TOTM July 2016- Survival Logistics

“Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics”

This month think logistics, things you can set in place now for when you need them later. Logistics is the part of your planning that informs you what order to build the units and how to move them so everybody/thing arrives at the right place when they’re needed. Logistics is knowing what you need now, plus (future) what you are going to need and to know how to get it for when you need it.

It is a military concept but it can be applied to survival and planning. What about surveying your local assets (person, place or thing) now for future use? Statistically there is no way to plan for a SHTF, best we can do is guestimate. We will have to have what is needed and proper social building tools to move on from week 1,2,3,4 and 300.

Most SHTF plans miss logistics, how does one group get supplies, set up a hierarchy, build alliances. The terms below are used in politics, war and business. Our business is to survive so there maybe some points in the below that could help us- plan, survive and rebuild:

• Grand strategy is political. It sets the long term and short term goals both in and out of war. It decides who to attack when and what the goals of a war are to be.
• Operational strategy or just strategy is the planning and the execution that leads to the fulfilment of the goals set in grand strategy. If the goal of a war is to capture an island with three cities on it then the strategy decides which order to take the cities in and what sort of force will be required.
• Tactics is deployment of troops to execute the strategy. Tactics often includes small set pieces of troop movements and deployments that are known to be effective.
• Logistics is all about making sure that the troops are where they’re meant to be before the fighting starts and that they have all the support (normally supplies, but can include other things) that are required.

Strategy, Tactics & Logistics

 

I have a few skills. Leader I am not. Follower not much either. Fit for military duty at this point in my life? Not hardly. Still useful and loaded with knowledge? sure. I also know a few things. Such as; NO ONE can be protected 24/7/365. If this nation falls into complete chaos, there are will be those among us who have spearheaded the collapse and everyone will know who they are. Sacrifices may be in order for certain volunteers to cut the heads off the snakes so that civilation can move forward in rebuilding. I foresee a number of old dogs who still have sharp teeth destroying many of these snakes.

 

Woof

 

Often I ask the members for TOTM suggestions. A few of our members suggested logistics, what you could put n place now etc....it totally baffled me but I thought let's try because this is an area which I am in the dark about. Every month I also have members help, I bounce ideas and some members even write half of the opening TOTM announcement. This month was hard for me. I kept reading and trying to figure, what were they talking about.

While fishing for the subject someone suggested, "what can you do now"? This was in the context of groups , knowing the leaders of your area. Finding out who are the go to people in you AO. I know many on here worry about coming out of the shadows and being involved with anything that could expose your Opsec. But then I thought, why not see who the religious leaders are in your area. What about fire fighters, first aid workers, one can learn who the volunteers are in your community that know how to get things done. It is all useful knowledge. What if S never HTF but a natural disaster does. Getting things back on track will take those people that know the ins and outs of your community.

I found with this topic that I had to keep boiling things down. Bring it down to where the light started to come on. Then it dawned on me. My job. I know my job inside and out. Been there done that. I know who to call that can get X done. I know what to do if Y needs to be done. I can deliver on time and that is why, quite often my boss will just say my name and I am already in his office, handing him what he needs before the words are out of his mouth. He often calls me Radar. I am not bragging about anything but I am saying, I know the logistics of my work.

Now the logistics of survival in my AO and my survival, I am lost. I do not know, nor have met the ones that get things done. I do not need to join the rescue ops in my area but I am thinking that I would like to know more about the system. I went to the Field Days for the local HAM club. These people are not just people who talk on the radio, they also assist in natural disasters. They have info and the knowledge of where to tune into your local area. The local HAM's are the communication part of the local rescue ops logistics.

That is all for now.

 

MM

Consider RACES, ARES, SKYWARN and even CERT(FEMA)

Not only will you run into a few of them in those groups that are "like minded", with CERT you can see how the whole organization functions on a local, state and national level. The free training is also vauable as well.

Now some may run as far away from anything connected the the "F Word", i on the other hand have a different point of view.

A little "inside" knowledge just might be handy down the road ..........juat sayin.......

 

There is a CERT class that I looked at. I know it is FEMA/ Homeland security based but I am beginning to think that maybe it is okay to scoop up all the free training I can get. I can say I want to learn in case of tornado, flood or fire. That is believable.

 

Check out the local emergence planning committee for your county... lots of interesting information and classes to be had... I also have worked with CERT and Civil Air Patrol...

 

I am a member of the local CERT group and part of the Ecomm group. Its worth going to the classes and taking the family too.

 

Logistical planning in my case is being sure I have the tools I need to turn dirt for growing food, and a supply of seed for planting. In a crisis situation my goal is to feed as many of my neighbors as possible, hopefully everybody. There are a lot of older people around me who are physically unable to get out and do much, and a good bunch of kids, who would be priority for getting enough calories to feed their growing bodies. I grow more than I need right now and enjoy sharing my produce with those living around me.

All dirt turning will have to be done by hand as I doubt any fuel would be available to operate any power equipment. Realizing this years ago, all my efforts at gardening for the past decade have been only with hand tools. This has taught me not only how to perform these tasks in an efficient manner, but also given me an idea of the effort that will be needed to raise enough food to go around. A side benefit of doing this intensive labor has been to keep myself in good physical condition being long in the tooth but still able to put in a day that seems to tax much younger workers.

I also keep an eye out for natural resources in the area that might be brought into use such as wild foods, and energy resources such as downed hardwood trees in the forest whose limbs have still held them off the ground and the wood is seasoned, ready to sawn up and split, and exposed coal seams to be exploited, again all with hand tools.

If fuel is available to power tillers, tractors, and chain saws, then great, but being prepared to accomplish work with older type hand tools, having them in my possession, and knowing how to use them efficiently and safely, plus having enough fresh seed to plant with are my main logistical concerns.

 

This topic is a bit confusing for me partially because it's so broad.

Logistics on a family or individual level is relatively simple.

Logistics on a community or a military is a complicated process that takes a person with long term planning skills and a goal. you can't plan if you don't have a goal.

So my question is, for whoever wanted logistics, is can you be more specific about what you are looking to accomplish?

 

Logistics, where the tire hits the road, has always been interesting. Grant had the resources and just wore Lee down, the Lakota could run, hide, fight, etc, but couldn't move in the winter or mass and feed their horses and the U S Army just replaced the soldiers they killed, and once the railroad and telegraph arrived, it was all over, My thoughts on logistics are mostly limited to the things that I can make use of. It would be nice to have the ability to use x caliber ammo as that is what the military and paramilitary units will have. The military controls the air, drones, satalites, all the good stuff and you will have to be able to hide in plain sight. The military controls the night, thermal, ir, vibration sensors, etc, so you will have to blend in, and they will at least limit movement. They need to be resupplied all the time and their use of fuel is unbelievable, lot of vehicals get less than 5 miles per gallon, so they need a functioning supply system and resources to furnish the supplies, and a government willing to furnish those things. That is their greatest weakness and why we never were able to win a war sice WWII. My logistical goals are to be as self contained as possible, food, fuel, heat, medical and such, and let things either fall totally apart and survive and hopefully pick up the pieces, or survive until things get back to normal and pick up the pieces. More on the scale of the French and Norwegian resistance, than the Russian. Short term goal, lead the good life now, long term goal, survive and lead the good life in the future. Guess that makes gray my favorite color. My logistics are stocking a reasonable amount of ammo and reloading items for the long run, fertilizer, seeds, mosquito repellent, gardening supplies etc for at least several years. I buy my fertilizer from Tractor Supply when they are getting rid of it. I may get 10-10-10 instead of 5-10-10, but I can blend it as I wish and it usually is about half price, same with wood stoves and parts in the spring.

 

"Now the logistics of survival in my AO and my survival, I am lost."

Break it down into the component parts.
I need to eat
Food>something to cook with/ stove>something to cook in/pots & pans>something to eat on /plates & Utensils>something to clean up with/soap and towels
Stove>fuel>fuel storage>fuel replacement
Pots & pans - what kind>storage & transport>and so on
Menus>storage>replacement
Water
How gather/store/sanitize/transport

You can easily make this into a novel, I know I have. But in reality, a plan at least requires some thought and some lists at a minimum. How far past that you go is an individual choice.

A listed item set and everything needed to make the item work (for example a stove or heater needs fuel, parts, etc) over a defined length of time should be the minimum to start with.

 

Yes and it's why I think this topic is confusing.... it's so very broad

The military can't do much for long without good logistics.

So are we talking personal/famil y logistics or community/military logistics

 

Funny thing about military logistics, the man in the fox hole that needs materials to fight and survive, but he is only the receiver of the supplies in almost all cases, someone, civilian, manufacturer, shipper, supply sargent, must make available the right ammo, right batteries, right spare parts, and everything else he needs, the whole supply chain has to work together and plan months ahead to see that the supplies are at the right place, at the right time and meet his or her needs Then we get to us as preppers, we have to reverse the process and furnish, make or have stored all the supplies we need for today and tomorrow. A very serious problem and it requires decisions that would be made at command level and a huge supply organization, with major funding, to achieve the same goal. That cache has to replace several thousand people in the supply chain that supply that .223 ammo that he uses up today and make sure that the replacement ammo is there tomorrow. With us, when that cache is empty, it no longer exists and you will have to figure out something else for tomorrow. Spray and pray is not an option and unicorns and a heavy weapons platoon both exist only in our mind.

 

We have all month to look at this in every aspect. Yes, it is broad but being broad, I am hoping to stimulate conversation all over the place. Like I said, this is a new concept for me so every piece of info, ideas and personal experiences are all welcomed.

As for the military aspect, those in the military can look and say this worked or this needs revision, I would have done it this way. Since we are not military, our hands are not bound by rules and regulations.We have flexibility and can pick and choose which methods would be good to implement in our plan.

 

I don't get this statement @Brokor "the greater the needs are the more effort, time and risks are involved "

If I'm reading this right then I would say it depends on the circumstances

 

This is a great thread, it's all over the place and dripping little nuggets of information and wisdom as it meanders. But then, I'm a big fan of creative thread drift.

Knowledge really is power.