Some Preppers Will Make Surviving The Apocalypse Even Less Fun
 

Being forced to endure and survive a catastrophic macro event like a monetary or social collapse is perhaps one of the worst experiences I could imagine. Such a crisis leads to just about every crime and inhuman action in existence, and the time required for a culture to right itself and rebuild is severely protracted. A hurricane, earthquake or tidal wave is a short-lived calamity that is easy in comparison. As survivalists who are preparing to make an economic endgame scenario as comfortable to live through as we can, it is incumbent upon us to consider the kind of company we keep during the gambit. Some allies will make that mad world bearable; others will bring the madness to your doorstep.

Many preppers are aware of the dangers inherent in our progressively deteriorating Nation. Unfortunately, some of them are completely unaware of the dangers inherent within themselves. Building a solid community of people to rely on during a collapse is absolutely essential, and the larger the group of liberty-minded neighbors the better. But if certain ground rules are not established from the very beginning, a rainbow of personal issues and character flaws could very well destroy years of effort. Care must be taken by all parties involved to ensure that internal conflicts remain at a minimum and that, when they do arise, each person is wise enough to resolve issues in an adult manner.

I hate to say it, but you will inevitably run into some folks who are beyond compromise and beyond hope. Working with them is like pulling teeth — shark’s teeth — from your jugular. Here are just a handful of powder-keg personalities who will make the apocalypse more than a living hell for you and your friends if they manage to latch onto or take leadership in your survival watch.

The Assumed Leader

The assumed leader is not actually a reliable or practical leader; he just thinks he is. And he loudly reminds everyone that he is whenever he can find occasion. He does not generally do this by screaming, “I am your leader!” Instead, he attempts to micromanage every aspect of the survival group and shows early signs of control issues. The assumed leader will first make forceful suggestions to test the waters, scoffing angrily whenever people do not strictly follow his advice. If he gains traction, his suggestions turn into orders, and he begins to act as though he is somehow in a superior position to the rest of the community.
He seems to have an answer to every question or concern, which would be nice if he actually knew what he was talking about half of the time. Usually, this is not the case. He may have expertise in a certain field, like farming, building, engineering or even defense; that expertise is indeed valuable. However, his mastery of one area of knowledge has inflated his ego to massive proportions and he now pretends as if he is some kind of hyper-educated elitist potentate. When approached with alternative options and methods, he will respond with ridicule as if you have no clue what you are talking about. When his ideas are criticized, he will react with fury and try to remove dissenters from the community entirely.
The best way to avoid these people is to discover them early in your prepping project, and to make certain that no one becomes a de facto dictator. Every person with particular expertise within the community should be deferred to in that particular field, but not given authority over all decisions. The experienced farmer should lead when it comes to farming, but step aside when it comes to defense and vice versa. Keep in mind that the best leaders always ask those around them for aid and advice before coming to any conclusion. The worst leaders assume they already know everything.

The Feudal Lord

The feudal lord is an assumed leader who has managed to lure other preppers into a commune rather than a community, and there is a considerable difference. He is often a well-off survivalist who has suddenly realized that he is basically defenseless to protect all his money, land and supplies and that he needs an organized group to protect his bounty. He entices other preppers into the fold with ideas that he is building a legitimate and fair community. Since he has land available, many take interest. The problem is that the feudal lord believes that since he owns the land the group is defending, he’s automatically the grand poobah. He sees the other preppers not as equals, but as servants and serfs.
The reality is, the feudal lord’s land and supplies are utterly meaningless without security and without aid. His survival riches can be taken in an instant by a mere handful of looters or even one experienced raider. Without other people, treated as equals in survival and ready to lay down their lives to protect each other and him, he has nothing. He is foolhardy to think otherwise.

This is not to say that all landowners who try to centralize a group on their property are seeking to become mini-kings of a mini-kingdom. If rules and agreements are made early on and everyone understands their role, then such an arrangement could work. But if the landowner purposely avoids set agreements, appoints roles to people without asking them and changes the plan regularly to suit himself, then it’s time to walk away before it’s too late. Eventually, he will use his position as landowner as a means to dominate and will threaten to cast out people who disagree with his methods.

The best way to avoid these characters and the commune situation altogether is to not centralize on a single piece of land, but to organize in a neighborhood fashion wherein everyone maintains sovereign control of what they do and all aid is voluntary.

The Moral Relativist

There is, sadly, a small subsection of survivalists out there who do not plan to live off their own preps; they plan to confiscate the preps of others by force and solve every problem at the barrel of a gun. In their mind, a crisis situation calls for the abandonment of conscience and the application of a “survival of the fittest” mentality. They believe that morals are all well and good when civilized society remains, but a source of weakness during catastrophe. Their philosophy is: Only the strongest of men will be able to set aside principle and “do what needs to be done.” That is to say, they believe you must become the monster to defeat the monster.

In fact, only men who are able to hold onto their principles during the worst moments are strong. Weak men run away from conscience, using the excuse that times are “different and difficult.” They are not survivalists; they are terrorists in every sense.

These people should be avoided like the plague. They will make enemies wherever they go, ask you to do questionable things and push your community into annihilation. Eventually, somebody is going to put them out of their misery, and it’s best to not be around when that happens.

The Obsessive

The obsessive is a person whose drive is initially impressive but also ultimately destructive. His entire life revolves around survival prepping and impending doom. Certainly, it is better to be overly concerned about the economic crisis on the horizon than to be utterly oblivious. A smart man over-prepares. But there is such a thing as overkill, even in the world of survivalism.

No one can ever do enough fast enough in this person’s eyes. He will whine constantly about how he is the only one taking preparations seriously and how everyone else is a lazy bum. He will become frantic on a daily basis, admonishing the group or community on their lack of urgency. In a leadership position, this person is a nightmare, creating constant waves of tension and panic instead of calmly offering solutions or constructive criticism.
The obsessive’s motto is, “Let me tell you how you are wrong and why you are lazy,” instead of, “Tell me how I can help you fix this.”

We all need a break once in a while from the horrors we know are waiting for us. To step back and enjoy what we can of a beautiful day or good people is not the same as being a freeloader or a backslider within your prepper group. Survival is about more than sustaining the body; it is also about sustaining the heart and the mind. Otherwise, what is the point of living?

The Ulterior Motive Drama Queen

The drama queen is loosely interested in survivalism but wants to join your community for other reasons — and these reasons may cause many members dismay. The opposite of the obsessive, you’ll notice a strange non-involvement on his part or lack of interest as far as participating in survival discussion and decision making. He will often hand over all his survival preparation plans to others while hovering like a gnat around the community searching for that special something.

The drama queen may be looking for friends and social recognition. He may be afraid of collapse and simply trying to lock into any group regardless of whether he fits, becoming disenchanted later. He may enjoy the excitement of feeling like he is involved, and he is living vicariously through the accomplishments of others. He may just be looking for a date. Ultimately, his primary objective is not to build a working community, but to get something out of the community beyond safety.

If he does not get what he wants, he raises hell, using whatever excuse happens to be handy without ever admitting his real motivations. He will deliberately start unnecessary drama, attempt to create divisions, focus on one person as the cause of all his troubles or blame the whole group for the heartache in his life. He will attempt to draw everyone into his personal soap opera in the hopes of becoming the focal point, sharing strange and extremely private issues with anyone who accidentally offers to listen.
Eventually, he will be seen for what he is and will lose the ear of the other preppers, who obviously have better things to worry about, but only after wreaking some havoc in the process.

The Zealot

The zealot has a perfect picture in his mind of how his survival community is going to look — absolutely perfect. The problem is that all people are imperfect and all have different conceptions of life, and this disturbs and disrupts the zealot’s fantasy. It is one thing to be careful about whom you associate with when assembling a prepper organization, but it is entirely another to hold everyone to insane standards that even you cannot meet.
The zealot generally wants to be in charge so that he can vet and control each member of the group, but this is not always the case. Zealots are also sometimes highly antisocial, showing interest in a group for a short time and then suddenly walking away as if no one is up to par. He may base his zealotry on a misplaced religious fervor or philosophical inflexibility, but he will not be happy until everyone sees the world the way he does or until others meet his grandiose brand of moral flawlessness. For him, it is not enough that the community of preppers around him shares a love for liberty and a disdain for tyranny, the preppers must also be “spiritually pure” in his eyes.

One mistake or disagreement by a member of the group earns him a black mark on the zealot’s list which he never forgets. From then on, that member is the enemy, and the zealot will engineer conflict after conflict until the person gives up and goes away or until he can convince the group that the person is more trouble than he is worth.

The great dilemma for any survivalist is to balance personal freedom and a peaceful home life with the reality he will not last long without relying on a group. Other people bring talent, friendship and safety to our lives, but they also bring baggage. The key is to work with those who know how to manage as much of their own baggage as possible, who are aware of themselves and are willing to police their own quirks and who have not leapt off a cliff into extreme disturbia. No survival community can withstand the savage assault of national collapse otherwise.

Guard your identity

Here are a few steps to foil the ID thieves:
Shred everything. And I do mean everything. ID thieves, often fueled by methamphetamine drug addiction, can piece together small bits of junk mail and other information that might seem innocent to you. They can use this to pull credit in your name.

Monitor your credit. Services like Identity Guard and Lifelock are pretty good at securing your credit report and letting you know when something new pops up. But you need to stay on top of it too. Pull your report at least quarterly and note any changes that seem fishy. Dispute anything and everything that seems inaccurate or suspicious.

Create a verbal password at your bank. Most banks are adopting this security measure now, but you can insist that your bank do it now or lose your business. Create a password that you can remember and make sure that the bank asks for it before any withdrawals, wire transfers, check orders, and any personal info is given out. Scammers often call the bank and pretend they are you to get critical bank information. Make sure your bank knows that you want to be password protected and notified of any suspicious activity on your accounts.
Keep your information out of the public eye. Take your name off the mailbox. Turn on ALL of Facebook’s and Google’s privacy settings. Never make your family tree public, thieves can do a lot of damage with your mother’s maiden name. Keep your name out of Who’s Who lists, they are a detailed biography of usually pretty successful people and ID thieves farm them for names.

Subject: Preparedness Checklist (v 1)
Prescriptions
90-180 day supply of needed prescriptions
Medicine
Antibiotics
Pain medication
Specialized medicines you regularly take 90-180 day supply
Food
Dry goods 6 months to 1 year supply
Salt
Sugar
Flour
Other??
Canned vegetables, fruits, meats, sauces, etc.
Cooking oils
Rice (50) lbs

Shelter
Heat source
Emergency food
Generous water supply
Water filter
Bedding
Additional clothing
Secure location
Personal protection clothing, personal items, toilet, Bags of Lime
Pioneering equipment such as an axe, shovel, hoe, rake
Emergency use toilet
Communications equipment such as a radio, short wave unit. Older is better.
Batteries and or solar power source
Weapon: long gun with enough ammunition
Other_______________________
Go Bag
Per packing list
Contingency Fuel
For cooking and heating. Kerosene, diesel, or heating oil
For vehicle. Shelf life of gas is 6 months, diesel is years
Water
You will need quite a bit of water. Even if you do not anticipate washing regularly. If you can locate near a well or cistern, or create a cistern from your rain spout system this can keep you in survival water most times.
Portable filter for travelling
Water purification tablets
Survival site
Secure
Outside an urban area near a rural community where farming is the primary activity
Realistic. You will not make it to Wyoming from Kentucky if a sudden collapse occurs. You can walk perhaps 30-30 miles a day if you are in shape. Considering how much water you need to travel that distance, think about how far you can reasonably walk. Remember after a couple days you will not be able to walk on roads, you will be travelling overland.
Evacuation Plan
Who?
How many?
How are you moving travelling. Think about plan A being vehicle borne, Plan B being on foot.
Where? How far?
What are you taking?
Who is carrying what?
Rally points/ safe areas to meet if separated
How long will you wait there for family members? Then what?
Evacuation route: Roads good initially, but will soon turn to traps used by criminals and gangs.
Weapon
Home defense and survival site will center on a more powerful long gun such as a pump shotgun or rifle. Movement needs to be fast, thus implying light weight. Carry a pistol, automatics are best with high capacity magazines.
Caliber: Following an emergency and in the months to years afterward ammunition will become scarce. Stick to a few calipers which should always be present. For pistol, use a 9mm, .45 Auto, or .40. 9mm is best since used by everyone including the military.
For shotgun use 12 gage
Rifle, use 5.56 Nato, 7.62 X 39 (AK-47 and SKS), 7.62 X 51 or .308 which is a popular hard hitting military round, and avoid the rest.
Additionally buy a .22 rifle and pistol which you can use to hunt with and kill pests which will begin to show up such as packs of dogs.
Communications
Although an EMP effect will render radios useless, consider a GRMS hand held and settle on  a primary and alternate frequency for your group/family. Figure out a regular communications time in case you become separated such as 30 min after noon and midnight.
Find a short wave radio, wrap itin aluminum foil and store it. Get a battery or two with perhaps a small generator to power it.
Networking
Who else is nearby who is also preparing? Can you coordinate your plans to save money? Can you plan to use a shelter with other like minded people?

Security
Most people have their heads in the sand and are not prepared. Unfortunately we cannot help all of them if any at all. If they know about your preparedness, then their survival plan will be to seek you out to help. Unfortunately a survival situation is just that. If they eat half your food, then you survive half as long. If you treat their wounds with your supplies then run out, will you be prepared to treat your family members later? This is a hard area to deal with. The psychology of the typical American does not allow or make decisions like these easy. The time will come following a disaster, after we become acquainted with crime, violence, death and suffering that the decisions we need to make will become easier. I’d suggest you announce the subject, then set a time and sit down with your family or survival group and talk about this subject. Be open, painfully honest and make some decisions. Based on those decisions you can move forward with your personal plans. If you elect to feed and treat the masses, then fine, continue to save to eventually purchase a Super Wal-Mart which you will need to meet their needs. If not, then construct your plan and physical needs based on those decisions and keep them. Revisit this subject from time to time.

NCO's...

From Ashley:

� A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800
> gallons of gas a year.
>
> � A new vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses
> 480 gallons of gas a year.
>
> � So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction reduced gasoline
> consumption by 320 gallons per year.
>
> � The government claims 700,000 clunkers have been replaced so
> that is 224 million gallons saved per year.
>
> � That equates to a bit over 4 million barrels of oil.
>
> � 4 million barrels of oil at $80 per barrel costs about $320
> million dollars.
>
> � So, the government paid $2.8 billion of our tax dollars to
>save
> $320 million.
>
> They spent $8.75 for every $1.00 they saved.
>
> � Do you think they will do any better with healthcare?

From a member:

I just finished your book. The final chapter got me. Not sure if I told you, I am a "recovering" dispatcher, spent almost 12 years in that role. In the first 3 years, I attended 2 LODD funerals (line of duty death). The roll call ritual is very similar to our last call ritual in law enforcement. When it is called, nobody moves. I think some don't even breathe. After it is finished, you hear nothing but the sobbing of family and friends. I have a difficult time reading or watching a formal funeral without tearing up. Very few things get me, but any officer, soldier, firefighter death or funeral pierces the manly facade and tears my heart. I feel what you felt in both stories in the book, at the TLS building and again at the Mogadishu service. I know I don't share the experiences from war, but I feel the experience of losing an honorable man who died by knowingly going into harm's way knowing they might not go home again. Similar, but not the same.




I knew the danger of writing about that stuff was that I'd get to relive some of it...



Ya know, no one gets out of life alive. A couple years I started looking at life as what it was actually intended to be. A short "lived" thing, a transition really. It's wonderful, it should be, God created it. But I started to realize that he and his son is standing there just one breath after life! Now that's pretty cool... That's what I focus on, with respect to the concept of going on. Life here on this earth is really just a test, a laboratory of sorts where we get choice. That's how God makes us pure and separates the wheat from the abundant chaff. We get that remarkable opportunity to mature, to use the super computer he stitched in between our sensory organs. So we get to test the reality of things. Can we look at a situation and see what is really going on? We get to make a choice! That's really remarkable when you come to realize who's in charge!



For most, they cannot see truth. Lots of us have come up with terms like "Sheeple" to describe such a person. Just follow along blindly, being quietly and comfortably led to the slaughter. Well, for them, I inwardly lament and wisper, "Enjoy it while you have it."



What's better I'd ask? Living a long comfortable life full of the trappings of modern man, or a short one filled with conviction and purpose? Well for most, it must not be the latter! Know why? Lack of belief in God! It's evidient everywhere. ANd growing most rapidly in a neighborhood near yours! Humanists are really just Satanists happily hanging on their theories that we created all this. That a process of evolution shapes and molds us. That we are the supreme creatures on earth and so forth.



Your friends who you sat silently in the cold wind to honor as they were lowered to their final resting place didn't do that at all. They went on to an eternity with their creator or with their antagonist in hell. Theirs is a victory in some cases.



Yup, I would morn the man who died not knowing a relationship with Jesus, because it's really all over for him. For ever and ever...torment. But for a few of those dear warriors who left us while being so young, theirs is a manifest victory. THey literally are smiling and laughing with our King in heaven. How cool is that?



Don't lament the passing of a warrior. They did what they were designed to do. They responded to that inner siren ever beckoning them to the greater existence...They literally fought the good fight, and for some, Won! I hope we get to be warriors in our next life as well.



Their lives, their physical lives were or should be a lesson to those of us who remember them or knew them. Everything that happens to you is an opportunity to grow, to learn. So do that, and smile some, but not for effect, but because you knew them, and in some cases, loved them...

From Bobby:

Infantrymen have a pride and arrogance that most Americans don’t understand and don’t like. Even soldiers who aren’t infantrymen don’t understand. The pride doesn’t exist because we have a job that’s physically impressive. It certainly doesn’t exist because it takes a higher level of intelligence to perform our duties. It’s sad and I hate to admit it, but any college student or high school grad can physically do what we do. It’s not THAT demanding and doesn’t take a physical anomaly. Nobody will ever be able to compare us to professional athletes or fitness models. And it doesn’t take a very high IQ to read off serial numbers, pack bags according to a packing list, or know that incoming bullets have the right of way.

The pride of the infantryman comes not from knowing that he’s doing a job that others can’t, but that he’s doing a job that others simply won’t. Many infantrymen haven’t seen a lot of combat. While that may sound ideal to the civilian or non-infantry soldier, it pains the grunt. We signed up to spit in the face of danger. To walk the line between life and death and live to do it again – or not. To come to terms with our own mortality and let others try to take our life instead of yours. We have raised our hands and said, “Take me, America. I am willing to kill for you. I am willing to sacrifice my limbs for you. I will come back to America scarred and disfigured for you. I will be the first to die for you.”

That’s why the infantryman carries himself with pride and arrogance. He’s aware that America has lost respect for him. To many he’s a bloodthirsty animal. To others he’s too uneducated and stupid to get a regular job or go to college. Only he knows the truth. While there are few in America who claim to have respect for him, the infantryman returns from war with less fanfare than a first down in a high school football game. Yes, people hang up their “Support Our Troops” ribbons and on occasion thank us for our service. But in their eyes the infantryman can detect pity and shame; not respect. Consider this: How excited would you be to meet the average infantryman? Now compare that with how excited you’d be to meet a famous actor or professional sports player and you will find that you, too, are guilty of placing the wrong people on a pedestal. You wouldn’t be able to tell me how many soldiers died in the war last month, but you’d damn sure be able to tell me if one of the actors from Twilight died.

Yet the infantryman doesn’t complain about that. He continues to do his job; to volunteer his life for you, all while being paid less in four years than Tom Brady makes in one game.

It’s a job most Americans don’t understand, don’t envy, and don’t respect. That is why we have pride for the infantry.

A few more

The panel itself mounts simply by drilling 4 holes which I did into the poly roof. Using #8 stainless screws with nylock nuts I laid the panel over the studs which also had 4 rubber isolation bushings fitted between the panel and the roof.

And with a well seasoned upper. You might have noticed the Bravo Company new upper went onto the bumpfire gun. I have had this upper for many moons and it is very accurate with 62 gr green tip ammo.

Since these two were born about an hour apart, I'll refer to them as the "twins!"
So welcome the new additions to the family of black guns, one will look pretty and one will chew up brass and steel cases on a regular basis!

The pistol grip. I always ues Ergo grips because they work well when wet and when using leather gloves

The build up continued, here the trigger and the hammer is inplace

That's where easy ended for me.
THe M4 build directions I was referencing called for the bolt release to be installed next and retained with a press in pin. Little did I know that the POF lower retains the bolt release with a threaded stud...yea...
So I taped up the reciever and started to tap the reluctant pin into place. It just wasn't going but I persisted, then it suddenly gave, or did it? Upon close inspection, I noticed I cracked a small piece off the bolt release pin boss!!!!!

Man, I was/am bummed.
This is not just any reciever.
The serial number of this one is 00160!
I was a 160th pilot, the hargest to get into aviation unit in the armed forces! I had a reciever with the unit's number as the serial number! And I just cracked it!!!!!!!!

Well, I am not trashing it, maybe it is repairable, if not, I will use some epoxy on it and paint over it and put the weapon in the gun case on display!

But I am going to shoot it, maybe just once, cracked or not!

The DPMS pieces parts are very affordable, but as I was soon to find out not necessarily the best fitting and not all made for the POF lower...Did I memtion I learned?? Well I REALLY LEARNED as you will soon see ;-((

Let's get some gun going on here!

Today I built a bump fire M4 and a scratch built one just to "learn" myself how to do that. The good news is I learned how to do it. THe bad news is I have two inop M4's at the moment!

THe bump fire gun launched a tiny spring out of the butt stock into the twilight zone where it is and will always be. Honestly, I think it landed on my malamute which took off and shook off in the lawn depositing it below this fall's leaf clutter, has to be that!

So that gun is out of there until I get that new spring. You know, come to think of it, I need to tell Nasa about those springs, I mean it's like fusion. It tucks in about 1/4 inch, yet fires out a half mile or so. Some wierd physics going on there.

So here's the bump-fire gun awaiting it's little 7th dimension bound spring:

Originally Posted by GreatLakeOffRoad View Post
Don, have you purchased tires and wheels yet? If not think steel wheels and custom weld on b-locks.........

Nope and for now I'm now 5 wheels deep into the John Deere product line. Now having said that, I could swap these wheels/tires onto the wifes Ga-Tor and free up some room for some steeleis...
You making them (yet?)
Hint: go 15" since the Ga-Tor has a 5 on 4.5" pattern same as you jeepers, the tire size selection would be pretty good. And me thinks you drive over a kia and get your tires all crunched up, find yourself a dead jeep, there should be olenty of them along with the fords to source a tempo spare...just sayin...

It now holds the rifle securely in place!

Those were rivited together on 1" centers

Next I finished the construction of the gas can mount. It's plenty sturdy now. I welded in another brace, a stiffner, and bolted in another U-Bolt. THere is no wiggle in the mount what so ever now, and it is rubber isolated from the rub rail/cage thing. I downsized the hardware to 5/16" since the full gas can will not make it to 30 pounds.

I got a little light happy, trying to reach my goal of having 300+ on the Tac-Gator. They had these cool hat bill clip on LED's which I picked up and slid home in a couple spots. Same thinking as the work/dome lights.

I picked up some emergency flares and tucked them away for some future use:

Tomorrow I'll finish with the details and the base mount, but here's how it looks as of beddy-bye time tonight.

And the weapon secured to the vehicle:

I'm used to storing guns next to the door. We locked our M4's part inside and part outside in the doorway of the littlebirds I was flying around Baghdad. Worked fine. And if you were getting out, there was that gun right there so you wouldn't forget it.
Here's a couple more shots:

Obviously, I still need to fab up a lower mount onto which, I can attach the gun-butt holder seen in the pic. I think a simple aluminum L bracket with some generous feet to spread the load and some fender washers, and that should get the job done.

The upper mount bolts directly to the factory steel handhold with two stainless U-bolts. I will trim off the ends of the U-bolts soon as I close in on finishing this little project tomorrow.

I still have to rubber line the mount, trim off the U-bolts, and round off the stainless sheet edges, but it's coming right along. Here's a few more shots: