The Family Survival Retreat: What to Do when You Need to Bug Out under Threat after SHTF...

I put this information together for a friend...

A lot of time, I mention or focus on paramilitary style training because I am a veteran infantryman and associate with militias and groups like the Oath Keepers. However,  not everyone has a group of people they can form up as team of SHTF soldiers. This is why I created the Scout/Combat Team format explained in TM 725-15 The American Homeguard Anti-Terrorist Handbook.

But, what if it is you and your family alone? Here is where individual tactics is a great boon for you against criminals and others who seek to do you harm. However, individual tactics is nothing if you don't train them and it nothing if you aren't teaching them to your family. Many times children like playing "cops and robbers" or "Army" with toy guns. This provides parents with the option to use a game to teach basic Individual tactics to their children. As the children grow older, team work and team tactics can be taught... The games of cops and robbers or Army can changed to sports like paintball where the same tactics can be used effectively in competition.

So as an individual you need to know how to fight and, I can spend all day typing up tactics or making Youtube videos on how to do this, there are loads already. That said, you also need to study trapping not only for food but, for defense as well. Those traps are what will defend your family alert you to a threat. Now my friend had a basic plan of moving out to a secluded location on high ground and waiting out whatever happens to cause the S- to Hit The Fan.

I found a few holes in his plan and I offered to help him. Here is a basic idea of what I advice I gave him and why...
1. He said he and his family will move to a hill top position and wait out whatever happens there. This is good and bad for a number of reasons.
Good:

• Most People will stack out a location close to a water or food source.
• Most People are lazy and won't want to put too much effort into going out looking for resources.
• Most people are not Military or Paramilitary thinkers, so they are just going to "Gaggle Fuck Mob" everything.

Bad:

• A period of Without Rule Of Law (WROL) will likely end up becoming a period of EROL or Excessive Rule Of Law... Martial Law. You don't need to be seen as an open threat.
• Under WROL you and your family might be relatively safe but under EROL you are going to deal with armed and trained paramilitary or military types. This is your worst case scenario.
• Just cause it is the authorities doesn't mean its all bad news. So you might not have to deal with an encroaching army or if the Army shows up you might just be the little scared guy on the mountain top & not seen as a threat if you ask questions before you shoot. Gangs, Terrorists, Gun Preppers and so on will be a bigger concern & you don't want to appear to be either. Regardless you might be disarmed so be prepared to have a few things stashed away in case they do show up with a SWAT team to disarm you for your own protection.

Now I don't have the full layout but it has a single access route and has its backside to a cliff. This wavy lines at the top of the diagram. They are anchored ropes for his family to escape down the cliff in the worst case scenario. Stake Walls, will keep out most big animals and people...

It's made by lashing or nailing sharpened stakes together in an "X" shape and using smaller stakes at the bottom to prevent smaller critters from coming through. The Image above is an example. Are set along the trail that winds up to Survival Camp. And One that is bait to a Path to nowhere, if no where was a booby trapped area. A smaller wall can be made and placed as a kind of gate that will blend into the rest of the stake wall. Dead Falls made with melon & apple sized rocks and a few logs can be positioned along the ridge and over looking the path. This provides cover from fire and if need be can be used to "bring down the mountain on people trying to scale the cliff. One Dead Fall over looks the first Stake wall so you can drop the hill side on those trying to bypass the wall.

Of course you see the Cabin, Animal Pen (I suggest Chickens for eggs which means at least 1 rooster and some squirrels for easy to care for meat and protein), the garden and the old out house. If you look behind the cabin you will see a thick gray square, this is a panic room/underground bomb blast shelter accessible only by a "Spider hole" in the cabin floor.

Basically, all you need to do is sit tight and wait right? Wrong. Forewarned is forearmed...

Now there is a half-mile to a full mile radius that needs to be scouted, hunted and patrolled. I suggest bow hunting by the way as it is quieter then shooting a firearm and you can make more arrows easier then you make bullets. When Patrolling try to observe everything around you and conceal your tracks as best you can. Take a note pad and map of the area. This way you can make your own micro-grid over the area and note where you find signs of human traffic. You go out this way every few days and hunt or trap for food.

Within the Blue circle is a Security Patrol Radius its about a quarter to mile range. You check this everyday. You might even want to set man-traps) booby traps for human prey within this area. Now lets talk about our three red X's. "X" 1. is a fighting position, hasty or fox hole used to provide over watch, cover & concealment. So when Daddy goes out to do a security patrol around the Survival Homestead, Mommy is watching the trail entrance. If Daddy should run into Mutant Zombie Bikers (MZBs), Mommy can lay down suppressive fire and keep them off Daddy while he gets past the first stake wall. Daddy then moves up to the second and third stake walls and takes his position in X number 2. This allows Mommy to get the kids together (everyone in the family should have Bug-Out Bags anyway). If the MBZs (Mutant Biker Zombies) break contact after getting shot at. Then its all good...

If not, the kids get ready to evacuate and Daddy takes up position in X-1 while  moving between the Dead Fall Cover to engage the MBZs (this is why any serious prepper or survivalist owns an AR15 or AK47). Mommy Stays in X-3 with the kids behind her covering the entrance to the homestead. In the Worst case scenario we see Daddy in X-2 covering the entrance while Mommy covers it from X-3. This allows Daddy to fall back to X-3 and help Mommy lay down fire to cover the kids' retreat. Mommy helps the Kid's down the cliff via tandem repel, and covers from the bottom of the cliff face while Daddy repels down.

Finally we set up a small booby trapped area behind the cabin so that the MBZs can't get behind the X-3. If someone is so highly motivated that they go through that kind of a obstacle to get to you, you have a problem. No, I mean you have a serious problem. But if you want the extra insurance this is it. Best of all, if you are smart enough to get a generator or solar panels to run a CB radio and make some friends on the CB or HAM radios you can have people you can trade with via "dead drop" and who can relay information to you.

This goes back to a much older video I did about a Civilian Intelligence Network:

And Basic Field Report Procedures:

Even a handheld Walkie-Talkie can be a life line to your wife and kids alerting them a head of time to a danger before it becomes a threat.