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10/21/20246 min read

How to Make a Strategic Map of Your Surrounding Area for SHTF Scenarios

In a SHTF (Sh*t Hits the Fan) situation, knowing your environment and preparing strategic plans can be the difference between life and death. One of the best tools you can create is a strategic map of your surrounding area. This map will serve as a guide to defensive planning, neighbor relationships, and potential threats, giving you the knowledge and foresight to act decisively when danger arises. In this article, we’ll break down how to make an efficient and versatile strategic map for your area, including information on your neighbors, threats, defensive positions, booby traps, and much more.

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1. Gathering Key Information on Your Neighbors

Understanding your neighbors is a critical aspect of planning for SHTF. It’s important to have files on all your neighbors, which should include:

Basic contact information: Names, phone numbers, and home addresses.
Skill sets: Identify any useful skills your neighbors have (e.g., medical training, military experience, farming, etc.).
Resources: What tools, supplies, or weapons they may have that could be valuable in an emergency.
Trustworthiness: An assessment of how likely they are to be allies or threats in a crisis.

These files will help you determine who can be trusted and who might be a risk in a survival scenario. For those you trust, you may want to create a mutual assistance plan where you work together for protection, resources, and information sharing.

2. Tracking Felons and Threats in Your Area

You should also gather intel on any felons or known threats living within a 1-mile radius of your home. To do this, check publicly available databases or websites that track criminal activity in your area. Key information to gather for your files on these individuals should include:

Names and criminal history.
Location and proximity to your home.
Likelihood of becoming a threat in an SHTF scenario, based on past behavior or circumstances.

By identifying potential threats in your area, you can better plan for defensive measures and understand the risks you may face.

3. Creating a Map with Transparent Films for Different Scenarios

A map can be made more versatile by using transparent film overlays for different situations. Start by obtaining a high-quality map of your area, such as a topographic map or a satellite image map. On this base map, you can add different layers for specific scenarios, drawn on clear acetate sheets or transparent films. Here are some layers to consider:

Daily Use: Roads, trails, water sources, buildings, and natural landmarks.
Defensive Positions: Highlight natural cover, strategic vantage points, and areas for surveillance.
Booby Traps: Mark locations where you could set up booby traps or other deterrents to slow down intruders.
Ambush Zones: Identify narrow choke points or areas where you can set up an effective ambush.
Retreat Routes: Clearly mark escape routes in case your primary defense fails, including safe zones outside the immediate area.
Communication Points: Designate areas for signals or rendezvous points for family or neighbors.

Using multiple transparent layers allows you to quickly shift between different contingency plans based on the scenario.

4. Waterproofing Your Map with Laminate

In any SHTF scenario, the durability of your tools is essential. To ensure your strategic map remains intact and usable in adverse conditions, you should laminate both the map and the transparent overlays. Lamination protects the paper from water, dirt, and tearing. You can do this by either purchasing a lamination machine or taking the materials to an office supply store that offers lamination services.

Once laminated, store your map and overlays in a waterproof case or a durable zippered binder to further protect them from the elements.

5. Marking Defensive Positions

Identifying defensive positions around your home is one of the most important aspects of your map. Focus on marking:

Perimeter Defenses: These can be natural (hills, thick woods) or man-made (fences, walls). Make sure to mark potential cover positions like trees, rocks, or barricades.
Overwatch Locations: Choose high ground where you can observe and cover the approaches to your home.
Hide Sites: Designate secret areas where you can hide or regroup in case you’re overrun.

Make sure to test these positions in advance, ensuring clear lines of sight and fields of fire.

6. Booby Traps and Ambush Zones

Mark the locations where you could place booby traps on your map. Potential trap types could include:

Tripwires attached to alarms or traps.
Hidden spike pits or sharpened stakes.
Camouflaged snares or nets to trap intruders.

For ambush zones, look for natural bottlenecks like narrow paths or terrain that forces people to funnel through small areas, which make it easier to predict enemy movement.

7. Identifying Retreat Routes

If things go bad and you need to fall back, it’s crucial to have retreat routes clearly marked on your map. These should lead to pre-selected safe zones, such as a neighbor’s home, an underground shelter, or a remote location. Ensure these routes are unobstructed and hidden to avoid pursuit. Backup routes should also be planned in case your primary path is compromised.

Additional Strategic Considerations

8. Marking Difficult Terrain

One crucial aspect of your map is identifying difficult terrain. Terrain features like steep hills, rivers, swamps, dense forests, and rocky outcrops can be used to your advantage or pose potential challenges. On your map:

Highlight difficult terrain areas: Use different colors or symbols to mark terrain that is hard to traverse, making it harder for intruders to approach undetected.
Choke Points: Mark areas where the terrain funnels attackers into a predictable path, ideal for setting up ambushes or barriers.
Natural Barriers: Use features like cliffs, water bodies, or dense woods to restrict enemy movement and create natural defenses around your property.

Understanding these geographic features will help you position defenses and direct threats into pre-planned kill zones.

9. Marking TCP (Traffic Control Points)

Traffic Control Points (TCPs) are essential in slowing down or stopping vehicles approaching your home. They can also control entry and exit during an SHTF scenario. On your map:

Place TCPs on key entry routes: Mark where roads or driveways meet, especially at choke points where vehicles have limited options to maneuver.
Create barriers: Mark spots for speed bumps, spike strips, or vehicle barricades that slow or stop unwanted traffic.
Observation Points: Make sure TCPs are positioned near defensive positions with clear lines of sight so you can observe vehicle movement and potentially engage if necessary.

TCPs allow you to control access to your home and detect incoming threats well before they reach your property.

10. Establishing ECP (Entry Control Points)

Beyond simple TCPs, Entry Control Points (ECPs) are more fortified and serve as the primary access control point to your home. On your map:

Designate a secure entry point: Mark the best spot for an ECP, where traffic or individuals will be funneled.
Barriers and gates: Highlight areas for reinforced gates, roadblocks, or natural barriers to slow down hostile approaches.
Checkpoints: Create positions for stopping and checking anyone trying to enter, ensuring it is an area that can be defended with surveillance from hidden or fortified positions.

An ECP should be defensible and give you full control over who enters your property.

11. Setting Up Escape and Evacuation Routes

Escape routes aren’t just for on-foot movement. They should also be pre-planned for vehicle evacuation in case you need to leave quickly. On your map:

Mark primary and secondary routes: Clearly indicate multiple evacuation paths, including alternate routes in case roads are blocked.
Terrain Consideration: Consider how terrain can either help or hinder a quick escape, ensuring your routes avoid difficult terrain or natural choke points where you could be ambushed.

Always have secondary routes planned in case your primary route is blocked or compromised.

12. Marking Hidden Stash Locations

On your map, mark hidden stash points where you’ve pre-positioned supplies like food, water, medical gear, and ammunition. This ensures that if you are forced to retreat or temporarily abandon your property, you still have access to critical resources. When marking:

Use codes or symbols: Avoid labeling these spots clearly to prevent unwanted discovery.
Place stashes in strategic, hidden areas: Ideally, stash points should be near defensive positions or retreat routes, but hidden from plain sight.

These caches could be critical for resupplying during a prolonged defense or when on the move.

By expanding your strategic map to include difficult terrain, Traffic Control Points, Entry Control Points, escape routes, and hidden stash locations, you will greatly enhance your preparedness for an SHTF scenario. These additional steps provide vital insight into how to control your environment, slow down potential threats,