Welcome to
Where YOU can learn to survive!
ASK Big John
Do you have questions about survival gear? Or techniques? Or other equipment? Or maybe you have a question covering some other aspect of survival. Just send your questions to bigjohn64@q.com
Q: Hi, Just dropped over and
looked at your website. It's been awhile since I last looked and you've
done a LOT of changes. Looks good, good content. Thanks for making this
site available.
One question, you used to have part of a novel you'd written on your
site. Do you plan on bringing back this feature? I read the first
chapter or two on the old site, but can't remember the title. It was a
good read, but I never got to finish it.
Once more, thank you for this site.
Paul
A:Hey Paul, The novel is "The Roacherian
Effect". I was shot in the head (and the right arm, left shoulder and
lower back) before I finished the final edit of the book. I haven't even
LOOKED at it since then. Let me think about the possibility of posting
it and how much work it would take even without doing the final edit.
I'm concerned about the amount of work only because I have quite a bit
on my plate right now and don't want to say I'm going to do something I
can't. I'll let you and the other readers know ASAP. Regards, Big John
Q: Hi Big John. I notice in the book "Your Emergency/Survival Kit" that it says I should wear my LBE (Load Bearing Equipment) all the time, but when I've tried wearing it while hiking I've found that it's really uncomfortable trying to have the waistband on my backpack strapped around the canteen's and all that other stuff. How do I solve this?
TM
Confused and Uncomfortable
A: TM. Everything in this game is a bit of a tradeoff. But there is an answer to this one that works pretty well. First, adjust your pack so you're carrying it as high on your back/waist as is comfortable without your LBE on. Then let out the straps on your LBE so that the gear is riding low on your hips and just below your backpack when you put it on and fasten the waistband. Don't fasten the web belt on the LBE or you'll find yourself restricting your leg movement - don't worry though, it won't fall off. If you've made sure everything is fastened in properly and not making any noise or hanging loose you should be able to move over any sort of terrain with little discomfort. Trial and error are the only way to fine tune this system to work best for you, so get out and do a lot of hiking wearing all your equipment just as you'd have to in a real situation. In time everything will start feeling like a part of you as you adjust to the load and become more familiar with where everything is on your gear.
Thanks for the question and good luck to you in the future. Big John
Q: Why should I worry about this "survival" stuff? I mean, isn't that what the government is for? To help take care of us in emergencies?
Not Afraid
A: Not Afraid - This could be a long answer or a short one. I'll give you the short one. Remember 9-11? The government is "supposed" to protect us from that sort of thing, right? Wrong. There is NO POSSIBLE WAY for our government (or any other) to protect all it's citizens from this sort of attack or nearly any other sort of attack. Even your local police can't protect you from harm. It's just physically and economically impossible. Not Afraid? Neither am I. Nor do I spend all my time imitating a large Australian flightless bird with my head buried in the sand. If I want "protection" I've got to supply it for myself. So do you.
What's preventing you from being victimized right now? Laws? Our prisons are overflowing with inmates who could care less about laws. Many of them are repeat offenders so it's hard to say that the threat of prison prevents them from breaking the law and victimizing our citizens. I think you'll find that the terrorists and many heads of government in other countries aren't any different from the inmates in our own prison system. Heck, even in our own government! You expect them to protect you from themselves? Think again.
Our police? In the vast majority of cases they can only respond AFTER the crime has been committed. I was a cop. As much as I wanted to I was totally unable to undo the damage done to innocent citizens by evil people. I was a soldier. As much as I wanted to I KNEW YEARS AGO that we wouldn't be able to defend this country against attacks like 9-11.
Protection provided by our government? Ideally you and I are the government of this country. You and I are responsible for ourselves. Since 9-11 the government has done a great job of keeping terrorists at bay in this country but they can't do everything. Can a policeman, or even an entire police force, protect every citizen every hour of every day? No. 99% of the time they can at best only react after a crime has been committed. They don't have the recourses to do very much more. Believe me, they would if they could. Look around you and think about how vulnerable our streets, cities, states and country really is. Then pack your kit and be ready to take care of yourself - just in case.
Enough rant. Thanks for the question and God Bless.
Big John Delavan