Hello, my friend and welcome back! As we continue on with our countdown, at number six is a Biological Attack. While I will admit that many people would probably place this higher on their list, I put it at number six. In today’s post I’ll explain why, so grab a cup of coffee my friend and have a seat while we visit.
Let me start by saying that the only reason I put this at number six is that I believe that the fear of it getting away from those who might use it is very high. Pathogens like Ebola and Anthrax can evolve in ways that could be unexpected and might attack those who released it to start with. Nonetheless, It could very likely be attempted by a group like ISIS, believing their Faith will protect them. Here is today’s scenario:
As the private bus came to a stop in front of the entrance to the Air Terminal, people could be seen inside of the bus as they stood to collect their bags in preparation for exiting. The driver, a middle eastern man stood at the bottom of the steps with several large envelopes. He handed one to each passenger as they began to depart. Taking them without looking at it, they quietly entered the air terminal. Once the bus was empty, the driver quickly got back on the bus and left.
As the alarm on the nightstand began to scream, Mike reached over and slapped it. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes and crawling out of bed, he sighed thinking of the job ahead of him today. Standing up and turning on his TV, he headed to the restroom to relieve himself. He could tell from the sound of the voices coming from other room that the announcers were worked up about something. “Good morning Liberals”, he thought to himself, “What are you pissed off about today?”
As he put his toothbrush in his mouth and began brushing, he walked back into his bedroom to listen to what was going on. The announcer was wound up like a chihuahua in a room full of cats! As he listened, the announcer continued; “There have been another 400 cases reported in California this morning and officials are now calling it a Terrorist Attack. The weaponized Ebola virus is believed to have been given to several people and then they were sent to the busiest airport in the world infecting everyone they came in contact with. A total of 1800 confirmed cases have been reported so far and that is believed to only be a small percentage of those currently infected with the deadly virus. All Schools in the US have been closed for the time being as officials scramble to get a handle on the outbreak.”
“The President is advising anyone who can stay at home, to stay at home to avoid becoming infected. If you or anyone you know are experiencing flu-like symptoms, you are urged to report to your local hospital for immediate emergency medical attention. Stay tuned as more information becomes available, we will pass it along to you.”
The toothbrush bounced as it hit the floor as Mike stood there with his mouth wide open staring at the TV. “Oh Crap! What the heck do I do now?” he thought.
What should Mike do now? What would you do next? Do you have the essentials you need to combat a Biological threat? What should have in your preps for just such an emergency? Here’s a list of some of those items below.
- Surgical mask
- Surgical gowns
- Rubber or latex gloves.
- Materials needed to set up up a decontamination shower away from your house.
- Water hose
- Disinfectant
- Skin sanitizer
- Scrub brush.
- Plastic bags to hold contaminated clothing until it can be washed and sanitized, or burned.
These are but a few of the items I can think of off the top of my head, and I am sure there are many others as well.
You’re going to want to remove yourself as far away as possible from large populations of people. The fewer people who you come in contact until it is controlled, the better off you will be. If you have a secluded Bug Out location, now would be the time to go and stay until the all clear is given by the Infectious Disease Center. Isolation is the best way to keep the disease from spreading and you getting infected.
The fine people over at Doom and Bloom have some great information dealing with just this kind of emergency. Check them out and let them know that Sarge sent you! You will be glad you did.
Well, that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed today’s post and until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared. God Bless America!
-Sarge-
Once the disease is as widespread as the anchors indicated, it might not be a good idea to head to a BOL unless you are fully stocked there and can make the trip without refueling. Everything that you touch that has been touched by someone else is a potential infection point. Grocery stores and highways out of the cities may well be packed.
During the last Ebola outbreak, when the CDC was struggling with how to handle a single Ebola case in the US, my wife and I established a geographic perimeter and decided to self-quarantine if there was a single case within it.
Reading this article just made the headache I’ve had for the last three days worse. Now if I could just get rid of this low grade fever…..
Pardner, I hope you find some relief for your noggin splitter ASAP.
As one that suffers from those kinds of aggravating sumbitches, I can feel your pain, Bro.
Get better soonest so you can enjoy the scares and frightening stuff The Sarge puts out.
With any luck, you’ll be able to digest all this information with a clear noodle.
Take care and God Bless.
Sarge,
Yet another good article and reason for prepping and, of all the articles thus far, the most chilling to contemplate.
Unlike an active shooter which you can likely see or at least hear, a biological attack in all of its potential forms, is not only potentially deadly but all but completely silent.
As with the example of the fictitious driver handing out packets to each bus rider disembarking for flights to who knows where and the unsuspecting carriers, a terrorists can resort to fairly unsophisticated delivery methods that could be as simple as standing on a platform near a railway or overpass and disperse his/her agent into the wind where victims could encounter the substance just by walking in a breeze or driving underneath the bridge or entering or exiting a train depot or railcar itself.
The point being, we have all become accustomed to smelling odd (sometimes pleasant) smells that we are exposed to daily.
For instance, passing by a fast food restaurant and smelling cooking burgers or chicken; driving by a construction zone and getting a whiff of lumber being cut to size or heavy equipment exhausts.
While I’ve never been exposed to any kind of chemical agent outside of CS gas used in my Military training or Capsicum Resin used during my LEO days to disperse rowdy crowds, I’ve never knowingly been exposed to a biological agent from a criminal threat.
That doesn’t mean I HAVEN’T been exposed to a biological entity. Actually, MOST of us have been and we didn’t know it at the time and, probably, never even smelled anything odd.
Don’t believe me? Wanna BET?!?
Here’s the kicker:
IF you’ve EVER had a cold like the FLU, guess what?!?
YOU’VE BEEN EXPOSED to a biological agent!!!!
True, it hasn’t been a “deadly” toxic agent, at least for the majority of people (although a lot of elderly and young have, and will, succumb) but this is a good, if skewed, example of just how easy it is to expose a chemical or biological agent against the unwary person. You never even KNEW, did you?
There is little an individual can do to thwart becoming an unwittingly and unwitting target for the most part of some ne’r do well bent on harming you but there are a few tips to consider.
First off, understand that short of carrying an appropriate gas mask with you EVERYWHERE you go and being encased in a MOPP suit whenever you leave your home, it’s a case of you pays you’s money and you’s takes you’s chance.
I don’t mean to sound flippant about the topic. Nothing could be farther from the truth, but as with everything in life, you have to balance all threats and methods of prevention with more than just a bit of common sense.
Sure, you could always station yourself “upwind” of crowds and keep a sharp eye out for a potential criminal trying to dispense his gas, powider or whatever, but what if you are needing to get to the center of a crowd for whatever reason? How do you protect yourself in that situation or even SEE a threat coming?
MAYBE you’ll happen to see people upwind of you dropping like flys. Maybe not. But assuming you do, how do you react?
Now put yourself in a large building with little to no moving air short of cool air cascading down from overhead AC ductwork, say at a concert or gun show.
HOW can you protect yourself?
Would you even know if you’ve been exposed and, assuming you have and you realize it, how do you respond?
Being forewarned in advance like in your hypothetical scenario of the man brushing his teeth in his home far from the scene is one thing but actually going about your daily life and being caught unaware until too late a completely different situation.
Therein lies the problem. Truth be told you can only do what you can but covering ALL possible scenarios is near impossible. Even if you telecommute your job from home, never leaving the safety (?) of your home, how do you get food?
Sure, you could have a service deliver your groceries but what’s to say your produce or other items haven’t been tainted prior to your getting them?
I don’t mean to sound like it is all doom and gloom but you have to temper your actions with more than a passing thought to actually “living” your life.
What to do. What to DO?
Like if said, you pay your money and you take your chances. That’s just about ALL you can do IF you expect to be able to mosey around your part of the world and actually live your life.
Stay Frosty, my Friends, and don’t let the bastards freak you out!
God Bless and good luck.
Thanks, Huggy and you’re 100% right!!! God Bless and good luck to you as well! 🙂