Poorfag guide to operating

Skills Primer
3rd Edition

PART 1: EQUIPMENT
Before you can start effectively training, there are a few items of gear that are recommended and will also make your life easier. Remember, military surplus is far cheaper than commercial options, and all surplus comes with at least some standard of quality, so surplus is your best bet.
CLOTHING											If it is a cold season, you will want to wear layers. Layers can consist of a sweat wicking undershirt, an overshirt, liner, fleece, parka, etc. It is better to have multiple layers instead of one big jacket, since the warm air trapped between the layers is what keeps you warm. An added benefit is that you can shed layers as the temperature changes in order to prevent overheating. When snow is on the ground, I wear my Bundeswehr Schneetarn poncho along with Swiss winter overpants, which provide suitable winter camouflage and extra protection from moisture. The overpants also function as gaiters, which are necessary to prevent your footwear and socks from getting soaked with snow. Keep in mind, 100% cotton kills. This also applies to socks and underwear. A blend is what most surplus comes in, usually around a 50/50 cotton/poly blend. If rain is expected, bring a poncho. I use a Polish shelter half, aka a plashpalatka, which can be configured into a serviceable poncho and a shelter. Also, get a good pair of boots with ankle support.
•	PACK/LBE										If you are planning to be out for awhile you need a rucksack in which to store your sustainment load. They can be had for a reasonable price for something like an old ALICE pack, but you could also splurge and buy a backpacker’s bag. The only rule is the bag needs a frame and hip pads. If you need to camo up your commercial hiking bag, you can buy a pack cover. Another option you can consider is a webbing set. Keep in mind you will not be able to carry as much in a webbing set as you can in a rucksack. A webbing set can be had for 30-50 dollars usually. I use a Bundeswher set, and it works just fine. It can carry all the gear I need for about 3-4 days. Just remember, don’t hike around high-traffic areas with any of your gear on, the last thing you want to do is bring attention to yourself.
•	KIT											Once you have your carrying gear, the next step is to fill it. Your kit will be different based on your skills, budget, and current gear you already have. For your gear, you should have fire starting equipment, food, cooking and eating equipment, water, water purification equipment, shelter, rope (paracord is a good option), tape, extra ammo, first aid equipment, land navigation equipment, a fixed blade, full-tang knife, a backup knife, and your rifle. For bonus points, you would have the ammo not in your ammo pouches vacuum sealed, a surplus of food, extra pieces of clothing (balaclava, socks, boxers), fishing twine and hooks, and backup means of fire starting. (ferro rod, lighters, extra matches) To give you ideas, this is my gear: 1 L of water in a canteen, military can opener, military canteen cup, medical shears, nitrile gloves, hemostatic clotting agent (quikclot/celox), one vacuum sealed pack of Z-fold gauze, a size 28f nasopharyngeal airway, lubricant for the NPA, a 2 pack of vented chest seals, and a SWAT-T tourniquet. The tourniquet stays in a mag pouch, while the rest of the items are in a buttpouch. I also have a few packs of ramen, 1 can of spam spread, assorted energy and protein snacks, 2 cups instant mashed potatoes, 3 tea bags, 2 packs of 500ml energy drink mix, soy sauce, seasoning, pepper, a napkin, 2 forks, (disposable fast food restaurant variety), and a few packs of packaged food from a field stripped MRE. (MREs are bulky, take them out of their bag and spread the contents around in your kit to save space. If you have lots of extra space, keep them in the bag, it is useful for carrying your trash/other wastes/water.) For my eating and cooking kit, I have the canteen cup mentioned before, and an ESBIT stove. (Double bagged because the fuel tabs smell) I encourage you to get a German style mess tin, as it can boil a lot of water at once and it has three different dishes in it. My trauma kit isn’t the only first aid gear I have, I have a little first aid bag containing antibiotic ointment, bandages, tape, small gauze pads, moleskin, burn gel, painkillers, an eye pad, triangle bandage, smelling salts, and extra gloves. I also have a SAM splint and five cravats. I have zipties, a contractor’s bag, and a tinder kit with strips of newspaper and Vaseline soaked cotton balls. I also have a fold up camp-cup, a balaclava, 28 rounds of ammo (one box, one magazine in a pouch, one mag in the gun), a Glock field knife, a Buck Maverik knife (backup), spare batteries, a flashlight, landnav kit with compass, map, ruler, and grid tool, sharpie, pen, face paint, lighters with duct tape wrapped around them, spare matches, a ferro rod, and a altoids tin carrying a few small items such as even more matches, bandage and alcohol swab, iodine tabs, and my fishing kit. I keep my stuff in bags for water protection and organization. Also, I would recommend you to pick up a radio. I have a Baofeng UV-82, a spare battery, a headset, and my antennas. I usually keep my Nagoya NA-771 on the radio since it has the best performance of all my antennas.

•	RIFLE											Your most vital piece of kit is your weapon. Keep in mind the shortcomings of the different kinds of guns. A pump action shotgun is your best bet in terms of budget. You can pump out rounds fast, but reloading is a big chore, and the ammo is bulky and heavy. You can buy a Maverick 88 for around 200 dollars. A bolt action rifle is excellent if you value accuracy. I have a Savage Axis chambered in 7mm-08. The rate of fire is abysmal, and the magazines that hold few rounds are very pricey. I would not recommend a bolt action for anything but hunting. The absolute best rifle is a semi automatic. It allows you the maximum amount of outgoing fire, which is more important than accuracy. This narrows you down to an AR or an AK. There is endless debate on which is the better rifle, but in the end the price for a good AR and a good AK is about the same. At that point, you should just get an AR. You can build one yourself for 800 after you add in the miscellaneous things you will need to buy. Obviously, that is out of budget for many. If you still desire a semi automatic, get a 10/22. You can get 25 round mags for 20 dollars, the gun costs around 200 dollars, and .22 ammo is dirt cheap.

•	PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT								Body armor, Helmets, and NBC protection are all specialized, one use items. Steel plates, which provide more longevity than ceramic or Kevlar body armor, are very heavy. An 11x14 Lv3+ AR500 plate weighs in at 10.5 pounds for a basic 90 dollar plate. It would be a good idea to get two of these plates for the front and back, so you are looking at 21 pounds and almost 200 dollars for a situational piece of gear. AR500 sells carrier + plate combos for 200, which is a good deal, but that money is still better off spent for more practical gear, such as more ammo to practice with. Moving on, helmets are a component of your armor system meant for shrapnel from explosives, but a 15 dollar surplus steel helmet can usually protect against one 9mm/45ACP projectile. Modern helmets can protect against rifle rounds, but the cost is prohibitive. Surplus helmets are very heavy and change your shooting and movement styles noticeably, so you are better off wearing a brimmed field cap, which provides protection from cold and the sun. I like my reproduction German M43 field cap, it comes with a lot of features for a basic wool hat. NBC gear includes a full face gas mask, chemical suit, gloves, and over boots. A gas mask alone will only reliably work for tear gas, as many weaponized gasses can get into your blood through your skin. Your protective equipment will have to be replaced if it ever becomes contaminated or expires. A gas mask alone has plenty of uses around the house, but the possible uses drop fast when you are in the field, so it is not something I would take.

PART 2: FIREARM SAFETY

Many deaths are caused by people forgetting to be conscious of these rules whenever you handle a firearm. The accidental firing of a gun caused by user error is referred to as a “negligent discharge”, aka a “ND.”

•	TRIGGER DISCIPLINE								This is the most vital safety rule that should never be violated. In movies you see the action hero with his finger constantly on the trigger like it is some kind of handle. The trigger is the kill lever. You touch it when you want something or someone dead. You should reach a point where your finger naturally stays off the trigger. Keep your booger hooker off the bang-bang switch.
•	MUZZLE DISCIPLINE								This is the second most important rule, don’t point your rifle at anything you don’t want to destroy. Don’t muzzle sweep people. It is extremely dangerous. Even if you think the gun is unloaded, there might still be a round in the chamber. Remember, if you load a magazine into the gun, cock it/work the bolt/etc, and remove the magazine, there is still a loaded round in the chamber that can be fired. Many people have died because of that negligence. Just picture that there is a deadly laser coming from your gun, and that anything it touches instantly dies.
•	CHECK YOUR TARGET									Self explanatory, make sure you have a good backdrop, and check your shooting area to make sure no one is behind your targets. If you are playing with explosives, mind the shrapnel. You should be around 100 yards away from an explosion to be completely safe. Shrapnel can travel far and cause lots of damage to people and property.
•	FIREARMS ARE ALWAYS LOADED						Treat guns as if they are always loaded until you remove the magazine, work the bolt a few times, do a visual check, and check with your finger to make sure the chamber is empty. That, or you could remove the bolt. If someone hands you a gun and tells you it is empty, check it yourself.
•	EARPRO/EYEPRO									Make sure to always wear ear protection and eye protection. You will go deaf quick without earpro, and all it takes is one piece of shrapnel for you to be a pirate for the rest of your life.


PART 3: TRAUMA RESPONSE
	Even if you abide by all the rules of gun safety, which you should, there are others who don’t, and in the case of an ND you have to act fast. A victim can bleed out, go into shock, and die in minutes. It is your responsibility to be able to deal with situations that come your way. You can’t be squeamish, and you can’t delay. You cannot pull out a book on first aid and expect the patient to live while you look up how to treat him. You must have these techniques memorized to be able to perform in an emergency. Extreme stress will cause you to lose focus, so these treatments must be burned into your brain. Don’t forget to check the scene, call the paramedics, and put on gloves before attempting emergency life saving.
•	EXTREMITY TRAUMA										Your arms and your legs, your extremities, have arteries running distal (away from the heart) all the way down, which are replaced by veins when the de-oxygenated blood is brought back to the heart. If your artery or vein is split, you are in for a world of hurt. An arterial bleed is extremely fast and forceful, and can cause death quick without instant action. Feel your jugular, which brings blood to your brain. You can notice the fast, energetic movement of blood from your heart. Now imagine this fast, energetic movement of blood spurting out from your arm, leg, or your neck. Quick response is vital. This is where your hemostatic clotting agent comes in handy. It removes water from blood, which promotes clot formation. You stuff the clotting agent, which is commonly found branded as quikclot or celox, into the wound and force it up against the source of the bleed. If you are unsure of the source of the bleeding, insert a gauze pad into the wound, remove it, and watch where the blood pool comes out of. If you don’t have gauze, you can use your gloved hand to scoop the blood out, but that should only be attempted if the victim is unconscious. After you have it in snug, follow it up with your packing gauze until the wound is completely full of gauze. Apply constant pressure. Under no circumstances should you remove the gauze. Just keep adding more gauze if it is possible. Once this is done, you can apply your ACE wrap or Israeli bandage (which is a fancy ace wrap with a built in gauze pad, pressure applicator, and locking bar. The wrap applies constant pressure. If the bleed continues, use a tourniquet. Many things can become a tourniquet. You can use a belt, cravat, or even an Israeli bandage. Rope or wire is a big no-no. It doesn’t spread out the pressure evenly and can cause irreversible damage, ending in an amputation. That is where the myth of using a tourniquet (TQ) always means amputation comes from. It is absolutely baseless, as you can keep a properly made TQ or a commercial TQ on for about 2 hours before you run the risk of causing permanent damage. Remember, too loose is worse than too tight. To make a TQ out of a cravat, aka a triangle bandage, fold the bandage up until it is 1-2 inches wide. Slide the cravat under the limb, make a tight overhand knot, which will form a complete loop around the limb, put something like a pen on the knot, and make another overhand knot, effectively forming a square knot with a pen or a stick in the middle. Then, twist the bar (pen/stick/etc) until bleeding stops and the distal pulse has stopped. Use something to secure the bar in place. Remember, loosening the TQ often can cause damage.
•	SUCKING CHEST WOUND									A sucking chest wound can occur whenever the lung cavity is punctured, such as by a bullet. If this happens, apply a chest seal, with the center over the entrance and exit wounds. A vented seal will prevent a tension pneumothorax, a situation where the lung is crushed by air pressure, making breathing difficult, and eventually causing heart failure, shock, and death. A TP can be fixed by letting air pressure out of the lung cavity by using a needle decompression unit or by peeling back the applied chest seal. If you lack a proper chest seal, use a plastic bag, pull it taut over the wound, and tape it down on three sides. It will prevent air from entering, while allowing air to exit. A vented chest seal works the same way, but it is quicker and more reliable.
•	GUT SHOT												Apply a wrap over the hole, but don’t keep it too tight, just keep it tight enough to keep everything inside the victim’s body. If organs are hanging out, cover them in wet gauze pads. Remember to triage, if there are multiple victims, don’t waste time on a dead man when there are others that can be helped.
•	HEAD SHOT 											Wrap the wound in a dressing, if cervical fluid (white and mucousy) is leaking out the ears, don’t plug it up, let it drain. Your brain is floating in this fluid, and head trauma causes your brain to expand, which pushes out this fluid. Blood will also come out the victims’s nose. Don’t plug this up. If the victim is shot in the neck, and his trachea (windpipe) is punctured, treat it like a sucking chest wound. If his jugular is shot, apply quikclot and gauze. If you are in a mass casualty incident, perform triage and choose which patients can’t be saved, so you don’t waste your time trying to save a dead person when there are multiple other patients that could be saved.
•	UNCONCIOUS VICTIM										If the victim is unconscious, insert an NPA into his right nostril. Make sure the curve in the tube is pointing in the right direction, toward the throat. If he has any sign of possibly having head trauma, don’t insert one, as it could go into the brain cavity. If you can’t insert an NPA, put him in the recovery position, which is on his side. In all these treatments besides this scenario, the victim should be in the shock treatment position, which is on his back, covered in blankets/coats/etc, with his feet elevated a few inches.
•	POSSIBLE SPINAL INJURY									Spinal injury can occur in any contact injury, such as blunt force or a car wreck. If you can, move the victim as little as possible. If you absolutely must, assign someone to keep his head and neck in line with his spine. Try to let the EMTs handle moving him if you can. Moving the victim poses a risk of causing him permanent spinal damage, which means paralyzation.
•	PART 4: INDIVIDUAL MOVEMENT

•	CREEPING 										Creeping isn’t just what you do on your ex’s Facebook account. Creeping is a word for the act of slow, silent movement. Your goal is to move so slow that it doesn’t look like you are moving if the enemy is watching from a distance. It doesn’t matter how much camouflage you wear, movement will still give you away instantly. To do a proper creep, you wait 3 minutes for every minute you move. It is very slow, so it is not desirable. Remember to place your foot down heel-first, and roll onto your toes. Movement is a balance between speed and concealment, as your speed increases, your concealment decreases, and vice versa.

•	CAMOUFLAGE											Camouflage is a vital part of staying undetected. A small pattern such as Flecktarn will help camouflage you at close range, while a large pattern such as M81 Woodland will help you remain undetected at longer range. Using parts of your natural surroundings is important; tuck branches, leaves, etc into your gear if you have any. Any strap or loop on your gear will work. Keep in mind that pine boughs have a top and a bottom. The bottom sides of pine needles are lighter and stick out. You can also tie jute cord in natural colors onto your gear if you desire a more permanent solution. The key here is to break up the human outline. Your rifle is also very noticeable, as they are usually black. If you have a polymer stock, you can use a matte spray paint to color it. Krylon and Duracoat work well. You can also tie more jute cord onto your rifle. If you use camo paint, which you should since white skin sticks out and reflects sunlight, you can’t just put it on in stripes like in the movies. Use your darker paints on the high points of your face such as your jawbone, cheekbone, and nose. Use the lighter paints for low areas that are usually in the shadows cast by the high points. Your darker paints will most likely be used more than the light paints.

•	SHADOWS AND SKYLINING									Remember to be conscious of your shadow. It can give your position away easily, even if you wear full camo and move slowly. Stay in the shadows, and if you have nowhere to go that isn’t in the sun, transition into a high crawl. Skylining is what happens when you are on top of a hill or other landmark, and there is no backdrop to your body but the sky from the enemy’s view. This can be avoided by walking on one side or the other of a hill, and never cresting it unless in a high crawl.

•	COVER VS CONCEALMENT									In short, cover will protect you from bullets, and concealment will protect you from observation. Actual cover is rare in the natural world, as most high power rounds and many intermediate cartridges will penetrate the majority of obstacles in the wild. Your only safe bets are large healthy trees that are two feet+ thick, rocks, and divots in the terrain. Remember, cover is only cover for a limited amount of time. Once it has sustained enough damage it will either fall apart or be easier to penetrate. Whenever you are behind cover, stay far enough back so you can swing your rifle around without hindrance.

•	MOVEMENT											There are a few movement techniques you should know. First up is the low crawl. It is the lowest and slowest crawl, and is used when stealth is a top priority, or when you are under fire. Next is the high crawl. It is for when you are under fire but the cover is high. The high crawl is fast and energetic. (Low on left, High on right)







•	LAND NAV								Knowing the terrain features of your area of operations (AO) is also important to avoid detection. Do not walk on roads or alongside rivers and streams. A hostile force would expect a move like that and set up an ambush. Always plan escape routes in your head, and keep your head on a swivel. Walk in a march when traversing uneven terrain so you don’t end up staring at your feet when you need to look around. March by raising your knee up high when you walk, in order to prevent tripping on a low obstacle. Also, make sure you learn how to operate a map and compass so you know your location and where you are going.
•	SHOOTING													Knowing how to shoot with precision is also a part of individual movement. There is no point in being a master at movement if you can’t engage targets. Learn the fundamentals of shooting, as they are the foundation that all the shooting practice you do builds upon. You must avoid the bad habit of flinching before you shoot, as it will throw you off target. When you are shooting, breathe in and hold your breath. You have about 3-4 seconds to shoot before you must breathe again. Squeeze the trigger so that the trigger break is a surprise. Learn and master the shooting positions. You will most likely not use those exact positions in a real world scenario, but you will use the basics of those positions to form your own improvised position.


















•	Communication
Communication is also very important. It ties into movement, as a proper communication network will alert you to dangers in your area. The best communication device in a scenario like this is a ham radio. It does not rely on existing infrastructure to operate, and you can communicate directly with other radios, similar to a cell phone but without the middleman of a cell tower. Keep in mind that anyone can listen into your conversation, so formulate an encryption system, like a Polybius square. Keep in mind that directional antennas exist, and can be used to find your location. A radio operating on the 2 meter and 70 centimeter band can receive NOAA weather broadcasts, local emergency services transmission, can communicate with cheap FRS blister pack radios, and will allow you to communicate with others via simplex or a repeater. Simplex is direct communication to another radio, and a repeater is a physical station somewhere that receives transmissions and retransmits those transmissions, which allows you to considerably improve your range. Keep in mind that transmitting on public service frequencies, like Police, Fire, EMS, etc, is extremely illegal, so don’t do it.

•	PART 5: RECOMMENDED READING
everycitizenasoldier.org
the-edelweiss-never-quits.net (Ivarr Bergmann)
US Army Combat Lifesaver Course Self-Study
US Army Survival Manual FM 21-76
US Army Winter Operations Manual TC 21-3
murdercube.com/files/ (Weapons-oriented)
pssurvival.com (Sustainment-oriented)
metttc.com
civiliandefenseforce.com (militia-oriented)
maxvelocitytactical.com
hutaree.com (militia)
westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com
colonialmarinemilitia.4mg.com (militia)
Surplus:
Kommandostore.com
Militaryclothing.com (coupon code: WBC2016)
Ebay.com (be careful of counterfeits, and never use Amazon for surplus.)
Keepshooting.com
Swisslink.com
varusteleka.com/en/ (Foreign, expensive shipping)
Mantheline.com (Code: TAKE5)
Medical Kit:
Narescue.com
Tacmedsolutions.com
rescue-essentials.com (4.99 flat-rate shipping)


Youtube:
Ivar Bergmann
HardcoreFourSix
GuerillaComm
Hutaree
AK47FULLAUTO (lots of unrelated stuff on his channel, search for his equipment guides)
Brent0331
SchoolOf SelfReliance
Cold Dead Hands
Tboc Sims















EDITS (Added info/edits from last version go here)

Small changes to clothing
Small changes to trauma treatment
Small changes to safety
Added links
Added youtube channels
Added radio section