China Invades Taiwan - 24 Hour SHTF List

[JohnyMac]

It is a beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's and not a cloud in the sky.

Congress will be coming back from their recess in a week, just after the Labor Day weekend. Then the House will continue the debate over President Biden accused bribery scandal. By now, most Republicans are seeking impeachment under the grounds of traitorous conduct by the President.

It is lunch time, and you want to run a few errands and grab a quick happy meal before you return to work for the remainder of the day. You are half listening to the Dan Bongino radio program when his program is cut off and an announcer comes on with an important update.

He begins with, "The state Department has just reported that China has invaded Taiwan". 

The announcer continues...

"At 11 ?O clock eastern time, midnight tomorrow morning, China launched a bombing campaign on the island of Taiwan. Currently, it is being reported that Chinese troops are parachuting inland and landing on the beaches of Taiwan. President Biden will be making a speech to the nation at 8 'O clock this evening. We will now return you to your regular scheduled program."

You turn down the volume on the radio and start to think, "how does this affect my family? The country? My local MAG?"

As your mind races with all kinds of scenarios you think, "thank heavens my wife and I have put away 3-months of food for our family, based on 2,000 calories a day. But there are some holes we need to plug up if the SHTF."
 
What do I do now?

This question was posed to my local MAG at a group get-together, July 22, 2023.

Please keep in mind that this list is to augment or increase depth on the preps you already have in place. In theory, some of these items you should already have in your inventory, like a generator with appropriate extension cords and hook ups. Consequently, items like that were not listed during the brainstorming exercise with the group. This is their list. Please add to it using this thread. Thank you

Financial
   Go to an ATM and draw out as much cash as I can. We currently have one months? worth of expenses in cash at home but
        why deplete that stash.
   Call your wife or husband and tell them that they need to execute on the 24-hour SHTF list and what areas of the list to
        focus on.
   Using plastic for purchases, hold the cash you just withdrew from the bank as a backup in case businesses cease taking
       plastic.

Big Box Hardware Store
   Pick up a 55-gallon drum or two, blue food grade barrels for water storage. Don?t forget gate valves and silicone to aid in
        removing the water.
   Alternate heat source (s) like a kerosene heater and spare parts like the wick for the heater.
   Buy synthetic kerosene as it lasts longer than petroleum processed kerosene or if you are going to use petroleum
        kerosene buy the additive. This will allow your kerosene to have a longer shelf life.
   If needed, buy extra kerosene and gas containers.
   Pool shock. A little goes a long way.
   AAA, AA, C, D, 9-volt house batteries.
   55-gallon contractors plastic bags. These have multiple uses from storage to body bags.
   Cooking charcoal.
   Assorted sized tarps. Multiple uses.
   If available, empty sandbags.
   Seeds. Both heirloom and or hybrids.
   Gloves ? Leather and rubber.
   Propane tank if needed.
   Roll of visqueen to staple around windows to minimize effects from nuclear or bio warfare.
   Stapler supplies.
   Garden hose (s) you will need these to aid in filling up blue barrels.

Grocery Stores
   Food & Other Items
Partial List
High Carb Food...Sugar...Salt...Rice...Special Dietary needs like no wheat
Flour................. Yeast...Pasta...Instant Potatoes...Canned Meats
Unscented bleach..Zip lock bags...Witch Hazel...General hygiene products ? Men & women   
White and Apple cider vinegar...Soaps for all purposes...Rubbing alcohol...Hydrogen peroxide
Canned (Evaporated milk) and powdered milk...Coffee...Tea...Spices...Gallons Olive Oil (OO Does Not go rancid like vegetable or peanut can)      

Specialty Stores
   Dog, cat, chicken, etc. food
   Vehicle Oil
   Fuel and oil filters
   Car battery
   Deep cycle marine battery
   Solar Panels and a solar controller
   Ammunition (Think of Bartering. Does not need to be the same caliber (s) you are running)
   Reloading components
   Tobacco products (Think bartering buy in bulk at Smoking Joe?s)
   Liquor (Think bartering)
   15/15/15 or 10/10/10 fertilizer. 50-pound bag.
   Seeds (Yes again. Great bartering item)

Medicine
   Prescription Pharmaceuticals if needed.
   Rubbing alcohol.
   Witch Hazel.
   Hydrogen peroxide.
   Over the counter (OTC) health items:
Partial list
Pain Relief...Cold Relief...Diarrhea Prevention...Constipation Relief...Vitamins...hearing aid batteries if applicable

Miscellaneous Tasks
   Top-off vehicle gas tanks.
   Fill/top off 5-gallon gas cans.
   Fill propane bottles.
   Fill/top off kerosene 5-gallon cans.
   Order a cord or two of split wood.

Additions?

[Felix]

ALL of the items listed are already in place - YOU'RE A "PREPPER!"    Remember?    :-)    ...sundry perishables are no longer a concern worthy of exposure to the mad house so many others are participating in.   But yes, if reasonably safe, grab the cash, only buy with plastic.   Again, if safe, top off all fuels (none of which you let get below 50%, right?)     Most were full already.   Stabil in all.  And in rotation.
Nope, no panic here.    Just calling down the list, family friends, MAG members, etc to coordinate/confirm shift to "DEFCON" # whatever.   
Make sure your canning/dehydrating/freezer's emergency genset supplies are ready to go.
then pour yourself a stiff one and set back to calm your mind.   Some good ideas will probably come to mind, little details for here and there.   Events will unfold at their own pace and being flustered helps nobody.
Xi is obsessed with legacy, staying in power, his bluster and promises made - but does he think actual, carrier-sinking war with the US is worth Taiwan?   

[JohnyMac]

As always Felix, good thoughts.

Keep in mind the scenario used was China/Taiwan. It could be multiple others.

Financial collapse/ bank holiday,
NATO, Ukraine, Russia,
DOJ vs. The House Race,
Assisination attempt/success - martial law, or
Just let your mind wander.

I truly think that 2023 will be a turning point we all look back to. And 2024 will be worse than 2023. 

If you get a chance or anybody who gets a chance, watch "Threads 1984". The bomb dropping is anticlimactic. Focus on the lead up of the big one.

 

[Felix]

Yes to possible "ALL of the above, in no particular order or multiples.    And yes, '24 being even worse than '23.
My feelings are both a mix of serenity and "panic".   Strange as that may sound.    The "panic" part maybe is more a sense of "urgency".    I've been putting long hours in on the garden despite back/knee/nerve pain/and as a relief from marital downer.  (the heart ablation did hit a home run though, Yahooo!!!!!)     But most of all (and this came to me a couple of days ago), I think the rain is imminent and Noah had it right.   I am (working at) "building an ark" (of sorts).
The serenity part?    I've done what i can - is it as much as I wish?   Of course not.   But while faith without works may be sterile, doing works in faith is as good as it gets and fine by me.

[FeedingFreedom]

Only additional point I'd add is to not only have a 24-hour list, but a plan to carry it out. As someone pointed out in the discussion, there probably won't be a real panic in the general populace until an undeniable event (nuke, grid down, etc.) occurs. But I want to cover at least most likely scenarios in the plan. Some points that I came up with, sure others have ideas to add:

- What is the range that you will go from home to hit stores?
- Do you split up to cover more stores, or travel together for security?
- How do you secure items purchased while going into another store?
- What if you find items, but the price is jacked? How much extra to buy a given item?
- Do you have a "double SHTF" plan, in case a vehicle fails, you get stranded away from home, or are attacked while shopping/enroute?
- Route plan with alternates, marked on as many maps as you have "teams" out shopping, so each team knows the others' route. (6 ways in, 12 ways out)
- Comms plan with everyone involved fully briefed and able to carry it out.
- How do you handle the fact that people where you are shopping (most likely your neighbors) are going to remember who bought out the grocery store when they get hungry.
- Have a list of stores to check, and a list of possible items from each store, with allowance for "impulse purchases". Some things you might realize you need when you see them. (It might come in handy someday)


Having a flexible plan that everyone knows is going to ensure that not only do you top off your preps, but do so safely and efficiently.
Just my 2 zinc fiat currency discs. 

[JohnyMac]

Thank you FF. I added your thoughts to the list. 

[Jackalope]

How would your actions change if martial law was declared, or a curfew implemented?

[JohnyMac]

Martial law would not happen for 24-hours. That is your window.

[pkveazey]

Hmmmm.... Martial Law?? When there are no enforcers around, it would be business as usual. When there are enforcers around, I would just play their game until they got out of sight. During any crisis, you must act according to the situation and change with the environment. In management its called flexibility and in the military, it's called being fluid. I would make it my priority to make any enforcers as uncomfortable as possible so they would find a more comfortable spot to occupy. If you were in a location where it was 100 degrees all day and raining with lightning strikes all around and there was a 70 degree location with clear skies about 5 miles away, wouldn't you move your operations to the more pleasant location?

[grizz]

Hmmmm.... Martial Law?? When there are no enforcers around, it would be business as usual. When there are enforcers around, I would just play their game until they got out of sight. During any crisis, you must act according to the situation and change with the environment. In management its called flexibility and in the military, it's called being fluid. I would make it my priority to make any enforcers as uncomfortable as possible so they would find a more comfortable spot to occupy. If you were in a location where it was 100 degrees all day and raining with lightning strikes all around and there was a 70 degree location with clear skies about 5 miles away, wouldn't you move your operations to the more pleasant location?

All good ideas but look what happened during the plandemic

[Nemo]

If I had any extra weaponry or ammo or that stuff, it would be shifted to other places that might be a bit harder to locate and confiscate.

I ought to consider getting some extra stuff so I have stuff to shift.  An extra place to put stuff to would be good. 

Dammitol I hate making another list.

Nemo

[Felix]

In addition to my GHB, I've "pre-positioned" a five gallon bucket (with tight lid) holding supplements to backpack for spur-of-the-moment "camp-outs".   No hard plans (yet) to cache quantities (though I do have places within a mile of here out in the National Forest where shallow burial is feasible).
Seems like either your redoubt is secure as can reasonably be made or it isn't.   I surely don't wish to become a refugee (or a fugitive).     But in some general "roundup" or "evacuation"...

[pkveazey]

Grizz..... Bwahahaha. During the "Plandemic", I carried a mask around in my pocket and only wore it if the stores forced me to. Then again, since I can be a real horses ass when I want, I would walk around stores singing, "Elanore Rigby"......  Ahhhhh, Look at all the stupid people".

[grizz]

Grizz..... Bwahahaha. During the "Plandemic", I carried a mask around in my pocket and only wore it if the stores forced me to. Then again, since I can be a real horses ass when I want, I would walk around stores singing, "Elanore Rigby"......  Ahhhhh, Look at all the stupid people".

Anchorage went into a big lockdown back then but in my area it was up to individual business owners as far as masks were concerned. I never wore one except for the VA and even then I got into screaming matches, which I lost but still got my point across and now proven correct.