Information about how to survival in a collapsed country, by an US military in Afghanistan

SurvivalBlog.com 5/29/12 5:15 AM Jim Rawles First Aid/Medical Night Vision

Retreat Security Survival Mindset
SurvivalBlog is the best in it’s field because it draws upon the different skill
sets and experiences of it’s readers. On that note, I would like to offer up my
own experience for the benefit of other readers.

I am a former Army Infantry Sergeant with combat service in Afghanistan and

am currently a private security contractor. I was not a prepper before my
service there. However, witnessing a post-collapse environment first hand
made me confront some painful realities. I hope to God that my experiences
will aid fellow preppers by giving them insight in to one type of collapse and
it’s repercussions.

1. Medical:

-You must have someone with some sort of medical experience in your
retreat group. While dealing with Afghani civilians and prisoners or war, it
was painfully obvious of their lack of all but the most primitive healthcare. In
that country, there are countless deaths that could have been easily
prevented by access to medical professionals and antibiotics. Wounds
improperly sutured that become infected are a perfect example. If you have
no antibiotics, what would you do?

-Medical supplies go very quickly when someone is wounded or sick. In our

small medical clinic, items such as gauze, rubber gloves, painkillers, and
antibiotics were always in short supply. Further, many with chronic medical
conditions died for lack of supplies. When there is no bottled oxygen, insulin,
or critical medications, people will die. I’m sorry, this is just what I saw.

-In a grid down situation, sanitation will quickly become a nightmare. In

Afghanistan, trash quickly piles up with no one to pick it up. Soon, it becomes
putrid, especially food and medical waste. Further, rats and feral dogs eat
the trash and become ill which can bite humans. You must have a plan on
how to effectively deal with waste or risk diseases and illness.

-Amongst the Afghanis, I have seen more than a few missing fingers, hands,
and burns. This comes from improper handling of explosives and improper
protective equipment while working. In a grid down situation, it goes without
saying that the smallest injury could be fatal if an infection set in. You must
wear personal protective equipment for everything you do that could harm
you.

-When deployed, Soldiers commonly suffer from pink eye (conjunctivitis),

cellulitis, Urinary Tract Infections other improper hygiene medical issues.
Don’t overlook basic hygiene. If you only have three persons defending your
retreat and one is on bed rest with an infection, your eight hour guard duty
shifts just went to twelve hours. That may not seem substantial, but trust
me, it is.

-Post collapse, expect a number of forgotten diseases to re-emerge. Amongst

Afghani civilians, I have personally seen Tuberculosis and Polio. In a land with
few antibiotics and hospitals, public health will fall apart. There are hospitals
and clinics in Afghanistan, but most have to drive for hours across dangerous
terrain to get to them. Further, fuel is scarce, so many needlessly die from
preventable diseases.

2. Security:

-True security requires manpower. Positions must be effectively manned

24/7, 365 days a year. If they are not, any competent enemy will infiltrate
your position. Split the day in to shifts, keep in mind that the longer the shift,
the harder it is to stay alert. Leaders must inspect positions, as people will
fall asleep on duty. This is why the shorter the guard shift the better, as men
will remain more alert. When Soldiers man an Observation Post (OP), they
generally pass off observation duties every hour because their eyes get tired
from looking through optics. Remember, you have to be lucky all the time,
the enemy has to be lucky once.

-The value of proper body armor cannot be overstated. I know men who
would be dead now if it wasn’t for modern ceramic rifle plates. In a world
where there is no ambulance to rush you the ER, do you want to risk a
preventable mortal wound? At a minimum, buy a plate carrier to hold a front
and back plate. On the topic of ballistic protection here is a useful fact for
your general knowledge. Fired from 200 yards away, it takes one of the
following to stop a 7.62x51mm (.308) ball round: 15 inches of pinewood
boards, 10 inches of sand, or 3 inches of concrete. These are real figures that
I have personally verified.

-Optics save lives. By “optics”, I mean rifle scopes, binoculars and spotting
scopes. In Afghanistan, no one opens fire without first confirming “PID”,
Positive Identification of the target by looking through a scope or binoculars.
At distance or in low light, it is harder than you might think to distinguish
friend from foe.

-In Afghanistan, the bad guys don’t always look like bad guys. As a matter of
fact, they go to great lengths to avoid looking like bad guys. This is a key
idea. When planning on attacking a position, the Taliban will attempt to
infiltrate it with spies who pose as workers or they will even use children for
this. Keep this in mind when a group of women and children approach your
retreat.

-Night Vision Devices (NODs) are an absolute game-changer. Without them,

the night is a scary place. The Taliban are terrified of our ability to operate at
night. But understand the limitations of NODs. The Taliban knew that the best
time to attack NATO was at dawn or dusk. NODs aren’t as useful then
because of their light-gathering ability.
-If you have a firearm, you must have at least the basic spare parts for it.
While at a test fire range, a soldier in my unit snapped his weapon’s firing pin
due to the extreme cold. If we hadn’t had a spare, he weapon would have
become a paperweight.

-In Afghanistan, the Taliban and less scrupulous Police will set up simple
roadblocks to kidnap, rob, or murder. There is a reason why in the
military, roads are known as an “LDA”, or Linear Danger Area. In a
post collapse situation, how long would it take armed gangs to construct
roadblocks along main roads? How would you circumvent these?

-In Afghanistan, corruption is rife amongst the Police and Army. Thus, is a
post collapse environment, be very careful of who you trust. Just because
some claims to be an authority figure, doesn’t mean that they are.
The Taliban would sometimes steal Police and Army uniforms to infiltrate
bases.

-Ask any combat veteran about his worst fears and encountering a
competent sniper will be at the top of the list. However, this works both
ways. Even a man with a scoped rifle in a designated marksman role can be
a game-changer. A well-concealed sniper can defeat a much larger
adversary, especially if they panic. In your retreat group, it is crucial to have
at least one competent long range marksman with a suitable rifle.

-Ammo storage? As much as humanly possible. Rounds go fast. Also, store

numerous quality magazines, cleaning supplies, and spare parts. In
Afghanistan, I didn’t see anyone trading gold or silver, but weapons and
ammunition were almost accepted currency in some places.

3. Transportation:

-Gas engine vehicles are quieter than diesels. Whenever we tried to sneak up
on a village in our diesel vehicles, the enemy would be gone before we got
there. When assaulting, a better idea to dismount your vehicles about a mile
away and move in under concealment. The only exception to this is if you
have a key weapon mounted on the vehicle.

-In Afghanistan, pickup trucks are used as improvised fighting vehicles, troop
transports, and ambulances. Don’t underestimate the utility of a pickup
truck. For an improvised fighting vehicle, the Taliban generally line the bed
with sandbags and mount an automatic weapon on the top of the cab.

-Gasoline/diesel, along with food, will become the key resource. In post
collapse Afghanistan, gasoline/diesel allowed mobility and kept the electricity
on. Mobility was key because he who controlled the road, controlled
movement of people and goods.

4. Water:

-In his book, CPT Rawles calls water the key resource. He’s right. If one of our
patrols ran out of water and couldn’t re-supply, they were in deep trouble.-
Water is heavy, around 8 pounds per gallon. You must have a plan to
transport it if need be. The average soldier carries around one gallon on
patrol with more in his vehicle. When digging fighting positions or marching,
1gal/day is a very conservative estimate so plan accordingly.

-Just because you are careful with water, doesn’t mean others will be. I have
seen women and children collecting water from a river that has dead animals
in it upstream. It pays to do some reconnaissance on your potential water
source.-When storing bottle water, it’s better to leave in a cool, dark place if
possible. If left exposed to sunlight for weeks on end, it can get moldy.

5. Barter:

-As anyone who has been to a bazaar in Iraq or Afghanistan will tell you,
there are generally no receipts or exchanges. If you don’t inspect your
purchase, you made a grave mistake. It was not uncommon to encounter
Afghanis with disabled vehicles. Why? They purchased watered down
Gasoline/Diesel.

-As I mentioned earlier, I never saw anyone using gold or silver as a de facto
currency. What was used? American Dollars, Euros, firearms and ammunition,
gasoline/diesel, canned goods, hand tools, and skill sets. By skill sets, I mean
it was not uncommon to see an Afghani mechanic trade a repair job on a
vehicle for a goat or canned food. Remember, skill sets are more important
than expensive gear.

-Post collapse, the first winter will be devastating. In Afghanistan, before the
winter came, it was common to encounter civilians needing MREs and
canned goods because their crops had failed. In a world without modern
pesticides, irrigation, and mechanized farm equipment, would you bet you
and your loved ones lives on your crops succeeding?

6. Mindset:

As a people, the Afghanis have suffered greatly over the past three decades.
In my observation, the power of their faith plays a crucial role in their
survival. Regardless, of your faith or beliefs, it is important to thank God for
every day. Also, don’t hesitate to take a moment to ask for his wisdom and
strength to make it through a tough time.

In closing, I would like to thank CPT Rawles and all of the contributors to
SurvivalBlog. I apologize if my view is grim, but it’s what I saw with my own
eyes in a nation that had underwent a form of internal collapse. My distilled
message is this: you need a tribe to survive. In Afghanistan, villages band
together and survive. You need the varying skill sets, ideas, and manpower
of a group to make it through a collapse. Thank you for your time and
consideration and God bless all of you and the United States of America.