Allen West on the Marines Incident: ‘Shut Your Mouth, War Is Hell’

Author: Daniel Halper

January 13, 2012 1:37 PM

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), a former Army lieutenant colonel, sends THE WEEKLY STANDARD an email commenting on the Marines’ video, and has given us permission to publish it.

“I have sat back and assessed the incident with the video of our Marines urinating on Taliban corpses. I do not recall any self-righteous indignation when our Delta snipers Shugart and Gordon had their bodies dragged through Mogadishu. Neither do I recall media outrage and condemnation of our Blackwater security contractors being killed, their bodies burned, and hung from a bridge in Fallujah.

“All these over-emotional pundits and armchair quarterbacks need to chill. Does anyone remember the two Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who were beheaded and gutted in Iraq?

“The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.

“As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.”

Okay, things like this happen in war. It’s embarrassing and it’s a desecration, for sure. It should not have happened. The personnel responsible need to get dressed down firmly.

But Lt. Col. West is right – in the heat of battle, stuff happens.It’s important to remember that lines get blurry as emotion takes control. It doesn’t dismiss bad behavior.

Let’s just keep it in perspective.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/allen-west-marines-incident-shut-your-mouth-war-hell_616699.html

 

Beware the Dragon… FEMA

In our last encounter, we talked about the FEMA Concentration and “Holding” facilities being created and supported, by the Federal Government.

You cannot argue anything but that that these installations are crafted to deal with “US”.

It’s been going on a long time. In fact, it’s been going on so long that it sneaked up on a lot of us.

FEMA was designed from it’s very inception… to control us.

Read the following and then be afraid… Democracy is falling…

** FEMA EXECUTIVE ORDERS **

Some people have referred to it as the “secret government” of the United States. It is not an elected body, it does not involve itself in public disclosures, and it even has a quasi-secret budget in the billions of dollars. This government organization has more power than the President of the United States or the Congress, it has the power to suspend laws, move entire populations, arrest and detain citizens without a warrant and hold them without trial, it can seize property, food supplies, transportation systems, and can suspend the Constitution.

Not only is it the most powerful entity in the United States, but it was not even created under Constitutional law by the Congress. It was a product of a Presidential Executive Order.

No, it is not the U.S. military nor the Central Intelligence Agency, they are subject to Congress. The organization is called FEMA, which stands for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Originally conceived in the Richard Nixon Administration, it was refined by President Jimmy Carter and given teeth in the Ronald Reagan and George Bush Administrations.

FEMA had one original concept when it was created, to assure the survivability of the United States government in the event of a nuclear attack on this nation. It was also provided with the task of being a federal coordinating body during times of domestic disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.

Its awesome powers grow under the tutelage of people like Lt. Col. Oliver North and General Richard Secord. FEMA has even been given control of the State Defense Forces, a rag-tag, often considered neo-Nazi, civilian army that will substitute for the National Guard, if the Guard is called to duty overseas.

FEMA IS THE MOST POWERFUL ORGANIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

Though it may be the most powerful organization in the United States, few people know it even exists. But it has crept into our private lives. Even mortgage papers contain FEMA’s name in small print if the property in question is near a flood plain. FEMA was deeply involved in the Los Angeles riots and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of the black helicopter traffic reported throughout the United States, but mainly in the West, California, Washington, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado, are flown by FEMA personnel. FEMA has been given responsibility for many new disasters including urban forest fires, home heating emergencies, refugee situations, urban riots, and emergency planning for nuclear and toxic incidents.

In the West, it works in conjunction with the Sixth Army. FEMA was created in a series of Executive Orders. A Presidential Executive Order, whether Constitutional or not, becomes law simply by its publication in the Federal Registry. Congress is by-passed.

Executive Order Number 12148 created the Federal Emergency Management Agency that is to interface with the Department of Defense for civil defense planning and funding. An “emergency czar” was appointed. FEMA has only spent about 6 percent of its budget on national emergencies. The bulk of their funding has been used for the construction of secret underground facilities to assure continuity of government in case of a major emergency, foreign or domestic.

Executive Order Number 12656 appointed the National Security Council as the principal body that should consider emergency powers. This allows the government to increase domestic intelligence and surveillance of U.S. citizens and would restrict the freedom of movement within the United States and grant the government the right to isolate large groups of civilians. The National Guard could be federalized to seal all borders and take control of U.S. air space and all ports of entry.

Here are just a few Executive Orders associated with FEMA that would suspend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

These Executive Orders have been on record for nearly 30 years and could be enacted by the stroke of a Presidential pen:

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 allows the government to seize and control the communication media.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 allows the government to take over all food resources and farms.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare functions.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for populations.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11051 specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11310 grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11049 assigns emergency preparedness function to federal departments and agencies, consolidating 21 operative Executive Orders issued over a fifteen year period.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 11921 allows the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to develop plans to establish control over the mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages, salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial institution in any undefined national emergency. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has broad powers in every aspect of the nation.

General Frank Salzedo, chief of FEMA’s Civil Security Division stated in a 1983 conference that he saw FEMA’s role as a “new frontier in the protection of individual and governmental leaders from assassination, and of civil and military installations from sabotage and/or attack, as well as prevention of dissident groups from gaining access to U.S. opinion, or a global audience in times of crisis.”

FEMA’s powers were consolidated by President Carter to incorporate: The National Security Act of 1947, which allows for the strategic relocation of industries, services, government and other essential economic activities, and to rationalize the requirements for manpower, resources and production facilities; The 1950 Defense Production Act, which gives the President sweeping powers over all aspects of the economy; The Act of August 29, 1916, which authorizes the Secretary of the Army, in time of war, to take possession of any transportation system for transporting troops, material, or any other purpose related to the emergency; and The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which enables the President to seize the property of a foreign country or national.

These powers were transferred to FEMA in a sweeping consolidation in 1979.

HURRICANE ANDREW FOCUSED ATTENTION ON FEMA.

FEMA’s deceptive role really did not come to light with much of the public until Hurricane Andrew smashed into the U.S. mainland. As Russell R. Dynes, director of the Disaster Research Center of the University of Delaware, wrote in The World and I;

“…The eye of the political storm hovered over the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA became a convenient target for criticism.”

Because FEMA was accused of dropping the ball in Florida, the media and Congress commenced to study this agency. What came out of the critical look was that FEMA was spending 12 times more for “black operations” than for disaster relief.

It spent $1.3 billion building secret bunkers throughout the United States in anticipation of government disruption by foreign or domestic upheaval.

Yet fewer than 20 members of Congress, only members with top security clearance, know of the $1.3 billion expenditure by FEMA for non-natural disaster situations.

These few Congressional leaders state that FEMA has a “black curtain” around its operations.

FEMA has worked on National Security programs since 1979, and its predecessor, the Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency, has secretly spent millions of dollars before being merged into FEMA by President Carter in 1979.

FEMA has developed 300 sophisticated mobile units that are capable of sustaining themselves for a month. The vehicles are located in five areas of the United States. They have tremendous communication systems and each contains a generator that would provide power to 120 homes, but have never been used for disaster relief. FEMA’s enormous powers can be triggered easily. In any form of domestic or foreign problem, perceived and not always actual, emergency powers can be enacted.

The President of the United States now has broader powers to declare martial law, which activates FEMA’s extraordinary powers. Martial law can be declared during time of increased tension overseas, economic problems within the United States, such as a depression, civil unrest, such as demonstrations or scenes like the Los Angeles riots, and in a drug crisis.

These Presidential powers have increased with successive Crime Bills, particularly the 1991 and 1993 Crime Bills, which increase the power to suspend the rights guaranteed under the Constitution and to seize property of those suspected of being drug dealers, to individuals who participate in a public protest or demonstration. Under emergency plans already in existence, the power exists to suspend the Constitution and turn over the reigns of government to FEMA and appointing military commanders to run state and local governments.

FEMA then would have the right to order the detention of anyone whom there is reasonable ground to believe…will engage in, or probably conspire with others to engage in acts of espionage or sabotage. The plan also authorized the establishment of concentration camps for detaining the accused, but no trial.

Three times since 1984, FEMA stood on the threshold of taking control of the nation.

Once under President Reagan in 1984, and…

… twice under President Bush in 1990 and 1992.

But under those three scenarios, there was not a sufficient crisis to warrant risking martial law. Most experts on the subject of FEMA and Martial Law insisted that a crisis has to appear dangerous enough for the people of the United States before they would tolerate or accept complete government takeover. The typical crisis needed would be threat of imminent nuclear war, rioting in several U.S. cites simultaneously, a series of national disasters that affect widespread danger to the populous, massive terrorist attacks, a depression in which tens of millions are unemployed and without financial resources, or a major environmental disaster.

THREE TIMES FEMA STOOD BY – READY FOR EMERGENCY

In April 1984, President Reagan signed Presidential Director Number 54 that allowed FEMA to engage in a secret national “readiness exercise” under the code name of REX 84. The exercise was to test FEMA’s readiness to assume military authority in the event of a “State of Domestic National Emergency” concurrent with the launching of a direct United States military operation in Central America. The plan called for the deputation of U.S. military and National Guard units so that they could legally be used for domestic law enforcement. These units would be assigned to conduct sweeps and take into custody an estimated 400,000 undocumented Central American immigrants in the United States. The immigrants would be interned at 10 detention centers to be set up at military bases throughout the country.

REX 84 was so highly guarded that special metal security doors were placed on the fifth floor of the FEMA building in Washington, D.C. Even long-standing employees of the Civil Defense of the Federal Executive Department possessing the highest possible security clearances were not being allowed through the newly installed metal security doors.

Only personnel wearing a special red Christian cross or crucifix lapel pin were allowed into the premises. Lt. Col. North was responsible for drawing up the emergency plan, which U.S. Attorney General William French Smith opposed vehemently.

The plan called for the suspension of the Constitution, turning control of the government over to FEMA, appointment of military commanders to run state and local governments and the declaration of Martial Law. The Presidential Executive Orders to support such a plan were already in place.

The plan also advocated the rounding up and transfer to “assembly centers or relocation camps” of a least 21 million American Negroes in the event of massive rioting or disorder, not unlike the rounding up of the Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

The second known time that FEMA stood by was in 1990 when Desert Storm was enacted. Prior to President Bush’s invasion of Iraq, FEMA began to draft new legislation to increase its already formidable powers. One of the elements incorporated into the plan was to set up operations within any state or locality without the prior permission of local or state authorities. Such prior permission has always been required in the past. Much of the mechanism being set into place was in anticipation of the economic collapse of the Western World. The war with Iraq may have been conceived as a ploy to boost the bankrupt economy, but it only pushed the West into deeper recession.

The third scenario for FEMA came with the Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King brutality verdict. Had the rioting spread to other cities, FEMA would have been empowered to step in. As it was, major rioting only occurred in the Los Angeles area, thus preventing a pretext for a FEMA response.

On July 5, 1987, the Miami Herald published reports on FEMA’s new goals. The goal was to suspend the Constitution in the event of a national crisis, such as nuclear war, violent and widespread internal dissent, or national opposition to a U.S. military invasion abroad. Lt. Col. North was the architect.

National Security Directive Number 52 issued in August 1982, pertains to the “Use of National Guard Troops to Quell Disturbances.

” The crux of the problem is that FEMA has the power to turn the United States into a police state in time of a real crisis or a manufactured crisis.”

Lt. Col. North virtually established the apparatus for dictatorship. Only the criticism of the Attorney General prevented the plans from being adopted. But intelligence reports indicate that FEMA has a folder with 22 Executive Orders for the President to sign in case of an emergency. It is believed those Executive Orders contain the framework of North’s concepts, delayed by criticism but never truly abandoned. The crisis, as the government now sees it, is civil unrest.

For generations, the government was concerned with nuclear war, but the violent and disruptive demonstrations that surrounded the Vietnam War era prompted President Nixon to change the direction of emergency powers from war time to times of domestic unrest.

Diana Reynolds, program director of the Edward R. Murrow Center, summed up the dangers of FEMA today and the public reaction to Martial Law in a drug crisis:

“It was James Madison’s worst nightmare that a righteous faction would someday be strong enough to sweep away the Constitutional restraints designed by the framers to prevent the tyranny of centralized power, excessive privilege, an arbitrary governmental authority over the individual. These restraints, the balancing and checking of powers among branches and layers of government, and the civil guarantees, would be the first casualties in a drug-induced national security state with Reagan’s Civil Emergency Preparedness unleashed.”

Nevertheless, there would be those who would welcome NSC (National Security Council) into the drug fray, believing that increasing state police powers to emergency levels is the only way left to fight American’s enemy within.

In the short run, a national security state would probably be a relief to those whose personal security and quality of life has been diminished by drugs or drug related crime. And, as the general public watches the progression of institutional chaos and social decay, they too may be willing to pay the ultimate price, one drug free America for 200 years of democracy.”

The first targets in any FEMA emergency would be Hispanics and Blacks, the FEMA orders call for them to be rounded up and detained.

Tax protesters, demonstrators against government military intervention outside U.S. borders, and people who maintain weapons in their homes are also targets.

Operation Trojan Horse is a program designed to learn the identity of potential opponents to martial law. The program lures potential protesters into public forums, conducted by a “hero” of the people who advocates survival training. The list of names gathered at such meetings and rallies are computerized and then targeted in case of an emergency.

The most shining example of America to the world has been its peaceful transition of government from one administration to another. Despite crises of great magnitude, the United States has maintained its freedom and liberty. This nation now stands on the threshold of rule by non-elected people asserting non-Constitutional powers. Even Congress cannot review a Martial Law action until six months after it has been declared.

For the first time in American history, the reigns of government would not be transferred from one elected element to another, but the Constitution, itself, can be suspended. The scenarios established to trigger FEMA into action are generally found in the society today, economic collapse, civil unrest, drug problems, terrorist attacks, and protests against American intervention in a foreign country.

All these premises exist.

It could only be a matter of time in which one of these triggers the entire emergency necessary to bring FEMA into action, and then it may be too late, because under the FEMA plan, there is no contingency by which Constitutional power is restored.

Your Government at work… against YOU?

While Americans shopped till they dropped, trying to make Christmas a holiday to remember…

Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Bill.

This bill allows you to be labeled a “Domestic Terrorist” at whim, for committing crimes like stockpiling food, or speaking out against the Government.

And they’re even building and staffing places to put you,  after they snatch you off the street:

Click here: FEMA Concentration Camps (2 pages) – Google Maps

.

Also:
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm

The NDAA is just another arrow placed in the Congressional Quiver, to maim and even kill other Americans with.

“Another Arrow?” you ask.

Yes. There are already plenty of arrows in that quiver already.

Tune in next time for some startling information about YOUR Future…

What happens WTSHTF? Conclusion

If you’re following along, you know that we’ve been listening to a narrative that defines what happens when everything goes wrong.

This isn’t being decanted by an author or an expert, it’s being recanted by a guy who lived thru it and watched his family DIE.

Today, we’re going to absorb to commentary, after he’d finished recounting his family’s voyage thru hell…

***

Hello
New to this web site. Friend sent me link…me being from Bosnia, Sarajevo and being there during civil war, to check it out and see is Selco legit. (thanks G.)

It takes some time to ready all the posts but I did.

Conclusion: Salco, You are “the Man”. 100% legit. Don’t know you but thanks for taking your time and education members of this forum about our experience in Bosnian civil war. One thing to point out is that there is hundred of thousands of “Salco’s” out there in Bosnia and abroad, but what is unique about Salco is that he is taking time to inform, teach and share his experience and maintaining non-political focused discussion. Great job on that. God’s know I don’t want to take time of my life to do so, remember it, and deal with idiots who are trying to infiltrate discussion for there own agenda. I work hard on trying to forget war and block it in my mind, (but, it’s not working out).

All information that Salco provided is accurate and I experience it as well. What is important here is that Bosnia was civilized country with civilized modern society prior to war. So, it is safe to say that our experience can apply to any part of civilized world if SHTF regardless of what language you speak and to witch god you pray.

Please, let me contribute too:

-No “loan wolfs”. If you think you can go to woods and ride SHTF wave alone, you are mistaking. Human are social animals and we like company. We use solitary isolation as punishment. You can make it for several weeks or months but eventually you will seek company or you’ll go “loco”. What if you get sick or hurt? Who will take care of you?

-Again, strength is in numbers. Organize your self with neighbors, family or anybody living close and share responsibilities, food, skills etc…

-Have stash of supplies. One in your house/apartment and more some where else, preferably hidden where nobody, expect you and your closest know.

Our place was searched by local militia, gangs, police and anybody with gun in firs year of war multiple times. They where looking for guns but if they found any excess of food it will be taken for “cause”.

-Have tools and tools to fix tools. For example have hand-cranked drill. Remember, no power for power-tools.

- Have batteries, car batteries and way to charged it (solar/dynamo).

- And all that Salco mentioned in this post and his blog (again, great job Salco).

If you want to see are you prepared, I suggest to turn of you power, shot off your water and gas. Have one week or more of vacation in your house without any power or water of any kind. Turn your phone off too. Don’t talk to anybody at all. Eat not more than 1000 calories per day. See how it’s feels. And during that time see what you can do to make your life more comfortable.

If I had one advice to give you is following. Be ready to loose all. Your stash, tools, house, and all of this things you work hard to prepare your self for this scenario. Your life/health is more important than all of it. For example, if you see mob of more than you think you can defend your home, coming and killing and raping everything on the way, RUN!!! And don’t look back. Don’t be hero! Be smart. Don’t look tuff and badass; there are lots of crazes out there that will take arms (especially in beginning first 6 months to year) that are looking for fight of any kind.

I was part of military and work for humanitarian company during war, and I was still arrested and imprisoned multiple times for whatever reason they (local gangs) found it fit. Wrong name, wrong part of city, wrong ID. You make sure that you have somebody with “back” to look for you and get you out. If system collapses for whatever reason so will police and army too. That’s way you need to organize or join to bigger group in order to protect and survive.

Life does not stop; it just changes, a lot. You will be surprised how many party’s I attended and had good time in middle of war zone. We are humans after all and like to have fun. People still have laughs, and fun. I remember my mom was making Mayonnaise without eggs. When she told me that we both laugh to tears, next thing was having coffee without coffee. She used some kind of beans and roasted, grained and brewed coffee. Tasted it like ****, but we set down with neighbors one morning and have good old traditional “coffee” and cigarette. Like nothing ever happen.

I left Bosnia right before war ended. End up in States and it is best thing that happen to me. Here nobody cares what ethnical or religious background I am soli to judge me for it. One member of this forum criticized US for all the wars they started. I had same opinion for long time and come to conclusion that that’s human nature. We (ex Yugoslav) are not saints and much better. Just look at our recent history! My point is where ever you are, regardless of country, you could be next. For long time, we in Sarajevo did not believe that war is happening, we where so ignorant, mortar shells falling on my building and we are thinking “this will stop any day now, it’s impossible, we like each other” etc. Total illusion and ignorance. I’m sorry for it and I hope I learned my lessen. Some of my friends ask me “what will you do if civil war starts in US”? Well, I’ll leave with my family moment I see firs signs. Don’t get me wrong, if somebody attack US soil I’ll be first to defend it, but if we start killing each other, I’m out. Got escape plan all ready.

I hope I contributed more that confused. Sorry for all misspells and grammatical errors but English is my 3rd language.

Selco! Thanks again for your courage to write all of it. If I was still living in BiH I’ll will not do the same. Times are strange there, looks like peace on surface, but its not. I got family on both sides and know in depth what’s beneath it. Love to visit often but not to live. I checked out. They can have it all. Too much of my family, my friends and my blood was spill for nothing. Cemeteries are fill of my generation. When I go back for visit I spend more time visiting death than alive ones. Looks like you where is similar situation like me. I spend 9 months in Mostar in 1990-91 serving in JNA (Yugoslav National Army). Right at time of blockade at Listica. F#%k up times. Love Mostar and fell in love there too. Here name was Emina. Talking about irony. Many times I remember Aleksa Santic (poet) and his poem/song. Cant get my self to even recite after all this years without getting all chock-up. She was my hart and soul during my time there. She was kill by mortar shell in 1993 on her way to hospital to visit injured friend. Don’t want to write more about it.

Sorry for such a long post. Have great time, enjoy in life and be prepared.

PS. Here is video of Sarajevo I made in winter of ’93. City looks deserted but is not. People are everywhere, its just you can’t see them. Every apartment or house have somebody living in it no mater how bad looks. Remember that!

Best to all,

Sarajevo, Witer 1993 – YouTube…

Hvala ti- thank you

I remember, i believe it was a barley, some folks realize to bake(roast) and grind barley, then use it as a coffee in small amounts, tasted bad, and as i remember it messed up blood pressure

Some folks smoked tree leafs when were short on cigarettes, one tree was especially popular, and if my translation is fine, it was linden, teil.
Funny and horrible times.

——————————————————————————————————–
“The wise man does first what the foolish man does eventually.”
———————————————————————————————————–
Training Trumps Gear…

Community Trumps Training…

If You’re Gonna Be Dumb, You Better Be Tough.

————————————————————————————————————-

Here’s the backstory on Bosnia, according to Wikipedia:

Bosnian War

The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides. The main belligerents were the forces of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and those of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Herzeg-Bosnia, who were led and supplied by Serbia and Croatia respectively.[1][2][3]
The war came about as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia. Following the Slovenian and Croatian secessions from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991, the multiethnic Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was inhabited by mainly Muslim Bosniaks (44 percent), Orthodox Serbs (31 percent) and Catholic Croats (17 percent), passed a referendum for independence on 29 February 1992. This was rejected by Bosnian Serb political representatives, who had boycotted the referendum and established their own republic. Following the declaration of independence, Bosnian Serb forces, supported by the Serbian government of Slobodan Milošević and the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) attacked the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to secure Serbian territory and war soon broke out across Bosnia, accompanied by the ethnic cleansing of the Bosniak population, especially in Eastern Bosnia.[4]

It was principally a territorial conflict, initially between the Serb forces mostly organized in the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) on the one side, and the multiethnic Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) which was largely though not exclusively composed of Bosniaks, and the Croat forces in the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) on the other side. The Croats also aimed at securing parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as Croatian.[5] The Serb and Croat political leadership agreed on a partition of Bosnia with the Karađorđevo and Graz agreements, resulting in the Croats forces turning on the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croat-Bosniak war.[6] The war was characterized by bitter fighting, indiscriminate shelling of cities and towns, ethnic cleansing, systematic mass rape and genocide mostly led by the Serb forces. Events such as the Siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre would become iconic of the conflict.

The Serbs, although initially superior due to the vast amount of weapons and resources provided by the JNA eventually lost momentum as Bosniaks and Croats allied themselves against Republika Srpska in 1994 with the creation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina following the Washington agreement. After the Srebrenica and Markale massacres, NATO intervened during the 1995 Operation Deliberate Force against the positions of the Army of Republika Srpska, which proved key in ending the war.[7][8] The war was brought to an end after the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Paris on 14 December 1995. Peace negotiations were held in Dayton, Ohio, and were finalized on 21 December 1995. The accords are known as the Dayton Agreement.[9] A 1995 report by the Central Intelligence Agency found Serbian forces responsible for 90 per cent of the war crimes committed during the conflict.[10] As of early 2008 the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had convicted 45 Serbs, 12 Croats and 4 Bosniaks of war crimes in connection with the war in Bosnia.[11] The most recent research places the number of killed people at around 100,000–110,000[12][13][14] and the number displaced at over 2.2 million,[15] making it the most devastating conflict in Europe since the end of World War II.

What really happens WTSHTF? Part III

If you’ve been following this series, you know that sometimes, hardships strikes…. hard.

In  a moment, everything can turn to crap.

Remember the looting during Hurricane Katrina?

Images off mobs racing thru Walmart carrying off everything they could lift still give us an ache in the pit of our stomachs.

But this is the reality of a breakdown, when society gets pushed too far. It gets stupid.

It will amaze you what people will steal when things get ugly.

This car laden with beer is a good example. But, think about it again. How much barter will they get out of all that beer? When things get bad, alcohol is one of the first barterables on the list.

I’m not telling you to go rob a liquor store. But I am saying that having a supply of barterable alcohol will go a long way towards keeping your family safe, IF you can protect it.

And that’s the key. Distribution without exposure to danger or risk. That’s something to think about.

Let’s jump back in, shall we?

When we last visited, night was falling over Bosnia:

Question:

Why would the night be safer than daytime? Outside of the obvious of being easier to hide at night, but were the gangs more out during the days? Also, why only small groups of 2-3? What happened to larger groups?


 How were you able to determine who was an enemy and who wasn’t? How did you manage to get out there trade with people and when/where?
 What fortifications did you do to your home and what kind of guard, or protections did you have in place?
 Finally, how did you avoid snipers? What precautions did people take against them?

 

First almost nobody were out during the day because of snipers, line of defence was very close, so whatever you have to do, you do it during the night, trade something, look for firewood (i can express how much this was important in town, and hard), looking for anything, check somebody, go to hear news (very very important, lot of people get killed because they go somewhere just to see what happening, or what s new) remember, no news, no radio ,no tv, nothing, rumors fed a lot of people.

 Why would you have to go out at night? For instance, where were you going and why?

Already explained, you can stay home and die of hunger and cold, or even infection of some small wound or go out and risk your life, try to find – trade anything useful.

 How did you handle the mob situation when they came for you, or your family?

I did have situations concerning my house only, it is no need for too much details, we had more fire power, and brick wall.

How were you able to determine who was an enemy and who wasn’t? How did you manage to get out there trade with people and when/where?
 What fortifications did you do to your home and what kind of guard, or protections did you have in place?
 Finally, how did you avoid snipers? What precautions did people take against them?

Also we had something like street watch, people from my street were good organized, in case of gangs, now there were a lot shootings.

 You mentioned trading for bullets, etc. How much shooting were you doing during that time and how much ammo did you have, or would like to have had?

There was pretty much shooting in town, i did not have enough weapon at the beginning, one rifle and one pistol (ww2), maybe 100 bullets, later i trade some things for more rifles and ammo, remember i gave car battery for 2 rifles.

How much ammo ?

A LOT, as more as you can.

Most of the time you are not able to determine who is enemy or friend, expect my family and few real friend, everybody else is potential enemy. When your friend must choose between his child s death and your death quess who is going to choose.

Rumors, somebody tells you that some old guy few block away have some cans and he is looking for ammo or whatever, you go there, as i say you are always looking for something. Same some people would came in my street as traders, witha some goods.

There was something like trade street during the night, actualy it was a big ruins of sport center, you can go overthere and look for something or offer something, but it was not controlled by anyone so it was too dangerous.

It was primitive pretty much, brick wall around house,bags of sand on windows and doors, over that bags we used whatever you can, big pieces of metal, stones, inside house we put all kind of stuff on windows, only small openning left for rifle, always 5 members of family ready for fight, one always outside on street hidden.

Stone age situation
To avoid snipers, we stay home at day, it was not so much night snipers, even during the night we never walked openly on the streets if we can avoid that, always shortcuts, trough ruins, fast and quiet.

Q: What was your bathroom situation? Where did you go? Did you have anything to wipe with? Sorry ask such personal questions, but this is something that I’ve wondered about in this type of situation.

we used shovel and any piece of land close to house, sounds dirty, and it is dirty, washing with collected rainwater, sometimes go to river (most of the time that was too dangerous) Most of the time we did not have toilet paper, even if i had it, i trade it.

It was a bad situation all the time.

If i can give some advice: first to prep is a weapon and ammo, then everything else, i mean everything, depends how much money and space you have, if you forget something no problem there is always somebody ready for trade, but if you forget guns and ammo then you may not be able to get to trading places.

I do not see big family or group of really( i mean really) good friends as more mouth to feed, i see them as more guns and strength, it is in people nature to adapt.

And keep it simple and use common sense, in the first period weak people vanished, other fight.

Go with small thing, lighters, candles, flints. It is great idea to have fuel generator( electrical generating unit?) but i think is better idea to have 1000 bic lighters. Fuel generator is great, but in shtf scenario in town it is going to attract whole army,1000 bic lighters don t take too much space, cheap, you can always trade it for something.

Real SHTF scenario demands completely change of normal mindset, hard to explain, i ll try through examples.

Q: How easy/hard was it to get weapons AFTER the SHTF and what could you trade for weapon and ammunition

(I remember you saying a car battery for a rifle) and where would I go to find the people who trade in weapons?

Hm, you re right, after the war every house here had a weapon from war, and yes police did some actions to take illegal weapon from population, depends from man to man i quess, lot of people find ways to hide their weapon somewhere, just in case.

I also have legal weapon (license), and authority here have some thing they call it “temporary collecting”, it is says something like : in a case of unusual event (riots, unrest, etc) government have right to temporary collect all legal weapon, so i keep always in mind that, and i acted like some people.

You know some people have legal weapon for everyday carry( i have glock 45 and taurus 3 but some people with legal weapon also have illegal weapon hidden somewhere just in case SHTF and “temporary collecting”.

It is not hard to get weapon in SHTF if you have good stuff for trade, but other thing is important, first days of SHTF is worst in terms of chaos and panic, maybe you not gonna have time to get gun. And to be unarmed in chaos panic and riots is bad.

In my case man needed car battery for radio i think, and he had some extra rifles, so we trade.

Q: What about medical care for people who were shot or became injured?

Wounds was mostly gunshot wounds of course, without specialists and everything else, if wounded manage to find doctor somewhere he had like 30% chances to live, again it is not movie, mostly they died, lot of died even from minor cuts infections, i had antibiotics maybe for 3-4 treatment. Of course for my family only.

Simple things killed people, diarrhea can kill you in a few days without meds and rehidratation, (fluid therapy, IV) especially small kids. Lot of fungal skin deseases,and food poisoning, we could not do too much. Basically we treated diseases mostly with local herbs, and if you had wound, put rakia on it and try to find antibiotics somewhere.

So i was good at fixing wounds in term of emergency help, but longer procedure-bad prognosis.

What i learned? Hygiene again, and a lot of meds, especially antibiotics. You need to learn to treat lot of stuff, go online, finish some training, EMT maybe, first aid etc.

In SHTF things are different, learn how to open IV, when to use certain drug, or antibiotics.

Get your self ANA TE (anti tetanus ) shot injections , snake poison kit, adrenaline kit (allergic reactions, different kinds) thick removal kit, (thick related illness can kill you, learn how to remove thick)…

Get in your prepper storage some reanimation kit (simple one) like small oxygen cylinder, BVM mask etc. It is not really hard to learn to use all of these.

OK let s clear something, of course you can not use anything of this in real world unless you are certified and trained for that ( EMT, nurse, physician ).

But in SHTF nobody ask you for license, just learn and have in your storage big part for medical things.

So to answer question how did i help and treat, most of the time very poor,i help some with resources that i have, i took food or something else for exchange, i was badly prepared for that, now i am what do i need to have.

Q: Did your local currency/money still hold value? Were you still able to use money to purchase items from other people?

No, not really, i mean sometimes you can use foreign money if you had it to buy something, (dollars or German marks) but even in that rare occasion rate was unbelievable for examples 1 can of beans for 30-40 dollars (normal value was maybe 0.50) i quess somebody had connections with outside world, black market you know, so he can earn lot of money.But it was very rare. Trade was main thing to get something.

Local currency crashed very fast, in few weeks or month maybe.

Q: How much space should I keep for alcohol storage? What was security like?

About alcohol first, you right but you are right in booth ways, people need alcohohol more in desperte times then usual, so it is kind of gambling i guess , it is very good item for trading, i never had problems with alcohol trading and having than problems with trading other things.

Also i am thinking about something else, maybe it is better to fill my storage with something less space consuming but still interesting for trade, like batteries, antibiotics etc.

Thing is i had all that alcohol for free, i did not buy it. I don t know about this.

In most of the situations people attack me because they think they are stronger, they did not know for sure what i really had.

About ammunition trade, it depends how much ammo you are going to have, sometimes i trade ammo for food, and in few weeks again food for ammo, but i never never do trade at my home, and never bigger amounts, very few people knowed how much of anything i had in my house.

The point is store as much of anything as you can store (space , money) later during the situation you ll see what is most popular, correction ammo and guns always gonna had 1 place for me, but who knows maybe number 2 for trading gonna be for example masks with filters.

About medical issue , i ll write in my next post what do i have now in my medical part of storage.

Defense were very primitive, again we were not prepared, we use what ever we could, windows were broken, roofs mostly damaged from shelling, all windows were blocked with something, sand bags and rocks,every night i blocked my yard gate with junk- rubble from the street and i use old aluminum ladder to get over the wall, when i come back i called somebody from house to get me that ladders so i can move in.

Guy from my street barricaded his house completely, if he go out at night he use a hole that he maded in one room that is connected with neighbor s house, and go trough his (ruined and destroyed) house out, actually he had secret entrance.

It may look weird to say but most secured houses are gone first, of course we had some very nice houses in neighborhood, with walls, dogs, alarms, steel bars on windows, alarms. And you can quess what happened, mob attacked those houses first, some were defended other not, depend how many guns and hands thea have inside.

So i think security is great, but be sure that you keep it low profile, forget about alarm, if you live in town and SHTF you gonna need simple looking non interesting secured house, with lot of guns and ammunitions.

Just keep it low profile and not interesting.

On my apartment door now i have steel door for security reason, but only to keep me trough first short period of chaos, then i am moving out to connect with bigger group of armed people (family and friends) in the country (i hope).

Well in my case migration did not happen because it happen very fast, other army just closed city in ring and that s it, if you ask me where was that army and how we did not seen them coming, the answer is simple, that army was an ally of army of my side and people, and one day we woke up and figured they are enemy now and they are closing all ways out. Politics . It is true, one more side of civil war.

But i heard from others parts of country, and my frends who stayed in villages in the other parts in state, that they have much better situations,countryside had land,corn,wheat, fruit trees, farms etc they had enough food, it was bad, but much better than in city.

I know one thing if we had some way out from the town, we would use it, we did not have it.

Q: What was the situation with banks and stores?

About banks, loans, credit cards. Complete monetary system died for about one year, so nothing works.

It is complex question in many ways, i ll try it to answer it in some future posts, need much more time and much much more space to describe it. Even now almost 20 years later folks are at European court suing banks, because they dont want to admit their savings in banks, lot of different things happened in that period , they changed money, i mean monetary name, they changed it 2-3 times , hyperinflation occurs, lost of paper trails about savings, loans … i remember some people use that situation to get rich, they still rich.

So i ll try to describe that in separate post.

There was a lot problems with proving people s property after everything, for example: my father had nice apartment and because war he must leave it, after war ended he was at court for about 4 years proving that apartment was his, reasons for that were different, because politics in that time, but also he did not have enough paper work to prove that apartment was his (he did not took papers from apartment when he fled, he had more important things to care).

On the other side during the worst period, people just moved in empty house, and that s it.

I mention rural areas in other post. As far as i remember it was better there.

In that period there is not running vehicle, actually i remember tank at the front line, and Lada Niva (check it on web) with cut of doors and roof and installed machine gun ( i think it was an old m53) and those two only moved when they fired( they keep it hidden behind ruined houses).
For let me call it “civilian population” there was no moving with vehicles, streets were mostly under rubble and unusable and fuel was too expensive.

Not to draw attention was a big thing, about clothing, there use to be some sort of town defense, it was not like real military,mostly mixed civilian clothes with part of uniforms, different weapon, so no rules.

But as soon as go in to that things and try to talk about two armies, their strength, war crimes, politics i am not gonna like it any more, because people gonna start to choose sides, and i think it is not important for us here.

As i said before there was not organized army, but we all been like soldiers, we had to, most of us carry weapon and try to protect from enemy army and robbers.

Inside the town you did not want to look fancy because somebody shoot you and took your good stuff, you did not want to have fancy rifle, because probably you not gonna find ammo in that caliber and also you are drawing attention.

So let s me try to put it this way: if SHTF tomorrow, i will try to look like most of the people outside, scared, desperate, confused and i ll scream maybe, no fancy looking stuff, i ll not go out in fancy new uniform and yell “I am here, you are finished now looters and robbers” I ll stay low profile, heavily armed and well prepared waiting to see my options, even if i have to go out with all my gear to do things i ll go in night, with best friend or brother. Maybe sounds ridiculous, but from my expirience it works, be wery well prepared, but let nobody outside your house know or see that.

No matter how good is your house security, how good is your weapon, if people see that they have good reason to rob you they probably rob you in town SHTF, it is only matter of time and number of guns.Don t ever give them reason to be interesting for robbing. Stay uninteresting.

Now this is my opinion, maybe is not working in different situation.

About robbing grocery store and gas stations, it happened very very fast, as soon as shooting started all valuable things was emptied, there vas some effort of authority to keep it together but everything fall apart in first weeks.

And, it gets even more interesting. Stay tuned…

THIS is a Gun Show.

Okay, if you are serious about preparing for ANY storm…

… you’ve probably considered owning and then learning to (safely) use  a firearm. Home defense means exactly that, in a bad situation.

This  often leads you to pawn shops, gun shops, classified ads and then (gasp!) on-line.

Note:

ANY purchased weapon should be immediately taken to a qualified gunsmith or other gun expert to be checked for proper firing capability, before you head off to the range or the woods.

Sure, it’s gonna cost you a couple of bucks. But failing to do so can cost you an eye or a couple of fingers , or even worse. Do the math for yourself.  Gun ownership includes heavy responsibility. Do the right thing, huh?

Okay, “Public Service Announcement” over. Back to the show…

From there, you might even attend a local Gun Show.

These events are usually held at your local fairgrounds or in a Convention Center setting.

At a gun show, you’ll find the standard fare, plus fabulous weapons, fine looking women (yes, gratuitous sexism accompanies gun sales…) and guys and gals who look like they just crawled out of the bush to sell you that weapon of choice.

You CAN find great bargains at these events.

In fact, I recommend that you attend at least ONE of these events BEFORE you purchase that weapon of choice.

It’ll really open your eyes to what’s available out there, and what that weapon should cost.

But THIS is a real GUN SHOW:

And remember – Let’s be careful out there. THE BEST thing that you can do is to take a class from a qualified weapons instructor, to learn how to safely use and store that new weapon.

Many small kids find the family weapon and then disaster strikes. Do NOT let this happen to you.

Part of Gun Safety is Gun Responsibility.

The guys here at The Bubba Effect give a big “Tip Of The Lid” to:

“Roger J.”

(who by the way is one fine Strat playin S.O.B.)  for sending us this great video!

Anybody crazy enough to sleep with his gear and make a Stratocaster HOWL like a glorious demonic choir is a-okay in our book!

What really happens WTSHTF? Part II

Last time, we talked about how the world can disintegrate right before your eyes.

In that accounting by a survivor of the Civil War in Bosnia (many of us were THERE including members of the TBE staff), we learned about how things change…

We’ll continue that series today:

Let’s just jump back in, shall we?

***
A Bosnian First-Hand Account of Long-Term SHTF Survival

OK, Now i am very well aware how things can go very bad in very short time so i have food, hygiene, energy etc. supply for 6 months, i live in apartment with some improved security, i have house with shelter in a village some 5 miles from my apartment, in that house also supply for 6 months, that village small community, most of them are my relatives,most of them are prepared (they learned that from war), i have four kind of fire weapons with 2000 bullets for each (sorry, can not go in details, laws are different here for rifles).

I have big garden with that house and some good knowledge about gardening and farming.

I think i have knowledge now to smell trouble, you know when everybody is saying that everything is going to be fine you somehow know that is everything going to fall apart.

I think i have strength to do everything what it takes to keep me and my family alive, because when everything is going to sh.., be sure, you are going to do some bad things to save your kid. You don t want to be hero, you want to survive with your family.

I am nurse, also i am paramedic (US standards)

And i am willing to learn from all of you.

One man survivor, no chance ( OK it is my opinion) no matter how well armed and prepared, at the end you gonna die, i’ve seen that, many times. Family groups or closest friend with lot of preparing and lots of different knowledge, i believe that is best.

Q: What items should we stockpile?

Thank you
Well depends, i quess if you stock only one thing you are not going to survive, unless you want to survive like robber, then you need only gun and lot od ammo.

I believe besides ammo food hygiene and energy things (batteries etc.) you need to focus on small things for trade, pocket knives, lighters, flints.

Also LOT of alcohol, kind that can stay long, i mean stuff like whiskey and that, does not important what kind, you can have cheapest kind, it is very good thing for trade in desperate time.
Also lack of hygiene things killed a lot of people, i ve seen that.

You gonna need to have some simple things, like for example lot of garbage bags, i mean a lot, many uses for that, and a LOT of duct tape, many many uses for that.

In case of weapon keep it simple, i mean now i always carry Glock 45 with me, because i like that gun, but it is not usual gun and usual caliber here, so i also have two 7,62 mm TT russian pistols hidden, because almost everybody have that gun here and a lot ammunition.

I don t like Kalashnikov, but here there is that rifle on almost every 3rd house so…

Most of the time i collect my water from roof in 4 big barrels during the war, then cooked to desinfect, we also had river in that town , too poluted but if you can’t choose…
I don t think i am expert, i am here to learn.

I quess it depends how far you going to go to survive with your actions, you need to be prepared to do some ugly things.

Oh yes it changed my perspective on life, i know now that bad things can happens, and on more important thing, actually i believe it is most important: I don’t anymore believe government and authority, not at all. When they really doing their best to assure you that everything going to be fine, you can be sure that something bad is happening.

Do not just believe, research.

Q: What about the civil war…and the religious fighting? Did gold and silver help much and how did you get the alcohol and other supplies?

Hello to all
It is me again
I believe in some point this discussion gone wrong way, and no i am not offended, everybody have right for opinion, so here is few of my opinions:

It was a civil war, yes there was a great influence of religion, but somebody mention “what did you do with people of other religion?”

Well in my family there are people with different religious beliefs so what do you mean with that?

I ll try to explain you simple; it was an attackers and defenders, lot of switching sides, civil war. War ended without winners, it ended with truce, thanks mostly to USA.It was the wrong war, wrong reasons. I did not fight for religion or ethnicity, i fought to keep my family and myself alive.

For last 15 years we have peace, we live with people who use to be our enemies, i do not to want to have war and enemy again because ethnicity or religion or any other reason.

Please do not try to generalize anything about that war, there was not good and bad side, we all suffered and we all try to live together again.

And yes every side did bad things, and every side had booth good and bad guys.

I am here for one and only reason- survival, i want to learn, and i can share some useful stuff with you.

I don t think about your religious beliefs, your ethnicity or your politic opinion.

Few words about my city before war, it was a usual Bosnian town, normal life, decent people, schools, theaters, parks, college, airport, crime rate very low, town like most of the smaller towns in USA (i think). I was a young man, just like any of you maybe.

Now very important think: i am not here to discuss about war reasons, or sides, religion or anything similar.

Thanks to the war, in my town was REAL SHTF situation, and we can discuss only about that, only that is important.

You have a lot internet pages, you can learn everything about that war, and you can choose side if you want.
OK that s it.

About survival.
I don t know about other people on this forum, but i have lot of alcohol stacked now.

At the beginning of war tank grenade smashed front wall of small distillery (alcohol factory) close to my house, so we took something around 500 liters of rakia (it is something like bosnian whiskey, i guess, it made from grape, very strong)

It was great stuff for trading, people used alcohol a lot, desperate times i think, we also use it for disinfection.

About hygiene, cups and plates, paper or plastic, you gonna need a LOT, i know, we did not have it at all.

My opinion that hygiene things is more important maybe than food, you can easily shoot pigeon, if you have grandmother she may know some eatable plants on nearest small hill (my experience) but you can not shoot hand sanitizer.

Water purifying pills, all kind of cleaning stuff, sanitizers, lot of soap, bleach, gloves, masks, all disposable, take very good care about first aid training, learn how to treat smaller cuts, burns or even gunshot wound, there is not hospital, even if you found doctor somewhere he probably do not have any meds, or you do not have stuff to pay him.

Learn how and when to use antibiotics and have it a lot.

Belive me with good knowledge and good amount of meds you are gonna be rich.

About gold and silver, yes, me personally gave all my gold for ammunition in that time, but it did not worth too much.

About pets, i did not have it, i did not notice a lot pets in that time, did somebody ate it? I don t know, probably.

About small family, hmm, not good, usualy few smaller families get together in biggest house and stay together, all relatives (my case)

Small family or single man, not good for survive in town SHTF, maybe in wilderness (i don t have expirience in that) Even if you stay low profile, hidden in your house with lot of food etc, sooner or later mob will come, and you have maybe have one or two guns, very hard. I agree with low profile policy, it is very important not to attract people with anything, but when they come, you need to have numbers, people and guns, best people is your family.

About moving trough the city: always night time as i mentioned, never alone, 2-3 man, very fast, never attract with anything, look like everybody else, if most folks look desperate, poor, dirty you need to look same, there is no need that everybody know you have good amount of food, ammo , clean cloths and everything else back at home. Look and act like everybody else.

When somebody attack you or your family then you need to show that you are very ready.

I never walked in big groups,in that time and that situation big group is gang.

Now, this is all my experience, it was then, i did a lot of mistakes, i am not expert, i am here just like any of you, to learn and share.

For example i don t know too much about wilderness survival, i am here to check it.

Oh yes, few things to the Sedoy: my wife is different ethnicity, and she is also a Catholic, i am not, and to answer you : no i am not going to shoot her.

Q: What happened to those who died? Where did people get firewood?

Well, who ever died or get killed in that period, did not get proper funeral.

Folks used used every peace of free land, close to house for burial, sometimes even in the garden, 2-3 city parks turned to graveyards,after war most of them are exhumed and properly buried.

There was not noting like burning bodies or anything similar, as far as i know.

Oh one more interesting thing about fire, some people use to go few miles during the night only to find fire somewhere so they can fire peace of wood and bring it home, and start fire for cooking or heating, lighters and matches was really precious, and most of the folks did not have enough firewood do keep always fire. For most of the people it was constant search for something, fire,wood,food,ammo…

Q: Was salt valuable?

It was valuable yes, but not too much, for example coffee or cigarettes worth-ed much more.

Q What about cigarettes?

Hm, i had a lot of alcohol as i mentioned before, i traded almost everything without any problem, let me say it like this: consumption of alcohol was probably 10 times more than in normal time.Not to mention cleaning and disinfection.

On the other side you made a very good point, if you have money and time and you have a storage it is probably better to store cigarettes or candles and batteries for trade, or food.

I was not prepper at that time, we did not have time to prepare, few days before SHTF politicians on TV stated that everything is fine, when sky fell down we just take what you can.

Q: Tell us more about cooking and the foods you were able to prepare. Were you concerned about the smell getting around and alerting people that there was food over there?

About cooking, before the SHTF i used in my house electricity for booth, cooking and heating, so when everything started i traded some stuff for some kind of old wood stove, i put it in kitchen ad fix exhaust pipe (right word?) trough hole in wall, i use that for cooking and heating.

During the summer i cooked in my backyard (walled fence, brick, luckily)

Concerning the smell of the food, hm, i ll try to picture situation: no electricity, no running water, sewage off for months, dead bodies in ruined houses, grime and mess, believe me it was very hard to smell something nice.

It was not like in movies, it was ugly,dirty, and smelly.

Yes i had few problems because of cooking, only few, but as i sad before, enough people, properly armed and with will to defend and you can manage most of the problems with that.

Probably situation would be different in wilderness.

I ate mostly some kind of pancakes with local herbs (does not require cooking oil and too much firewood), and of course everything what i could get and trade, rice was good to eat, not too much firewood for that.

I think i had luck, only few times i ate funny things like pigeons.

I always had something to trade, i guess that saved me, and guns of course.

End of part II.

Fascinating, isn’t it? Look at HOW his life changed and HOW he needed to adapt.

We’ll continue this next time.

What really happens WTSHTF?

This is a long post, but it could very well save your life.

Look, I know that it’s the Holidays and all…

As you spend time with your families and friends, I ask you to consider how blessed you are.

There are others that (as you read this) are locked in “life and death” struggles trying to get to New Year’s Day.

And soon, it could happen here in America.

That said,  we’re  (all of us at TBE)  not trying to “Grinch” your Holiday…

…but some messages have to get out. Period.

As the year winds down, there are those who seek to make you a target.

• Federal Cops are confiscating lists of people who buy food in quantities.
• Bills are being voted on in the Senate that will allow YOU to be picked up and put in some hole… without begin charged with a crime.
• Politicians are proposing legislation  that is just a blanket gag order where they get to censor ANY media message they want for content. (More on that later!)

This was sent to me and I thought it so significant that I’m reposting it here, in installments.

I’m not going to reveal the name of the contributor suffice to say that he’s a trusted comrade of TBE and one we hold in high esteem from over at the BSOSC.

I REALLY (read “STRONGLY”) suggest that you read this… if you at all curious about where the world you live in might go, should things turn ugly:

**

A Bosnian First-Hand Account of Long-Term SHTF Survival

Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:28 am

Howdy All, Below you are going to read probably the most important preparedness posting I have ever posted here in over 1100 postings!!! I greatly thank internet group friend, Chris P., for sending the below posting from his site with questions answered by a survivor of the total societal collapse in Bosnia, era 1992-5. It is easy for us to talk about the things we all think should be included in our preparedness efforts and storage. It is a real eye opener to read the account of some one who lived through a post collapse scenario of the worst imaginable.It is a long posting, but well worth reading every line of truly surviving in the worst of conditions. To make it easier reading for you, I spent a number of hours editing and formatting out a ton of web stuff between each question and answer to make it flow smoothly for you (if you can even consider that word in light of the subject matter!!!) I have highlighted in red text many key points, but probably not all. Particularly note worthy portions of those highlights were also emboldened and underlined.

Please read this, learn from those who managed to survive in living through this horrendous societal crash, take action and Get Prepared!!!..

**************************************************************************************************************
A First-Hand Account of long-term “Real-World” surviving TEOTWAWKI

Read each of the questions and answers and ponder over how they might impact YOUR personal preparedness!

The answers you see here are the hard cold brutal realities of surviving a full blown crash.

SHTF Survival Q&A: A First-Hand Account of Long-Term SHTF Survival

by Tactical Intelligence on November 9th, 2011
http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/…nd-account.htm

Mac Slavo from SHTFPlan.com recently posted a compilation of a forum thread put together by Chris Kitze from Before Its News. The original thread, found on the Survivalist Boards, features one man’s (name Selco) first-hand account of living in a SHTF situation with his family during the Bosnia collapse of 1992. Many of the forum members peppered Selco with questions which he was graciously willing to answer. This is a compilation of those questions and answers.

In this compendium, Selco describes what it was like living in a city for a year without power, fuel, running water, food distribution or any semblance of traditional commerce. Their currency was useless, there were no police forces or government, and the streets were ruled by gangs and violence. The survival strategies that he, his family, and community used to stay alive are eye-opening and may change some of the priorities that you have when it comes to preparing for a SHTF scenario where you live. Although it’s long read, I highly recommend it given the wealth of knowledge taken from someone who’s lived it.

“Nobody wins, we just survived, with a lot of bad dreams.” – Selco

From Selco: OK, i wanna share with you my own experience. (be patient with my English, i am from far away )I am from Bosnia, and as some of you may know it was hell here from 92-95, anyway, for 1 whole year i lived and survived in a city of 50 000- 60 000 residents WITHOUT: electricity, fuel,running water,real food distribution, or distribution of any goods, or any kind of organized law or government.The city was surrounded for 1 year and in that city actually it was SHTF situation.We did not have organized army or police force, there was groups of defenders, actually anybody who had a gun, fight for his own house and his own family.Some of us was better prepared, but most of families had food for couple of days, some of us had pistol, few owned AK-47 when all started.Anyway, after one month or two, gangs started with their nasty job,hospital looked like butchery, police force vanished, 80 percent of hospital staff gone home.I was lucky, my family was big ( Note: This is WHY we advocate EES’s with 20-30 people) in that time (15 members in one big house, 5-6 pistols, 3 Kalashnikov s) so we lived and survived, most of us.

I remember US Air force dropped MRE every 10 days (god bless USA for that) as help for surrounded city, it just was not enough. Some of houses had little gardens with some vegetables, most did not.

After three months rumors started about first deaths from starvation, deaths from low temperatures, we stripped every door , window frame from abandoned houses for heating, i burned all my own furniture for heating, lot of people died from diseases, mostly from bad water (two of my family members), we used rain water for drink, several times i ate pigeons, once i ate rat.

Money did not worth sh..!!!

we traded things, black market worked, few examples: for 1 corned beef can you could have woman for couple of hours(sounds bad, but it was reality) i remember, most of that womans were just desperate mothers, candles, lighters, antibiotics, fuel, batteries,  rifle ammo and of course food, we fight like animals for that.

“In situation like that lot of things change, most of people turned to monsters, it was ugly.”

Strength was in the numbers, if you were alone in the house, you’ve been probably robbed and killed, no matter how well armed.

Anyway, war ended, again thanks to America (and again god bless USA for that). It is not important witch side had right in that war.

It was almost 20 years ago, but believe me, for me it was just like yesterday, i remember everything, and i think i learned a lot.

Me and my family are prepared now, I am well armed, stocked and educated. It is not important what going to happen, earthquake,war, tsunami,aliens terrorists, important thing is that something gonna be.

“And from my experience, you can not survive alone, strength is in the numbers, be close with your family, prepare with them, choose your friends wisely and prepare with them too.”

Q: How did you get around safely?

Actually city was broken in something like lot of street communities, in my street (15 or 20 houses) we organized patrols (5 armed man every night) to watch on gangs or enemies.

We traded things between people in that street, 5 miles from my street there was one street with something like organized traders, but it was to dangerous to go there, it worked only during the nighttime (during the day it was sniper alley) and you had more chance to be robbed there than to trade, i used that street only 2 times, and belive me, only when i am really need something bad.

Q: What about wood? It looked like there are many forests around your city, why did you have to burn doors and furniture?

First, thank you for your questions, i did not expect this amount of interest for my post.

I ll be glad to share lot of things with you guys beecause i want to learn lot of things from you.

Anyway:
Bosnia have lot of woods and forests when you check map, but i lived in city closer to the croatian border, more to the south, i don t want to mention name of the city, but if you check map, south part of my country closer to croatia is all in rock.

Yes we had some trees in my city, parks, fruit trees, but most of the city is building and houses” but belive me all trees in the city is going to be burned very fast when you dont have eletricity for cooking and heating. After that all what you have is furniture, doors, wooden floors… (and believe me that stuff is burning too fast). There was almost no car use in town because: most of the roads jammed with ruins, abandoned cars, destroyed houses stuff like that, and petrol was like gold.If i needed to go somewhere i almost always used night time, never go alone but also never go in big group (2-3 man maybe), always armed, very fast, always in shadows, trough ruins, rarely openly on the street, actually always hiding.We did not have suburbs and farmers, in suburbs were enemy army, we were surrounded with enemy army, and inside town you did not know who is your enemy.And yes, there were organized groups of gangs, 10-15 people, sometimes even 50, but also there were normal people like you and me, fathers, granddads, decent folks, who robbed and killed, there was not too much good and bad guys, most of us was gray, ready for everything.Q: Did you prep and what kind of skills did you need?

Of course you can ask.

We use what we had, we was not prepared for that situation,we did not know for prepping.

So you can imagine in some aspects we go back in stone age, actually in most of.

We just used everything what we had, one example, i had in my propane (or butane i am not sure) stowe big bottle, cylinder (i am not sure is that right word), and i did not use it for cooking or heating, it was to valuable, i manage to built (fix) that bottle with my friend so i can attach a hose on some kind of ventil (sorry my english is going down here) so i can fill those disposable lighters,(they are not disposable if you know how to) those lighter worth a small fortune.

To make story short, somebody bring me empty lighter to me and i fill that lighter with gas, usually i took one can for that or one candle or whatewer he can offer me.

I hope you understand my example, my english is poor on some things.

one more example, i am a registered nurse, in time like that, my knowledge was my thing for trade.

And yes, be trained and educated, in times like that it worth a fortune if you know how to fix things, all your goods is going to be exhausted one day, but your specific knowledge can be your food.

I mean learn to fix things (shoes or people, whatewer you can).

My neighbor use to know how to make some kind of oil for oil lamps( oil in glass, peace of rope) and he was not hungry, he never show me how he made that oil

i belive he use some tree behind his house and small amount of diesel, i don t know.

My point is learn things, people always need somebody who know to fix things.

It was not survival movie, it was ugly, we did what we have to do to survive.

Nobody wins, we just survived, with a lot of bad dreams.

Q: Wasn’t it religious, the war?

Sorry man wrong info, that was not Christian vs Muslim war, it was civil war, with lot of switching between sides.

And sorry i am not to go in to the politics, i dont care to much for that, i am not going into religious stories, i mean i believe in God as higher power, and I am trying to live by his laws, i am not belong to any dogma, Muslim or Christian.

Q: Who was your support group?

My group was only my family, my blood (relatives like uncles, grandmother…), in my street and in my town trips i had some close friends, but my best friends was my family. I never take stranger in my close group.

Q: If you had three months to prepare today, what would you do?

If i have extra three months to prepare?

Hmmm, probably run overseas  (He was making a joke!)

Next time, we’ll continue this…

Stay tuned.

Happy Holidays!

From all of us here at The Bubba Effect…

No saber-rattling today…

We wish for you and your family the very happiest of  Holidays and a Happy New Year!

PS. We’re having venison for dinner tomorrow… It’s being home-delivered… tonight!

“Rudolf the Red nosed reindeer…

Had a very crunchy crust…”

 :)

Here’s an early Christmas Gift for you!

God bless Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, all of our troops and veterans, and God bless the United States of  America!

He’s in good company;

Chuck Norris has been awarded this title as well, after serving in the Air Force.

As Oklahoma boy, Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris  literally went from “a 98 pound weakling” serving in the US Air Force as a Security Policeman to an 8th degree black belt in Tae Kwan Do and many World Championships.

After that, he made a career out of kicking the crap out of bad guys on film. All along the way, he never forgot his roots, even fathering the “Kick Drugs out of America” campaign.

Here’s some facts about ‘ole Chuck.

(And before you ask… Yes, I wrote this whole post, just so I could share that link with you…)

Before we go…

… here’s Gary Sinese giving a speech about his thoughts on America. I think you’ll find it quite stirring…

Gary isn’t just an actor or a bass player…

Gary Sinise Foundation

“At the Gary Sinise Foundation, we serve our Nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need. We do this by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.”

I gotta tell you, Gary is one of my favorite people… And, he plays a mean bass guitar, too!

You can support Gary and OUR TROOPS by clicking HERE.

But this post is about Kris. Here’s Kris doing what he does best…

As the Holidays approach, I want you to think about what lies ahead for your family as America proceeds down the path laid out for it by “it’s protectors” on the Hill…

Do everything that you can to make this the BEST Holiday Season ever…

Count your blessings! Hugs your kids. Be nice to the wife! If things get much worse, it may be the last one we have, for a while…

We are headed for treacherous times, folks.

And now for the  musical part of the program…

No! You ain’t gettin’ no stinkin’ Jingle Freakin’ Bells, around here!

Shipwrecked in the 80′s…

Help me make it through the night…