It’s Only the Apocalypse if you make it that way.

Mr Richard J.J.A.

Index

-What is survival?-Basic survival technique-Setting a camp-scavenging in the wild-scavenging in urban areasSurviving vs. Living-Setting a base

-Useful skills of life (things dad should teach their kids)-Proper knots and rigging-soaps, laundry, and how you smell-hammer, screwdriver and wrenches.

-Weaponry 101-Melee weaponry-Ranged weaponry-finding, using and maintaining a your weapon

-Warfare and you-how to approach a weapon-clearing a weapon-weapons and ammunition-Identifying your foe-ROE

Chapter 1: What Is Survival?

Good day!

What is survival? According to Wikipedia, it is the struggle to remain alive. But is it a constant state or simply a phase? Take the apocalypse for example. Everybody talks about surviving the apocalypse, surviving the zombies and surviving each other, but I personally believe that surviving the apocalypse is just the first step, for after the surviving part is done; we have to learn how to live again. That is the harder part, isn’t it?

In this chapter I will teach you about basic survival skills, from How to pick a tent, to creating a shelter, to make a fire, and eventually making a small base camp for people to start living again.

1A. Basic survival techniques

Let’s say things starts to turn sour NOW, the first thing you should ask yourself is “Where am I”. Situational awareness is one of the best and most precious skills you can develop and rely upon no matter what you are doing. Here are a few things you should start considering before doing anything:

-Am I familiar with the location I am in or am I somewhere new?-What type of climate/ environment am I facing?-What kind of flora/fauna is around me?-What can you use around you?

Once you have taken a few minutes to think about this, the next thing you should think about is to pack a gear. If you have a pre packed bag on you, WONDERFUL! But let’s say you are not prepared, you will need to pack some stuff fast and efficiently. Let’s start with the backpack. I will separate them in two categories and write pros and cons for both of them.

PACK (15-45 LITERS) RUCKSACK (50-75 LITERS)PROS:

Small and light Can pack a lot of equipmentEasy to carry Transport your full camp on youQuick and simple of access

CONS:Not a lot of room for gear Heavy and encumbering

Now that we looked at what backpack you will be using, let’s see what we can pack it with. Here is a list of items that you should have with you;

-Socks, lots of socks, some Gore-Tex socks if you can-T-shirts and underwear-pants and underpants-weather clothing (Rain coat/pants, winter coat, sunglasses and hat, etc)-gloves-boots-Ropes*-Drinking containers (two at least)-First aid kit-knives and scissors

The rest is up to you, use your judgement and personal skills, if you find something and you think it would be cool to have it, but you don’t know how to use it; use this checklist to know if you should carry it or not:

-Is it useful?-Is it portable?-Can I make it work?

*FOOTWEAR* Now, what are you wearing in your feet? Shoes? Heels? Flip flops? Your footwear is as crucial as the weapon you are carrying or the water you drink. Proper footwear will carry you the distance and keep your feet protected and unharmed. When choosing footwear, you should consider these three elements:

-Do they fit properly?-Are they weather appropriate?-Are they sturdy?

Now it is time to start moving. First thing you want to do is determine where you are going. If you know the location you are in, and know a safe place to go to, good, if not try to seek high ground to determine what you are working with. Now the next part is important; DO NOT CLIMB A TREE! No matter what you do, don’t do it, it will expose you, make you vulnerable and will bring a high risk of you getting injured. Also, do not overstep your abilities, if you are alone and never done rock climbing in your life; do not climb the big rocky cliff. Chances are it will be the last cliff you will climb. So, when you know where you are going, start heading that way. A good technique to get there is to survey markers before you head in that direction. Also, set yourself a good pace for your own physical shape and if you are not in direct danger, do not push yourself. If you need to rest, rest.

*HYDRATION*A human body can survive a very long time without food. Your body contains fat matter which can make it run for a while, and then muscle atrophy will kick in. What your body will not survive without are water and air. So with that in mind, I cannot stress enough that you need to DRINK SOME WATER! I have seen countless time people go for too long without water and it never ends well.

1B.Setting a camp

Now you have found a descent place to set up. But are you sure it is safe? Do you know what is around you, or even what the land looks like? Or even who you are with? In this part I will teach you how to manage a group of people, find a location that is suitable to set camp, set said camp and secure the camp one it is set.

First of, chances are that if you are in a crisis, you will not be alone. You will have a group or people follow you and you will not know who most of them are. Let’s admit it, when people see somebody who seems to know what he is doing, whey will stick to him like glue and drain all the resources he has. Well you should not see those people like a nuisance. No, actually those people depend on you AS MUCH as you depend on them the second you realised things were going bad.

First thing you should do once you are out of direct danger; you should determine who you have with you, and who you can rely on. Not everybody will be trustworthy and some will be dangerous, keep an eye on those ones but don’t single them out yet, they are as useful as the rest.

Next, in times when things are relax, never tell people to do something. You are not in a military environment and people will not obey you. Suggest simple things at first and ask for people’s opinion. Things you could start with could be:

-make people introduce themselves (name, age, jobs)-Ask if anybody knows what is going on?-suggest what the next plan of action should be.

At this point people will think about issuing leadership, if you feel confident about it, and feel like people start to trust you, you can suggest taking the lead. If a vast majority are in favour, do so. But be aware that somebody will not like it. Take a mental note of it but do not make a fuss of it and do not challenge him. If necessary, point the fact that time is a crucial resource at this point and that you will argue about leadership at a later time.

Once this is done, you will have to find a good location to stay for the night. The first thing you should do is move out of direct line of danger. Remember

that guy I told you could be dangerous or violent, that’s where you use him. Put him at the front of the group and make sure he is decently armed, but make sure he does not outgun you. You want to control him without making it obvious. He will get you out of a lot of hairy situation if used right.

Once you have achieved this, you need to find said location before 1600 hrs local (4pm). Why 4 O’clock? That’s leaves you one or two hours of light to survey the perimeter. Make sure you are hidden from view if possible, that you isolate two exit points at least, and that there is no direct threat for your lives. Once this is done, you need to settle the camp for the night.

Primary task that should come to your mind is to delegate tasks to everybody. That’s where knowing who does what for a living is important. Here are a few crucial tasks you can issue to people;

-digging latrines,-gathering wood,-securing all supplies,-doing inventory.

Once this is carried out, you can start building shelters and defences.

SHELTERS

Shelters are important in more then one way. They should protect you from weather, fauna, and other inconveniences you may encounter. There are 2 types of shelter you can build; short term and long term.

-Short term: Short term shelters are usually for one night or two, just long enough for you to rest or get back on your feet; they should use the least resources possible while still protecting you.

-Long term: Once you feel confident about the location you are in and think the environment mandates you staying for a bit, you can consider making a long term temporary shelter. For this, you can use more resources in order to make it sturdier and more secure. This will not only provide better rest and protection, but also will boost moral.

Example of short term shelters

Examples of long term shelters

Latrines:

Latrines are a dirty mess. They are never fun to make, but you have to deal with it and you have to deal with it early. They should be far from the camp and you should have one made per four people in the camp. They should be away from the camp, and the wind blowing the “fumes” away from the camp.

Basic latrines consist of a hole at least 24-30 inch deep and 12-18 inch wide. You can later apply cover for privacy if you wish, and a trunk to sit on as per schematic. If you settle down for a long term camp, layer the latrine with a garbage bag or a bucket, so you can clean it from time to time. Also make another hole to dispose of “blood deposits”. Make it really far from camp.

Cleaning stations:

If you make a long term camp, you will want to clean yourself. You should set up an area where you can do so outside main camp. The smell of body product and cleaning water can attract rodents and other animals. You will need to boil some water to clean yourself after a while.

Food:Food should also be out of the main camp, suspended 3-4 meters in the air, so that animals cannot get access to it. Tie it on a tree branch inside of a bag. Keep plenty of water supply and somewhere to boil more drinking water. Do not mix cleaning water and drinking water, or their boiling compartment.

Defences:Making your camp safe from outside environment can be tricky. The safest bet would be to find a fenced compound with two exit points. But since they could be hard to find, here are a few pointers.

-tie a trip wire to a bunch of soda pop cans and other metal containers, creating a walking alarm.-pits with pointy sticks are primitive but efficient if well placed and if the ground permits it. -trenches and hunting seats can make a good standpoint for vigils during nights.

Don’t be afraid to be creative, but do not overdo it. Too many trap or defence system can prove deadly to allies as much as enemies.