Civil Defense Family Security Life Hacks

Ever since I discovered the wonder of Civil Defense at 27 in doing contract work inspecting Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) on Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) all over the United States and teaching emergency managers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, I have been fascinated by how critical it is to this nation's survival. (More here.)

Just before that, I practiced Civil Defense the United States Air Force without knowing it as an additional duty helping the disabled service members and veterans vacate the Eglin Air Force Base hospital during monthly hurricane exercises in the early 1980's,

(For more background, please see my bio at The American Civil Defense website where I am the volunteer Vice President https://tacda.org/about/#board.)

I believe deeply in American Civil Defense because I have been involved in it professionally and as a volunteer for 40 years.

Despite being seen as a throwback to a Cold War era with little contemporary use, civil defense is alive and well, especially among the elite who take it very seriously.

I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge I would like to share with other Americans, especially Moms, Dads, Grand Moms, Grand Dads, and small business owners.

Why them?

Well, for the last 3 years I have handed out over 5,000 civil defense business cards with contact information for how to prepare for natural and manmade disasters and parents and small business owners have been the most receptive, even grateful.

Given the high rate of heart attacks, blood clots, and other medical complications that have resulted from the medical experiments since we were attacked 3 years ago by the Communist Chinese Party bioweapon, hopefully you realize your health and survival are your responsibility.

If the Bible teaches us anything, it is to be prepared for this life…and the next.

Here, I will concentrate on being prepared for this life.

I would like to help you meet that responsibility for yourself and your family, friends, neighbors, and nation.

I will post Civil Defense Hacks to make the year more fruitful, productive, interesting, loving, disciplined, virtuous, good, holy, and beautiful.

I share my civil defense knowledge, plans, practices, and tips in the Civil Defense Hacks below.

Please join me.

CIVIL DEFENSE LIFE HACK #1: MATERIAL PREPARATION IS THE EASIEST PART OF CIVIL DEFENSE

When I was interviewed on Civil Defense Radio several years ago, I was asked what the difference was between FEMA, Preppers, and Civil Defense.

My answer was this: FEMA shows up a month after a natural and manmade disasters and writes you a check eventually...if you qualify.

Preppers, God love 'em because they are trying, concentrate too much on the materialistic and solitary, when it is through strategy, plans, friends, family, and neighbors you survive.

Civil defense, in contrast, is as old as the Bible and had survived the test of time and the prepares you to not just survive, but to triumph over natural and manmade disasters.

Material preparations for disasters is important, but it is the easiest part of the plan.

Here is a link to tested, verified, and practical items to prepare you and your family for such events.

I especially recommend purchasing WaterBricks (clean water is THE essential to survival), Waterproof USB drives (data preservation is critical to your family and business), and the Go Dark Bag (because there are tyrants with bad intent, sadly.)

https://tacda.org/the-survival-store/

#business #data #love #strategy #events #water #civildefense #waterbricks #water #fema #preppers #prepare #smallbusiness #family #familybusiness #civil #tacda

CIVIL DEFENSE HACK #3: IT'S ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S FUTURE

https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2018/10/why-civil-defense-matters-for-children.html

Now a grandfather, I think in terms of generations and centuries, not just years or decades.

I am planting trees from which I will never enjoy the fruit, but I am happy to do so to benefit my progeny.

Nothing is more important for our future generations than teaching children civil defense. The rugby player is is my wee one in the photos.

He is gifted in music, engineering, athletics, and many other areas, but if he does not know how to survive, the rest does not happen.

After years of teaching him the importance of survival skills, he knows how to survive.

Many times, he now teaches me new skills.

I could leave the earth today and be confident he will survive and survive well.

Just yesterday I went over my last will and testament with him and given his reaction I am confident he is a highly skilled, intelligent, mature, loving, giving, Christian man who knows the facts of life.

In the link above to my blog post, you can discover ways you can be sure your children and grandchildren will survive...and PROSPER because they know how to survive.

You can also read my article Children and Civil Defense in the TACDA.ORG Journal of Civil Defense 

 https://tacda.org/journal/journal-of-civil-defense-2018-vol-51-no-1-emergency-water-storage/

I worked many months to make the TACDA.ORG search engine optimization terms relevant, so please explore other civil defense topics in the Journal of Civil Defense's illustrious 65-year history of knowledge based articles while you are there.

https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2018/10/why-civil-defense-matters-for-children.html

#future #engineering #music #civil #teaching #children #childrensfure #love #family #survival #survivalskills

CIVIL DEFENSE HACK #4: MACRO CYBERSECURITY

https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2017/10/when-state-hackers-take-aim-at-power.html

As with micro and macro economics, there is micro and macro cybersecurity.
Think of whatever you put your hands on for personal communication as micro cybersecurity.
Think of all the systems you depend on to make sure those personal computers and phones depend on as macro cybersecurity.
Here we are concerned with macro cybersecurity, or who watches the watchers.
Most Americans don't realize that right now a disciplined People's Liberation Army Lt. Colonel under the direction of a Communist Chinese Party (CCP) commissar actively owns, or is seeking, details on their DNA, emotional IQ, habits, weaknesses, and thinking.
That Lt. Colonel is working with creative Chinese criminal hackers who were given the choice of death or helping the CCP to dominate the world.
Despite the years of CCP data breaches of local, state, and federal government data centers and the exfiltration of that data to the CCP, and the parallel pirating of private sector data to CCP data servers, Americans generally are oblivious to the threat.
As proof, tens of millions of Americans freely and enthusiastically send terabytes of their personal data to the CCP via TikTok every day.
That will change soon.
Once Russia conquers the territory it wants soon, the world will change and this hidden war will become more visible.
Data breaches against the West, and especially the United States, that could have only been imagined in the past, will become reality.
I do not want this to happen, but after much research it looks like it will happen.
Civil defense is about thinking about the impossible and improbable and gaming it out just in case.
Still, it is not all bleak.
There are professionals who work 24/7/365 to countermand this CCP/Russian/North Korean/Iranian stealth digital plan to take down the American system.
I include links with a brief introduction to those government and private sector actors who are responsible for protecting our safety and security.
If you doubt me, recall that "someone" just took down our Air Traffic Control system...nationwide.
It is one more reminder of how vulnerable we are in our advanced, electricity based civilization.
I wrote https://lnkd.in/eDkHniiH in 2017.
You can also read my piece in the The American Civil Defense Association Journal of Civil Defense.
https://lnkd.in/eg88CGSi

Has anything improved since then?
Not really, so I pray every day that Americans wake up in time, aware that John F. Kennedys great book Why England Slept is now Why America Slept as we now, like England then, is mostly asleep.

#cybersecurity #people #work #data #digital #research #security #cloud #communication #insurance #safety #creative #mortgage #medical #banking #gaming #civil #electricity #iphone #change #macroeconomics

CIVIL DEFENSE HACK #5: MAKE A BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN

https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2016/09/business-continuity-disaster-recovery.html

Very large insurance and other corporations have detailed business continuity plans.
Why?
To survive if a manmade or natural disaster strikes suddenly.
But small businesses need such a plan even more.
If you run a business as a plumber, HVAC, electrician, small store owner, painter, mechanic, etc., you need a business continuity plan.
I attach a link to a continuity of business plan on my civil defense blog you can use to complete to help make sure your business survives a major dislocation.
Use what is useful in this plan and disregard the rest.
One tip is that businesses now go out of business not from the flood, fire, earthquake, hurricane, riot, etc....but due to data loss.
So, back up your data...daily.
We have a simple waterproof, EMP hardened, USB drive you can purchase at the TACDA.ORG survival store.
In addition to backing up your data, these USB drives have our disaster coursework so you can learn how to deal with all the threats on the threat matrix.
The time is growing late to get started on this plan, so please start on it now.
#help #business #smallbusiness #data #event #insurance #hvac #civil #corporations #corporations #insurance #continuity
https://lnkd.in/eUzYSrw3

CIVIL DEFENSE HACK #6: ALWAYS PREPARE IN ADVANCE

https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2018/10/why-civil-defense-matters-for-children.html

Consider how you prepare for a newborn baby.
Take that enthusiasm to your preparation for natural and manmade disasters.
To illustrate the point, years ago I prepared an emergency management plan for the Town of Mount Airy, MD where I lived at the time.
It was a comprehensive plan but, most importantly, it included a memorandum of understanding (MOA).
These are agreements signed in advance of an event.
They enable the rapid marshalling of the services, people, and resources needed immediately after a manmade or natural disaster strikes.
In hack #7, I will show how this memorandum of understanding, when activated after a tornado hit Mount Airy, MD, helped make the recovery faster and easier.
#people #civil #event #emergencymanagement #memorandumofunderstanding

CIVIL DEFENSE HACK #7: EF1 TORNADO LESSONS

https://poetslife.blogspot.com/2018/11/ef-1-tornado-lessons-from-mt-airy-md.html

NOTE: I use a tornado example here, but these tips apply to the whole threat matrix.

With a Memorandum of Understanding (MOA)in place with Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, a rubble removal company, and others, the recovery from this tornado in Mount Airy, MD, because this simple task was done in advance, the town returned to operation quickly.
As with all natural disaster planning, the fundamentals must be repeated.
1.  Learn IN ADVANCE what you must do to prepare to save yourself, your family, your pets, and your neighbors when disaster strikes.
2. Stockpile, within reason, items you will need to survive ( water, food, medical, electronic, etc.).
3.  Exercise for an event.  Make if fun with children . This is vital. You will discover holes in your plan, supplies, contacts, etc. you will need to fill.
Here are natural disaster lessons explored in greater detail in the link below.
1. The Media Only Reports Part of the Story
2. Dishonest Contractors will Always Show up Post Disaster.
3. Your Insurance Only Covers Part of the Cost
4. Drones are the Future of Planning for and Recovering from Natural and Man-Made Disasters
5. Have a Damage Survey Form Template Ready
7. Good Government Governance and Communication Tools are Critical
8. Neighbors Must Help Neighbors
#future #help #communication #food #insurance #contractors #media #medical #water #civil #hardware #civildefense #event #planning

Lift Aircraft Hexa Flying Inside the Drone

Latest update on LIFT here.

Endgaget LIFT review here.

New Atlas LIFT technical review here.

I knew the day of flying INSIDE a drone was not far off, but I'm amazed it is here so soon.
Learn about the aircraft here.
And see how you fly it here.

In the Lift Flight Centers own words:

BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO FLY IN YOUR CITY! Starting in 2019, we're opening LIFT Flight Centers in scenic, uncongested areas around major cities in the U.S. We've selected 25 candidate cities and will choose our first locationsbased on reservation and membership totals.FOR A LIMITED TIME, SPECIAL PRE-SALE PRICE OF $149 PER FLIGHT * * Save 40% off of $249 regular price, no prepayment required, cancel anytime, limit 5

Matt Chasen is a serial entrepreneur, investor and adventure sports enthusiast. 

Matt is founder and CEO of LIFT Aircraft, which is launching the 

first experiential entertainment business based on an entirely new type of 

personal, electric aircraft. 

While getting his MBA at The University of Texas in 2003, Matt founded uShip - the first and largest online marketplace for shipping with over $200M in annual gross sales. Matt served world’s as uShip’s CEO until 2016 and received a Best CEO award by

 the Austin Business Journal (2012), has earned Austin Under 40 and Texas “Rising Star” honors (2011), and was an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year finalist (2010). Prior to business school Matt was an engineer at Boeing in Seattle, where he worked on the 

F-22 Fighter, Airborne Laser and other advanced aerospace projects. Prior to 

Boeing, Matt studied mechanical and aerospace engineering at U.T. and was a 

NASA scholarship recipient. Matt is a pilot, an avid sailor and scuba diver, and has completed the Texas Water Safari - known s the “World’s Toughest Canoe Race”. Matt lives in Austin with his wife and two children.

LIFT Aircraft Press Release Austin, Texas December 11, 2018 

LIFT Aircraft unveils personal multirotor aircraft, experiential entertainment plans 

Matt Chasen, founder of uShip, is unveiling a new venture today called LIFT Aircraft   (www.liftaircraft.com). LIFT has developed an electric, vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and plans to open up LIFT locations where anyone will be able to rent aircraft and experience an entirely new kind of flying - pilot's license not required. 

“Flying is probably the oldest and most enduring of human aspirations. Personal aviation is available today but it’s only accessible to the lucky few with the money, time and skill to get the extensive training needed to fly traditional aircraft. At LIFT, we’re making flying so simple, safe and inexpensive that anyone can do it with very little skill or special training. We’re truly consumerizing flying for the first time in history”, says Chasen. 

LIFT is launching the world’s first experiential entertainment business leveraging eVTOL aircraft, and plans to own and operate fleets of aircraft in scenic and uncongested areas near major metro areas, tourist destinations and entertainment hubs. After training in their virtual reality simulators, anyone over the age of 18, and up to 6’ 5” tall and 250 lbs, will be able to fly for up to 15 minutes at a time. 

“LIFT is doing for flying what iFLY does for skydiving - making an expensive and inaccessible experience available to everyone”, according to Alan Metni, the founder of iFLY Indoor Skydiving. 

The aircraft, named Hexa  , resembles a large drone with 18 sets of propellers, motors and batteries. It has one seat for the pilot and weighs only 432 lbs - which qualifies it as a Powered Ultralight by the FAA so no pilot’s license is required to fly. 

Electric multirotor aircraft fly using something called distributed electric propulsion (DEP), which allows an aircraft to be controlled simply by varying the speed of multiple electric motors - a task that is accomplished by flight control computers. 

“The pilot is not flying the aircraft in the sense of traditional helicopters and fixed wing airplanes” says Colin Guinn, a drone industry pioneer who has held leadership roles at DJI, 3D Robotics and Hangar Technologies. “With DEP aircraft, like with drones, the flight computer is keeping the aircraft stabilized and the pilot merely provides control inputs using a joystick” 

Chasen believes that modern drone technology and autonomy can be used to make flying ten-times safer than with today’s general aviation aircraft. “The vast majority of accidents are the result of pilot error - running out of fuel, controlled flight into terrain, flying in bad weather, etc.” Hexa is semi-autonomous so, regardless of what the pilot does, it will only fly in a safe manner within the limits programmed into the autopilot computer.   

“Autonomy is actually much easier in the air than for cars on the ground - there are far fewer obstacles, no roads, no traffic lights, and you have 3 dimensions to move around”, says Chasen. For example, the aircraft is continuously calculating the energy required to “return to home” based altitude, wind speed and direction. Regardless of what the pilot does, the aircraft will automatically return and land when the battery approaches this level plus a reserve, and it can also automatically land in designated safe landing areas, if necessary.” 

Unlike traditional helicopters, Hexa can even fly with up to six of its eighteen motors out, has a ballistic parachute that autonomously deploys in the event of an emergency, has 5 floats to safely land on water, and can be controlled remotely by LIFT trained safety pilots in the event of an emergency. 

“LIFT’s safety will come not just from the simplicity and redundancy of the design, but also from the fact that flights will take place in very controlled environments - 3D mapped areas where on-board sensors and ground based radars can track every aircraft and obstruction… and flights will only take place in good weather conditions”, says Charlie Justiz, the former Chief of Aviation Safety at NASA. 

Chasen and his international team of designers, engineers and flight technicians have been busy - in just the last year and a half they have designed, prototyped, manufactured, assembled and tested their first production design aircraft. After four months of unmanned flight testing, Chasen flew Hexa for the first time last month and says, “It was an absolutely thrilling experience - I think it will be the most exciting thing that most people do in their entire lives.” 

Chasen thinks leveraging Ultralight eVTOL aircraft for recreational flying is a necessary step for the nascent eVTOL industry before it’s ready for commercial transportation. “Multi-seat eVTOL air taxis, especially those that are designed to transition to wing-borne flight, are probably 10 years away and will require new regulations and significant advances in battery technology to be practical and safe.” Hexa’s “pure hover” design with rotors up high like a traditional helicopter was a result of Chasen’s desire to develop an aircraft that is safe, stable and can fly using technology that exists today. “We didn’t want to wait for major technology or regulatory breakthroughs to start flying.” 

Companies ranging from small startups to aerospace giants like Boeing and Airbus are pursuing opportunities in this new eVTOL industry, including Uber - who is developing an air taxi service. “What’s unique about what we’re doing is that we’ll be flying years before anyone else - in fact, starting today we’re letting people join our waitlist for flights in 25 cities and will open up locations based on where we get the most demand."

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla - The Lift HEXA, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, lifted off at Duke Field Nov. 16 for a routine flight, only this sortie was piloted by Airmen.

For the first time here, Airmen remotely controlled the aircraft during multiple take offs, flights and landings.  This was an early step in creating a training program to incorporate Airmen into the aircraft’s flight operations.

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The goal training the Airmen was twofold.  The first was to validate the HEXA’s training program by having the Airmen execute it in a controlled, test environment.  The second was to serve as a proof of concept for how to develop responsive training for government operators on uncrewed EVTOL aircraft.  With more uncrewed cargo EVTOLs on the way, the overall goal is to field the systems as soon as they are ready.

“Successfully completing this training is a huge milestone and confidence boost to allow us to meet this challenge,” said Maj. Riley Livermore, 413th FLTS Futures Flight commander. 

The three Airmen, an officer and a senior NCO from the 413th Flight Test Squadron and a senior NCO from Air Education and Training Command’s Detachment 62, have background in rotary wing aircraft. 

"Our team's prior rotary wing experience gave us a framework of reference to work from regarding aerodynamics that apply to vertical takeoff and lift aircraft, crew resource management, and general flight operations at a military airfield,” said Maj. Victoria Snow, a 413th FLTS helicopter pilot who participated in the HEXA training.  “Even though the technology is vastly different, understanding the mechanics of helicopter flying translates well to operating the HEXA."

The team began with classroom and simulator training before getting behind the controls of the HEXA aircraft during the two-week familiarization. 

The flight requires a two-person team.  One person controls the movement of the aircraft, while the other monitors the aircraft systems, batteries, outside variables, etc.

"My first flight experience was both rewarding and insightful,” said Snow, who has been observing and advising on HEXA test operations since March. “Getting the chance to fly the HEXA gave me a deeper understanding of the system's inner workings and an understanding of how stable and responsive the HEXA aircraft is and of its possible future capabilities."

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The 413th FLTS, along with AFWERX’s Agility Prime manage the EVTOL test and experimentation here.  The unit, located at Duke Field, provides the coordination, logistics and support for the Lift team’s developmental ground and flight-testing operations.

The goal of this Air Force and civilian partnership is to leverage the industry’s commercial investment and innovation to effectively satisfy military use cases.

“By helping these companies reach their commercial goals, we can learn from this technology and transition it for possible military use,” said Livermore.