Archive for Survival Skills

Sgt G’s Story Time: SHTF Marksmanship, Pt. 1

October 9, 2013 Entertainment, Special Skills, Survival Skills, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Comments Off on Sgt G’s Story Time: SHTF Marksmanship, Pt. 1

America fell apart after the October 2013 Debt Ceiling/Obamacare fiasco.  The politicos ‘running’ the country agreed-to-disagree and inevitably kicked off the national default.  The pain of endless magical government money disappearing had no ripple effect, it was more like all the dominoes falling down at the same time.  Thousands of honorably disabled military veterans, some just home from Afghanistan, took the hit straight to the gut when the VA ran out of money.  Many of these vets depended on these hard earned monthly checks from the VA to keep up with bills and keep themselves and family fed.  Poverty quickly moved their way.  Thousands of vets using the GI Bill to pay for college also got the ‘sorry but…’ letter from the VA as they too became victims of their government’s inability to do anything efficiently, responsibly, and honestly.  Welfare recipients were not exempt from the economic crash.  Honest blue collar workers down on their luck and barely making ends meet lost the financial aid, they knew nothing more than to take it on the chin and keep pressing on.  The equivalent of career politicians in the welfare receipt world suffered the most from the demise of welfare.  These individuals, able bodied masters of ripping off state and federal governments, depended on welfare for every aspect of their lives.  Food stamps, free medical coverage, etc., they had it all but lied to get it.  Ms. Karma struck with a vengeance as they would soon become very hungry able bodied individuals with no free rides to keep them alive.

Our imaginary friend Kenny was around for all this drama.  He was smarter than the average bear and relatively prepared for a short term nationwide crash.  Days spent on YouTube guided his emergency preparedness buys like food and water storage, ammunition and firearms, and barter items.  Unfortunately, he was never able to buy common sense and sound judgment, especially when it came to using his ‘Prepper/SHTF’ toys.  Kenny saw the news coverage of big city riots where hungry maddened people took to the streets in a Rodney King-esque fashion.  He understood their looting of grocery stores as they were not OK with starving.  Eventually the looting grew to include murder and rape on a grand scale.  The bloody snowball was going wild and rolling out of big cities into not so big cities.  Martial law by way of the military became the norm but fell apart when troops could not be paid and decided to head home to care for their families.  Organized banditry was the new threat to be fought and Kenny was part of fighting the good fight.  Refugee camps sprang up along the US-101 north of LA (aka: Hell-A) as the thuggery got worse in the city.  The better organized gangs occasionally raided these camps a la Viking with typical raping, pillaging, and burning.  Although a citizens defense force was forming to keep the criminals at bay, Kenny preferred to play the lone-wolf card.  Bad idea.

So there goes our dumb friend Kenny into the beautiful rolling hills of southern California in search of ‘bad guys’.  Along the way he befriends a fellow lone-wolfette, Ms. Stone of the ‘Green Hill Rangers’.  Stone eventually dropped out of the operation due to unseen ‘blisters’ on her feet, “I just know they are there” she said. Her exodus had nothing to do with his creepy stares and insistence on walking behind her while they hiked uphill.  As a parting gift, Stone gave our idiot hero Kenny a scoped SR-25 rifle, magazine inserted and ready to rock and roll.  Now he would really ‘bring it’ to the marauding scum that prowled what he called the “Central Southern Highlands.” The next morning Kenny rolled out of his 13 pound modular sleeping system and got ready for breakfast.  From his half-ton Alice pack he produced a bag of powdered eggs, some pancake mix, a bottle of maple syrup, a cigar, a cast iron skillet, and a propane stove.  This guy traveled in style.  His stove didn’t work so he fired up some twigs and branches to get his breakfast cooked, bad idea.  Hours later he got back to work and found what he was looking for, one platoon sized unit of motorized thugs stretching their legs just off the US-101.  From behind absolutely no cover and concealment, Kenny flipped the SR-25 to fire and pulled the trigger on his nearest target.  He heard a quick ‘pfffft‘ sound and saw no effects on target.  He thought, “Ms. Stone said nothing of an internal silencer?”.  He sat up for a second shot at his 500 m target and was annoyed at the wind pushing dust into his side and rustling leaves.  ‘Pfft‘ again, then the lack of recoil woke him up. He removed the magazine and saw a white pellet near the top.  He cried, “DAMN YOU GREEN HILL AIRSOFTERS!”  His loud objection drew the attention and incoming fire from his would be targets.  Kenny had one good thing going for him, a Colt 6920 Carbine.  The 5.56mm firearm was nearly stretched to its limits at 500 m but more than capable of accurately engaging his targets.  Kenny chambered a green tip round, set his rear sight elevation to 5, and began engaging his targets.  He had no idea that his centered rear windage was allowing the wind to move his rounds almost one foot to the left of his targets.  Three magazines worth of zero hits later and Kenny was toast.  The thugs had common sense and bounded towards him at a steady pace.  He was eventually suppressed by their fire and one well aimed AK did him in.

Slowly, Kenny’s soul drifted up from his cooling lifeless body.  He noted the following:

“Why was I carrying so much unnecessary gear?”

“Why don’t my clothes match the terrain?”

“Why did I shoot from an unconcealed/uncovered position?”

“Why did that cute girl give me an airsoft gun?!”

“Why did I miss?”

 

Kenny’s last drifting soul question is what we will cover in our next post.  One reason why Kenny missed was due to his lack of a wind call.  An accurate wind call is one of the factors that separate hits from misses.  Our dearest Kenny would have had a fighting chance if he applied the fundamentals of marksmanship.  Don’t be fooled by anyone that tells you wind can’t be beat.  If a platoon of Marine recruits can punch holes in a man sized target at 500 meters against wind, so can you!  Put yourself in Kenny’s shoes.  What you have done about your surprise SR-25 airsoft rifle?  Best comment gets a t-shirt courtesy of Guiles Hendrick.

 

Sgt. G, LMS Contributor

All Rights Reserved

Hatchet vs Knife

September 10, 2013 Equipment Reviews, Survival Skills 4 comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

The popularity of knives is ageless.  Edged implements have been a critical tool for mankind from the earliest fossil records.  Knives in particular have found great popularity for their utility, portability, concealability, and lethality.  However, edged chopping instruments like hatchets and tomahawks still provide valuable, yet often overlooked advantages over knives to both the survivalist and outdoorsman.  The point of this article is not to suggest that one tool is superior, but rather to show the advantages inherit in edged chopping tools.

Looking at the earliest stone tools, we find both cutting and chopping tools side by side and for good reason.  Anyone planning to survive in the wild needed both.  Chopping tools allowed trees to be cut, wood to be split, shelter to be constructed, big game to be processed, and enemies and prey to be quie

tly killed with swift precision.  In fact, a single blow from a sharp axe, hatchet, or tomahawk could easily sever limbs, decapitate, crush bone, or shatter a rib cage and slice through vital organs making it even more lethal than a knife.  Further, many of these implements can be used at greater distance due to a long handle and the weighted head containing the cutting edge, which magnifies the force created in a swing.  Also, with practice, these implements lend themselves well to being thrown.  In fact, they are far easier to master than knives in respect to being thrown and can actually be finely tuned into an effective capability with minimal practice.

Today we also face prohibitions on weapons of all types whether carried concealed or in the open.  Knives in particular endure an unfair stigma by the general population as a weapon vice tool.  However, an axe or hatchet; albeit an incredibly effective weapon, tends to be seen as a tool vice a weapon.  As such, law enforcement also tends to look at knives more harshly than an axe or hatchet.  A person is able to carry “wood cutting” equipment in their vehicle and not draw unwanted scrutiny, which a person attempting to conceal a Bowie knife or even a small flip out folder in their pocket would generally receive.

Reliability is also a strong suite of chopping tools.  They are simple and have almost nothing to fail or break.  One only needs

to maintain the handle, which can be easily and repeatedly replaced with improvised materials even in austere conditions with the most basic of tools.  The most common problem is the head slipping off the handle, which can be easily remedied by driving a wedge into the handle or purchasing a synthetic handle.  These chopping implements also only require a utility edge, which is tough, easy to maintain, and easy to achieve unlike finely honed knife edges.  This edge can be achieved with a rough stone, file, or grinder and doesn’t require the use of high end sharpening equipment.  Nonetheless, many axes and tomahawks are sharpened to a fine edge on par with any knife.

Chopping tools also lend themselves well for breaching and hammering tasks.  Whether trapped inside or outside of a vehicle or structure, chopping tools are far superior to other tools.  We tested hatchets on windshields and sheet metal and found they easily penetrated.  We also found that they made short work of a variety of doors, drywall, and plywood.  Well-constructed all steel implements made by Estwing in particular were also very adaptable to prying tasks.  Finally, in a pinch, most of these tools could be used for a variety of hammering tasks depending on their design.  We were able to effectively drive nails, smash open nuts, and drive stakes.  None of these tasks were effectively performed by knives with the exception of windshields where some folding knives containing a “windshield punch” did an adequate job of spider webbing the window, but usually failed to completely

shatter and remove the coated glass (note that hatchets also provided superior protection to the user due to increased range from the glass shards).

We also were able to test out how well our tools penetrated armor and found them again to be far superior to knives.  In fact, the tactical tomahawks ripped through steel helmets with ease and when sharp were able to also penetrate soft body armor.  When tested against Kevlar helmets all implements delivered a strong enough strike to most likely knock the wearer unconscious and axes in particular proved to be an overmatch.  Knives proved completely ineffective against both steel and Kevlar helmets, but did penetrate soft body armor.  We also tested strike force against body armor containing both steel and ceramic plates and would not rate them as effective in penetrating the hard armor, but found the strike force of both axes and heavy hatchets enough to knock down and injure anyone wearing the armor.  It is also worth noting that all implements tested have the ability to bypass any armor worn and still easily deliver a lethal strike with a single blow.

Finally, good hatchets, axes, and tomahawks are also very affordable.  The demand for them does not command the prices that “tactical” folders and other “sexy” knives rate for price mark-ups.  A used axe or hatchet can be found for as little as a few dollars and brand new items rarely cost more than fifty dollars.

After testing various implements our staff has come to some basic conclusions when it comes to selection and purchasing of chopping tools.  First of all, it is best to buy items that don’t draw attention like neon green “zombie apocalypse” warhawks.  You can get the same items in neutral colors.  Second, synthetic handles proved superior to wooden handles for both chopping an

d throwing tasks.  Third, most steel in modern middle and low end axes and hatchets were of poor quality.  We recommend buying from a reputable dealer and brand or finding “antique” hatchets and axes, which have far better steel.  Finally, for throwing, double bla

ded implements are superior as they can stick on both the front and back spin.

When it comes to recommendations, we generally don’t support one brand over another, but will provide you the facts from our field tests.  We found that for fighting and throwing, SOG’s Tactical Tomahawk Black / F01TN-CP ( http://www.sogknives.com/tactical-tomahawk-black.html ) is a well-designed lethal implement that when sheathed draws little more attention than a standard hatchet or axe.  It is well balanced and a novice can stick this tomahawk at a broad range of rotation angles at about seven paces nearly every throw with a little practice.  We threw our Tactical Tomahawks for weeks on end and thousands of times into trees, stu

mps, logs, plywood, steel drums, and slabs of pigs and found the tool held up and could be brought back to a very sharp edge with little effort or skill.  However, the tomahawk is not well adapted for more mundane tasks such as chopping and splitting wood.  If you are searching for an actual axe or hatchet for chopping and splitting we were impressed with the edge, quality of steel, durability, and performance of both Fiskars and Estwing.  Fiskars provides tools with synthetic handles, which are lighter and still extremely rugged.  This allowed for faster manipulation and ease of use.  They also didn’t seem to transmit shock to the user.  Estwing provides  all steel tools that are virtually indestructible, but at a tradeoff of being very heavy and slow to manipulate.  Estwings will also wear you out if you use them all day due to the weight and shock translation through the handle.  Depending on your needs and uses, all of the above brands we found to perform at or above standard.

The Owen Technique®: Perfecting Night Shooting with a Handgun

June 10, 2013 Special Skills, Survival Skills, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Comments Off on The Owen Technique®: Perfecting Night Shooting with a Handgun

Why you must train at night:

I find it interesting how many fellow gun owners discuss preparedness and training with their choice home defense weapons, but few have actually practiced low light shooting.  This leaves them woefully unprepared to operate under the condition most likely for situations where they will require the use of a handgun for defense.  Home invasions, robberies, sexual assaults, and a host of other crimes are all too often committed during the hours of darkness.  The reason is simple.  Criminals operate when people are least prepared and when they are most unlikely to be detected.  This article discusses some of the key considerations for using a tactical light with a handgun.

If you own a firearm and intend to use it to defend yourself, your family, and your home, you must practice with it at night.  Learning on the fly after awakening in your bed to glass breaking in the middle of the night is not the time to learn.  In fact, if you haven’t prepared, it is unlikely you even have a flashlight collocated with your handgun.  This may be one of the first rules to remember.  Always collocate your combat light and weapon together.  Without the light, you risk failing to properly identify your target and cannot effectively engage it should it be a threat.  Many will be quick to suggest that one should just turn on the lights, which is a good idea.  However, during disasters such as Katrina when power was out for extended periods of time and looting was extensive, you did not have that option.  Further, one may be confronted in poorly lit parking lots, streets, or in areas where artificial lighting is not available or sufficient.  Remember, there is good reason why every police officer carries AT LEAST one flashlight.

If you do not have access to training ranges that allow for low light firearms training, you still can prepare.  At night or in the dark, practice various techniques of holding both a firearm and flashlight while clearing your own home until you find one that is comfortable for you and then become proficient with that technique.   Training should include situations where the target is dimly lit (low light), back lit, and is completely hidden in the dark (requires use of a flashlight).  Many good websites discuss various methods such as the Owen®, Harries, FBI, and Chapman techniques for using a handgun with a flashlight so try them all.  Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages.  Further, watch YouTube videos of various close quarters combat methods for individually clearing a room, structure, and or home.  Couple these techniques to fit your needs best.  Remember to always discuss and rehearse any plans with family members.  These plans should include preparing and rehearsing movement to and/or hard pointing in safe areas so that family members are not confused with criminals by accident.

Selecting the right light:

Selecting a good flashlight for shooting can be daunting today with all of the choice.  Flashlight technology has come a long way.  The days of the giant Maglite have passed and today’s market is ruled by tiny, lightweight, super tough, high intensity “combat lights.”  Further, incandescent bulbs, which had a tendency to break from shock proved inadequate for combat situations, have been replaced by much brighter, more robust, and highly efficient LEDs.  Flashlights using LEDs can produce a brighter beam with less heat much longer than the older incandescent bulbs using the same type and number of batteries.  Further, these flashlights typically use compact and powerful lithium or rechargeable batteries to maximize the lumen output.

The market offers a wide variety of quality tactical lights.  Many law enforcement and military personnel have found Streamlight, SureFire, ICON, Fenix, Inova, Insight Tech, and OLight brands some of the best, but shop around.  There are dozens of great manufacturers offering a host of lights and accessories.  This allows one to pick the right flashlight for their individual needs, body mechanics, weapon, etc.  My everyday carry tactical flashlight is the Surefire Z2X Combat Light with a high intensity LED.  Nearly all combat lights have a push-button switch at the base of the flashlight for one-handed operation.  This is a mandatory feature, but make sure the switch has some type of built in safety to prevent accidently turning on the light or running your battery out.  Select a light with a high intensity LED that can produce very intense light at over 160 lumens.  This can temporarily disorient an attacker at night giving you a tactical advantage in reaction time.  Finally, nearly all come in rugged, lightweight, aluminum housings, but make sure the light you get is bullet proof and has good O-rings to prevent water and humidity from getting into the light and ruining it.

Respective of weapon mounted lights, they are great if one trains with them.  However, they are expensive and in the case of handguns require a special holster that is much bulkier and harder to conceal with the light already mounted.  Further, because the light shines in line with the barrel of the weapon, anything you point the light at will also be “flagged” by the rifle/shotgun.  This violates the primary firearms safety rule of never pointing a weapon at anything you don’t intend to shoot.  As such, it does not sit well with many users and instructors since the potential for a scared and nervous person to shoot the first thing illuminated is high.  For those willing to accept the risk and properly train, it is indeed very convenient to have a light pre-mounted on a rifle or shotgun since the effective operation of a rifle requires two hands.  Nonetheless, one can still operate a rifle or a shotgun with a handheld flashlight using proper techniques that will be discussed in a later post on night fighting with rifles and shotguns.  For handgun, many believe the hand held light is still best due to its versatility and the ability to effectively fire a pistol with one hand.

How to fire my pistol with a flashlight:

Most techniques teach the shooter to hold the handgun in the strong hand and the light in the weak hand.  This provides the shooter the choice of illuminating a danger area to first determine if a threat is there before quickly aiming the pistol at the target or simultaneously sweeping for a threat while pointing the weapon in the same direction.  This also allows for offset holds that do not give away your exact position.  Further, you may need to clear around a corner or get down on your stomach in a prone position where it would be much better to have a flashlight free in the weak hand.  Based on how you intend to employ your weapon and light, various techniques can be used.  Try various methods and positions and practice often.

I for general use, I recommend the Owen Technique® of tactical night shooting as one of the most effective means of employing a handgun simultaneously with a small, high intensity, tactical style flashlight.  The advantages of this grip over other previous methods are many.  For starters it allows one to fire with the weak hand wrist tilted and locked out for better accuracy.  This weak hand grip technique is employed by many professional shooters, law enforcement, and military personnel as well as being the technique taught to federal agents such as the US Marshalls, BATFE, and DEA.  Since the grip allows for a locked wrist with forward hand placement on the gun, it also allows for significantly better recoil management.  This allows for accurate shots in rapid succession that are virtually impossible using methods such as the Harries technique.  Finally, it allows for the light beam to be focused in line with the muzzle so that what you illuminate is what you are aimed in on.  For those familiar with the Rogers/SureFire Technique, it is similar, but as stated above, allows for better weak hand placement for improved accuracy and recoil management as well as easier and more controlled manipulation of the lights on/off switch.  Those more comfortable with the older Chapman Technique will find the Owen Technique® very easy to adjust to since it is equally effective with old style top mounted push button lights like the Maglite and smaller, rear cap equipped push button flashlights.

2 1To perform the Owen Technique®, the flashlight is held by the thumb as the light rests inline and on top of the area between the knuckle and middle joint of the index finger when using a shooting grip with the wrist pointed forward and locked out.  The hand and light positioning allows for the weak side index finger to point forward with the gun or wrap the trigger guard depending on shooter preference and size of the light and handgun.  The remaining weak hand fingers wrap around the pistol grip over the strong side fingers per a normal grip.  The strong side grip is virtually left unchanged other than the thumb, which still wraps the handgun’s pistol grip but stays slightly

straight with the thumb pointing up at about a 45 degree angle so that the pad of the thumb can depress rear equipped push button switches.  In the event of a top mounted push button switch, the thumb is simply rested along the top edge of the flashlight along the frame of the handgun and the weak side thumb is used to activate the top mounted push button.   For rear cap equipped push button lights, the shooter has a choice of lightly pressing the light back into the thumb of the strong side hand or using the thumb of the strong side hand to directly press the button to turn the light on/off.

 

For additional information, I found the below website to be useful and succinct:

http://www.floridacarry.org/education/self-defense/23-using-a-tactical-flashlight

 

By Guiles Hendrik

June 8, 2013

All rights reserved

 

Emergence of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Threatens to turn Cities into Deathtraps

February 27, 2013 Survival Skills Comments Off on Emergence of Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Threatens to turn Cities into Deathtraps

America’s densely populated urban areas may soon become lethal breading grounds for the rapid transmission of deadly diseases once easily treated and nearly eradicated in the West.  Some of the most dangerous reemerging diseases to appear in the US are antibiotic resistant strains of tuberculosis.  To date, the worst of these is Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis or (XDR-TB).  XDR-TB is an extremely deadly form of tuberculosis caused by bacteria that are resistant to even the most effective anti-TB drugs.  XDR-TB outbreaks have been showing up in a growing number of countries, to include most recently, South Africa.  XDR-TB in particular has the potential not only to quickly kill, even with aggressive and expensive long-term treatment, but could mutate further into a totally drug-resistant super disease capable of killing tens of millions of people.  Readers should remain vigilant, learn how to mitigate TB risks, and have a plan for reacting to outbreaks if you must live in an urban environment.

The United States could become ground zero for this reemerging epidemic very soon.  Los Angeles has just reported an outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis [http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/02/21/thousands-may-have-been-exposed-to-deadly-tb-epidemic-downtown/] amongst the city’s poor and homeless.  If XDR-TB gets into the general population of cities like Los Angeles, state agencies and medical facilities would be overwhelmed.  Further, the manner of XDR-TB transmission would make normal day to day activities in cities where close proximity is the norm a lethal gamble.  As XDR-TB and other drug resistant diseases continue to spread and mutate, it is only a short matter of time before America’s cities are death traps.

The first key to protecting yourself and your family is that it is important to know the facts.  TB infects one in three people in the world.  However, it is only when the bacterium becomes active do people become ill with TB allowing the disease to be unknowingly transported and spread.  Typically, a TB bacterium becomes active when a person’s immunity is compromised by an illness such as HIV, advanced age, or medical conditions.  Tuberculosis is one of the world’s deadliest diseases.  In 2011, nearly 9 million people around the world became sick with TB disease and about 1.4 million infected died.  Further, TB is a leading killer of people who are HIV infected.  A total of 10,528 TB cases (a rate of 3.4 cases per 100,000 persons) were reported in the United States in 2011.

The general symptoms of TB disease include feelings of sickness or weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats.  The symptoms of TB disease of the lungs may also include coughing, chest pain, and coughing up blood.  Symptoms of TB disease in other parts of the body depend on the area affected.  If you have these symptoms, you should contact your doctor or local health department.

Typically, TB can be treated with a course of four standard, or first-line, anti-TB drugs, but these are becoming more and more ineffective.  This is the result of drugs being misused or mismanaged, often in the third world, causing multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) to develop.  MDR-TB takes longer to treat with second-line drugs, which are more expensive and have more side-effects.  XDR-TB can develop when these second-line drugs are also misused or mismanaged and therefore also become ineffective.

XDR-TB, like other forms of TB is spread through the air. When a person with infectious TB coughs, sneezes, talks or spits, they propel TB germs, known as bacilli, into the air.  This makes TB extremely dangerous in densely populated areas because a person needs only to inhale a small number of these to be infected.  In fact, an outbreak of XDR-TB could potentially paralyze a city.

Treatment for MDR-TB and for XDR-TB are basically the same, but require the use of second-line drugs that are significantly more toxic than typical drugs used to treat normal TB.  In fact, both types of resistant TB Infection will require extensive chemotherapy for up to two years.  This toxic and aggressive treatment can cause a range of serious side-effects including hepatitis, depression and hallucinations. Patients are often hospitalized for long periods, in isolation and sometimes cannot tolerate the treatment resulting in a fatal TB infection.   Further, it is critical to note that treating resistant TB is extremely expensive and could overwhelm health services.  Specifically, second-line drugs are extremely expensive (up to 200 times higher than standard treatment drugs) and treatment often requires long term hospital inpatient care.  If a large percentage of the population becomes infected with TB, hospitals simply would not have the bed space and insurance companies would go broke trying to pay for the treatments.

To protect yourself and your family, avoid close contact or prolonged time with known TB patients or people in general in crowded, enclosed environments like clinics, hospitals, prisons, or homeless shelters.  If TB outbreaks become more common in your area, wearing a protective surgical mask and washing hands frequently will offer some protection.  Also, limit travel to countries where TB is prevalent and make sure you get a TB test upon return.  Further, avoid contact when possible with illegal immigrant populations as they are more prone to be infected with TB.  Note, persons applying to enter the US with immigrant or refugee visas must complete a questionnaire about any symptoms of TB they may have and obtain a chest radiograph. If positive, the person submits sputum specimens for examination for TB bacteria.  Persons identified as having infectious TB are not granted entry to the United States, until they have been treated.  However, illegal immigrants by-pass this critical health barrier and regularly reintroduce a host of diseases once eradicated in the US.  Considering the above, one’s best protection is to remain vigilant and avoid close contact with high risk populations.

 

By: Guiles Hendrik

 

Supporting Links:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2010/drug_resistant_tb_20100318/en/index.html

http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/treatment/drugresistanttreatment.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensively_drug-resistant_tuberculosis

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/02/11/doctors-struggling-totally-drug-resistant-tuberculosis-south-africa

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/02/01/170850792/quick-tb-test-builds-up-arsenal-against-drug-resistant-bacteria

Gear Review: The Esbit Pocket Stove…Not Your Cold Weather Friend

February 8, 2013 Equipment Reviews, Food and Water, Survival Skills, Uncategorized One comment

The Esbit Stove is a light weight, collapsible, tablet powered backpacking stove.
At a mere 3.25 ounces and not much bigger than a deck of cards, the Esbit Pocket Stove is hard to ignore. Also, it’s relatively cheap price of around $15 makes it far more palatable than most of the $50+ stoves available.

It almost sounds too good to be true. This is because it IS too good to be true. If you are camping or backpacking in fair weather for fun then this stove is a good option. Unfortunately, if you find yourself being a last-minute survivor (hint hint) you should consider using this stove as a paper weight, regift, or barter item.

Why?
Although it shines in the size, weight, and price departments it will disappoint you in cold weather. I took the Esbit Pocket Stove on my most recent backpacking trip. After carrying a 45 lb. pack across 10 miles of rugged terrain, I sat down and set up to boil some water. The MRE’s issued to me in the past spoiled me rotten in the hot food department. It was easy back then. Just add water, literally. Not so this time friends! With the temperature at 40 degrees F and dropping fast, the Esbit Pocket Stove was unable to reliably provide the boiling water needed to rehydrate my freeze-dried backpacking meals. Pundits hush! Yes! I did use a wind screen! Sadly, the hot water I did end up with didn’t have the energy needed to bring my Mountain House dinner to full flavor. Adding insult to injury would be my fellow backpackers using isobutane/propane mini-stoves. These fancy contraptions allowed them to prepare their dinners and make coffee before I even had hot water.

The bottom line…
Although the Esbit Pocket stove might be cute, it simply won’t cut it in cold weather. Don’t buy it if you want anything more than somewhat hot water. In regards to preparedness, a fuel canister stove is not a good option either. A grid down situation won’t allow for a drive to the local REI to stock up on fuel canisters. As usual we have no silver bullet solution to last-minute survival stoves. Our best bet is to use what we have at hand. Rocket stoves, mentioned earlier on LMS, are a great solution. If you find yourself wanting something a bit prettier then check out the Vargo wood burning backpacking stove. Just add sticks, twigs, and a lit match. Doesn’t that K.I.S.S. rule keep sneaking up on you?

SGT. G, LMS Contributor

Native Survival Foods: The Pawpaw

February 3, 2013 Equipment Reviews, Food and Water, Medical Information, Native, Special Skills, Super Foods, Survival Skills, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures One comment
Clump of Pawpaws Source: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/438/438-105/438-105.html#L10

Clump of Pawpaws
Source: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/438/438-105/438-105.html#L10

Today, it is hard to not hear of people talking about stockpiling food.  The media and markets are loaded with options for non-perishables and foods packaged so that they can be stored for years.  This is great and LMS fully supports those that commit to long-term storage and stockpiling of backup food supplies.  However, it is equally valuable to know what foods nature readily provides often right in your backyard.  This post looks at the little known, native, North American super-fruit known as the pawpaw.

The pawpaw is a native fruit that grows on smaller trees that are almost tropical in appearance.  The fruit weighing on average about 8 ounces looks similar to a mango from the outside with a green skin and large, dark, pumpkin like seeds on the inside.  The fruit has a custard like yellowish inside that has a taste reminiscent of a banana, mango, and pineapple and ripens between late August and early October.  The fruit is super rich in protein, anti-oxidants, and is reported to have cancer fighting qualities.  Further, the fruit produces its own insect repellent and in a concentrated form can be used to even treat resistant head lice effectively.  The tree is so well adapted, it doesn’t require the use of pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides to grow healthy unlike other non-native fruit trees such as various apple and orange trees.  However, the tree does play host to the beautiful Zebra swallowtail butterfly, whose larvae feed exclusively and harmlessly on the tree.  The trees are typically found along fertile, well-drained soil lining the banks of streams and rivers stretching from the mid-Atlantic to Michigan.

Pawpaw fruit has a rich history in America even though in recent years it has been nearly forgotten.  The pawpaws were so sought after, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are said to have grown and cultivated them on their farms.  Further, not only were they valued by Native Americans, but American history tells us that Lewis and Clark cheated starvation by surviving on the fruit during their return trip along the Missouri River to St. Louis.

By studying a bit online, one can quickly become familiar with the pawpaw and learn to identify it in the wild.  For those fortunate enough to have access to one of these bountiful fruit trees, just a few fruits in the late summer/early fall can yield a delightful and refreshing addition to your diet.  Further, they make excellent additions to fruit smoothies, yogurts, and ice cream.  The fruit puree can also be used to make a host of other items such as jams, wines, breads, and desserts.  Just remember, the pawpaw does not keep well once it ripens and must be used or frozen within three days of peak ripeness.

If you are not fortunate enough to have access to one of these trees, you can buy both the pawpaw fruit and the saplings online from a few boutique sources such as http://www.owennativefoods.com/ , which specialize in selling varieties of native super-foods such as the pawpaw in an organic and sustainable manner.  Note:  Sources such as Owen Native Foods sell the future season’s crop early (usually between December and March) so it is best to place orders far in advance of the harvest season.  Under the proper conditions, you can grow your own pawpaw trees and have a sustainable super-food industry right in your backyard.

Experimental Pawpaw Orchard Source: Blandy Experimental Farm

Experimental Pawpaw Orchard
Source: Blandy Experimental Farm

For additional information on this outstanding, but little known native fruit, visit the Virginia Cooperative Extension, which gives the following information about paw paws on its website: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/438/438-105/438-105.html

The crop is well adapted to the Eastern U.S. climate and soil conditions. Pawpaw is adapted to humid temperate zone growing conditions.  It is hardy to the USDA growing zone 5 (-20°F or -29°C), and needs at least 400 hours in annual chilling requirements (time exposed to 35° to 45°F during winter months, depending on the cultivar).  This is a low chill requirement compared to other tree fruit species (apples 800 to 1,700 hours), and once met, the trees will begin to flower early in the spring.  A long, warm season is required to mature fruit (2,600 degree days; ~160 frost-free days).  From 30 to 35 inches of rainfall is needed annually, with the majority falling in the spring and summer.  Contrary to popular belief, pawpaw performs best in full-sun exposure.  However, sunlight protection is needed in the first year in the field, as young tree shoots are sensitive to sunlight.  In an orchard setting, this is accomplished by using commercially available tree shelters.

The pawpaw is a unique/unusual fruit crop with high nutritional value and potential for both fresh and processed market uses.  As a food source, pawpaw exceeds apple, peach, and grapes in vitamin, mineral, amino acid, and food energy values.  The current and primary market for fruit is as a fresh product in farmers markets and other direct sales outlets.  Though large-scale commercial processing markets do not yet exist, the fruit’s intense flavor and aroma have significant potential in blended fruit drinks, baby food, ice cream, and as a substitute for banana in various baking recipes.  In Kentucky, various entrepreneurs are utilizing pawpaw as a local cuisine item for restaurants and in frozen custard and ice cream products.

There are valuable natural compounds in the plant, which have both anti-carcinogenic and pesticidal properties.  Aromatic compounds in the fruit have potential for use in cosmetics and home products.  Research has shown that pawpaws have a diversity of natural compounds in fruit, leaves, bark, and twigs.  One class of compounds known as annoaceous acetogenins occurs in leaves and twigs and has reported anti-tumor properties.  Currently, Purdue University has patented an extraction procedure and the development of an herbal formulation is underway by a private company.  Commercial drug manufacturers, however, have shown limited interest in the compounds.  An alkaloid, asimicin, is found in the seeds, leaves, and bark of pawpaw and is reported to have pesticidal properties.  Pawpaws are resistant to insect and disease pressure.  This may be due to asimicin and other natural defense compounds.  With proper management, organic production of pawpaw is feasible.  Aromatic constituents isolated from fruit may hold potential for marketing as well.

By Guiles Hendrik

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