Retreat (survivalism)

Template:Globalize/US 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, James Wesley Rawles, 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. Browne began offering seminars on how to survive a monetary collapse in 1967, with Don Stephens, an architect, providing input on how to build and equip a remote survival retreat. He provided 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 (later renamed Personal Finance). The newsletter included a continuing section on personal preparedness by Stephens for several years. It promoted expensive seminars around the US on the same cautionary topics. 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" 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.

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. Following Tappan's death in 1980, Karl Hess took over publishing the newsletter, eventually renaming it Survival Tomorrow.

1980s

Survivalist retreat books of the 1980s were typified by the 1980 book Life After Doomsday 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, Rawles on Retreats and Relocation by James Wesley Rawles, and Life After Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Survive in Today's World by Bruce D. Clayton.

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.

Economic troubles emerging from the credit collapse triggered by the 2007 US subprime mortgage lending fiasco have prompted a wider cross-section of the populace to get prepared and establish retreats. James Wesley Rawles, the editor of SurvivalBlog was quoted by the New York Times in April of 2008 that "interest in the survivalist movement 'is experiencing its largest growth since the late 1970s'”. He also stated that his blog's conservative core readership has been supplemented with "an increasing number of stridently green and left-of-center readers."

Common retreat locale parameters

Common retreat locale selection parameters include light population density, plentiful water, arable soil, good solar exposure for gardening and photovoltaics, situation above any flood plains, and a diverse and healthy local economy. Fearing rioting, looting and other unrest, many survivalists advocate selecting retreat locales that are more than one tank of gasoline away from any major metropolitan region. Properties that are not in "channelized areas" or on anticipated "refugee lines of drift" are also touted.

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.

Because of its low population density and diverse economy, James Wesley Rawles and Joel Skousen both recommend the Intermountain west region of the United States, as a preferred region for relocation and setting up retreats. Although it has higher population density, Mel Tappan recommended southwestern Oregon, primarily because it is not down-wind of any envisioned nuclear targets in the United States.

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. Retreat building corners with this simplified implementation of a Vauban Star are now called "Cooper Corners" by James Wesley Rawles, in honor of Jeff Cooper.

In both his book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation and in his survivalist novel, Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, Rawles describes in great detail retreat groups "upgrading" brick or other masonry houses with steel reinforced window shutters and doors, the excavation of anti-vehicular ditches, warded gate locks, constructing concertina wire obstacles and fougasses, and setting up listening post/observation posts (LP/OPs.)

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 and Rawles.

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.”

Survivalist retreats worldwide

Survivalist retreats, both formal and informal are popular worldwide, most visibly in Australia, , Canada, France, Sweden,New Zealand and the United States.

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 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.

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.

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 Postman 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 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.

See also

• Survival kit
• Survivalism
• Intentional Community
• Blast shelter
• Fallout shelter

Further reading

The text of some books discussing survivalist retreats can be found online:

• Fallout Protection (1961)
• Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Kearny (1979, updated 1987 version) ISBN 0-942487-01-X
• Survival Under Atomic Attack (1950)
• Tappan on Survival by Mel Tappan (1981) ISBN 0-916172-04-X
• Textfiles.com archive of articles that circulated online during the BBS era, includes several Kurt Saxon articles from his old newsletter: Article archives