Situation X

Well, I figured I'll just park the Survivalist Threads here till we have enough to merit a forum. If some of this seems redundant, I apologize, but the previous thread was closed since it was just a forum request and not actual info.

For those of you whom have been following the events of the last few years it should be evident by now that there will be certain crises where the local government and infrastructure will be unable or unwilling to provide support to its civilian populace.

I call this Situation X....

Your water, food, electricity, civil services, police and fire protection, even commerce itself can come to a complete stop in the event of a major crisis, and for an unknown length of time. The civilian populace will be left largely to its own devices, and any widespread organized assistance could take several weeks, to months, or even years.

We've all seen what happened with Hurricane Katrina.

In a first world country, the richest on the planet, with a stable government, FEMA, and the most advanced military, almost half of several states became isolated and unaided pockets of starving people reverting to a state of barbarism. It took nine days before the tens of thousands of people trapped in isolated pockets of humanity began to be evacuated.

Nine days. If civilization were to suddenly grind to a halt in your area, would you be able to survive for that long? How about nine weeks? Nine months? Nine years? Situaion X can happen anywhere, at any time, without warning, and no one is exempt. There is never a guarenteed end to the crisis, and the only ones to survive will typically be those whom are the most prepared.

This thread has two purposes.

Discussion of Situation X Scenarios, Scales, and Survivability.

To nest and connect links to other Survivalist Threads on ATS.

Please feel free to contribute your information and links on this subject. My next post within this thread will consist of specific classes of Situation X.

mod edit: removed survivalist from title due to creation of new forum

[edit on 12-12-2006 by UK Wizard]

Heres an intresting read incase it's never before been posted.

www.ki4u.com...

It's titled WHAT TO DO IF A NUCLEAR DISASTER IS IMMINENT!

Situation X, as previously mentioned, is any one of a nearly infinite number of scenarios, but in general, Situation X will fall into one of the following categories:

NATURAL DISASTER - This includes such crises as hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, heat wave, flooding, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, meteoric impact, orbital variance, or any other disaster where mankind has no control over the cause, duration, and scale of the event.

The worst part of natural disasters is their propensity to result in additional disasters of any variety, such as the release of toxins into the water table, loss of electricity, impassable roads, and looting.

The advantage to this sort of disaster is that media coverage is likely to provide ample warning to those in the path of destruction, and that evacuations to safer locales are almost always an option if enough warning is given, up to a point. Additionally, humanitarian aid is almost always eventually forthcoming to the victims, if not neccessarily in a timely fashion. Military personel, if any, will primarily act in a non-combatant role, such as medical assistance and transport.

NUCLEAR/BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL (NBC) - This includes such crises as disease pandemics, chemical or radioactive clouds and fires, poisonous gasses, nuclear war, and other disasters where a deadly artificial spreadable hazard was purposefully or accidentally released upon an area. These sorts of events generally carry horrific effects upon the populace, physically, psychologically, and mentally.

The worst part of such a threat is the risk of being stuck within a quarentined area, as well as the increased likelihood of a press blackout preventing aid. The first and foremost responsibility of the military will be to contain the hazard as best it can, and this could very well include the civilian populace. Martial law will almost certainly be instituted to deal with the widespread panic. Within the area of containment, if any aid is rendered, it will be on a very cautious and experimental level until either the issue is resolved or the order is given to execute tactical destruction of the area.

The advantage to this sort of disaster is that civil disorder is likely to be very low once the military have secured the area. Looters and criminals will often be shot on sight, or arrested. There's also a pretty good chance that, once the disaster is over, if you're still alive, you can probably sue someone.

INTERRUPTION IN INFRASTRUCTURE - Impassable roads, lack of transport for food and other goods, gas stations running dry, water and electricity completely gone, no public waste service, and the entire communication grid going offline. Trains, busses, planes, automobiles become completely useless in this category of event, and any other situations in which the resources you presently have will not be replentished by external sources, and transportation will be limited to non-motorized traffic. This type of disaster typically is the result of another disaster, but this is not a requirement for it to happen.

The worst part of this type of disaster is the lack of preparedness on the part of the populace, especially in First World countries, and dense urban areas. Thirst and the elements will be the two primary causes of death, with starvation being a close third. Because of the inability to communicate over long distances or use vehicular traffic, relief will be agonizingly slow in being organized, even slower in arriving, and typically great mistakes will be made in distribution (such as sending water to people dying of cold, and bedrolls to people dying of thirst).

The advantage to this type of disaster is that it is almost certainly survivable if one is prepared in advance, and has a decent level of survival if one is healthy enough to walk or ride to another area less impacted by the outage. Additionally, since these interruptions in services are usually impacting a multi-million or billion dollar corporation (or several), their interests will typically be to get back online as quickly as possible.

CONVENTIONAL DESTRUCTION/VIOLENCE - includes such crises as warfare, enemy occupation, terrorist bombings, massive riots, coup d'etats, cities under siege, and any situation where mankind is actively trying to destroy things or kill his fellow man in your imediate vicinity. Though it is often the indirect result of other crises, it typically leads to either an interruption in infrastructure at best, or an NBC disaster at worst.

The disadvantage to this scenario is fairly obvious: when people are actively trying to kill each other, collateral damage is usually high, and one may even be a target of at least one group. Vigilante justice is liable to give way to mob rule, and if military intervention is not possible, those who have the greatest numbers and weapons will be the ones making the rules. Should the crisis continue unabated for long enough, homes will be raided for supplies and fresh recruits. Even if some sort of official response is organized to suppress the violence, one's home, livelihood, or even one's life can be lost in the crossfire.

There is no bright side once civilization has devolved to the point where people are actively hunting and firing upon one another in the streets and raiding each other's homes. The enemy is not a mindless force of nature that will blow itself out, nor is it an accident in need of cleanup. One will have to deal with an armed, intelligent enemy that actively seeks to do harm and is capable of attacking in an organized fashion.

WARGAMES/THEORETICAL - this includes miscellaneous theoretical disasters, war games, and scenarios that are unlikely to happen anywhere but on a movie screen or in a book. Such things as alien invasion, diminsional rifts, zombies, nanobot gray ooze, robot uprising, mass cult outbreaks, artificial intelligence, and other contingencies that will exist outside the mainstream of disaster preparedness.

The greatest disadvantage to the wargame or theoretical crisis, is that it is so unexpected, and so likely to be dismissed as a more "normal" crisis, that proper communication of the issue will not be relayed (such as mistaking zombism for a new strain of rabies), and preparations for a disaster other than what is taking place will actually occur (such as stocking up on conventional firearms when your enemy cannot be harmed by a bullet). Additionally, once the reality sinks in, neurosis and psychosis are likely to result in a good portion of the weaker-willed populace, resulting in additional, more normal crises.

The one and only bright side for this type of scenario will be confirmation of beliefs for a certain fringe element. The I-Told-You-So Factor might play a critical role in keeping one's sanity in such a situation.


Now that I have discussed categorical types of Situation X, I will, in my next post, discuss the various class scales of it. Please feel free to ask questions or contribute as you see fit.

This is an excellent summary of potential Situation Xs. One, however, that wasn't mentioned was financial or economic collapse. with Iran's attempted oil bourse and our current debt situation, money could end up worthless. This will, of course, slow the economy to a crawl, and probably result in humanitarian disasters as well as rioting and looting. Just a thought.

Perhaps it deserves its own category, as in most of the other scenarios, resources and the ability to obtain them without turning to violence is much easier.

DE

Here's some random websites with tips for food/shelter and other things.



www.ki4u.com...

www.nukepills.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com... - This thread has a ton of info

www.survive-nbc.org...

www.radshelters4u.com...

www.oism.org...

www.slate.com...

www.hps.org...

www.english.ilstu.edu...


I'll post more if I find any. And those are just for a nuclear attack

EDIT: Added links

[edit on 18-10-2006 by enjoies05]

[edit on 18-10-2006 by enjoies05]

I do have one question so far, about a nuclear attack.


Let's say North Korea (or anyone else) sends a nuclear missle at the US, it hits somewhere, and people who make shelters/find a shelter survive and wait out the fallout.

When it is safe to come out of the shelters what do you do? Will it look like a scene in a movie, with everything on fire? Will it look normal? Do you go on with your everyday life? Find a unknown place in the wilderness and wait for the government to do something? Get a weapon and sneak around, killing the invaders? (if there are any)



[edit on 18-10-2006 by enjoies05]

enojoies,

That is some great info.

I've already started a nuclear fallout thread and would love for you to post that information there as well.

www.abovetopsecret.com...



Again, great questions...you really should check out the thread I started listed above. I would love to have your input.

I have a link in my signature for the Nuclear War Survival Skills eBook, some of your questions are answered in there.

***edit for wrong link*** d'oh

[edit on 18-10-2006 by DropInABucket]

I clicked the link in your post to go to the thread you were talking about, but you linked this thread.

Found your thread though

[edit on 18-10-2006 by enjoies05]

I almost put one in there, believe it or not, as I've always got my mind towards the financial future, but ended up deciding against it since it is not a life threatening event... however:

The 5 Laws of Gold is a thread I started a long time ago that occasionally gets updated. To summarize, if at all possible, buy a copy of Clason's The Richest Man in Babylon, read it, and apply it to your life. It was written in the 1920's to summarize financial rules thousands of years old that still apply to this day. Every single financial book I've read parrots what this book first put on paper. You could almost say it was the original layman's financial improvement book, and it works regardless of language, currency, occupation, or level of wealth.


Sorry, my work shift is due to end soon. I will get the classification scales of Situation X's posted tonight or tomorrow.

Buggin out.
That's my speciality. There might come a time when its not only necessary but prudent to head for the hills. I will give advise on when to bug how to bug and what to bug in. I need a little time to get to al my information. most of it is stored on a NAS in my house which has no power at the moment, due to re-wiring. Should be able to get to it in a week or so. Mean while if you have any questions geared twords the bug out feel free to ask. You can send me a U2U or post the question in the survivalist thread, and I will attempt to answer.

The Classifications of Situation X are based upon what I've read in other disaster manuals. The base for the each number is in regards to the worst peak of crisis, rather than the beginning or end.

CLASS ONE - A brief or easily contained crisis situation resulting in 0-99 deaths, most of which will be either directly killed by Situation X, or will be elderly or infirm patients unable to receive needed treatment. Most infrastructure will still be available, with minor interruptions lasting no longer than 3 days. The area of effect will be limited to one city, and possibly the immediate surrounding area. Normalcy should return in less than a week with the assistance of local government, if any, and full recovery will take less than a month. Economic impact will be limited almost entirely to the city level. Tornadoes, four-alarm fires, terrorist bombings, type 7 and 8 Modified Mercalli Scale earthquakes, riots and floods are typical Class One Situations.

CLASS TWO - A more serious crisis resulting in the deaths of 100-999 people, including deaths resulting from exposure, or thirst. Most infrastructure will be unavailable, with interruptions lasting less than a month. The area of effect will be scattered over several cities up to 100 miles at it's longest stretch. A return to normalcy should take less than a month, with the assistance of state government, if any, and full recovery will take less than a year. The disaster will have an economic impact mostly limited to a regional level. Hurricanes, type 9 and 10 Modified Mercalli Scale earthquakes, five-alarm fires, power-plant destruction, militant uprisings, and coordinated terrorist attacks are all examples of Class Two Situations.

CLASS THREE - A critical situation resulting in the deaths of over 1,000, but less than 1,000,000. The exact death toll will never be fully known, due to the burial, destruction, relocation, or consumption of many of the dead before they can be found. Infrastructure will be brought to a complete standstill for an indefinite length of time. The area of effect will be scattered over the country, or several countries, with an area of effect of less than 1500 miles, and after-effects felt world-wide. The economic impact to the involved countries will be severe, and might even affect the global economy depending upon the relative commercial or industrial importance of the affected location. Without considerable humanitarian aid on a national or even international level, the area will not recover. Even with aid, a return to normalcy will take months, and full recovery will take years, if ever. They will rank among the worst disasters in recorded history, and will be considered a nationally defining time.The Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, The Tambora Eruption, and the Tangshan Earthquake are all examples of a Class Three Situation.

CLASS FOUR - A global event on such as scale that the death toll will be incalculable, but likely to exceed a million over the duration of the crisis. Damage to infrastructure will occur on such a broad and massive scale that historians will be unable to fully piece together all the details. The entire world economy will be severely affected for an indefinite period of time. The physical and/or tactical borders of one or more countries will be changed as direct or indirect result of the crisis. A concentrated international effort will be required to ever hope of restoring the area to normalcy, and even with outside intervention it is more likely that the area will spiral downward into complete and total collapse of that civilization. Either way, such an event will be considered a defining era for one or more continents.The World Wars, The Yellow River Floods, and the fall of the Roman Empire are examples of a Class Four Situation. The Democratic Republic of Congo has been mired in a Class Four Situation since about 1994.

CLASS FIVE - A cataclysmic extinction-level event, the death toll will no longer be spoken of in numbers but rather in percentages of Earth's pre-cataclysmic human and animal populations. The majority of what few pockets of humanity remain will eventually die out due to the lack of a viable gene pool. Those that survive, if any, will most likely have no contact with any other pockets until they are "discovered" generations later. By the time civilization re-advances enough to "define" the Earth-shattering moment, it will have become classified as a Geologic Extinction Period in whatever language science adopts. The next Class Five event will most likely be the eruption of aSuper Volcano, or an Earth impact event.


Of course, each and every Situation X is going to be unique in its particular statistics, and these are merely guidelines to classify scale. One could argue as to whether or not 9/11 was worse than The Sumatra-Adaman Earthquake, but one could easily accept that neither were on the same scale as World War II, and that World War II, likewise, was nothing compared to the Permian-Triassic extinction (in which 95% of all species died).

What it boils down to in the case of any Situation X that you manage to survive the outset of is - what now?

Every contigency should allow for flexibility and mobility as a matter of course. Without either, it is prone to failure, and you buying the farm. There are three basic schools of thought on contigencies:

Book it! - The plan consists of leaving the area of Situation X for the duration, or perhaps permenently. Transit has its difficulties, of course. You must leave behind supplies unless you have previously cached them somewhere else, and you run the very real risk of turning into a refugee or simply being bogged down. Unless you have someplace ot be running to, it's inadvisable to plan to live a life on the road.

Hunker! - Your home is your castle, damn it all! The opposite of booking it, you opt to stay at your current place of residence for the duration of Situation X due to preparations previosuly made, strategic placement of the home and/or bunker, or because it's simply too damn dangerous to move. The obvious advantage of this plan is that you have considerably more rapid access to needed supplies, and then tend to be more plentiful. Unfortunately, those supplies will do you little good if your home winds up on fire, or underwater, or gets hit by ordnance.

Hunker Somewhere Else! - The best and most popular option for those that have the means is, of course, to have a hideaway established somewhere hopefully distant enough to either be outside of the area of Situation X, or at least strategically located for a higher chance of survival therein. It has the best of both worlds- distance, (relative) safety, extensive supplies, etc. However, it also has the worst of both worlds. You have to get there alive, first, and the better part of your contigency supplies are out of immediate reach.

What to Consider When Planning For Contigencies

1. Neccessities: Can you provide yourself with food, potable water, shelter and breatheable air for the durartion of the emergency? Why the hell not?

2. Skills: It's one thing to plan on getting by hunting. It's another to actually hunt, clean a carcass, and not die or get yourself monstrously sick in the process.

3. Medical Issues: If you get hurt, can you give yourself a reasonable chance of surviving the wound? Can you do better than that, mabe set a bone or give stitches?

4. Defensive issues: You might have three metric tonnes of food, more antibiotics than a hospital, gold, and a kickass cabin in the middle of nowhere. However, if all you have to defend your stuff, your family, and yourself are thoughts of peace, love, and happiness directed at me, what's to stop me from putting a .303 through your brainpan and taking all that?

5. Diversions: When you have time (or, perhaps, this is just a situation that needs waiting out) what's to stop you from going absolutely nuts and attempting to stop a bear from eating you using only the power of thoughts of love and peace? It's suggested that you bring a good, long book and a hand crank radio to keep yourself informed and entertained, and out of the looney bin.

DE

[EDIT: Not in the spelling!]

[edit on 19-10-2006 by DeusEx]

Well I started prepping about 6-8 months ago and what I have found out is the more you prep the more you need to prep. I think we may all start out with some extra bottles of water and a couple of boxes of mac and cheese and then before you know it you have a seperate room in your house for storage of food and water. Then the first aid kit gets put down there and once you have figured all of the ways to keep yourself alive for 2-6 months the next natural step is "what then?" What if the stores don't reopen? What if I can't buy gas? Do I have enough to last until I can plant a garden and harvest, where do I store the darn seeds. This has all gotten BIGGER for me, there's more to do not less! What's the saying, "the more I do the behinder I get!"

My situation Xs are a nuclear explosion and bird flu, since I live in the NE, I don' t have the wild fire/earth quake/mudslide scenario to worry about and I've already ridden out some wicked hurricanes. My preps are geared to bird flu and nukes.

Oh, a freebie:

Hands hurt. In most cases, the most direct, immediate form of danger you'll encounter comes from other people. Avian flu doesn't just fall out fo the sky- humans carry it. Stores don't loot themselves.

Worry about fires, earthquakes, the elements, radiation.

Worry more about your fellow man, because they'll exploit all of the above.

DE

The next point I would like to address is preparedness that one can do for free. These are all fairly time consuming, and not neccessarily fun, which will be difficult for most people, but they are all free of cost and absolutley vital to survival in the event of Situation X.

Preparations that are Free:

Excercise - How many of you watch a movie where ordinary everyday people cross the mountains, or have to swim underwater holding their breath, or have to leap across a several foot gap, and think "I could do that, if I really had to," and yet the walk from the car to the store is a pain in the arse. It's dangerous to assume that Situation X will get you in shape in time. As with most disasters, the time your muscle and reflexes will most likely be needed are going to be immediately during and immediately after the initial crisis.

Once things have calmed down to mere anarchy, you will have more time to relax and worry about food and water, but first, how are you going to get back home? What if you are a commuter and Situation X happens while you're at work, or in traffic? How will you walk ten, twenty, even fifty miles to get to your safe haven? What if you have to help put out fires, how will you carry and hold a high-pressure hose in place when carrying a couple of grocery bags in from the car will normally strain your physical limits. Excercise. Learn how to properly lift heavy loads, increase your lifting capacity, and walk as far as you can, while carrying a load, each day.

Friends, Family and Relatives (FFARs) - Despite what Mad Max, Max Payne, Arnold, and video games would have you believe, there is no such thing as a one-man army. Unless you are a trained special forces operative with years of field experience, or you have a sealed bomb-shelter, your chances of surviving Situation X alone are virtually nil. And unless Situation X blows over quickly, even the ability to survive alone does not mean you'll leave it sane. You need someone to watch your back when you sleep. You need someone to help with the work (which there will be a LOT of). You need someone to help you obtain neccessities, someone to help watch for fires, to help you in combat, and so forth. Unless you want to get saddled with the unknown, and take your chances on Joe Average, I suggest you start building a network of trusted and proximately close friends, family, and relatives. Anyone further than about 50 miles is right out, unless it's a destination point, which I'll get to in a minute.
Chances are you know far more people than are willing to take this seriously, and of the ones you know, some will take it more seriously than you. Some people can't even handle the thought of Situation X ever happening to them, and some of them bloody-well crave it. I recommend a small contingent of no more than eight adults, plus whatever kids y'all may have. Start simple, don't overwhelm them at once. Test the waters, see how they react to a suggestion of an emergency preparedness network of FFARs. If they react positively, then invite them on a camping trip. Nothing fancy, just local camping with as many of your network as you can manage. Work your way up from there. Learn how to live around these people, how to deal with their idiosyncracies, who is reliable, and who is not. Figure out who stands out as the natural leader and organizer, and who tries to grab for power. Of utmost importance, determine if you can trust these people with your life. All the best and worst traits of your FFARs will be amplified a hundred-fold in the event of Situation X. You'd best know who's on your side.

4 Cardinal Destinations - You could have every single possible aspect prepared for at your home. It could be a fortress of food, water, and firearms capable of sustaining itself indefinitely... but if it burns down, is blown up, washed away, or overrun, what next? Where do you go? This needs to be determined in advance. Chances are that you or your close FFARs have land or other FFARs out in each direction from your home. Perhaps it's a farm a couple of hours west, or a cabin up north, or a warehouse south of town. Among you and your FFARs, you need to establish at least 4 locations, each in a different cardinal direction, to fall back to in the event that your primary location becomes unsustainable. The reason why you want on in each direction is because the chances are very high that travel is going to be extremely dangerous, if not impossible, in at least one of those directions. If none of your FFARs have land or structures in one of those directions, consider state parks, military bases, distribution centers, and religious institutions, all of which are likely to have supplies, reinforcements, and can often be found outside of cities. While you may balk at the idea of surrendering your autonomy, trading a little ego for survival may be well worth it to your group.

Learn to Navigate Without Roads - Roads are wonderful things when society functions normally. They may not be the shortest route from point-A to point-B, but they are quicker than walking, and they make navigation about a million times easier. Unfortunately, in Situation X, they are deathtraps. Let me make this clear, you will likely be unable to drive anywhere during Situation X. Even if the roads aren't completley clogged by vehicles that have run out of gas, people who've died behind the wheel, or fallen structures blocking passage, there will be desperate people looking for any means to stay alive, which might include joining you and further straining your resources at best, or killing you and taking your things at worst. If some sort of military were the cause of Situation X, the roads will be one of the first areas they procure. So learn how to get to each of your FFARs houses, and your 4 Cardinal Destinations, using nothing but the landscape, the sun, and stars, without using any major roads. Figure out how long it takes you to walk there on foot. Practice walking their on foot. Use a weekend to hike to one of your four Cardinal Destinations with some of your FFARs. Start on Saturday Morning, see how far you can make it towards the destination on foot. Once you've gone as far as you can, have someone pick you up and take you home. Sunday, have a FFAR drive back to the same spot you left off at, and try to make it the rest of the way on foot. If you can't make it to your destination in two days hiking under normal "ideal" conditions, you probably won't make it there during Situation X, and may need to consider picking a closer spot.

Locate Nearby Natural Water Sources - If the city loses power, or the local reservoir becomes contaminated or depleted, where will you get your fresh water from? Is there a nearby lake, stream, river, glacier, or other method of obtaining water? Learn multiple sources, between your home and your four Cardinal Destinations. It will probably need to be treated, but all the boiling and iodine tablets in the world won't do you any good if you have no water to treat.

Learn Native Edible Plants - It's great if you know what potatoes look like in the wild, but if they don't grow near you, you're out of luck. Chances are you'll have to forage at some point for food. You need to know what wild plants grow nearby that are edible, which parts are edible, and how they need to be prepared to be edible. Some plants, like tomatoes, have edible fruit, but the leaves are extremely poisonous. Practice finding them in the wild, figure out where they tend to grow, and how far you need to go to find enough to make one meal for one person.

Quit Addictions - The most obvious one that comes to mind is smoking. Now, having been a smoker for 12 years, I am absolutely no one to cast judgment on smokers. However, Situation X will be stressful enough without having to deal with nic fits, and a burning cherry can be seen for a very very long distance at night, and the smoke will give away your position to anyone downwind. Further, the physical demands of Situation X will be such that the last thing you need is something that makes physical exertion even more difficult. Alcoholism is another addiction that will need to be broken ahead of time. And, while either of these two are technically survivable in Situation X, anything harder, such as a heroin or coke addiction, will probably lead to your death as you either take insane risks to obtain it, or are killed as a result of withdrawal symtoms.

Learn How to Cook - You know how to add oregano to Ragu. Fantastic. What can you do with nothing but a little flour, some miscellaneous veg, and a bit of fruit? You're going to get really tired of eating the same meal over and over, and knowing what wild spices grow nearby, or how to cook bread in various ways, or anything where your supplies will largely be minimal, you and your FFARs will be greatful for your cooking. Another advantage is that, when work duties are assigned, cooking is among the easiest and most appreciated by all.

Store Water Containers - Finished a gallon jug of milk? Wash it out thoroughly and find a place to store it and others. Do you buy those big 4-gallon containers at the store? Save them afterward. Not only will you need something to carry water back from your natural water sources later on, but initially during Situation X, there will often be enough warning to fill up your containers and have them standing by. Most people will be lacking in containers and have to subsist off what they can fill their tub and various bowls with. Save yourself the trouble and start saving your containers now. Keep in mind the average person in Somalia gets by on 2.3 gallons per day, so plan on at least 2 gallons per day, per person, for your reserves.

For the people who don't work out...get started. Get off the couch now. If you can't run the fifty feet it takes to get out of your house if it catches fire, you're screwed.

For Beginners:

For those ridiculously out of shape, a good starting place is the Canadian Forces Recruiting Standard. Your objective will be 19 situps, 19 pushups, a a mile run in under 11:30. This is...fairly basic stuff. To be honest, it used to give me some problems, too. I could do the situps, the run...but due to upper-body injuries previous, the pushups were hell. I used to read instead, and came upon the cheapest method of bodily improvement possible. It worked for me, I got into the shape I needed to.

The Deck

Most people have a deck of playing cards. You assign an exercize to each suit, and you draw cards. The number on the card is the number of repetitions you must do. The objective is simple: workout till you can't. Focus on doing the exercize properly and well. If you don't know how to situps without giving yourself a backache, ask for help.

For example, what I use is:

Aces: Pushups. Spades: Different kind of pushups (elevated, if possible, but newbies should go for female pushups- females, sorry, you're screwed) Hearts: situps. Diamonds: crunches.

No, this is not designed to be efficient. This is designed to tire you out. Like in the real world, you cannot simple expect to isolate your muscles. Doing fifty-two cards, two to ten, doesn't sound like much, but try it. Plus, it's flexible. You can upgrade to harder exercizes if need be, or easier if you can contrive easier ones.

If you need it.

Hopefully, this is clear, and will help with at least two of the CF basics.

Running, I've never ever had problems with, so I am the worst possible person to give advice on. I'm massively tall and gangly, so I could be running wrong for all I know, but I two two miles before breakfast usually at 8:30 a mile.

Get it shape, people.

DE

Fantastic idea, DE. I'll try using "The Deck" this weekend.

For those who are really really out of shape, I recommend starting off light. The body's adrenaline can get you through one or two days of pushing yourself to do 20 of each excercise, but if the muscles aren't used to it, they're going to hurt so bad you'll wish you were never born.

Try your first day at 5. Second day 5. Third day, if you aren't cursing this thread, bump it up to 10. Do that for a week. If you can do ten for a week without being sore, see what else you can do.

But if you're already in good enough shape to do the standard 20/20 (I think US requires 20), then that card deck idea sounds really good for mixing things up. Additionally, moving big heavy rocks from one side of your back yard to the other will get you in shape very quickly. I lost 20 lbs just installing our flagstone porch. Just remember to lift with the legs, not the back.

Want to really get in shape? Get yourself one full blood black lab female. One full blood Boxer Male. Mix together well, Um so to speak . Shortly there after you will be getting all the exercise you can handle and more. Lab boxer pups are a nightmare of fur, energy, attitude and, sharp puppy teeth.

Seriously thow the cards are a great trick. One more thing I would like to add. It may seem trivial but it is one of the most over looked and easiest things to do. Take a multi Vitamin once a day. Even eating mostly right you are still missing out on some Nutrients. Like I said it seems trivial but its really important

But lets get this thread moving. Anybody have any questions. If were going to get our forum we need to be active come on folks lets talk survival.

I have a bird flu survival question:

I have four children 4yrs-10yrs, all are in school. At one point would I pull them from school? I mean do I wait for a confirmed human 2 human transmission in California or is it too late by then? I've been wondering about this for a while now. I don't want to pull them too early but pulling them too late could have serious consequences. I am prepared to deal with a sick family member, but I am hoping to have everyone safely at home and away from the general public before they get sick. Any ideas?

In the interest of this thread, anyone who utilizes peer to peer exchanges, I did a search on the word survival and found a ton of pdf files on the subject. They range from field manuals for the military to some rather extremists pamphlets. Regardless of your views, the info is really useful. I printed out some of the more important ones and the rest are on cd. I'm not a fatalist, but this stuff is just good to know.