Prep Updates 04/10/13

Interesting video from SouthernPrepper1 on hand and arm signals.  He is one of the “expert” advisers on DDP and has quite a few YouTube videos.

A few points of clarification I’d like to make:

- It really doesn’t matter what particular signals you use within your group just as long as everyone knows what each signal stands for.  Sure some have been standardized by the military but there is no rule that says you must use military hand and arm signals.

- If you’ve watched the vid, you’ll notice he mentions “ranger file.”  There is no such thing as a ranger file, it’s simply a file (which is a movement formation).  Rangers aren’t the only group who moves in a file when the terrain demands it.  FWIW, the hand signal is a bladed hand displayed vertically in front of your face (I think he does something different in the vid).

- I would highly discourage using any hand and arm signals (some of which are demonstrated in the video) which require the use of both arms to signal.  If you are carrying a weapon the last thing you want to do is raise and extend  your arms to the side to signal a formation, that type of signalling should be left to tank commanders in WW2.  Primary concern is keeping your weapon in a proper position, ready to fight, even while giving signals.

- Going down a rabbit trail here for a minute but regarding how to hold a weapon while on patrol.  There is an old school thought process taught mostly by BCT Drill SGT’s and it goes something like this: all weapons must be facing out while on patrol, so if you are on the right side of the formation you have to carry your weapon in your left hand so it points outwards.  Hilarious and wrong at the same time.  Do you shoot with your non dominant hand?  I didn’t think so.  Carry your weapon at the ready no matter which side of a movement formation you are on.

- If you are truly interested in heading out into the woods with your group the most important thing is that you actually get out and put in the time stomping through the brush.  Only through working together will you be able to develop the cohesion necessary to patrol through the woods without sounding like a bunch of 5th graders chasing a litter of puppies.

- When in doubt, take a knee and problem solve.  No really, always take a knee…to the point when it becomes annoying and you wish you had knee pads on.  Unless of course you fancy standing up and making yourself a larger target.

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Prepper Deals out on the Internet:

Alex Smith shot me an email, his new book Staying Home is available on Amazon for an incredible 99 cents (Kindle Edition).

Current events and opinion:

Stabbing injures several on Lone Star College Cy-Fair campus
PJ:  Here is what I find interesting about this article.  If you scour the ‘net for comments on this, the gun grabbers will say things like “See!  All he had was a knife, imagine if he had a gun with high capacity clip!”  Imagine if someone with a CCW was there, he would be put down and no injuries would have occurred   That’s what I’m saying.  When you bring a knife to a gun fight, you lose.

Why we’ll see Dow 18,000 before this bull run ends
PJ:  I hope so, I still haven’t pulled the trigger on liquidating my old 401(k) which I haven’t contributed to for years.  Waiting….waiting…The idea that some 401k that I contribute to now will be financing my “retirement” in 30 years is hilarious given the state of our economy.  The pain train is coming.

How To Prepare For The Coming Economic Collapse
PJ:  Is there really a way to prepare? Sure you can be a little bit better off than your neighbor who did nothing at all, but if T-SHTF I think all of us will truly be in for a shock.  Life as we know it will be changed forever, even those who live in the redoubt in off the grid cabins will not be immune to the changes.

School: Americans Don’t Have Right to Bear Arms
PJ:  They realize that they will not be able to sway our opinion, so they are going after our kids.  The good news is that my daughter loves 30 round mags and cyclic fire rates as much as I do.  Molon Labe!

Army Email Labels Christian Ministries as “Domestic Hate Groups”
PJ:  One misguided Officer in the US Army.  Unfortunately the email which the LTC sent has been publicized and has been attributed to the US Army as a whole.

“Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values,” read an email from Lt. Col. Jack Rich to three dozen subordinates at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. “When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army Values – don’t just walk by – do the right thing and address the concern before it becomes a problem.”

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