Instructions For Use of Cached Equipment. Written instructions and diagrams should be included if they will facilitate assembly or use of the cached equipment. Instructions must be written in a language the agent can understand, and the wording should be as simple as possible and unmistakably clear. Diagrams should be self-explanatory since the eventual user may not be able to read an explanatory text despite best efforts to anticipate language difficulties.
When packing is completed, the lid of the container is sealed to make it watertight. Whatever sealing device is used, utmost care should be taken to make sure that the sealing is done properly, because the closing joint is the most vulnerable. After the container is sealed, it should be tested to make sure that it is watertight by entirely submerging the container in water and watching for air bubbles escaping.
Hot water should be used if possible, since hot water will bring out leaks that would not be revealed by a cold water test. Also r it should be sealed self-sealing or adhesive to a sealing material ; it should be pliable enough to fit closely, with tight folds; and it should be tough enough to resist tearing and puncturing. Pliability and toughness may be combined by using two wrappings: A tough outer wrapping is essential unless the container and the padding are adequate to prevent any scraping between objects in the cache.
The following materials are recommended as field expedients because they often can be obtained locally and used effectively by unskilled personnel: For use as an inner wrapping, aluminum foil is the best of the widely available materials. It is moistureproof as long as it does not become perforated, and provided the folds are adequately sealed. The drawbacks to its use for caching are that the thin foils perforate easily, while the heavy ones over two mils thick tend to admit moisture through the folds.
The heavy-duty grade of aluminum foil generally sold for kitchen use is adequate when used with an outer wrapping. Scrim-backed foil, which is heat-sealable , is widely used commercially to package articles for shipment or storage. Portable heat-sealers which are easy to use are available commercially, or the sealing can be done with a standard household iron. Several brands of commercial wrapping papers are resistant to water and grease. They do not provide lasting protection against moisture when used alone, but they are effective as an inner wrapping, to prevent rubber, wax, and similar substances from sticking to the articles in the cache.
This is a self-sealing compound generally used for repairing tires; it makes an excellent outer wrapping. Standard commercial brands come in several thicknesses; 2 millimeters is the most satisfactory for caching. A watertight seal is produced easily by placing two rubber surfaces together and applying pressure manually.
The seal should be at least a half inch wide. Since this material has a tendency to adhere to some objects, an inner wrapping of nonadhesive material must be used with it, and the backing should be left on the rubber material to keep it from sticking to other objects in the cache. Grade "C" Barrier Material.
This is a cloth impregnated with microcrystalline wax used extensively when packing for storage or overseas shipment. Thus it is generally available, and it has the additional advantage of being self-sealing.
Although it is not as effective as rubber repair gum, it may be used as an outer wrapping over aluminum foil to prevent perforation of the foil. Also, the wax wrapping has a low melting point and will adhere to most objects, so it should not be used without an inner wrapping except in emergencies. If no wrapping material is available, an outer coating of microcrystalline wax, parrafin, or similar waxy substance can be used to protect the contents against moisture, although it will not provide protection against insects and rodents.
The package should be hot-dipped in the waxy substance, or the wax can be heated to molten form and applied with a brush.
The outer container serves to protect the contents from shock, moisture, and the other natural hazards to which the cache may be exposed. The ideal container would have all the following qualifications: The Standard Stainless Steel Container. These containers come in several sizes as follows: The ideal procedure is to have the stainless steel container packed at headquarters or at a field packaging center. If the materials to be cached must be obtained locally, use of the stainless steel container is still advisable because its high resistance to moisture eliminates the need for an outer wrapping.
A single wrapping usually should be employed even with the stainless steel container in order to protect the contents from any residual moisture that may be present in the container when it is sealed. Obviously the ideal container cannot be improvised in the field, but some standard military and commercial containers can meet the essential requirements if they are adapted with care and resourcefulness.
First, a container must be sufficiently sturdy to remain unpunctured and in shape through whatever rough handling or crushing pressure it may encounter. Even a slight warping may make the joint around the lid leak. The second critical feature of any container is the device for sealing the joint around the lid. If the lid is not already watertight and airtight, it may be possible to make it so by improvising a sealing device. The most common type includes a rubber -composition gasket or lining and a sharp metal rim which is pressed against the gasket by a clamp or spring. The gasket must be tough, and the rim sharp enough to indent the gasket without cutting it.
Another common sealing device is a threaded lid. Its effectiveness can be increased by applying heavy grease to the threads. Metallic solder should not be used for sealing because it will corrode metal surfaces when exposed to moisture. Whenever any nonstainless metal container is used, it is important to apply several coats of high-quality paint to all exterior surfaces.
Following are some of the more suitable military and commercial containers: Aircraft and other precision instruments ordinarily are shipped in steel containers with a waterproof sealing device. The standard instrument containers range from the half-gallon to the ten-gallon sizes. If one of suitable size can be found, it will be quite satisfactory with minimum modifications. In the most common type the only weak point is the nut and bolt that tighten the locking band around the lid. These should be replaced with a stainless steel nut and bolt.
Several standard types of steel ammunition boxes that have a rubber-gasketed closing device are satisfactory for buried caches. The advantage of ammunition boxes is that several standard sizes are usually available at a military depot.
TC A US Army Special Forces Caching Techniques | Survival Monkey Forums
A caching container of suitable size may be found among the several types and sizes of steel drums that are used commercially for shipping oil, grease, nails, soap, and other products. The most common types lack an adequate sealing device, so a waterproof material should be used around the lid. Full removable head drums with lock-ring closures generally give a satisfactory seal. Glass has the advantages of being completely waterproof and impervious to chemicals, bacteria, and insects.
Although glass is highly vulnerable to shock, glass jars of a sturdy quality can withstand the crushing pressure normally encountered in caching. However, none of the available glass containers have an adequate sealing device for the joint around the lid. The standard commercial canning jar with a spring clamp and rubber washer is watertight, but the metal clamp is vulnerable to corrosion.
Therefore a glass jar with spring clamp and rubber washer is an adequate expedient for short-term caching of small objects, but it should not be relied upon to resist moisture for more than a year. The standard can with a reusable lid requires a waterproof adhesive around the lid. It is especially important to apply several coats of paint to the exterior because the metal in a standard commercial can is not as heavy as that in a metal drum.
Even when the exterior is thoroughly painted, a paint can probably will not resist moisture for more than a few months. Horizontal and Vertical Caches. Ordinarily the hole for a buried cached is vertical, being dug straight down from the surface. Sometimes a horizontal cache, with the hole dug into the side of a steep hill or bank, provides a workable solution when a suitable site on level or slightly sloping ground is not available.
A horizontal cache may provide better drainage in areas of heavy rainfall, but it is more likely to be exposed by soil erosion and also more difficult to refill and restore to Sketch 7. Horizontal hole for a buried cache. Dimensions of the Hole. The exact dimensions of the hole, either vertical or horizontal, depend on the size and shape of the cache container. As a general rule, to make sure that the hole will be large enough for the container to be inserted easily, the horizontal dimensions of the hole should be about 30 centimeters longer and wider than the container.
A deeper hole makes probing for recovery more difficult and unnecessarily prolongs the time required for burial and recovery. If there is a risk that the surrounding soil will cave in during excavation, boards or bags filled with subsoil may be used to shore the sides of the hole. Permanent shoring may be needed to protect an improvised container from pressure or shock.
The following items of equipment may be helpful or indis- pensable forburying a cache, depending upon the conditions at the site: The probe rod should be at least as long as the depth of the hole, pointed, and equipped with a sturdy handle, so that it can be pushed into the ground by hand. A thin steel rod, approximately one centimeter in diameter, is best. The probe rod should be round, so that it can be turned like a screwdriver while pushing it into the ground.
Turning facilitates penetration when the ground is hard. A handle can be improvised by making a degree bend near the top of the rod. Some field expedients are: An article of clothing may be used for a small excavation if nothing else is available. When the cache has been designed and the equipment selected, every step of the emplacement operation must be carefully worked out in advance. Aside from locating, digging, and refilling the hole, the most important factors in this part of the emplacement plan may be expressed with one word: Since it is almost impossible to prevent every member of the burial party from knowing the location of the cache, each member will be a prime security problem as long as the cache remains intact.
Thus the burial party must be kept as small as possible, and each member must be selected with utmost care. Once selected, each member must have adequate cover to explain his absence from home or work during the operation, his trip to and from the site, and his possession of whatever equipment cannot be concealed on the way. Transportation for the burial party may be a problem, depending on the number of persons, how far they must go, and what equipment they must take.
When all details of the operation have been worked out, every member of the burial party must be briefed on exactly what he will do from start to finish. The final step in planning the emplacement operation is to make a schedule, setting the date, time, and place for every step of the operation that requires advance coordination. The schedule will depend mainly on the circumstances, but to be practical it must include a realistic estimate of how long it will take to complete the burial.
Here generalizations are worthless, and the only sure guide is actual experience under similar conditions. Speaking in the abstract, three things may be said about scheduling. Therefore, if circumstances require a tight schedule, it may be advisable to make a "dry run" or test exercise before taking the package to the site. The difficulties of working in the dark make a nighttime practice exercise especially advisable.
The difficulties of snow have already been mentioned. Rainy weather increases the problems of digging and complicates the cover story. If the burial is to be done at night, a moonless night or a heavy overcast is desirable. Regardless of how effective the action cover may be for the trip to the cache site , the immediate approach must be completely unobserved to avoid detection of the burial. The point where the burial party "disappears," perhaps by turning off a road into a woods, must be carefully selected, so as to minimize the risk that the party will be observed at the critical moment.
This applies likewise to the "reappearance" point, and the return trip should be by a different route. Rules for concealed movement should be strictly observed, the party proceeding cautiously and silently along a route that makes the best use of natural concealment. All this requires foresight, with special attention to natural concealment while reconnoitering the route and to the means of avoiding rattling when preparing the package and burial equipment. The container is attached to several mooring cables that radiate to anchors placed around the cache, forming a web.
The container must be buoyant, so that it lifts the cables far enough off the bottom to be readily secured by grappling. The site must be located exactly at time of emplacement by visual sightings to fixed landmarks in the water or along the shore, using several FRPs to establish a point where two sighted lines intersect. For recovery, the site is located by taking sightings on the reference points, then a mooring cable is engaged by dragging the bottom or diving. This method of mooring is most difficult for recovery. It can be used only where the bottom is smooth and firm enough for dragging, or where the water is not too deep, cold, or murky for diving.
Cache is located in line with south side of pier and on extension line between east side of spillway and chimney of paper mill, south of pond. The container is weighted with an attached anchor, and a line is run from the cache to an immovable object along the shore. The section of the line that extends from the shore to this object must be buried in the ground or otherwise well concealed.
The container is anchored, and a line is run from the cache to a buoy or other fixed, floating marker, then fastened well below t ae water line. This method is secure only as long as the buoy is left in place. It is common practice to inspect and repaint buoys every six months or so, and the schedule should be determined before a buoy is used. The container is anchored, and a line for retrieving it is run to a bridge pier or other solid structure in the water.
The line must be fastened well below the low-water mark. Cache is moored to fifth piling from west end of pier on south side. Whatever type of mooring is used, it is evident that certain data must be determined beforehand and carefully considered in designing a submerged cache. The cache very likely will be lost if any of these critical factors are overlooked. Many containers are buoyant even when filled, and it is most important that the container be weighted sufficiently to submerge it and keep it in place.
If the contents do not provide enough weight, the balance must be made up by attaching an anchor weight to the container. The buoyancy problem may be illustrated by the following table, which applies to several sizes of the standard stainless steel container. This calculation may be useful for designing an anchor weight, but it never should be relied upon for actual emplacement. In order to avoid hurried improvisation during emplacement, the buoyancy always should be tested in advance by actual submersion of the container with weighting attached.
TC 31-29 Special Forces - Caching Techniques
This sinking test determines only that a submerged cache will not float to the surface; additional weighting is required to keep it from drifting along the bottom. As a general rule, the additional weight should be at least one tenth of the gross weight required to make the container sink; more weight is advisable if strong currents are present. The depth at which the container is to be submerged must be determined in order to calculate the water pressure that the container must withstand. The greater the depth, the greater the danger that the container will be crushed by water pressure.
For instance, the standard stainless steel burial container will buckle at a depth of approximately 4. The difficulty of waterproofing likewise increases with depth. Thus the container should not be submerged any deeper than necessary to avoid detection.
Caching your Guns for a Civil War, Parts III and IV (long)
As a general rule, 2. If seasonal or tidal variations in the water level require deeper submersion, the container should be tested by actual submersion to the maximum depth it must withstand. It is always necessary to measure accurately the depth of the water at the point where the cache is to be placed. This will be the submersion depth if the cache is designed so that the container rests on the bottom of the lake or river.
The container may be suspended some distance above the bottom, but the depth of the water must be known in order to determine the length of moorings connecting the container to the anchors. Any tidal or seasonal changes in the depth of the water should be estimated as accurately as possible. It is especially important to consider the low-water mark, to insure that low water will not leave the cache exposed. The high-water point also should be considered to make sure that the increased depth will not crush the container or prevent recovery. The bed of the lake or river in the vicinity of the cache should be probed as thoroughly as possible.
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- Full text of "U.S. Army Special Forces caching techniques : [(hiding and storing stuff safely)]".
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- U.S. Army Special Forces Handbook: Pentagon U.S. Military: theranchhands.com: Books.
If the bottom is soft and silty, the cache may sink into the muck, become covered with sediment, or drift out of place. If the bottom is rocky or covered with debris, the moorings may become snagged. Any of these conditions might make recovery very difficult. Tides, currents, and waves should be considered, because any water motion will put additional strain on the moorings of the cache. It is important that the moorings be strong enough to withstand the greatest possible strain.
If the water motion tends to rock the cache, special care must be taken to prevent the moorings from rubbing and fraying. How far the cache can be seen through the water must be considered in deciding how deeply to submerge it. If the water is quite clear, it may be necessary to camouflage the cache by painting the container to match the bottom. Shiny metallic fixtures always should be painted a dull color. Very murky water, on the other hand, will impede recovery by divers. Seasonal changes in the temperature of the water must be considered, because freezing might make recovery impossible in winter.
The dates when the lake or river usually freezes and thaws should be determined as accurately as possible. Imagine a graph with two scales. Those scales are labeled Security call that the X Axis and Convenience Y Axis; sometimes called Accessibility, but Convenience is rather more than that. A scatterplot of every cache you have made, will make, or might make would, we argue, describe a linear function: Concealment Cache in the walls of a Welsh house, discovered almost 20 years later after the original emplacer died during routine home maintenance.
Yet, a cache that has not been periodically serviced, at least inspected, is a cache that cannot be counted on. Every clandestine organization we are aware of has required written reports; both the report and the show-me method of pass-on have different, non-zero risks. A filing cabinet full of cache reports, fallen into enemy hands, can leave entire insurgencies unarmed and most definitely afraid.
Best used for temporary purposes. This subset of concealment caches is the equivalent of your typical spy cache: Such a cache tends to be slow and difficult to access, and to contain relatively small quantities. A crude clandestine concealment cache is frankly worse than just throwing the cache material in a drawer under the baby blankets. This is the most common type of cache in the real world.
Unless the cache report is extremely clear, a buried cache is quite difficult to locate, recognize, and recover. For example, Soviet-era cache reports for numerous sabotage caches emplaced in the West were recovered as part of the famous Mitrokhin Archive. But despite having manual copies of the original caches to work from, none of seven large caches identified in the USA could be recovered. One of the previous blown caches had lb.
And ours did likewise, but we did recover our caches when the Cold War ended. Probably not, but hang around with CI guys for a while and you start thinking like this. Finally, a buried cache is by definition underground: Well, consider the famous Tulsa, Oklahoma time capsule Plymouth Belvedere: It is the hardest, riskiest, most challenging, and it needs the most preparation.
But what did we say about security? However, it is full of hard information and does the job. This will be a valuable reference text for emergencies that I hope never happen around the home. Book is good source for medical knowledge in bad situations, it doesn't take the place of actual classroom and hands on instruction, but if you have neither, this is a good reference.
Item arrived as described. All the info is good but it looks like it is a printoff from a PDF put into paperback. I wanted a book to put in a emergency kit. Finding a particular cause and remedy in this book would take considerable time when time is of the essense.
Get the book I just mentioned first. Army Special Forces Handbook. I was looking for more info on survival in an nature environment. This dose provide some info but I wouldn't want to go into the deep wilderness with just the info in this book its lacking big time. Firefox books are the best I've see so far. One person found this helpful.
The book was ok but it had a lot of old techniques and the shipper that I went with packed the book badly. I got the darn thing in the mail nearly bent in half.
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