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A retreat is a commonly used term for a place of refuge for those in the Survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations (BOLs). Survivalist retreats are intended to be self-sufficient and are generally located in lightly-populated rural areas.

History

While fallout shelters have been advocated since the 1950s, dedicated self-sufficient survivalist retreats have been advocated only since the mid-1970s, The survival retreat concept has been touted by a number of influential Survivalist writers including Ragnar Benson, Bruce D. Clayton, Jeff Cooper, Cresson Kearny, Howard Ruff, Kurt Saxon, Joel Skousen, Don Stephens, and Mel Tappan.

1960s

With the increasing inflation of the 1960s and the impending US monetary Devaluation (predicted by Harry Browne in his 1970 book How You Can Profit from the Coming Devaluation), as well as the continuing concern with possible nuclear exchanges between the US and the Soviet Union, and the increasing vulnerability of urban centers to supply shortages and other systems failures, a number of primarily conservative and Libertarian thinkers began suggesting that individual preparations would be wise. Mr. Browne began offering seminars on how to survive a monetary collapse in 1967, with Don Stephens, an architectural design innovator, providing input on how to build and equip a remote survival retreat and providing a copy of his original Retreater's Bibliography(1967) for each seminar participant.

Articles on the subject appeared in such small-distribution Libertarian publications as The Innovator and Atlantis Quarterly. It was also from this period that Robert D. Kephart began publishingInflation Survival Letter ^[1](later renamed Personal Finance). The newsletter included a continuing section on personal preparedness by Stephens for several years. It promoted high-ticket seminars around the US on the same cautionary topics, in which Stephens participated, along with James McKeever and other defensive investing, "hard money" advocates.

1970s

In 1975, Kurt Saxon began publishing a newsletter called The Survivor, which advocated moving to lightly-populated regions to "lay low" during a socio-economic collapse, and setting up fortified enclaves for defense against what he termed "killer karavans"^[2] of looters from urban areas.

In 1976, survival bookseller and author Don Stephens in Washington (author of The Survivor's Primer & Up-dated Retreater's Bibliography, 1976) popularized the term "retreater" and advocated relocating to a rural retreat when society breaks down.

Writers such as Howard Ruff warned about socio-economic collapse and recommended moving to lightly-populated farming regions, most notably in his 1979 book How to Prosper During the Coming Bad Years, a best-seller in 1979.

For a time in the 1970s, the terms "survivalist" and "retreater" were used interchangeably. The term "retreater" eventually fell out of favor.^[3]

Perhaps the most important newsletter on survivalism and survivalist retreats in the 1970s was the Personal Survival ("P.S.") Letter (circa 1977-1982) published by Mel Tappan, who also authored the books Survival Guns and Tappan on Survival. The newsletter included columns from Tappan himself as well from Jeff Cooper, Al J. Venter, Bill Pier, Bruce D. Clayton, Rick Fines, Nancy Mack Tappan, J.B. Wood, Dr. Carl Kirsch, Charles Avery, Karl Hess, Eugene A. Barron, Janet Groene, Dean Ing, Bob Taylor, Reginald Bretnor, C.G. Cobb, and several other writers, some under pen names. The majority of this newsletter revolved around selecting, constructing and logistically equipping survival retreats.^[4] Following Tappan's death in 1980, Karl Hess took over publishing the newsletter, eventually renaming it Survival Tomorrow.

In addition to hard copy newsletters, in the 1970s survivalists got their first online presence with BBS^[5] and Usenet forums dedicated to survivalism and survival retreats.

1980s

Survivalist retreat books of the 1980s were typified by the 1980 book Life After Doomsday^[6] by Bruce D. Clayton advocating survival retreats in locales that would minimize fallout and specially-constructing Blast shelters and/or Fallout shelters that would provide Fallout Protection in the event of a nuclear war.

1990s

Several books published in the 1990s offered advice on survival retreats and relocation. Some influential in survivalist circles are Survival Retreat: A Total Plan For Retreat Defense by Ragnar Benson, Strategic Relocation--North American Guide to Safe Places by Joel Skousen, and The Secure Home, (also by Skousen).

2000-present

In recent years, advocacy of survivalist retreats has had a strong resurgence after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001 and similar attacks in Bali, Spain, and London.

Several books published since 2000 advocate survival retreats and relocation. Some that have been particularly influential in survivalist circles are How to Implement a High Security Shelter in the Home by Joel Skousen, and Life After Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Survive in Today's World by Bruce D. Clayton.^[7]

Online survival websites, forums, and blogs discuss the best locales for survival retreats, how to build, fortify, and equip them, and how to form survivalist retreat groups.^[8]

Common retreat locale parameters

One of the key goals of retreats is to be self-sufficient for the duration of societal collapse. To that end, plentiful water, and arable soil are paramount considerations. But just behind these, comes isolated, defensible terrain. Typically, retreats do not want their habitation or structure jeopardized by being within line of sight of any major highway.

Retreat organization

Most survivalist retreats are organized by extended families, but some "group retreats" or "covenant communities" are formed along the lines of an Intentional Community.

Retreat architecture and security

Jeff Cooper popularized the concept of hardening retreats against small arms fire. In an article titled "Notes on Tactical Residential Architecture" in Issue #30 of P.S. Letter (April, 1982), Cooper suggested using the "Vauban Principle", wherein, projecting bastion corners would prevent miscreants from being able to approach a retreat's exterior walls in any blind spots.

Bruce D. Clayton and Joel Skousen have both written extensively on integrating fallout shelters into retreat homes, but they put less emphasis on ballistic protection and exterior perimeter security than Cooper.

Retreat logistics

Anticipating long periods of time without commerce in the future, retreat groups typically place a strong emphasis on logistics. They amass stockpiles of supplies for their own use, for charity, and for barter. Frequently cited key logistics for a retreat include long term storage food, common caliber ammunition, medical supplies, tools, gardening seed, and fuel. In an article titled "Ballistic Wampum" in Issue #6 of P.S. Letter (1979) Jeff Cooper wrote about stockpiling ammunition far in excess of his own needs, keeping the extra available to use for bartering.

In their books, Joel Skousen, Mel Tappan and Howard Ruff all emphasize the need to have a one year supply of storage food.

Even mainstream economist and financial adviser Barton Biggs is a proponent of well-stocked retreats. In his 2008 book Wealth, War and Wisdom, Biggs has a gloomy outlook for the economic future, and suggests that investors take survivalist measures. In the book, Biggs recommends that his readers should “assume the possibility of a breakdown of the civilized infrastructure.” he goes so far as to recommend setting up survival retreats: “Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food,” Mr. Biggs writes. “It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. Think Swiss Family Robinson. Even in America and Europe there could be moments of riot and rebellion when law and order temporarily completely breaks down.”^[9]

Survivalist retreats worldwide

Survivalist retreats, both formal and informal are popular worldwide, most visibly in Australia, ^[10], Canada^[11], France^[12], Sweden^[13],New Zealand and the United States^[14].

In fiction

Novels

Robert A. Heinlein featured survivalist retreats in some of his science fiction. Farnham's Freehold (1964) begins as a story of small group survivalist retreat in a nuclear war. Heinlein also wrote essays such as How to be a Survivor^[15] which provide advice on preparing for and surviving a nuclear war, including stocking a fallout shelter and retreat.

Malevil by French writer Robert Merle (1972) describes refurbishing a medieval castle, and its use as a survivalist stronghold in the aftermath of a full-scale nuclear war. The novel was adapted into a 1981 film directed by Christian de Chalonge and starring Michel Serrault, Jacques Dutronc, Jacques Villeret and Jean-Louis Trintignant [1].

Lucifer's Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven (1977) is about a cataclysmic comet hitting the Earth, and a group people struggling to survive the aftermath in southern California. Their retreat is an isolated mountain community, which they barricade from outsiders.

Pulling Through by Dean Ing (1983) is a novel that includes considerable detail on fallout shelter architecture and radiation effects.

The Postman by David Brin (1985) is set in a time after a pandemic plague and political fracture result in a complete collapse of society. Both the Holnists and the townsmen construct fortified retreats.

Wolf and Iron (1990) by Gordon Dickson describes a systemic societal collapse. The main character "GeeBee" builds and stocks and earth-sheltered retreat, using salvaged materials.

Television programs

Jericho (2006) is a TV series that portrays a small town in Kansas after a series of nuclear explosions across the United States. In the series, the character Robert Hawkins uses his prior planning and survival skills in preparation of the attacks. Most of the episodes center around the sudden collapse of American society resulting in a six way split of the country. The town usually must fight an outside enemy in order to preserve their food and supplies.

The BBC TV series Survivors from 1975-1977 suggested a UK view of survivalism with a small band of survivors emerging from a biological apocalypse. Following the success of the new series of Dr Who the BBC are rumoured to be looking at Terry Nation's other works and are considering a remake of the show.^[16]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008) is a science fiction show involving time travel with lead characters that take survivalist steps to prepare for, or possibly prevent, a future nuclear war. Some of the characters could definitely be described as a survivalists, and have survival retreat organizations.

Films

The 1962 movie Panic in the Year Zero starring Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon and Mary Mitchel portrays the Baldwin family's flight from the Los Angeles area to a cave in a rural location after a nuclear war between the US and the USSR.^[17]

The 1970 movie No Blade of Grass starring Nigel Davenport, based on the book by John Christopher, features a group of famine survivors attempting to reach a survivalist retreat that is owned by one of the main character's brother.^[18]

The 1983 movie The Survivors (film) is a parody of a group survival retreat, starring Robin Williams and Walter Matthau.^[19]

In the Tremors film and television franchise the character Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) is a self-admitted survivalist. In the first film he and his wife are preparing for social upheaval and have set up their home as a semi-fortified survivalist retreat.

The Postman, a movie based upon the above mentioned novel, depicts a post-apocalyptic future in America in which a survivalist militia preys on weaker communities. Some of these communities are organized and barricaded as large-scale retreats.

In Mad Max, a global oil shortage causes a total socioeconomic collapse and depopulation. The few scattered survivors in the Australian Outback are depicted fighting for survival, with precious "guzzoline" as their main object. The protagonist survivors are forced to flee their retreat when it is attacked by a large gang of mechanized looters.

In Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, the "Gyropilot" character played by Bruce Spence has an underground retreat with a secret entrance trapdoor beneath a railroad track.

In Terminator 2: Judgment Day John Connor's mother, Sarah Connor stores weapons in an underground shelter in the desert, as instructed by Kyle Reese, John's father, in preparation for an apocalypse precipitated by computerized machines.

In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines John Connor and his wife-to-be flee to a semi-abandoned 1960s-vintage deep underground Continuity of Government shelter just before a nuclear attack precipitated by computerized machines.

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 Anticipating long periods of time without commerce in the future, retreat groups typically place a strong emphasis on logistics.  They amass stockpiles of supplies for their own use, for charity, and for [[barter]]. Frequently cited  key logistics for a retreat include long term storage food, common caliber ammunition, medical supplies, tools, gardening seed, and fuel.  In an article titled "Ballistic Wampum" in Issue #6 of P.S. Letter (1979) [[Jeff Cooper]] wrote about stockpiling ammunition far in excess of his own needs, keeping the extra available to use for bartering.
-In their books, Joel Skousen, [[Mel Tappan]] and [[Howard Ruff]] all emphasize the need to have a one year supply of storage food.  Rawles recommends a two year supply, as well as storing non-hybrid ([[Open pollination|open pollinated]]) gardening seed.
+In their books, Joel Skousen, [[Mel Tappan]] and [[Howard Ruff]] all emphasize the need to have a one year supply of storage food.
 Even mainstream economist and financial adviser [[Barton Biggs]] is a proponent of well-stocked retreats. In his 2008 book ''Wealth, War and Wisdom'', Biggs has a gloomy outlook for the economic future, and suggests that investors take [[survivalist]] measures.  In the book, Biggs recommends that his readers  should “assume the possibility of a breakdown of the civilized infrastructure.” he goes so far as to recommend setting up survival retreats: “Your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food,” Mr. Biggs writes. “It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. Think Swiss Family Robinson. Even in America and Europe there could be moments of riot and rebellion when law and order temporarily completely breaks down.”<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/fashion/06survival.html</ref>