Cascadia Survivalist

A slow sand filter is a sand filter adapted for household use. The version most widely implemented consists of layers of sand and gravel in a concrete or plastic container approximately 0.9 meters tall and 0.3 meters square. The water level is maintained to 5-6 cm above the sand layer by setting the height of the outlet pipe. This shallow water layer allows a bioactive layer to grow on top of the sand, which contributes to the reduction of disease-causing organisms. A diffuser plate is used to prevent disruption of the biolayer when water is added. To use the filter, users simply pour water into the top, and collect finished water out of the outlet pipe into a bucket. Over time, especially if source water is turbid, the flow rate can decrease. Users can maintain flow rate by cleaning the filter through agitating the top level of sand, or by pre-treating turbid water before filtration. Slow sand filter lab effectiveness studies with a mature biolayer have shown 99.98% protozoan, 90-99%

When visiting places with unknown water quality—whether you head to a remote location to camp or hike or travel to a new place—it may be necessary to disinfect the water to kill waterborne germs before using it. Drinking contaminated water or using it for cooking, washing food, preparing drinks, making ice, and brushing teeth can make you sick with diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Treating these symptoms can be difficult while you are away from home or abroad and without access to medical care. Exposure to contaminated water is more likely in places where there is no sanitation or water treatment infrastructure, such as at campgrounds, remote areas, or in some foreign countries. Water contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites can sometimes look clean, which is why it is important to know the source of the water, if and how it has been treated, and whether it is safe before drinking it. Bottled water can be an easy option, but it is also important to know where your bottle

An interesting guide on preparedness compiled from official sources.  A good resource for people just getting started in preparedness, or when trying to get friends and family interested in preparedness. Available in printed format on Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YVPDWF2 ) for the cost of printing. Disaster Preparedness Information from Official Sources            Basic Disaster Supplies Kit                                Suggested Emergency Food Supplies                         Keeping Your Emergency Kit Nutritious                        Storing Food                                         How Long Can You Keep Canned Goods?                     Freezing and Food Safety                            Creating and Storing an Emergency Water Supply                Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water                    Rainwater Collection                                Making A Solar Oven                                    Zeer Pot Refrigerator                                   

The United States Army Medical Center of Excellence provides Service Members medical correspondence courses to help build and maintain their medical knowledge and skills. Those correspondence courses are available as PDF files (compressed into a269 MB Zip file) downloadable from the Google Drive site at  -  https://tinyurl.com/bdd3kaxm While participation in the US Army correspondence course program is limited to military personnel, the correspondence course material itself is available to the general public; and we believe it is a useful resource for any person interested in survival and self-reliance. Deployed Medicine ( https://www.deployedmedicine.com/ ) is a platform used by the Defense Health Agency to trial new innovative learning models aimed at improving readiness and performance of deployed military medical personnel. Download the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Combat Medic/Corpsman Course (TCCC CMC) curriculum here: https://www.deployedmedicine.com/market/299   What do Sold

In 2013, Time Magazine looked at the Naval Special Warfare Development Group's solicitation for bids to produce a new personal survival kit for the US Navy SEALS. An individual engaged in unconventional warfare and counter-guerrilla operations is frequently exposed to possible capture. In counter-guerrilla operations, indigenous elements with which a US soldier is working may be dispersed, causing complete separation of the soldier from the unit. While in an operational area, he must be continuously prepared to initiate evasive action and conceivably to continue evading for an extended period of time. His possession and proper use of a suitable survival kit may be the critical factor in effecting a successful juncture with friendly personnel. Therefore, there is a requirement for an individual aid and survival kit for issue to personnel participating in special warfare operations. The article listed the contents of the survival kit as follows: A complete kit includes both hard and

Basics of RECCE and Recon Kit (How to become Deadly in the Mountains, Part 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKZdxYMWqzw Recce Rifle Setup and Camouflage / Mountain Rifle Setup. (Becoming Deadly in the Mountains, Part 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA_CGAAeKCo Recce Rifle / Short & Long Range Patrol Rifle Setup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQc-z8MVhvY Basics of Urban Combat Survival and Assault Pack Setup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL5wePSjTL8     Tubular Nylon Applications, Spiritus Systems      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58bhCpJfHuI Shake Down: Adam's Recce LBE  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7cqdTyA85c YouTube Channels by former USAF SERE Instructors Jonathan Hollerman https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk-ic5oYAnALLXkzQTORAdA J.J. Johnson (Reality Survival) https://www.youtube.com/user/RealitySurvival/videos Mike Jones (Grande Thumb) https://www.youtube.com/c/GarandThumb/   Jessie Krebs has a SERE/Survival school https://seretraining.us/about/ as well as

  In a first for the agency, the Washington Emergency Management Division shut down its classic Internet connection at the state Emergency Operations Center on April 19 and linked it up to a satellite internet backup. (Apr 21, 2022) In a real emergency, such as a snowstorm or an earthquake, there might be Internet connection issues. There are plans in place to utilize HAM and amateur radio to pass on important messages around the state in case of a truly big earthquake. But the agency also has a large satellite trailer. The goal was to see the amount of time it takes to have it functional and integrated into the state EOC’s networking, gain insights into the operational impacts satellite internet has on the state EOC, determine user training necessary and more. Users were able to still use Internet-based phones, watch and send video and do messaging. Large files had some issues, but that’s to be expected due to bandwidth issues. Testing was also done with part of the Alert & Warnin

Being lost in the woods is not the end of the world, but if your child is lost in the woods it may seem like the end of of your world until he or she is found. The Hug-a-Tree and Survive ( https://nasar.org/education/hug-a-tree/ ) program teaches children how to survive in the woods should they become lost. The program was developed to educate children in a select few of the most basic and vital survival principles. It was specifically designed for children between the ages of 7 and 11 but can be effective with slightly younger and older children. Hug-A-Tree and Survive emphasizes four key rules to keeping children safe: Tell an adult where you are going. Always tell your parents, or another trusted adult where you are going, who you are going with, and when you will be back. You can do this in person, over the phone, through a text message, or by leaving a note in a place they will see it. If you are lost, “Hug-A-Tree” and stay put. A tree can help protect you from the elements while

According to Statista, the current number of smartphone users in the world today is 6.65 billion, and this means 83.72% of the world’s population owns a smartphone. For a survivalist or prepper a smartphone can be an excellent resource. By adding multiple apps - especially apps that work off-line (with no cellular connection) - you have any number of useful tools and a large source of information that can be carried in your pocket. Some will argue that there is no place for technology in preparedness, because "well an EMP might kill it". We don't believe that to be necessarily true, but even if it is, not every disaster involves an electronics killing EMP. It should also be noted that small electronics (like a smartphone) can be protected from an EMP by storing them in a Faraday cage. Of course, we don't put all our eggs in one basket, nor do we put all our faith in one electronic device. Still adding apps and information to support your survival to a device that you

There has been widespread discussion of Russia's threat to use tactical nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine. Russia is estimated to have thousands of tactical nuclear weapons — possibly the world's largest stockpile — which could be deployed at any time. The use of nuclear weapons is also embedded in Russian military doctrine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to the rest of the world to take the threat seriously. Here's what would happen during a tactical nuclear bomb explosion, including the three stages of ignition, blast and radioactive fallout — and how one might be able to survive this. Ignition You see a sudden flash in the sky, as bright as (or even brighter than) the sun. You quickly turn your face away and run for cover. The brightness suddenly vanishes, but returns again a short while later and continues — the distinctive double flash caused by competition between the fireball and shock wave. It gets incredibly hot and bright, and you shield

 "How far will that radio go?" "What type of radio should I get for most range?" These simple questions often lead to complex answers because so many factors influence the distance of radio communications. To simplify, the following charts show how many miles you can usually communicate over normal terrain in suburban or rural areas with different types of radios, power levels, and station configurations. The graphs compare the most commonly available 2-way radios such as ham, CB, FRS, MURS, and GMRS. Some radio gear advertisements tout the maximum possible distance in perfect conditions, an often misleading specification. In the real world, people want to know the normal dependable average range of a radio. The following charts are from HF PACK ( http://hflink.com/hfpack/radiorange/ ), and represent very good real-world estimates of radio communication ranges.  The above graph shows the distance range between two base stations using a basic antenna mounted on the r

  Founded in 2011, AmRRON ( https://amrron.com/ ) was originally created as a communications network to keep communities and states within the American Redoubt connected in the event of a major disaster situation, or socio-economic collapse. Within a year, over half the members consisted of those living outside the American Redoubt. AmRRON has now grown to nearly four thousand radio operators, with members in every state, plus Puerto Rico and Canada. AmRRON is a network of Preppers, Patriots and Redoubters who have volunteered to keep each other connected when other means of communications are unavailable or unreliable. AmRRON operators participate in scheduled nets to practice using non-conventional communications. The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) ( http://arrl.org/ares ) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Bec

Every April 18th, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. Cascadia Survivalist encourages everyone interested in survival and preparedness communications to obtain their Amateur (Ham) Radio license and practice using radio to communicate. Some of our recent posts about radio communications: Notes from Our Emergency Communication Exercise https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/04/notes-from-our-emergency-communication.html OH8STN - Survival Radio & Emergency Communications Ukraine https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/03/oh8stn-survival-radio-emergency.html Communications for Survivalists https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/2022/02/communications-for-survivalists.html  

Emergency Lock Pick Kit for Preppers by Bosnian Bill ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HgxaToleds ) The Best Lockpicking EDC Possible? by Lock Noob ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InCkM7aSHnQ ) An excellent site to begin to learn the basics of lock picking is Lockpicking - by Deviant Ollam ( https://deviating.net/lockpicking/ )

  There are a large number of Blogs that provide survivalist and preparedness information. Many of these Blogs are an excellent resource, others perhaps less so; but they all provide something of interest to someone. Here is a list to add to your own favorites: A Year Without the Grocery Store - https://ayearwithoutthegrocerystore.com/     American Civil Defense Association - https://tacda.org/ AMP-3 - https://www.amp-3.net/ AmRRON - https://amrron.com/ Ask A Prepper - https://www.askaprepper.com/ Backdoor Survival - https://www.backdoorsurvival.com/ Before It's News (Survival) - https://beforeitsnews.com/survival/ Brushbeater - https://brushbeater.org/ Bunker Basics - https://bunkerbasics.com/ Cascadia Survivalist - https://cascadiasurvivalist.blogspot.com/ Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms - http://www.ccrkba.org/ Common Sense Home - https://commonsensehome.com/ DIY Homeschooler - https://diyhomeschooler.com/ Doom and Bloom Medicine - https://www.doomandbloom