Recce (UK) / Recon (US) kit
Noting how many more of us are opting to BUG IN rather than go galavanting off to some remote location when we Bug Out made me start pondering about how we can best make our stay at home preps and plans, then the thought suddenly struck me that regardless of WHERE we live and HOW LONG we have lived at that place we never generally know the entire district as best we could.
What potential resources, supplies, THREATS exist in our areas that we dont know about, I think for example about those folks in the US who did not know the Rail Road company had allowed an oil company to lay a pipeline by the tracks carrying thousands of gallons of fuel and hour. When a runaway freight train derailed it fractured the pipeline and started a fire that destroyed an entire block and killed some innocent people. So we NEED to know in great depth as to what is in our districts and if its useful or a threat.
So BEFORE and DURING TSHTF we need to have as much up to date information (Intel) as we can get our grubby little hands on, which leads us to ask WHAT are we looking for?
Well before you grab your gear and head out the door you can start to gather intel by using a Scanner and listening to Ham, CB and Authority broadcasts, its amazing how much info people let slip on air, Cops, Medics, Farms, Truckers, Gun Clubs, Factories large depots and other groups all use radios so its time to start keeping that Bearcat scanner running in the background.
Lets go on a Recce mission.
Some things can be good AND bad for us like Service Stations (Gas Stations) good for salvaging fuel , oils, tyres, lubes etc but bad if it went BANG near your home.
I would suggest we are looking for the following (and its not a complete list)
1 Supplies, Food, Water, Fuel, Med supplies, Weapons/Ammo,
(So Food distribution centres, Supermarkets, Garden Centres, Farms etc, Rivers, Streams, Wells, Resevoirs, Water Tanks, Truck depots, Loco Servicing Facilities, Service Stations, Motor Sports facilities, Vehicle Dealerships etc, Gun shops, Shooting ranges, TA Centres / NG Centres, Gun clubs etc. Airstrips etc)
2 Salvagable materiels,
Building Material depots and merchants, Timber (Lumber) Merchants, Coal yards, Bottled gas depots, Animal feed lots, Farm Supply Depots, Chemists and Hospitals, Farms for Livestock ( Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Pigs, Goats, Rabbits, Chickens etc) Seed stores and Seed banks.
3 Threats,
Human (Feds, Criminals, Refugees, Infected, gangs etc) Natural (Forest / grassland fires, droughts, Mudslides, Flood risks, Land Slips etc) Manmade (Radiation, Gas leaks, Sewage, Leaking Chlorine or LPG tanks and pipelines, Explosions etc)
4 Potential allies,
(You choose) and where they are and what have they got.
5 Infltration and Escape routes
(Bug In and Bug out routes) Including waterways
6 Potential Bug Out Locations
(Rural and Urban in ALL directions from your home)
7 Potential Rendezvous locations
(At all compass points from your home for family members to head to if they cannot get home)
8 Navigable alternative routes
(Getting about without using roads and highways that could have refugees, federals or ambushers waiting for the unwary.) Following rivers, streams, rail lines, pylon routes, animal trails, agricultural trails, forestry paths etc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So what gear should you consider for a Recce / Recon trip
Obviously outdoor gear, EDC gear, PDW kit, food, supplies and transport in neccessary.(Personally I prefer to recce on foot, that way you see more and miss less)
Soooooo
1 The above mentioned Scanner to listen out for others broadcasting
2 Binos to watch in detail from a safe distance
3 Camera , Data card etc to record what you see for further analysis when you get back
4 An E device with Google Earth to use both overhead and street view to compare the target with its Google image to see if changes have been made
5 Laser Range finder to measure distances as required
6 Area Guide and Local Maps
7 Notebook, Pens, Sharpies to record intel
8 Cammo gear if needed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Signs to look for of recent occupation after TSHTF
Cooking Smells
Smoke
Fires
Fresh trash / litter
Noise (from voices to machiney to engines to music AND NO NOISE AT ALL often a sign by wildlife that people are in the area)
Flattened grass
Disturbed Vegitation
Moved abandoned vehicles
Light from buildings or camps at night
Disturbed birds and critters suddenly taking flight that YOU have not spooked.
Repaired buildings and structures
Cleared paths and paving
Improvised forifications
Signs of crops being harvested
Freshly dug earth
Fresh Graves
Remains of freshly killed animals
Remains of recent camp fires and recently used camp sites
Freshly cut down trees
Laundry out to dry
Fresh foot prints
Empty shells and ammo cases
Clearly recently looted buildings that were not looted last time you checked the area.
Noting how many more of us are opting to BUG IN rather than go galavanting off to some remote location when we Bug Out made me start pondering about how we can best make our stay at home preps and plans, then the thought suddenly struck me that regardless of WHERE we live and HOW LONG we have lived at that place we never generally know the entire district as best we could.
What potential resources, supplies, THREATS exist in our areas that we dont know about, I think for example about those folks in the US who did not know the Rail Road company had allowed an oil company to lay a pipeline by the tracks carrying thousands of gallons of fuel and hour. When a runaway freight train derailed it fractured the pipeline and started a fire that destroyed an entire block and killed some innocent people. So we NEED to know in great depth as to what is in our districts and if its useful or a threat.
So BEFORE and DURING TSHTF we need to have as much up to date information (Intel) as we can get our grubby little hands on, which leads us to ask WHAT are we looking for?
Well before you grab your gear and head out the door you can start to gather intel by using a Scanner and listening to Ham, CB and Authority broadcasts, its amazing how much info people let slip on air, Cops, Medics, Farms, Truckers, Gun Clubs, Factories large depots and other groups all use radios so its time to start keeping that Bearcat scanner running in the background.
Lets go on a Recce mission.
Some things can be good AND bad for us like Service Stations (Gas Stations) good for salvaging fuel , oils, tyres, lubes etc but bad if it went BANG near your home.
I would suggest we are looking for the following (and its not a complete list)
1 Supplies, Food, Water, Fuel, Med supplies, Weapons/Ammo,
(So Food distribution centres, Supermarkets, Garden Centres, Farms etc, Rivers, Streams, Wells, Resevoirs, Water Tanks, Truck depots, Loco Servicing Facilities, Service Stations, Motor Sports facilities, Vehicle Dealerships etc, Gun shops, Shooting ranges, TA Centres / NG Centres, Gun clubs etc. Airstrips etc)
2 Salvagable materiels,
Building Material depots and merchants, Timber (Lumber) Merchants, Coal yards, Bottled gas depots, Animal feed lots, Farm Supply Depots, Chemists and Hospitals, Farms for Livestock ( Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Pigs, Goats, Rabbits, Chickens etc) Seed stores and Seed banks.
3 Threats,
Human (Feds, Criminals, Refugees, Infected, gangs etc) Natural (Forest / grassland fires, droughts, Mudslides, Flood risks, Land Slips etc) Manmade (Radiation, Gas leaks, Sewage, Leaking Chlorine or LPG tanks and pipelines, Explosions etc)
4 Potential allies,
(You choose) and where they are and what have they got.
5 Infltration and Escape routes
(Bug In and Bug out routes) Including waterways
6 Potential Bug Out Locations
(Rural and Urban in ALL directions from your home)
7 Potential Rendezvous locations
(At all compass points from your home for family members to head to if they cannot get home)
8 Navigable alternative routes
(Getting about without using roads and highways that could have refugees, federals or ambushers waiting for the unwary.) Following rivers, streams, rail lines, pylon routes, animal trails, agricultural trails, forestry paths etc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So what gear should you consider for a Recce / Recon trip
Obviously outdoor gear, EDC gear, PDW kit, food, supplies and transport in neccessary.(Personally I prefer to recce on foot, that way you see more and miss less)
Soooooo
1 The above mentioned Scanner to listen out for others broadcasting
2 Binos to watch in detail from a safe distance
3 Camera , Data card etc to record what you see for further analysis when you get back
4 An E device with Google Earth to use both overhead and street view to compare the target with its Google image to see if changes have been made
5 Laser Range finder to measure distances as required
6 Area Guide and Local Maps
7 Notebook, Pens, Sharpies to record intel
8 Cammo gear if needed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Signs to look for of recent occupation after TSHTF
Cooking Smells
Smoke
Fires
Fresh trash / litter
Noise (from voices to machiney to engines to music AND NO NOISE AT ALL often a sign by wildlife that people are in the area)
Flattened grass
Disturbed Vegitation
Moved abandoned vehicles
Light from buildings or camps at night
Disturbed birds and critters suddenly taking flight that YOU have not spooked.
Repaired buildings and structures
Cleared paths and paving
Improvised forifications
Signs of crops being harvested
Freshly dug earth
Fresh Graves
Remains of freshly killed animals
Remains of recent camp fires and recently used camp sites
Freshly cut down trees
Laundry out to dry
Fresh foot prints
Empty shells and ammo cases
Clearly recently looted buildings that were not looted last time you checked the area.
