, and the ability to quickly recover when things don’t go according to plan.

The will to survive means having a sense of humor.  When things get bad, and you’re dealing with life and death decisions on a daily if not hourly basis, you will be physically and mentally stressed to the freak out point.  Laughter is an excellent way to relieve stress and tension.  To make fun of a situation is to gain a little mental control over both the situation and yourself, and self-control will be highly needed when societies’ control measures break down and people are left to their own devices.

Above all else, the will to survive is the desire to live, despite hardship, physical and emotional obstacles, pain, suffering, fear, and uncertainty.  

Blizzard Survival

Winter Storms

Winter is almost here, so it’s time to make sure that you have the basics for winter survival in your home and car, and more importantly, it’s time to make sure that you understand something about winter storms and how to survive them.

The Schoolchildren’s Blizzard of 1888

On January 12, 1888, arctic air hurled down from Canada and smashed across the Plains from Montana to Texas.  It had been unseasonably warm the day before, and temperatures rapidly dropped by more than 40 degrees in many areas.  Some locations reported drops of almost 100 degrees in less than 24 hours.  

The blizzard also brought heavy snows and sustained high winds.  Visibility was reduced to zero.  The blizzard hit just as teachers, many of them newly arrived from back East, were letting their students out for the day.  Unfamiliar with the power of these storms, many of the teachers let their students leave for home, with tragic consequences.  In total, 235 people died in the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard, many of them school kids on their way home and the parents who went out to search for them.

Although there were many tragic deaths, there were also numerous examples of how to survive a winter storm.  One teacher who understood what was happening kept his 17 students at the school overnight, where they rode out the storm in safety, burning stockpiled firewood to keep warm.  The parents waited until the next morning when the storm died back to travel to the school and pick up the children.  These people were all experienced plainsmen, who understood that to be caught out in the open in a blizzard is a really good way to die in a hurry.  

Blizzard Survival Tips

 The wind and cold can drop your core body temperature to levels of dead quickly, so if you are caught outside in a winter storm, go to shelter immediately.  Remember, shelter is a relative term.  If you can’t get inside a building with a nice fire and hot chocolate, improvise and improve your situation the best you can.  Trees make an excellent windbreak.  If the snow is deep, dig down into it and get in the hole.  A snow cave can make an excellent shelter to ride out the storm in.

  If you are stuck in your car, stay in it until the storm passes.  If you still have fuel, run the car occasionally to aid a little heat.  While running the engine, bring your windows down a couple of inches to allow fresh air in, so you don’t kill yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning.  Keeping the tailpipe clear of snow if you are able is a really good preventative measure to keep carbon monoxide levels from reaching dead.

Those are a few tips and suggestions for winter storm survival.  We’re really interested in what Rally Nation has to say on the subject, so please jump in with your winter storm survival tips and preparedness ideas.