Landrock's View of the World

Landrock Survival Training Newsletter #2

2011-07-02T10:54:00.004+01:00

Hello and welcome to the Second Landrock Survival Training Newsletter,

Competition

I would like to start by congratulating Mr Colin Bannister for winning the Wilderness Survival Weekend on 11/12 June. There were over 150 entrants in total and in the interest of complete fairness the winner was picked using the random number generator at www.random.org.

News

Keen Facebook and Blog readers amongst you will have seen an article I put up about a Canadian couple who were lost in the Nevada Desert after taking a detour from a known route. After 7 weeks, the wife was recovered (having lost 32lb in weight). She'd survived on trail mix and water while walking about in the vain hope that someone would find her. The husband has yet to be found. Even from just the newpaper article it was clear that fundamental errors were made in the planning (there was none), the execution and the immediate 'survival' phase. A single afternoon of learning and practicing skills could have had them out of the woods and back to civilisation within a few days, not weeks. If credit can be given, however, it must go to the woman's Will to Survive. 7 weeks solitary in unknown environments is a tough place to be yet she managed it.

You can read the full article at the LST Blog, here: http://landrock-training.blogspot.com/2011/05/canadian-woman-lost-found-in-nevada.html See the COMMENTS for a little analysis.

Courses

Courses have been a little thin on the ground recently. This would appear to be mainly because of the poor weather that we have had after such a scorching April. As one student once put it, "we come on these courses to learn to survive, not to ACTUALLY survive!". Fair enough.

We did have one course, however, and this was an overnighter for six 13 year olds. Photos can be found at: http://landrock-training.com/gallery.html

The course took place in Buckinghamshire (remember, we can come to you if you can find the place to do it!) in the haunting ancient beech woodland, Colemans Wood, close to Holmer Green. They arrived at 2pm at the local pub (Bat & Ball) for a quick kit check before we headed off to the wood. Once in, we had a lesson on safe knife handling and then sat down for talks around the fire on the kit and equipment they might find useful in a survival situations as well as the neumonic PLAN - Protection, Location, Aquisition of Water & Food and Navigation. On completion of that, and on a lot of begging by some, we went through the contents of the survival tins that they each received. We explained and demonstrated how each item met one or more of the PLAN requirements and looked at extra bits and bobs that could be stored in there to make you life easier, should you need to. The course came alive proper thereafter when it was time to build shelters. They broke down in to 2 3-man groups and built a group A-Frame each. This was to prove more difficult than they had imagined with the exceptionally shallow soil and prevalent flint. In the end, one group shelter was completed while the others constructed a tent from a tarpaulin and paracord. Needlesstosay, noone ended up cold or wet. I slept in a very pleasing 1-man igloo-style construction. Due to the very shallow soil and excessive flint, there was to be only one fire but every man completed the weekend having endlessly practiced the art of fire-lighting using flint & steel, a technique used even when the skies open and the heavens pour down! Next up was the lesson on Location - how to make yourself locatable; the use of ground-to-air signals, ground-to-ground signals, noise and light. Before bedding down for the night, we took a walk about to see stars and conduct a spot of astral navigation. Alas, although we managed to find the Big Dipper and the North Star, the light pollution from London put paid to much else - something to always be aware of. Although there was no moon that night, we also demonstrated the use of the crescent moon to find south. Everyone was up early on Sunday and ready for breakfast. Disappointingly, despite well-placed snares and many morning hours looking for game, no rabbits or squirrels were to be had on this occasion but as soon as breakfast was cleared aware it was time to move on to Water & Food acquisition. Each group made themselves an improvised water filter and was able to demonstrate it working. We looked at other methods of water procurement and the purification/filtration of water for drinking. Not surprisingly, their interest was already heading towards the snares and lines laid out. They were all given the opportunity to construct and put in to practice either a Tooth & Peg or a Figure-4 trap having been tested on the 'Dangle/Mangle/Strangle/Tangle' properties of traps and snares. Before meandering their way back to their families, that final lesson was on Navigation. Thanks to the sun, we were able to demonstrate 4 or 5 methods of finding the cardinal points of the compass as well as looking at natural features such as the wind, cloud movement, plant growth and other natural aids to navigation.

The next course is on 11/12 June in Stallcombe Wood, Devon and is currently a bargain at £100 per person (down from £150). There are further discounts to be had for groups of 2 or more!

Lesson

Each edition, I hope to add a little something in to the newsletter that might be of some use. This time, we start right back at the beginning with the Principles of Survival. Specifically, PROTECTION.

Principles of Survival

I mentioned in above article about the 4 Principles of Survival - PLAN. If you have a working, and practiced, knowledge of these principles then no situation should be unsurvivable.

Protection

This is the broadest of the 4 and encompasses the before, during and after the event.

BEFORE the event should be Preparation. Good preparation alone will go a great deal to ensuring your survival. If you are going somewhere in any way hazardous then get in to the habit of telling someone. Let them know where you are going, your likely route and specific timings for when you will contact them or for you return. If necessary, give them a route card so that they can retrace your steps in the event of an emergency.

Look at the clothing you are wearing, is it suitable for your event? Trainers and a T-Shirt are not good for a mountain yomp. Try to keep to the 3-layers principle if you can.

Always, always, always carry a map (and a compass!). More importantly, ensure you can use it. Too many people believe they know how to read a map because they have a roadmap in the car. The two are not the same. Do not rely on mobile phones or GPS. Batteries die, electronics get wet. In 1991, hikers throughout the world were left stranded when the US Military encrypted the GPS network in preparation for the invasion of Iraq. This was to stop Iraqi's having the benefits of GPS. It is a US Military owned system and is prone to being 'turned off'. The same happened in 2003. The link here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/05/11/nevada-chretien-search-rescue.html highlights the incident above (Canadian Woman Lost) and the use of GPS. A GPS is a backup device only. Learn how to navigate using natural features and how to improvise a compass should the unthinkable happen.

Look at the area you are going to. Where could you get water, what is the flora and fauna like? How has the weather been recently compared to its seasonal average? Learn about your intended destination so that you have an edge if you are suddenly stranded.

DURING (or just before) the Event - Are you in the best position to survive should something happen? If you are on a plane, where are the exits and how to they operate? If there a really large person next to you that might block your chances of escape? Make your chances of survival as high as possible by learning about your immediate situation. Where was that last petrol station? What is that cloud just peaking the mountain that you're climbing?

AFTER the Event - Get yourself away from immediate danger. Assess the situation and then help others. Do not just dive in blind without understanding the ongoing danger. No hero is any good if he's dead. Protect yourself from further danger. Conduct first aid. (In the preparation phase, GET first aid training!). As the situation calms down, what can be of use to you? Don't just head straight for the ration bin and trough the food. Shelter and fire might be your important factors now so prioritise what needs to be done and what you need to do it. Understand what type of shelter is useful when and where. Know how to construct your camp to maximise your chances of rescue.

Next Time, LOCATION - How to make yourself as locatable to rescuers as possible.

Next Course

The next course is a Wilderness Survival Weekend held at Stallcombe Wood in Devon. This purpose-built facility is tailor-made to cater for novices and professionals alike. See our courses page at : http://landrock-training.com/course_explain.html for more details.

A timely and seasonal sale puts the price at a bargain £100 per person, including your survival tin and food. We meet at Cotswold Outdoors, Darts Farm, Topsham at 9am on Saturday and the course finishes at 5pm on the Sunday.

Peak Oil for Dummies - Peak Oil announcement. British Gov publicly acknowledges the issue.

2011-06-02T14:41:00.003+01:00

Landrock Survival Training, Devon, UK
http://www.landrock-training.com

http://www.fcnp.com/commentary/national/9335-the-peak-oil-crisis-an-announcement.html

Finally, the UK government has admitted that not only is there credence to the Peak Oil Theory but that it should be taken seriously.

Most sane people accept that "Peak Oil" is more than simply a theory. If we accept that oil took millions of years to be create and that there's no more 'in production' right now then we can look at this as a bucket of water.

Imagine a 20lt bucket of water, full to the brim. Add lots of drinking straws and lots of people sucking the water out. Now, pretend it has taken approximately 100 years for 10lt (half of the water) to be sucked up. This half way point is 'Peak Oil' - that point where we have passed the half way point. Now, if we had 100 years to sort this out and prepare then you would think we would have enough time and that surely the human race could come up with something to sort out our energy demands thereafter. BUT, imagine now that each person sucking on those straws begins to suck a little faster and more straws are being added every minute (population growth).
Very quickly you understand that we no longer have 100years until it has all gone.

So how much longer do we have? Noone knows. We don't know how much oil there was in the first place and we can't accurately assess at what pace it is being extracted from the earth. What we do know is that production is slowing in all countries and finding more is an increasingly difficult process. Couple that with the biggest oil fields sitting in the most volatile areas of the world (Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya) and that just exacerbates the problem.

Ok, so we won't have oil to produce electricty then....we have gas, coal, nuclear, wind, wave, solar, etc....we'll be fine.

Aside from the obvious environmental issues of fossil fuel use, take a look around you now. How much plastic can you see? Essentially, how many man-made objects can you see. Plastics, glass, creams, paints, detergents, clothing, medecines....these are just a few things that are oil-based in some way or another. Yes, there are other ways to make those same things using 'oil-substitutes' that are produced from crops, bacteria and new technologies. The reason oil is used, however, is because it is cheap. Plastics are cheap. When we run out of oil, however, plastics will no longer be cheap.

The effect of oil on the world economy is truly incomprehensible. As "Peak Oil" is truly understood, so our lives will change forever.

But the UK Government has started to look at this, right?

Yes, they have but is it too little too late? We are a net importer of oil and gas and we have no significant exports. Our entire economy and way of life is based on the import of energy. What possible effect can the UK have in this truly global problem that will effect every single person on the planet?

Canadian woman Lost & Found in Nevada after 7 weeks.

2011-05-16T22:26:00.005+01:00

Landrock Survival Training, Devon, UK
http://www.landrock-training.com

Canadian Woman Missing Since March Rescued in Nevada

Published May 07, 2011

| Associated Press

ELKO, Nev. -- A rescued Canadian woman who survived for seven weeks on water and trail mix after getting stranded in a remote part of Nevada was recovering Saturday as a search for her still-missing husband moved forward.

Hunters on Friday spotted the van of Albert and Rita on a logging road in Elko County in northeastern Nevada, according to a statement by the Baker City, Ore., police, who had searched for the couple.

The Chretiens disappeared in late March during a trip to Las Vegas.

The 56-year-old woman told her son, Raymond Chretien, that her 59-year-old husband set off for help on foot a few days after their van got stuck in mud and that was the last she saw of him.

"We're stunned," Raymond Chretien told The (Portland) Oregonian in a telephone interview. "We haven't fully digested it. This is a miracle."

Officer Dan Moskaluk, spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia, said the woman was at a hospital and reportedly walking around.

"Her family said she lived off water and small amounts of trail mix," losing 20-30 pounds during the ordeal, Moskaluk told The Associated Press.

The Elko County Sheriff's office said it was coordinating a search for the Chretien.

The couple left their Penticton, British Columbia, home on March 19, and reached Baker City in eastern Oregon that afternoon, where they were captured on a store's surveillance camera.

Raymond Chretien told The Oregonian they made it to Nevada later that day, sightseeing on back roads when their van got stuck in mud. Three days later, Albert Chretien set out on foot.

"They got turned around off the main road that they should have been on," Moskaluk said.

Officials said weather over the past month in that area has included snow, rain and chilly temperatures.

"I don't believe they were prepared for winter weather," Raymond Chretien said. "They don't go camping."

The Chretiens were reported missing when they didn't return home March 30.

The RCMP, Baker City police and other agencies mounted a search in April but failed to turn up any sign.

Moskaluk described it as an extensive search covering 3,000 square miles "from March 31 onward."

He said the family is well regarded in Penticton and operates a heavy equipment excavation business.

Raymond Chretien said his mother doubts whether she would have made it three more days. She had been keeping a journal to let her family know what had happened.

Her son says she immediately apologized for the anguish she caused him, his two brothers and other relatives.

"She felt extremely bad for us all," he said.

Wilderness Survival & Bushcraft weekend. 28/29 May. Devon

2011-05-09T20:07:00.003+01:00

Wilderness Weekend

Beginning at 9am on a Saturday and finishing at 4pm on the Sunday, the Wilderness Weekend covers all of the principles (Protection, Location, Acquisition of Water/Food, Navigation) including:

- Survival Psychology
- Camp Craft
- Kit selection and packing
- Emergency Preparation
- Fire lighting (in any weather)
- Natural / Improvised shelters
- Traps / Snares / Wilderness Fishing
- Small game tracking, despatching and preparation
- Signalling (ground to air / ground to ground)
- Water sourcing, filtration & purification
- Improvised navigation, including astral navigation and use of natural signs.

Over the course of the weekend, you will have the chance to put together all these skills to build your own shelter using resources you can expect to find in the natural environment. Having built your home for the night, you will enjoy dinner in the open air, next to an open fire, with plenty of opportunity to swap stories and ask more questions of your instructor. You will be given a survival tin to use and take away with you. This is a very hands-on course and students should be prepared to walk distances of up to 5 miles as well as work at a constant rate throughout both days.

Sat/Sun 28/29 May 2011, Stallcombe Wood, Devon

Landrock Survival Training Newsletter #1

2011-04-26T21:56:00.000+01:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the first Landrock Survival Training Newsletter. Please forgive the very 'bland' nature of this first one. We are putting together our all-singing, all dancing newsletter to be sent out soon enough but wanted to get out there as soon as we could and make the most of the fantastic (albeit pretty unseasonal and slightly worrying) weather that we are enjoying at this time.

After a year settling in to the beautiful Devon countryside after a move from some equalling tranquil Hampshire woodlands, Landrock Survival Training is now fit and raring to go.

Taking in some of the most breath-taking scenery in the UK, LST now conducts demanding survival courses across Dartmoor as well as Introduction and Novice courses within a purpose-built setting close to Woodbury Common. Our instructors (John and Antony) are also getting out and about to private sessions throughout southern UK and spreading the survival word.

Take a look at the website at http://www.landrock-training.com for details of courses that we have carried out and those still to come. In fact, we are running a COMPETITION right now for a FREE Wilderness Weekend course on the weekend of 11/12 June, to be held here in East Devon. To enter the competition, please visit the site and enter your details on the Contact page. Of course, if you have already undertaken one of our courses, please feel free to enter or pass on the details to someone else who might want to give it a go.

We had taken a break from our Hampshire site for a while but I am pleased to say that we should be back up and running there by September this year. From then on we should be working hard to bring regular courses to both the Lords Wood (Hants) site and to our sites in Devon.

So what should you expect from these newsletters in future? Hopefully, a mix of practical survival skills for you to take away, motivating stories of heroic (and not so heroic) survival as well as competitions and opinion on world events that might just affect you and I.

All the best for whatever the future holds and I hope to see you soon!

John

John Hayward
Instructor
Landrock Survival Training
http://www.landrock-training.com

Survival Skill: Water Purification

2011-04-14T11:50:00.002+01:00

Water Filtration and Purification

First, keep in mind that if you suspect the water has ANY chemical contamination then it must be discarded immediately. This includes surface run-off from a farm, oil, sewage.....

Second, it must be a 'freshwater' source, not sea water. (I'll come to that later).

You are looking to perform two actions to make water potable. The first is filtration, the second is purification. Filtration is to remove anything that makes the water not look like pure water (in simple terms). Suspensions, sediments, floaters, anything that makes it cloudy....anything that isn't actually 'dissolved'.

To make a simple yet effective filter, construct the following:

- Find a 2lt coke bottle (with lid!), pierce a hole in the lid and screw on.
- Cut the base of the bottle away. (keep the bit you've chopped off and use it as a collection device!)
- place a screwed up piece of tight woven cotton (denim works) tight in to the lid of the upturned bottle. Keep the bottle upturned now.
- Fill about 2 inches with wood ash.
- Fill about 2 inches with small charcoal.
- Fill about 2 inches with larger charcoal.
- Fill about 2 inches with sand.
- Fill about 1 inch with pebbles.
- Fill the rest with Sphagnam Moss / clean cotton clothing.

With the ingredients here, you will remove anything right down in to the larger micron-size particles. Pass your water through a number of times until you see clear water come through.

This is NOT yet ready. You may still have bacteria/viruses present in the water.

Next, (if you have them), add a PuriTab, according to its specific instructions.

Finally, the ol' "rolling boil" for 5-10 minutes. Be careful not to actually boil too much - you don't want your water evaporating away.

The puritab option is an optional extra there but one I would definitely advocate.

So, seawater. There are two options here and both entail evaporation and distillation.

The simplest method that I have found for this is a decent solar-still.

- Dig a shallow hole in the ground (somewhere in direct sunlight)
- Place a container with your seawater (or other water source) at the bottom of the hole.
- Place an empty container inside the first container - being sure that the water does not spill in to your new container.
- Cover your hole with a sheet of clear plastic and weigh it down around the edges.
- Place a pebble in the middle of the sheet, directly over the second (empty) container.
- Leave for a while.

When you come back, you 'should' find that the water from the first container has evaporated, condensed on the underside of the plastic sheet and has run off in to the second container. You risk any water collected in your pot evaporating away too. It's not particularly efficient but it used the least resources.

A second method requires a metal container with a lid,a 2 foot piece of hose and a collection container.

- Pierce the lid of the container and instert one end of the hose.
- Fill any gaps around the hose-entrance with glue, pine resin (mixed with ash) or wax.
- Fill container with lid and replace lid (with hose now attached).
- Boil water over a fire.
- Steam from the water will travel along the hose, cooling as it does so and collecting as water at the far end in to the collection container.

If steam comes out of the hose instead of water, look for a method of cooling the hose, such as covering it in a layer of cold soil/mud.

So why do we not use chemically contaminated water? The problem is that firstly, you cannot filter out chemicals. Secondly, the boiling won't kill the chemicals (it may actually exacerbate their effects!). Finally, many chemicals have boiling points much lower than water - the solar still will cause the chemicals to evaporate and condense in to your container before the water.

Survival Skill: Route Cards

2011-04-14T11:47:00.001+01:00

Route Cards

A route card is a simple and structured way of breaking your route down in to manageable chunks, providing details of distances, bearings, grid references, and what to expect / see along the way.

By using a route card you negate the need for constant mapchecks, thus speeding up your movement along the route.

A well-prepared route card always you to visualise the route without having conducted a rehearsal. Once a rehearsal has been conducted, further details can be added to enhance it. A route card gives you a 'safety net' when you are tired / stressed / cold.

A sign of a good route card is to be able to give it to someone else, without a map, and for them to be able to follow it to the end.

How to make a Route Card

Please see the attached example of one I quickly prepared.

On a map, find the start point (A) and the end point (Z).
Draw your route between the two. I shall have to assume that you have some prior knowledge of route planning (am happy to cover that in a later example if necessary).
Break the route down in to 'legs'. These can be based on time, prominent features, difficulty, whatever you deem fit. Do not allow the legs to be any further than 1km unless you are following the same prominent path for 25km, for example. Even then, break it down for breaks.
On your table (see example) start with the grid of the beginning of the leg, the distance from A to B (end of first leg) and grid of B.
Using the map, carefully study the route from A to B. Note everything that the map tells you - every twist and turn (1:25000 maps are better for this although 1:50000 is adequate). Note prominent buildings, structures, roads, permanent features first. Note contours, ascent and descent.
Also note what you can see at a distance and at what bearing - be aware that the weather may proclude you from seeing these things on the day - they are just an aid.
Note semi-permanent features such as woodblocks, dirt tracks, bridleways, etc - these may change over time and should not be relied upon.
In the remarks column, note the state of the leg and whether or not it is suitable for vehs/foot.

Survival Skill: Edibility Test

2011-04-14T11:42:00.001+01:00

The Ediblity Test

There may come a time when you are so desperate for food that you begin looking to the greenery around you. Many edible plants are well-known and easily foraged. We know from experience what we can and can't eat. If we don't know, we look to books and the internet.

So what happens when we're in unfamiliar surrounds with no comms?

You need a way to test that a plant is not-poisonous. What is called the 'Edibility Test' should probably be called the 'not-poisonous test' because while a plant may not kill you, it may not provide any nutritional benefit either.

However, what I'll write here is a method to check that what you are looking at is fit for consumption.

There are a few ground rules:

1. Make sure there is enough of the plant to sustain you first. This is a long test and you need to ensure it's worth the wait!

2. You are to consume no food or water for 8 hours.

3. This does NOT work on Fungi. There is NO sure-fire test for Fungi.

Contact / Prepare / Taste

1. Eat / drink nothing for 8 hours.

2. Crush the part of the plant that you wish to eat, rub on sensitive part of the body such as underside of the wrist or inside the elbow. Wait for 15 minutes. If there is any reaction, get rid of it.

3. Crush the same part of the plant and touch it to the side of the mouth. Wait for 15 mins. If there is any reaction, get rid of it.

4. Prepare the same part of the plant in a way that you would want to eat it; boil it, wave it over a fire, roast it, etc... or just leave it raw. The point here is that cooking can change the properties of the plant.

5. Place your sample in your mouth, do not chew, wait for 15 mins. If there is any reaction, get rid of it.

6. Place a fresh sample in your mouth and chew for 5 mins. Do not swallow. If there is any reaction, get rid of it.

7. Place a fresh sample in your mouth, chew it and swallow it. Wait 8 hours.

If, after all of this time (almost 17 hrs), there is no reaction then collect it, prepare it and eat it.

I repeat though, this DOES NOT work for Fungi. There is NO test for Fungi.

BRICS Said to Seek End to West’s Monopoly on Leadership of World Bank, IMF

2011-04-14T09:36:00.000+01:00

In my inbox this morning I came across an article (see below). It outlines the staging of a meeting between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (emerging financial markets) with a view to pressurising the IMF in to opening up their leadership and heirarchy to increased representation from developing and emerging nations. On various forums discussing this, I found some 'authoritative' articles explaining how this was a bad thing, how it would result in super-power struggles and about how it is just an example of China trying to take the place of the USA as the global dominant super-power, resulting in another cold-car. Without going in to the 3 facets that make up a 'power' (Economic, Political & Military), I have outlined my views below.

The article can be found at:
BRICS Said to Seek End to West’s Monopoly on Leadership of World Bank, IMF
By Andre Soliani - Apr 13, 2011

Emerging nations have been pushing on the door of the US and Europe in financial terms for a very long time. The assessment made above about the IMF effectively 'neutering' their economic development is a valid point and only serves to enhance the global requirement for BRIC even further. The economic super-powers (USA and EU) have stagnated. The recession we are still suffering from is as a direct result of massive interdependence between too few markets; a collapse of one pillar brings down the whole house. What we need is a bigger network with other pillars to fall back on in the event of a shock in one area. Opening up markets and allowing ermerging nations to flourish can only be a good thing. With strong economies comes balance, not war. The Cold-War was a result of mistrust and direct competition. Mans' natural wariness and greed means that we only share money with people we trust. If we open up markets and allow other nations to come to the fore then we enhance that trust globally. With economic ties there is less likely to be direct 'super-power' competition in the way of the cold-war; you don't fight the people who hold your money. China already know this. Their underwriting of vast quantities of US debt over the last 5 years means that they are secure in most senses of the word. It also brought global stability. The USA was able to reinforce its economy at short notice and China will make money on the interest for the money it has loaned. There won't be a kaboom. China isn't trying to impose itself as a super-power to rival the USA. The world will keep turning and BRIC nations coming to the fore will only serve to open up previously untapped resources and markets.

The question for the UK in an expanding global market is.....what can we offer?

Survival Training Tips

2011-04-13T17:41:00.001+01:00

As I go along with my rants and diatribe I also hope to add in a few survival training tips and ideas.

I'll start with giving a big-up to a recent Wild Foods Foraging course that I went on in South Devon.
Courtesy of Robin Harford at EatWeeds.co.uk we took a 2 hr walk through the South East Devon countryside and were introduced to over 25 plants that on any other day we would have walked past. Having sampled each one and been told how to prepare / use each one for different functions, I now have a brand new, free, larder to choose from. While green, environmentally friendly and everything tree-hugging, it is also a fantastic way to genuinely supplement your diet in these financially austere times. For the cost of a lunch in Exeter I am now able to forage and add to the self-sustainability that we should all be looking towards.

And so it begins....

2011-04-13T11:15:00.000+01:00

Peak Oil, Rising Floodwaters, Global Food Shortages, "the Libyans!", Space Piracy and the Zombie Apocalypse....let's face it, the world is going to change. How prepared are you for what is to come? Have you even thought about it? Having read through pages and pages of forums and blogs, I've decided to write my own. Far from being a naysayer and doom-mongering pleb, I intend pushing out my own opinion based on at least some level of analysis and common sense. Having spent a great deal of time rising through the military ranks and having had jobs across the globe in all manner of locations, I hope to bring some sense of decorum to some of the wilder views and end of the world visions out there. There are so many survivalist forums out there 'promoting' TEOTWAWKI (The End of the World as We Know It) with some pretty horrifying scare stories; tales of radiation from Japan threatening farming in the UK, how the Libyan diaspora within the UK is the next big terrorist threat because of our actions overseas, even claims that yellowstone is about to erupt and engulf the earth in clouds of rock and debris. Whatever the next 'big thing', I aim to take it apart and just lend a calming word. If there is an issue that you would like to be looked at, please let me know. It's true though, Zombies will get you. Landrock Survival Training