Is there any feeling as to the number of Fall-Back positions a person should have for prepping...??? Most of mine are fully stocked camps, with 30 days of supplies. They are generally five to ten miles apart. Most have covert wilderness gardens (That are poorly maintained). Generally have a few 120mm ammo can cache sites between Fall-Back positions.
Any thoughts about "FALL-BACK" positions......???
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Fall back positions will depend on your ability to fall back. Rural folks my have and option or for health reasons the option is off the table. City folks are not going to have much of a choice in fall back positions. Maybe from one house to the next but 10 miles in a urban environments is going to be real difficult. Now my plan will be to just fight it out where I stand. If I am in an urban environment, then it will be as long as the food, water and ammo hold out. If I am in the rural location, then it will take a good sized force to drive me out but either way, I do not plan to vacate the premises. Too old, too tired and too mean to just walk away. If you are physically able to relocate and have the ability to traverse the 10 miles between caches, then I see no reason to not plan for this contingency. Planning for future SHTF events is not going to be a one size fits all situation. Age, medical conditions, physical condition and financial constraints are all going to play a very big part in the planning. Do I even want to retreat and live off the land? Do I want to live like the early pioneers? Too many personal choices for a single plan to be viable to all. JM2C
I agree with TMT. We all have unique situations and have to prep and plan accordingly. Since I am for the most part existing in an urban environment my fall back positions are fixed and involve structures. I have my home which is well stocked and fortified, my office which is a police department (also well stocked and fortified), my bug out location in the country (approx. 40 miles away) and halfway between my home and BOL I have a storage unit. The storage unit is a mile outside of a very small community on a lightly traveled county highway and is basically a series of fenced in cinder block garages with metal doors. I actually rent two units, side by side. One is empty and the other is full of pointless junk. But concealed within the pointless junk is a treasure trove of supplies. Beyond that I have a friend and co-worker that lives on an acreage about 17 miles out of town the opposite direction of my BOL who is like minded and open to mutual assistance and a couple relatives who are farmers in neighboring counties. Plus both of my vehicles, work and personal, are essentially rolling armories with emergency provisions.
I only have one fallback location about 30 miles from home. It's even deeper into the country than where we live. It's stocked with about 2 months of supplies, food, clothes, a shotgun and several hundred shells, several bows, both compound and recurve, about 50 arrows, seeds, gardening tools, canning supplies. The one think that's missing is a good supply of firewood.
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Not to mention missing ice cubes for your sweet tea!.. If you live in a suburban area you plan more in line with a BOR (bug out route). I will not repeat myself but my actions on this fall in line with the response in the Cache thread.
I live way way out in the country. I doubt the need to fall back unless they are coming up the driveway. In that event I have a fallback way up in the mountains. It is supplied with ratioins and equipment to survive at least 3 months before I have to leeve that location.
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JAC if you have everything set up with supplies off location you can have the ability to make the "visitors" wish they had stopped somewhere else.
Mother aged 80 years plus.
Mother-in-law aged 80 years plus.
SIL on disability.
Wife who refuses to go in our backyard (heavy woods) alone and is afraid of everything, anything and the possibility of a "bump" in the night. Also has the mentality if she doesn't acknowledge its existence then it can't exist.
So how do I get them all to a fall back position in a quick, orderly fashion while maintaining OPSEC?
Between work, life and "Honey do" lists when will I have time and/or the finances to maintain fall back position(s) too?
Zero fall back positions. Right here is where we stay, for good, bad or in between. There I places I could go, but I have no ability to either store things or prepare the sites, so I really don't consider them viable. Plus getting there in an urban environment is problematic.
The stuff is here, so here is where we will be.
The stuff is here, so here is where we will be.
I am not in a position to maintain another position. I couldn't move enough of my "stuff" in a short amount of time to make much of a difference. I'm better of hardening my current position.
I have my rural home that is set up with production garden and a year or more supply of food. The "back up" is 300 miles away and is at 5000 feet above sea level. We are in the process of putting in garden areas that extend the growing season but it is a small place on a big piece of land. With a lot of work it can be made to support three people but no more. It is set up with solar panels and battery bank with a back-up generator. Mostly it will be the "little house on the mountain" without power except for the well pump. It does have indoor plumbing, a wood stove and an oil stove. It is definitely a fall back position and less than ideal in most ways.
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In my situation, I live in the city and the only fall-out area we would have would be the Sonoran desert. Definitely not the place to be. Hopefully I have enough rounds and guns so if the SHTF I can hold them off until they drag me out by the heels. With my wife's health and our age, it would be pointless for us to try to find another area around here. Plus having the financial liability to maintain another home. I'll be like Davy Crockett, fight em to the end!!!! Remember the Alamo and Tommy's shack!!!!!
Tommy
Tommy
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Same here. We are rural but not hidden so at our age we will just take what comes.
I have checked into senior co-op but it it not really that private. But a lot better than assisted living or other alternatives I guess.
Being old and alone in the wilderness is not my idea of safety. One fall could lead to a slow terrible death for some of us. And most family members are not about to move away from their city lives. Can't say I blame them. What good is surviving if your away from everyone else?
Just my opinion of course.
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Yes kinda like a commune for seniors. All help with work and the sick and dying. But so many government regulations and restrictions makes it hard plus some won't pull their weight and like to be waited on. And then how do you deal with their outlaw family's which most of us with large family have at least one of these.
But if you could find some good ones it would work.
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A MAG / commune might work. Those that paid bought the required space and the required material / food / ammo / medicinal items/ etc. would also be inclined to do their share of the duties. If you don't have skin in the game, then is is easy to just walk away. If you are invested in the success, then you will put forth the effort to make it work. The key is finding the right kind of folks that want to live in the selected location. Not easy to do but could be done.
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TMT I agree something like that would work. Long as it a republic and not a democrazy.
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Actually I believe a Dictatorship would be the best form of government (if you can trust the Dictator!). In time of crisis decisions can be made quickly instead of getting a quorum together, the debate and counting the votes.TMT I agree something like that would work. Long as it a republic and not a democrazy.
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Again I have to agree with Lazy L, Dictatorship is required to survive a SHTF event. Council can help set up and establishes the process and procedures but the enforcement is accomplished by the dictator. Family discusses issues but the head of the house makes the final decision. A functioning unit has only one leader. Shared responsibilities by many -- yes, leader ---just ONE---.
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Been giving this some thought and for me, my mindset and instincts it'll be a riparian zone.
There are large river, creek and water catchment systems within a hours drive of my current location.
The closest man made catchment system is stocked to the gills with barramundi, catfish and perch.
It'd be a natural target for those who want to cripple my city by blowing out the dam wall and failing that
a natural magnet for a starving population.
Natural isolated watercourses will be less stocked but not a natural target for the masses.
A riparian zone ticks a lot of boxes in regards to the basic needs.
There are large river, creek and water catchment systems within a hours drive of my current location.
The closest man made catchment system is stocked to the gills with barramundi, catfish and perch.
It'd be a natural target for those who want to cripple my city by blowing out the dam wall and failing that
a natural magnet for a starving population.
Natural isolated watercourses will be less stocked but not a natural target for the masses.
A riparian zone ticks a lot of boxes in regards to the basic needs.
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These are my thoughts about "fall back positions'
In an ideal world we would all have 2 or 3.
But dont let the Perfect be the enemy of the Good.
... most of us are resources constrained.. Just creating one good position is no small feat for most of us.
And that one position may be sufficient in 85% of all cases.
In a resource constrained environment the 85% solution is often the best we can hope for.. life is a risk... and the 85% solution means we incur a lot less risk than the general public.
In an ideal world we would all have 2 or 3.
But dont let the Perfect be the enemy of the Good.
... most of us are resources constrained.. Just creating one good position is no small feat for most of us.
And that one position may be sufficient in 85% of all cases.
In a resource constrained environment the 85% solution is often the best we can hope for.. life is a risk... and the 85% solution means we incur a lot less risk than the general public.
I have my home and cabin but there is 300 miles between them. I will arrange a temporary fall back position so that I can leave the house for a short period and take my home back using hit and run tactics if need be. If I am completely overwhelmed I would have to attempt to get to the cabin. I have no belief that this would be easy but it is possible. The best place to be is where your resources are and for us, that is home.
If I have to get to the cabin it will not be on foot. That would take 20 days minimum and there isn't always cover along the way. In a vehicle I can make the trip in less than 6 hours and avoid cities, towns, bridges and other choke points. Without cover there are few places for ambush. The vehicle I would use is just an old beater that has an excellent running gear, quiet and capable of high speed and limited off road travel. It is not showy and won't stand out, even if it is the only car on the road. It has some special added features that will limit the ability to follow if chased and can appear to be mortally wounded without actually being hurt at all. You just have to be creative in solving problems before they occur.
I can travel 3 miles in an hour on flat paved roads. 10 hours a day (which I can no longer do) equals 30 miles or 10 days. I agree with SheepDog, realistically a minimum of 20 days.
Usually my fall back position is on my butt then I get up again.
I am in the middle of nowhere for a reason. I will be going no place. I suppose there would be one of the kids place but that's 300 miles across some of the most desolate land in the USA (the four corners region).
I am in the middle of nowhere for a reason. I will be going no place. I suppose there would be one of the kids place but that's 300 miles across some of the most desolate land in the USA (the four corners region).
A fall back position is as unrealistic to me as bugging out. No way for that to happen. I will have no choice but to stay put and try to ride it out.
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We have 4 homes & 4 wells on 30 acres at BOL.
No fall back, it is kill or be killer at that point.
No fall back, it is kill or be killer at that point.
