Grunts Guide to Defending Your Home During SHTF...

Disclaimer: This article deals with military tactics and combat related subjects. I, nor Google, assume responsibility fpr the use or misuse of this material. It is provided for educational and entertainment purposesly only.

This is a quick and dirty "Paint Drawing" of how to fortify a structure for Urban Warfare/Combat called officially MOUT (or Military Operations in Urbanized Terrain)... This is not a set or fixed SOP and it doesn't  have to be done this way...

The above image is merely a collection of conceptual principles based on the urban warfare docturine and training of the U.S. Army. So I am going to address the above image because this is where you want to start.

Now I don't know what the event or scenario will be. I don't know what you are preparing for. I am simply describing basic principles and letting you decide wherr they fit in at for you...

1. Look out/radio man... This is a very important job which allows for communications with those outside the home stead. Small holes can be cut into the roof to allow one to observe the grounds, sky lights on the sides of pitched roofs can do the same and video cameras can be used as well or in addition to.
2. The attic marksmen can fire from the small gap under the roof. And it can be a secondary position for the radio man to fulfill.
3. Second floor look out, this is basically a bench rest style shooting platform that uses a small desk or table and sand bags stacked against the wall, on the table and undwr it to provide cover. Since the shooter is in the back of the room behind a thin curtain and with other sheets, blanks or curtains hung behind them the window will appear "dark" from the outside. This offers concealment and maintains the non-threatening appearance of the "gray man's home" with the fire power of a small dug in fire team or squad.
4. 4a & 4b are both "right and wrong" so let me explain.
What's right is making a sand bag barrier under to the sides of the windows to stop bullets...
What's wrong os leaning out the windows with guns aimed. This highlights the fact you have people armed, dug in and capable of defending your home stead.
5. The door way needs a Sandbag barricade to stop and limit the view inside the home. This allows the door to only part way and allows anyone behind the barricade to fire at any threats trying to force their way in.
6. The basement firing position. Furniture and sand bags can be used to build a firing platform and here is the logic, the ground provides a small position for the attacking force to ain at and it allows the basement shooter to use what is called grazing fire. Grazing fire is fire fired with the express point of traveling anywhere from a few inches to a foot off the ground, grazing the grass as it were. This means enemy forces attacking and trying to low crawl (belly crawl) under the fire from the windows or first story will get hit, even if not fatally.
7. Blast Shelter: If you have kids or elderly who cannot fight, this is were they need to go if something does happen. The blast shelter is made by using a desk or table and reinforcing the legs with sandbags, as well as, stacking sand bags on top of the desk or table. Even of some nut-job throws a "pipe bomb" in the house they are safer in the basement under the sand bags.
8. Fences: If you don't have a fence on your property before something goes wrong, you need one after. Even it is a simple barbwire fence on one inch by one inch pickets. This is a clear boundary that provides a "Do Not Cross" Line. And, you can tie fishing line and bells to fence, so that anyone moving the fence to gain entry trips a kind of primitive alarm system.
9. "Toe Poper" a cheap landmine made by the Viet Cong. Simply a nail in the bottom of a small hole with a rifle shell, over the nail. Step on the shell, the primer pushes against the nail and sets of the shell which blows off part of your foot.

Note: This is illegal but, effective and, you should not make this or anyother booby traps.

10. Puji Stake Trap: Another Vietnamese booby trap, known as a Dead Fall or Bear Trap in the West. Basic odea is to dig a hole, 1 to 5 feet deep and place sharpened stakes in the ground, with a camouflaged lid. If an attacker steps on the lid, they fall onto the stakes.

Note: This is illegal but, effective and, you should not make this or anyother booby traps.

11. Inverted Spike trap: Another VIetnamese Booby Trap, this one is made by digging a hole roughly 1 foot by 1 foot and 1 to 3 feet deep. Boards with nails driven down at a 45 degree angle could then be used to support the sides of the hole. When someone steps on the camouflaged lib or simply into the hole they suffer only minor scratches. It is upon removing the leg that the nails dig in and lacerates the leg. Forcing an attacker to remove caught in the trap meaning that any allies would have to come into one's field of fire to be a casualty or suffer the morale loss of having watch a fellow member of their little band suffer in place.

Note: This is illegal but, effective and, you should not make this or any other booby traps.

All the described hazards to an attacking force would be secired behind one's fence. Also protecting the general public from where one has built a defensive barrier to protect one's family.

12. Scouts: Now Scouts are the most important element here. They are the "gray men" of the group. They look and act like the "zombies" (unprepared masses). They also report back to the people in the house and alert to possible threats...

Hell these Scouts can be or even remote controlled drones to collect information without directly putting anyone in danger. If the Scouts need to fight, they should have a rally point with combat style gear being stored there and work in teams no smaller then 2 people. Scouts can harass an entrenching force that is dug in outside said home stead.

Though it is important to keep in mind, no matter how well prepared you are. A large enough force can over power any position. So scouts means you can be aware of the threat, before ot becomes a danger and abandon the shelter rather then be over powered.

13. Guard Dog(s): A trained guard dog is an asset. Its senses are more highly attuned then your own. It will sense danger before you do and it will get between you and a threat. An untrained dog will many times react much the same way. The different is with a trained animal they sit when told to sit, stay when told to stay and come here when told to cone here. And attack when told to attack.

You want to keep them in to protect them from your hazards set up to keep others out. Now if you are concerned with why you might need to do all this... Allow me to address that.

Scenarios for a Secured Home:
1. Civil Unrest and Violence in the Home: That's right a riot or out of control protest could not just involve looting stores but, breaking into homes to rob the occupants... Racism, politics, the assumption of racism, religion or culture can all be a situation where others think attacking a group of people for whatever excuse is a good idea...

Know whats a better idea? Having sandbags in the basement ready to go, having pickets and barbwire strings in the basement and having food and water stocked up to keep your family fed and safe.

2. Natural Disasters: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, there were roving gangs of looters and young people assaulting other people in broad daylight. It wasn't the hurricane or the flooding that was the worst part, it was the human response aftwrward.

3. Economic Collapse: This is a case where there is no major disaster or end of world scenario. There is a lost of assets and people have to pool resources to get by. In these cases many people will become desperate and turn to crime, criminals will become bolder and emergency services like police, EMTs and Fire Department might be able to help you and if you are dependent on a central location to grow and raise food, shared use of a vehicle and protecting your loved ones from a criminal threat...

Well you do what you gotta do. Americans living on the frontier used to build homes that were defendable against small forces of raiders and bandits. This is just a more scientific and planned means of doing so.

Final Note: Don't Forget BOB.
Even with a harden and dug in position, you can get over ran. If some criminal threat figures out a potato gun can launch a pipe bomb or fire bomb, if 300 mutant biker zombies or cannibal marauders come your way or God forbid your very own government comes knocking. You might need to give ground and bug out. Just cause you have food, safety and security today, doesn't mean you will tomorrow.

More to come in our new up coming amd soon to be released book Which will be an expansion of the American Homeguard Anti-Terrorist Handbook... Official name not yet finally decided.

Preppers: OpSec and Security for Bugging In

Years ago I made a YouTube video about my "Bug-In Kit." Unlike those who talk about guns I talked solar power, security cameras & a survival lap top. Why?

 

Knowledge is power? At the time of this video I have a security apartment in a small city with a security door. I could access the roof, place those little cameras at key points:  (1) one covering the front door to the building, (2) the fire escape which was inside the building and directly outside my apartment, (3) my apartments front door & (4) the alleyway that the fire escape accesses. Access to he roof means those binos with the built in camera can let me keep an eye on the surrounding environment & anything worth reporting can be pictured in an image, especially helpful for getting an idea of events & correct information.

 

So lets say, a building is on fire or people are rioting. I can capture an image, upload it to that "survival lap top" and show it to those others living in the apartment building. Why? To rely on them to help secure the building? If people 6 streets over are standing on their roofs with rifles & here gun shots, I might want to ask why? I might decide to bug out which means eyes on the alley & down my fire escape. So if rioters, looters, criminals or whatever, are a threat to me I don't have to blindy run into that alley &risk my life.

 

My CB radio also gives me access to news, rumors and information, outside my visual range. All of this can be powered by my solar gear. Because I needed space in a space limited environment (a single bedroom apartment) my emergency rations where 3600 calorie bars. Of course they aren't the best tasting but, I have real food in the kitchen the Mainstay is to get by when I have nothing else. Three little squares get you by when all your real food is gone. That box in the video is 30 days worth of Mainstay, its compact even if I' bugging out.

 

The Military relies in intelligence, and a prepper needs to rely on information. Mad Max fantasies and Gray Man delusions aside, you need to have information in a crisis. Guns and ammo are great when the threat is obvious but what about threats that aren't as obvious? Experienced criminals will rely on ambush tactics and con games, using force is an amateur move (criminally speaking). Information is key. If Drones were as common then as they are now, I'd have worked on acquiring one. 

 

Look at the LA Riots & Katrina, 1) a CB radio could alert people to threats, to hide their weapons from the authorities 2) Solar means no engine noise and no reliance on fuel. Sure my neighbors will want me to help them keep warm, or cook their food. I will be glad to help them, because helping them means I will people who won't standing watch on a roof top for a few hours, listening to a CB radio for information or watching a TV screen with cameras for a an hour or so while I sleep. If they have a gun they won't mind using them for mutual defense. What keeps them from taking over? Well that's were my gun come into play but its basic social-defense. You trust those you depend on and you depend on those who are a value to you. If I am of value to my neighbors, they will depend on me & if they depend on me they will trust me. If they trust me, they will help me.

 

In essence, it doen't matter if you're a militant prepper or a gray man you need information. Camouflage is a tactic, in some cases it will save you. Looking like a hard target is a tactic referred to as a Threat Display or Force Projection. I'm for both Tactics being used in the correct context, using those tactics properly requires you to know your environment, to know your situation and to re-act or act accordingly.

 

Look the aftermath of Katrina, home invasions, burglary,looting and violence. Who were the primary targets & Why? That's not even addressing my favorite issue which is Paramilitary cops, like those who went house to house taking weapons after Katrina. Rather then be killed or, being on the run for getting into a fire fight with such LEOs I can cache my weapons and when they ask if I can defend myself, give them a bow & a baseball bat.



Many times we as preppers think about OpSec more then intelligence. There are only so many things you can prepare for travel disruptions, utility disruptions, economic disruption & social disruptions. In every, disrupting one can lead to others. A breakdown in travel can keep food and fuel from getting where it needs to go, making the travel disruption worse and resulting in social disruptions such as looting and rising crime as people become desperate. It doesn't matter if an EMP keeps you from getting water, power or the supermarket from opening or a tornado knocks out the power grid and you have the same problems.

 

Preparation should be something you discuss with your neighbors. You don't have to reveal details about your preps, in fact FEMA as helped by suggesting you prep for 2 weeks and it is something you should think as a basis for opening the subject of prepping. There is no one step or one size fits solution. Bug-in, Bug-Out, Project Projection or Camouflage are all tactics you want to be able to use in maximize the potential for your survival, "tools in your tool box" to get the job done. Using your neighbors is just simple human resource management, knowing how to organize your community, building a relationship members of your community and perhaps even building a lasting friendships will help in ad out of a crisis. This is why the modern mandate on warfare includes the prospect of winning hearts and minds. Winning hearts and minds means you need to have knowledge of the people you are dealing with.

 

While many people might argue that an EMP could knock out all electronics, consider that an over estimation. Most Modern Cars can be turned off after being "shut off" from an EMP. Batteries will still hold a charge and gas will still burn meaning generators will still work. Wind will still blow meaning my wind generator will still work and water will still flow, so hydro electric dams will still work. Also Chemical reactions will still occur, so I can turn a bicycle and car alternator into a peddle powered generator with some JB Weld and basic mechanical skills. Circuits will be fried but most of those parts can be replaced and it just requires some learning, solder and hot metal poker, butane soldering iron or electrical soldering iron to repair a AC/DC inverter. In theory, an old microwave purchased at a Thrift Store should shield such devices from an EMP as a microwave is a form of EMP & Microwave ovens have built in Faraday Cage to contain the Microwaves they should also keep out microwaves. Ultimately, simple grade school science fair project science will produce a simple circuit able to charge batteries, burn lights and run older electric heaters.

 

Even without, and especially without an electrical system to support such information gathering tools you need to rely on people around you; family, friends, neighbors and so on. Information is your greatest tool. If you're bugging in, you need  security plan to hold down.

 

METT-TC:

Was used to teach basic tactical planning to execute a mission. It can be applied your survival plan as well...

• Mission: Survive in Place
• Equipment: (Enter your gear: Food & Water, Weapons, Ammo, Medical Supplies & Fuel + any specialized gear)
• Enemy: Apply only if you have a known threat... Potentially anyone?
• Terrain & Weather: Area specific use OCOKA
• Troops Available: Who are you counting on?
• Time Table: How long can you hold out?
• Civilian Considerations or Collateral Damage Considerations: Non-Combatants on your Side

 

OCOKA: Terrain Considerations

• Observation/Fields of Fire: Where sentries will observe and were they be shooting.
• Cover & Concealment: Cover stops incoming rounds and sight, concealment blocks only sight. These are places the potential enemy can hide.
• Obstacles: Natural or Man Made, these are places that stop or delay your movement or the movement of the enemy.
• Key Terrain: Important real-estate that stands out. 
• Avenues of Approach: Routes you must travel or your enemy must travel into and outside of your position.

 

Of course this is military doctrine but, its military doctrine that establishes a frame work for developing your own survival plan. Depending on the event, society's reaction to the event & your situation you may need to Bug-In or Bug-Out, you might want to blend in to the crowd or stand out as well armed and able to defend yourself. If you can work with those around you to develop a tentative plan to observe, organize and operate for mutual benefit you increase your odds of survival by ten fold. Doing so doesn't have to reveal your best kept secrets or every tool in your tool box. OpSec is basically using need to know information. You don't need to tell everyone everything just reveal small portions of information by degrees about your preparations or that you prep as other need to know about it. Play the Newbie who isn't a prepper just Prep-Curious...