Subject: Defensible retreat checklist

From: [email-masked] (the virtual valkyrie)
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 1994 18:41:15 GMT

This checklist for a defensible retreat is taken from Ragnar
Benson's _The_Survival_Retreat_, without any permission 
whatsoever (don't tell).  Bib-cite is at the end.
 
**********
Will the retreat hold all of the people who are likely to use it?
 
Does the retreat provide inherent protection from nuclear, 
biological, and chemical threats?
 
Is water available independent of any municipal supply or source?
 
Do I know how I will preserve my food?
 
Have I identified how I will heat and cook?
 
Is it possible to safely store food, clothing, explosives, guns, 
and ammunition at the retreat?
 
Can the location be secured now before it is actually manned 
during the collapse?
 
Does it have adequate facilities?  Can all these people wash 
occasionally?  Will the toilets work?
 
Can the retreat be obscured and hidden, now and after the 
fighting starts?
 
Do any neighbors or friends outside of those who will be using 
the retreat know of its existence?
 
Have I devised a workable defense plan?
 
Can the area be patrolled?
 
Is the retreat actually defensible or am I just kidding myself?
 
Can the approaches be mined and guarded?
 
Do I have the proper equipment to guard them?
 
Is the retreat in an area where I can raise a garden, scrounge, 
and generally set up a viable existence after the collapse?
 
Do I have a library in the retreat?
 
Is the library good enough to provide the information needed 
after the collapse?  If not, what books do I still need?
 
Do I have adequate amounts of everything to implement my mine 
field and mantrap plans for the retreat, given a fair and honest 
evaluation of what I will probably have to face?
 
What about medical supplies and information?  Have I got that 
covered?
 
Have I provided for nuclear/biological monitoring?  Do I have 
Geiger counters, dosimeters, etc.?
 
Do I have decontamination suits so at least some of my people can 
leave the retreat to guard, patrol, and take care of outside 
chores?
 
Have I made plans to keep hordes of people from coming anywhere 
near my area?
 
Have I evaluated my people and attempted to fit them into the 
various duties the best way possible?
 
Am I psychologically equipped to defend my retreat?  Can I 
actually shoot intruders?
 
Does everyone know which situations will actually trigger the 
defense plan and when to set off the mines and explosives and 
start shooting?
 
Do I have a stock of barter goods?  Are they properly stored?
 
Do I know how everyone will get to the retreat?  Do that have a 
least one alternative contingency plan for getting to the 
retreat, preferably two?
 
Have I evaluated the various thread possibilities and then made 
realistic plans to counter them, especially the nonconfrontive, 
nonmilitary threats?
 
Are the immediate approaches to my retreat such that they can be 
made impassable by booby traps or just plain physical means?
 
Do I know how much time it will take to close the approaches and 
who will be in charge of this job?
 
Do I have a battle plan that fits everyone into the defense 
structure?
 
Do I know the warning signs that will indicate that it is time to 
put my retreat plan into operation?
 
Do I have the correct guns and enough ammunition or have I been 
swept away by the armament gurus into believing tons of hardware 
can replace the right amount of the proper equipment?
 
Have I planned for retreat communications?
 
Do I know what means and material the enemy will have at his 
disposal or even who the enemy is, in a realistic sense?
 
Have I put together a psychological plan to keep people away and 
discourage them if they do attack?
 
Have I planned for special medical/dietary needs of the group?
 
Have I taken care of my group's current medical/dental 
requirements so these won't be of immediate concern after the 
collapse?
 
Do I know how to handle explosives safely?
 
. . . reload ammunition?
 
. . . operate and repair guns?
 
Am I skilled in using alternative means of transportation?
 
Am I highly motivated and self-confident?
 
Do I know my home territory?
 
Have I tried to look at defeating my retreat from the eyes of an 
enemy?
 
Is the retreat adequately stocked with tools and utensils for use 
in the new economy?
 
Do I know where to get the consumable items we will need such as 
light bulbs, grease, oil, toilet paper, soap, canning lids, salt, 
needles, and thread?  Have I thought about these items in terms 
of my retreat?
 
Are fires a danger?  If so, what can I do to counter that threat?
 
Is blast a danger?  Will my retreat withstand an explosion?
 
Can I properly evaluate situations?  Am I prone to hysteria or
passivity?  
 
Do I have a continuing survival training program?
 
Have I studied other collapsed societies and how people are 
surviving?
 
Have I made plans to defend against heavy equipment such as tanks 
and helicopters, if that becomes necessary?
 
Is it possible for attackers to sneak up on my retreat unseen, or 
more importantly, for them to detect my retreat without exposing 
themselves?
 
Do I know how to use fish, game, and wild plants in my area?
 
Do I know how to garden in my area?
 
Do I have a postcollapse skill I can use during the readjustment?
 
Do I know how the actual retreat will be ventilated?  What about 
lighting?
**********
 
Benson, Ragnar.  _The_Survival_Retreat:_A_Total_Plan_for_Retreat_
_Defense_.  Boulder, Colorado:  Paladin Press, 1983.  ISBN 
0-87364-275-9.

--
Melissa Algeo
[email-masked]
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Dave)
Date: Sat, 24 Sep 1994 18:36:26 GMT

> whatsoever (don't tell).  Bib-cite is at the end.

  This book is very good reading once you get past all of the "when I was
a mercenary" type anecdotes and such. The main premise is a valid one-
being unnoticed is your best defense.