Tactical walking tips for bugging in or out

[NorthernRaider]

Tactical walking tips for bugging in or out
© 2011Northern Raider

BEFORE SETTING OFF
Try on your Rucksack and Jacket, Jump up and down on the spot, if your kit rattles or bangs re-pack rucksack until its silent.

Ensure shiny items like watches, ear rings, earphones, belt buckles are covered up or taped over.
Make sure your specs and shades are the dull, matt coloured frames, not the shiny ones.

Do NOT take hand luggage, you must keep both hands free for climbing, roping, using tools etc

Keep your EDC essentials on your person not in your rucksack (Knife, Compass, Lighter, Flashlight, Multi Tool, Bandana, Hats, Gloves, Watch, Shades etc) should you have to abandon your rucksack.

Daytime departure, take a look out the windows from well within the room moving to the right of the room to look left down the street, and vice versa. Do not stand in the window and silhouette yourself. Ensure as best possible departure will go unnoticed.

Nightime departure, extinguish all lights and fires before looking out of the windows, move slowly at night as human eyes detect movement more than detail in the dark. Ensure as best possible departure will go unnoticed.

Turn off cell phones, pagers etc before leaving.

Use simple hand signals to relay information to other family members, raised arm means stop, raised arm and a crouching stance means stop and take cover, arm extended to left means move towards the left, arm extended to right means move to right. Keep the signals few in number and very simple.
READY TO GO

Turn out lights if it is dark, open door or window PARTIALLY and LISTEN for threats.
Send out one person to scan the immediate area for concealed threats.

If area good to go rest of group to follow, silently and at least 3 to 4 ft apart (6 to 8 feet if tactical situation demands more defensive stance).
WALKING

Walk where possible in the shadows, look up for hazards in surrounding buildings, Look down to avoid items that may make noise like twigs, gravel or broken glass.

Pause frequently to listen, you generally will identify more threats by sound than vision, breaking glass, raised voices, gun shots, vehicle engines, running feet, barking dogs etc

Watch what nature does, if you see a flock of birds, or a rabbit, or deer for example suddenly take flight that tells you something has frightened it, and it may NOT have been your party.

Look left and right SLOWLY in a steady scanning motion, Human eyes detect motion more than shapes when its dark and you have more detector rods and cones in the sides of your eyes than you do at the back. Scanning side to side as you walk you will detect MOVEMENT before shape.

The last man in the group needs to keep stopping and quietly observing the rear to see if you are being followed.

Avoid using flashlights to navigate with, rely on your own night visions, Human eyes take 35 minutes to adapt to the dark but only seconds to lose night vision if a fool turns on a flashlight. Not to mention the risk of advertising your position to the whole area if you do use a flashlight.

Where possible avoid public places and spaces where cops, troops or thugs may gather, try and stay in the shadows.

Avoid districts where scavengers may good looking for food, loot etc

When passing through hilly neighbourhoods never walk along hilltops or ridgelines, stay under the ridgeline and don’t silhouette your self.

If faced with an obstacle such as a hedgerow or wall try always to go round or under it, not over the top or through a gate because again you are just exposing your position.

In the short term most highway and rail bridges are really places to avoid, both official check points and predators WILL target them. Look for alternatives.

RESTING & EATING
No cooking fires during the day unless you can guarantee you wont create any smoke.

When cooking at night site the cooker in a hollow or hole so it does not give off light giving away your position, Beware of the odour of cooking food also giving away your position.

If in a group ONE PERSON COOKS, the others spread out and keep watch for approaching scavengers, Silence is golden as you will hear them approaching long before you see them.

You need to remember the cook will probably lose his night vision so if you have to bug out someone will need to help him until his eyes adjust.

Ideally eat in shifts, half eating half keeping watch, pack away camp cooker etc BEFORE eating incase you have to bug out in a hurry.

Take every scrap of rubbish with you or bury it, fill in your cooking hole / fire pit, leave no clue to your passing through.
SLEEPING

We all need rest and the young and elderly need more rest than healthy adults, you all must sleep when possible. Human biorhythms run in two hour cycles, so to get the full benefit of sleep people need to be fully asleep in two hour sections. This really means in a stressed situation after a days bugging out each member will need three hours in his sleeping bag, and hour to wind down / distress and two hours sleep. So whilst at least one person stands watch, the others should rest in three hour sections. All gear must remain packed in rucksacks and boots etc kept close to hand in case you have to make a swift and stealthy exit from your campsite.

[Skean Dhude]

An option that many take is to rest and eat during the day and only travel at night. Cooking without creating smoke of course. That is my intention where I have to evacuate.

[NorthernRaider]

(23 November 2011, 16:13)Skean Dhude Wrote: An option that many take is to rest and eat during the day and only travel at night. Cooking without creating smoke of course. That is my intention where I have to evacuate.

An option not always available to all of us, IE is a mob is working its way through your neighbourhood looting each house as they go, or perhaps a spreading wildfire etc.

As for cooking I've started blagging those food heating sachet things of my military friends, TRUETECH INC FLAMELESS RATION HEATERS I think they are called.

[bigpaul]

if we (OH and myself) have to Bug Out we will walk for a few hours in the early morning, then rest up during the heat of the day and walk a bit more in the late afternoon, being a couple of oldies and the OH has a replacement hip we wont be able to walk as far or as fast as some of you youngsters!

[bigpaul]

having just purchased a couple of very expensive(well i think they are) hybrid bicycles i think any bug out by us will be by bicycle( thats if the car is not an option for any reason), we have been out on them this morning and we reckon because of our age and wife's hip replacement we can walk about 2MPH but we can cycle 4MPH...maybe more as we get fitter!

[The Local Ned]

One good tip for moving during dark , very low light.

This tip is also useful when on foot , but can be a lifesaver sometimes when in vehicles -

When moving through wooded areas , it's better to look up and ahead than straight ahead....watch for the gaps in the canopy of the treeline , follow the direction the gaps take - it should keep you on the road - the path or road will cut into the trees and there will be a gap overhead where the lack of underlying trees means less canopy - follow it to follow the route of the path/road.

[Scythe13]

(23 November 2011, 17:02)NorthernRaider Wrote: As for cooking I've started blagging those food heating sachet things of my military friends, TRUETECH INC FLAMELESS RATION HEATERS I think they are called.

You could just buy a magnesium strip, shred it up, then mix it with water. The magnesium strip is basically what the military cookers are. Was taught that stuff at school....we had one of the coolest science teachers ever!!!

[Scythe13]

Also, if you use a red filter on your torches, you keep your night vision. The same goes with cooking, get or make some red filter goggles so that you can only see that spectrum of colour. Granted it's quite inconvenient, but at least you can see what's going on when the flames are all out.

[bigpaul]

(7 May 2012, 06:39)Scythe13 Wrote: Also, if you use a red filter on your torches, you keep your night vision. The same goes with cooking, get or make some red filter goggles so that you can only see that spectrum of colour. Granted it's quite inconvenient, but at least you can see what's going on when the flames are all out.

good tip about red filters, i remember NR saying a long time ago you could use either red nail polish or even a red sweety wrapper!!

[Paul]

(23 November 2011, 10:35)NorthernRaider Wrote: Tactical walking tips for bugging in or out
© 2011Northern Raider

Why have you ©'d this NR?
Effectively no one can copy this and add it to their survival notes.
Or are you going to sell this information for profit at a later date?