KNOW YOUR AO (Area of Operations)

          I relocated about twenty-five miles last year from a small town near the base of one mountain range to living about 6 miles outside of a small town on the opposite side of the valley and near the base of a different mountain range. Both areas are surrounded by Forest Service lands - including designated Wilderness Lands.

          I have already traveled enough of my new AO to have located various “wild” survival resources all within a one days hike: Hydro - even though I live within spitting distance of a year round creek I have also plotted good routes to a nearby river, three other year round creeks, a few seasonal creeks, several remote tanks for livestock, and several local houses with wells - I even identified good locations for micro hydropower stations; Botanical - stands of cattail, various useful cacti, berry patches, dandelion patches, “food” trees (mesquite, mulberry, oak, walnut, etc.), etc.; Zoological - game trails, fishing holes, crawdad spots, bat caves, etc.; Shelter - numerous caves, locations of numerous nearby mines (abandoned & operational); and Miscellaneous - deposits of calcium minerals, sand and clay deposits, large deposits of downed timber, etc.

          I also know the location of key “city” resources (i.e. commercial food resources, medical centers, railway lines, pipelines, commercial and residential solar installations - electric and water heating, etc.) and “country” resources (gardens, farms, ranches, feedlots, etc.). I don’t condone any form of stealing or looting but depending on the crisis level it makes sense to search for resources that may have been overlooked or abandoned. While almost everybody will think to raid the grocery and convenience stores many, when asked, overlook such things as fast food joint, cafes, etc. Pizza joints are great places for cheese and meat at the outset of a crisis as well as bulk flour for long term use. School lunches may not sound tasty but most schools keep a good sized stock of food on hand - much of it “non-perishable”. I also located suppliers of alternative energy resources - solar, wind, & hydro; and a few not too distance (less than 45 miles) manufactures of interest - one solar and wind, one for laser sights, another for Gore-Tex material, etc. I also located various miscellaneous resources - i.e. easily gathered barbed wire, power line transformers (most are full of fuel oil), etc.

          Even though I have learned the “normal” wind patterns for my AO I have viable bugout routes for every direction. NBC hazards are not picky about what direction they come from. These bugout routes include vehicular as well as on foot or by water. My B.O.B. preps are divisible so I know exactly what to grab for each mode of egress. I have even cached some resources along my primary desired bugout route.

          Learning your AO is more than just local knowledge. You should at least make a list of regional resources. Consider the following:

Things to Do: Locate these locally, regionally, and nationally.

ID major food growing facilities

ID major food processing/production facilities - even for pets/livestock

ID major food storage/warehouse/waypoint facilities - even for pets/livestock

          (don’t forget grain silos)

ID major rail & spur facilities

ID major waterway routes

ID equipment manufacturing and warehouses facilities: i.e. weapons, ammo, commo, etc.

ID medical facilities - including supply companies - even for pets/livestock

ID fuel storage facilities, pipelines, pumping stations, etc. - Gasoline and Natural gas

 

Here’s an example:

EGGS/CHICKENS

Stuart, Iowa - Rose Acre Farms - 1.5 million chickens!

Guthrie, Iowa - liquid egg facility - 2 months supply

OSTRICH

Oro Grande, California - (20 miles off Rt. 66) - 1500 head; has egg production too - 2 eggs per week per hen - 3lbs per egg

If you don’t have resources in your AO - know where to go! Don’t just survive - thrive.