http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/2015/08/hows-your-local-supply-preparedness.html
Folks this is a must read. Sums up a lot of the what and why of what we do.
Required Homework
As we continue to grow this blog, we’ll be doing a lot of discussion on what’s needed. We’ll be using the classes of supply to identify those items.
For the sake of the discussion, lets use a few ground rules.
This is a brainstorming exercise. There isn’t necessarily any right or wrong.
Lets do our initial planning unconstrained. In other words lets identify requirements without thinking about moving it, storing it, or even knowing how to use it. For example, we can probably all agree that some mechanism for resupplying our bullets is needed. A reloading setup is a solution. We should identify it as a possible need, even if we don’t have one or we don’t know how to use one. Those are later issues.
As we come up with the “what” we need, we’ll come up with the “how much” we need and how to replenish our stocks as later issues.
Let’s start with Class I.
Let the cussing and discussing begin!
Classes of Supply
The military breaks down all of it’s supply requirements by class. I think it will easier for our planning to use this class system. It will help give us an orderly way to account for all the things we’ll need and want and help us not forget something useful.
| Class | Description |
| Class I – Rations | Subsistence (food and drinking water) |
| Class II – Expendables | Individual equipment |
| Class III – POL | Petroleum, fuels, lubricants, hydraulic and insulating oils, preservatives, liquids and gases, bulk chemical products, coolants, deicer and antifreeze compounds, components, and additives of petroleum and chemical products, and coal. |
| Class IV | Construction materials, including installed equipment and all fortification and barrier materials. |
| Class V – Ammunition | Ammunition of all types, bombs, explosives, mines, fuzes, detonators, pyrotechnics, missiles, rockets, propellants, and associated items. |
| Class VI – Personal demand items | Health and hygiene products, soaps and toothpaste, writing material, snack food, beverages, cigarettes, batteries, alcohol, and cameras |
| Class VII – Major end items such as launchers, tanks, mobile machine shops, and vehicles. | |
| Class VIII – Medical | Medical material including repair parts peculiar to medical equipment. |
| Class IX – Repair parts |
We’re Not Alone
One Last Intro Note
We welcome folks who want to not just respond, but folks who want to author entries.
There are three basic categories that we’ll be creating and exploring.
The first is self and family logistics. This will be info for preparing for you, your family and your extended family. Special considerations need to be discussed for extended families that are not close by.
The second is for tribe logistics. Tribe preparation isn’t just “adding more” to the family logistics. It’s harder to plan for but potentially it offers some big advantages.
The third is for neighborhood logistics. Friends turn into enemies very quickly when they get sick, wet and hungry.
While we think this stuff has to be planned for, we don’t claim to have all the answers.
Goals of the Blog
My plans with this blog are to help us come to grips with III logistics planning.
We’ll be soliciting input from folks that have come up with the “smart” solutions.
We want to discuss both planning for ourselves and families, planning for the “tribe” and planning for the extended neighborhood.
There are lots of prepper pages out there that do much of this. Sadly a lot of it is based on bugging out to our special “hide” position or moving off the grid ahead of time. We want to make this a site that is practical for the rest of us. Folks that probably will bug in. Folks that have families that have special needs and concerns. Folks that have more time than money.
We want to come up with real world, real solutions to concerns that we all should have. A three day bug out bag isn’t going to cut it.
More Introduction
We need to explore the various aspects of logistics seriously.
Some things can be learned.
Food and field sanitation can be practiced. There are lots of groups and organizations that actually do this regularly. The Salvation Army, the Red Cross, and lots of churches have mobile kitchens that they deploy all over the place in support of catastrophes. Find them and volunteer and learn.
Metal fabrication doesn’t happen as much as it used to, but there are still folks and shops out there that do it. Cultivate a relationship with them.
If you want to learn how to make things go bang, start practicing with fireworks. There are plenty of sites out there that will sell the equipment and provide the knowledge how to do it. Introduce this skill to your metal folks.
Electronic repair is getting to be a lost art. The folks that were trained in it are getting old and it’s just not trained anymore. If you can’t train someone on your team, talk to the old timers and find out what common parts should be stockpiled for future swapping.
Weapons repair is getting to be a lost art too. Gunsmiths are getting old. If you can’t get this skill on your team, do the same thing that you did with the electronics. Start stockpiling common parts.
Obviously on the electronics and weapons, a decision in your team to have common equipment will make your life easier. A mini 14 might be your favorite, but if the rest of the team has AR-15s, you might want to switch. Radios are getting cheaper and cheaper every day. It might be a good time for the team to go with a common radio.
Finding a specialist for each aspect of logistics is unrealistic for most teams. Using the old “one is none and two is one” mantra finding two is even more problematic. Too often when it looks too hard to do, we ignore it.
There is a solution for all of us.
It starts with figuring out what are requirements are!
The Army breaks supply down into classes.
Should Be the First Entry!
A recent post regarding mass feeding of groups caught a lot of attention. Most of the responses were positive but many were critical. Logistics is something that we need to address in the III community.
For years now the focus in our community has been on tactical preparation. Heck many of the III web sites actively support those who provide tactical training. Tactical training certainly plays a role in preparing for what might happen.
Some of the sites talk about the historical efforts of the OSS and our current SF teams. Yes, motivated and trained groups of folks certainly have and will continue to achieve a lot. What is often ignored is that those groups had and have the huge advantage of government logistical support via air drop or other means. Personal experience shows that it’s easier to train and “buy” loyalty when you are feeding, arming and paying the folks!
Lately there seems to be a welcome addition to the tactical training in the guise of communications training and intelligence preparation. Both very needed and it’s great that people are recognizing that there is more to the fight than merely pulling a trigger. Sparks and Culper are to be applauded for their efforts on our behalf.
Logistics Thoughts
Getting adequate amounts of food is going to be a huge challenge. But it isn’t enough. Knowing how to prepare it, dispense it and maintain field sanitation is critical. Recipes that depend on #10 cans probably isn’t enough. What is the largest group you’ve ever had to feed day in and day out?
Who in your team knows how to fix vehicles? And I mean old school mechanics who aren’t merely parts swappers. Travel to India, Russia or Mexico sometime and you’ll find plenty of shops with folks who can fix almost any vehicle problem.
Do you have folks on your team that can fabricate parts for your broken weapons? Check out the videos of the current fights in the middle east and discover folks that are not as sophisticated as us making improvised weapons, bombs, etc. in a garage. And I’m not talking about 3-D printers!
Repairing electronics is not as easy as it sounds. Back in the day electronic smart folks could repair things. Nowadays, if parts are available, it’s pretty much all parts swapping. Does your team have electronics smart folks to repair and fabricate things?
fieldtrains 