Cascadia Survivalist

Food prices are rising and likely will continue going up throughout the year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA data shows how much food prices have increased since last year. Comparing prices from February 2021 to February 2022, the agency found the cost of food at home/groceries is up 8.6%. “All food prices are now predicted to increase between 4.5 and 5.5 percent,” the USDA stated in its 2022 Food Price Outlook report ( https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings/ ). Wheat prices also are expected to rise significantly due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to USDA. “The conflict in Ukraine is expected to put upward pressure on international wheat markets,” the report stated. “Farm-level wheat prices are now predicted to increase between 20 and 23 percent and wholesale wheat flour prices are predicted to increase between 12 and 15 percent in 2022.” Ukraine is also the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, making up...

Our world is riddled with disasters, pandemics and civil unrest. As populations continue to rise and our communities become more and more dependent on our modern systems, the entire civilization becomes increasingly fragile and unstable. Living in this society requires us to think beyond the current safety of our homes and to imagine a time when home, becomes dangerous. When leaving becomes vital, when bugging out becomes necessary. Introducing a new podcast series for preppers, survivalists and everyday people who understand the fragility of our 21st century existence and who want to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. ( https://buggingoutpodcast.podbean.com/ )

  In the 1950s and 1960s there were several films produced that discussed atomic attack and how to protect yourself against nuclear fallout. These films are interesting from a historical perspective, but more importantly still provide useful information that can help you protect yourself and your family in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. Some of these films have been copied and posted to YouTube: Atomic Attack (1950) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AFi56b3M6U Self Preservation In An Atomic Attack (1950) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0XawkZ7zj0 Survival Under Atomic Attack (1951) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UW0LgiHFQQ   Fallout: When And How To Protect Yourself (1959) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_gTGB6-9BQ Radiological Defense (1961) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW4goKZ3rCY About Fallout (1963) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV-9690Iuiw

We previously asked the question: What If Russia Destroys Ukraine’s Cell Networks? Today, we highly recommend the video " Survival Radio & Emergency Communications Ukraine " ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ0KxUXK_wI ) as one answer to that question. In this episode OH8STN Ham Radio takes a look at decentralized communication strategy using 2 way radio for emergency group communications, tactical communications, spotting, intelligence gathering and getting critical news and information over the radio, to the people. We will look at HF Radios, hand held walkie talkies, SDR (software defined radio). We will also look at the best survival radio strategies for a civilian emergency response during war or occupation.

According to the National Institutes of Health: "Evidence suggests that online training can be as effective as face-to-face training for medical education". Now, it must be clearly understood that medical education develops knowledge, and hands-on skills require hands-on practice. But for people who want to establish a foundational medical knowledge, online training is one possible choice. Some options for on-line first aid training include: You Are the Help Until Help Arrive s https://community.fema.gov/until-help-arrives Life-threatening emergencies can happen fast and emergency responders aren’t always nearby. You may be able to save a life by taking simple actions immediately. "You Are the Help Until Help Arrives" is a short on-line course from FEMA that can help you be more prepared to respond to an emergency situation. Stop the Bleed https://stopthebleed.usuhs.edu/ is on-line training from the National Center for Disaster Medicine & Public Health. No mat...

 Seattle’s emergency communications and amateur radio conference known as Comm Academy ( https://www.commacademy.org/ ) will be held on April 9, 2022. A YouTube playlist ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD9Z0YRY2Cqwglu6oyVBWXpSfpQy9KgfG ) of last year’s presentations can be found on the CommAcademy channel.  Some organizations that have participated in the conference include Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES©), Auxiliary Communications Services (ACS), EOC Support Teams, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard Auxiliary, REACT, CERT, and MST. For 2022, as last year, Comm Academy will be streaming presentations on their YouTube channel. Please join the Comm Academy community by logging in to your own YouTube account so that you can participate in the chat and ask questions of our presenters. There is no advance registration required this year.

The DRYAD Numeral Cipher/Authentication System is a simple, paper cryptographic system used by the U.S. military for authentication and for encryption of short, numerical messages. A DRYAD code sheet contains 25 lines or rows indexed by the letters in a column on the left of the page. Each row contains a random permutation of the letters A through Y. The letters in each row are grouped into 10 columns labeled 0 through 9. The columns under 0, 1, 2 and 5 have more letters than the other digits, which have just two each. The DRYAD Numeral Cipher/Authentication System has the advantage of being fast, relatively easy and requires no extra equipment. The presence of more cipher-text columns under the digits 0, 1, 2 and 5, is intended to make frequency analysis more difficult, but much of the security of the cipher comes from keeping the crypto-period short. DRYAD can be used in two modes, authentication or encryption. Authentication For authentication, a challenging station selects a letter...

Imagine the Following... (A Scenario from the EMP Task-Force) Day 1, 3:00 p.m. EST (Noon PST):   The power goes out across the entire continental United States.   Transformers have blown out everywhere.   Within minutes, all61 commercially operating nuclear power plants across the Nation have “scrammed” (i.e. shutdown) their reactors, which is standard operating procedure during the loss of external electric power.   Millions of TVs, laptops and computers have shorted out.   Cell phones and landline phones aren’t working.   The Internet is down.   Smoke is visible from a number of small fires across every community, but very few sirens from fire engines can be heard.   Traffic lights are out, and a significant number of cars and trucks that were running are now inoperable and scattered about the roadways.   Trains and subways are shutdown.   ATM’s don’t work, banks close, and Wall Street closes.   The Emergency Broadcasting Se...

1.    You have a cookbook all about Spam. 2.    You consider your extra-large ham radio antenna as “broadband”. 3.    You know how to cook leather. 4.    You’ve ever been on a government “Potential Threat” list. 5.    SWAT has ever asked to borrow a few of your guns. 6.    Your new girlfriend comes over for the first time, and when she walks into the living room, the first thing she sees is your CHL regulation Man-sized target with 50 holes in the chest area. 7.    Your dog has more Emergency Rations than 95% of the U.S. population. 8.    You’re the first person at the gun range on Dec 26th to try out your new toys, and the clerk knows you by your first name 9.    The local supermarket manager knows to go ahead and open up the back dock doors when he sees you on a shopping trip. 10.    Your home and property are more secure and better lit ...

When someone wants to become more prepared to deal with disasters, or perhaps just a bit more self-reliant, it can be somewhat difficult to know how to get started. On-line research can return good information, as well as highly questionable information from the "SHTF doomsday prepper crowd". Cascadia Survivalist recommends beginning your preparedness journey by using guides from "official" sources. Citing these official sources of information makes it much easier to talk to others about preparedness and to explain (if asked) why you are involved in various "prepper" activities. These official resources are usually provided by government and military agencies, and university extension programs. Cascadia Survivalist is focused on potential events in the Pacific Northwest, but if you live in a different region you may want to find additional resources that focus on your specific area.   A Guide to Food Storage for Emergencies (Utah State University) https://...

Learn how to assist people in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism. Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online Training is for individuals new to disaster response who want to learn the core goals of PFA, as well as for experienced practitioners who want a review of PFA. PFA Online also offers a Learning Community where participants can share experiences, receive guidance, and obtain resources. This is a 6-hour interactive course in which the user takes the role of a provider in a post-disaster scene. It features activities, video demonstrations, and mentor tips from the nation's trauma experts and survivors. After an introduction and overview, the course explains the Core Actions of PFA and includes a module on provider self-care.  https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/continuing_ed/psych_firstaid_training.asp

The Office of Aerospace Medicine, Civil Aerospace Medical Institute has published some comments on the Psychology of Survival. We have reproduced those comments below. Understanding how a survival situation can affect your state of mind, and how your state of mind can affect your ability to survive is an important topic, that is too often overlooked in preparedness planning.    When preparing for a potential survival situation you must first admit to yourself that it can happen. Once you have taken this first step, you can then start preparing for an event that will hopefully never occur.   Preparing for an event that may never occur is not always easy. However, if you take the time to prepare yourself both mentally and physically, your chances of survival will increase dramatically. Having the right frame of mind and being able to think productively are critical.  Having knowledge of the intended use of gear, or the ability to improvise using gear, increases confide...