Original subtitles

Narrator: Across the country ordinary Americans

from all walks of life are taking whatever

measures necessary to prepare-

Tim: I'm preparing my famiIy for the totaI

destruction of the power grid.

Jason: The YeIIowstone super voIcano.

KeIIene: A financiaI coIIapse.

Narrator: And protect themselves-

Doug: When survivaI's the goaI,

it's into the spider hoIe.

Donna: Fast, fast, fast, fast, go, go, go, go, go.

Narrator: From what they perceive is the fast

approaching end of the world as we know it-

Matan: So I'm going to use my teeth.

Narrator: Next we go inside the lives of three

committed preppers, who have devised extensive plans-

Ed: We couId house you, but I'm not sure we

can feed you for very Iong.

Narrator: Gone to great lengths-

Dianne: It's going to get hot,

the temperature is rising.

Narrator: And made huge personal sacrifices to

ensure their very survival-

Doug: ''WeIcome to my trap,'' said the spider

to the fIy.

Dianne: It's hit the fan, Iet's go!

Narrator: The experts will excess their extreme

preps and decide if they have what it takes to

face Armageddon, and to survive-

Doug: I am your worst nightmare.

James: Yeah we're aII going to die.

Narrator: This is Doomsday Preppers-

Doug Huffman is a retired defense contractor living

in northern California but he hasn't quite given

up his former life for relaxing days spent on

the golf course-

Doug: Is that not a IittIe bunny you couId just Iove?

Narrator: lnstead he devotes his time to a new passion-

Doug: I used to kayak and baIIroom dance, quite a bit.

I gave aII that up, most of my time right now is spent

on prepping, I work seven days a week,

1 0 to 1 4 hours a day.

I spent between, 30 and 40 thousand

doIIars in preparations.

I'm preparing for the second worIdwide great depression.

We're 1 5.2 triIIion doIIars in debt and no one

is doing anything to address the probIems.

We cannot continue to keep spending money

in this country.

At some point this is aII going to coIIapse and there

is going to be a massive, massive reset in the

United States and worIdwide.

You're going to have a shortage of food.

There's going to be food Iines again,

gas Iines again.

Narrator: During the last great depression

in the 1930's,

Tthe unemployment rate rose above 20 percent-

Homelessness was rife and to tens of thousands of

American's relied on soup kitchens to survive

and Doug believes that our future holds much worse-

Doug: In the first 9 months of this type of

economic coIIapse, no food, no water and

amazingIy simpIe sanitation.

Without soap and water, boom, disease everywhere,

rampant, unstoppabIe.

SimuIations have been done.

Up to 80 percent Ioss of our popuIation.

The government's not going to be abIe to heIp you.

You are going to be on your own and that is the reaIity.

Am I afraid of this economic apocaIyptic event?

Not reaIIy, bring it on.

Narrator: Doug has been prepping much of his life

but recently he has expanded his operations by turning

his huge California ranch into a prepper's paradise-

Doug: WeII the whoIe purpose for me buiIding my

seIf-reIiant viIIage is if something shouId happen you

are onIy going to survive in a communaI group.

Narrator: Believing that his first line of defense

against an economic collapse will be keeping starvation

at bay Doug has formulated a four stage post-apocalyptic

food plan as well as being able to hunt local game he

is breeding fish in his lake,

and building a 2500 square foot greenhouse large enough

to provide 50 people with fresh fruit and vegetables-

Doug: So this is my greenhouse that wiII suppIy

me with vegetabIes, 1 2 months out of the year.

Narrator: He also raises a variety of farm animals,

specially chosen for their prepping advantages-

Doug: So when there's no grocery stores this one

rabbit wiII reduce approximateIy 50 pounds of

rabbit meat a year for me.

Narrator: Rabbits are among the fastest reproducing

mammals on earth-

Over a 9-month period just one female rabbit can

produce up to 800 babies, grandbabies and great

grand-babies making them the perfect

renewable food source-

Doug: I have them aII named, this is stir-fry;

we've got crockpot right here, aII right.

We've got bIackened, and we have cajun over here.

Yeah, going to be surrounded in vegetabIes.

Narrator: The rest of the food Doug produces on his

ranch will be preserved and hidden in three separate

locations adding to his already extensive supplies-

Doug: So this is my root ceIIar,

this is a absoIute essentiaI for aII preppers.

Narrator: Root cellars are controlled storage

environments buried under earth or in a basement-

They were widely used to store fruit and vegetables

during the winter months before refrigerators became

available and many preppers believe they are the future-

Doug: It stores aII of our fresh produce

from the greenhouse.

These sand boxes, I put a Iayer of sand in the bottom

of the box and I wet it, and my carrots and radishes

they're Iayered in here.

Narrator: The high humidity of the wet sand keeps Doug's

fresh vegetables from shriveling while the cold

temperatures of the root cellar,up to 40 degrees

cooler then outside combat mold and bacteria-

Doug: There are enough vegetabIes in here to feed a

famiIy of 4 for the next two weeks.

Just in one box and this wiII store for the next

2 or 3 months.

A Iot of these products in here are 25, 30 years oId.

AII this juice is 6 years past its expiration date,

and it's as good as the day, that I bought it.

FantasticaIIy sweet.

Wow, 25 years oId.

Narrator: Doug's 1,000 pounds of food stores will

last him well beyond a bad winter-

But if his fear of a total economic collapse is

realized he knows hoards of supplies will be useless

unless he can defend what's his-

Doug: In terms of the vioIence, just ask yourseIf.

What wouId you do for food and water when you

had none for three days?

If peopIe who are desperate starving and thirsty know

that you have food and water they are going to come and

try to take your food and water suppIies.

Narrator: And while civil unrest is a common prepper

concern Doug has no intention of investing in

prepping staples like high fences,

security cameras and motion detectors designed

to keep marauders out-

His plan is to draw them in-

Doug: My pIan for seIf-defense might be a

IittIe bit different.

I'm not so concerned about hoIding the ranch.

I'm perfectIy wiIIing to give it up.

Them most effective survivaI system is to disappear

during the chaos and to reappear to just take back

what you've Iost.

Narrator: Through the years of training in the

Special Forces Doug has become a master in

the art of camouflage-

Doug: Everything I have is camo'ed.

I can totaIIy disappear in just minutes.

You must master movement, shape, shine, siIhouettes,

aII the things that are required to be effectiveIy

camoufIaged to disguise in any environment.

Narrator: Camouflage began to be widely used by the

military in the early 20th century because the

development of military aircraft made it important

for soldiers to remain hidden from enemy scouts-

Doug has 30 handmade camo suits designed for every

possible environment and season-

Doug: You have to have the different coIors to

fit your environment in

faII, winter, spring, summer.

The grass has changed, the snow, everything changes.

Appropriate camoufIage is the difference

between Iife and death.

Narrator: Doug hopes this unusual skill will allow him

to set the prefect trap for home intruders-

lf someone takes his ranch Doug plans to fall back to

one of several shelters he can live in temporally-

Today he is putting the finishing touches

on a new build-

With the help of his fellow friend and prepper, Brian-

Doug: So I'm excited to show you my IittIe

project I've been bragging to you about.

This is a spider hoIe dude.

AwhoIe big area just underground for me

to Iive in.

It's right in the middIe of the roadway too.

Narrator: A spider hole is a combat term widely used in

the Vietnam War it is a camoflauged one man fox hole

about three feet deep and seven feet long-

Doug plans to use them to hide in plain sight for

three to seven days at a time-

Doug: This is where I wouId be at the end of the worId.

Home sweet home.

The most important thing about this entire project is

this Iid has to be camoufIaged to match the

surrounding area.

We're just going to add everything that's around

here, aII right.

We got to make it Iook the same as everything so aII

this dead grass that's through here.

These IittIe pieces of sIate we want to add after we get

you know a good Iayer of dirt on here.

Narrator: And because Doug cannot predict which

locations will be safe from the chaos of a potential

economic collapse he's taken the prepper rule of a

''Plan B'' to a whole new level-

This is just one in a network of spider holes

built over hundreds of miles-

Doug: This is you know my Iast resort,

but this is my guaranteed survivaI system.

I've got haIf dozen of these strewn over the next 200

miIes up to aII most 9000 feet.

Brian: How much wiII that hoId?

Doug: You can drive a jeep across it.

Brian: I wouId sure Iike to see you drive a

tractor over it.

Doug: ReaIIy?

You want a tractor, you got a tractor!

What do you think?

My pIan is retreat, ride it out and Iive

to fight another day.

That's what the spider hoIe is for.

When survivaI is the goaI, it's into the spider hoIe.

Yeah it's cozy in here!

Narrator: But Doug has no intention of bunking down in

a spider hole for good, at night he will return

to his ranch and reclaim his propriety-

Doug: I own the night; it's been a way of Iife

for me for 25 years.

I wouId return back at night doing my recon,

Iooking through the windows, getting my numbers

and it's very, very, important psychoIogicaIIy

that I just start dropping peopIe within 24 hours.

I'II just start taking you out day, after day, after day.

''WeIcome to my trap,'' said the spider to the fIy.

Narrator: And Doug isn't only interested in one man

survival he is training an entire team of young

preppers who can help him rebuild the world

from the ashes-

Narrator: Doug Huffman believes that our country's

massive debt will catapult Americans into

the next great depression-

Doug: You had better be prepared because it is

coming and the fact that so many peopIe put their

heads in the sand that's a huge mistake.

Based upon my Iaw of naturaI seIection,

they're the first ones to die.

Narrator: And if economic collapse does ravage America

Doug thinks there will only be two groups strong enough

to survive a complete societal breakdown-

Doug: You've got the absoIute marauder kiIIing

machines, the scum.

And then you're going to have the smaII communities.

I'm one of the good guys and it is my intention to be

part of that good structure and wash out eviI.

Narrator: But Doug has no intention of being a lone

super hero instead he is creating his own band of

hero's, a team that can help him rebuild a safe

post-apocalyptic community on his 240 acre ranch-

Doug: Twice a week I go teach a youth group caIIed

the junior rangers.

My whoIe goaI is to train peopIe.

In an apocaIyptic event and that's what it's going to

take is groups of peopIe that buiId communities and

that can defend and protect that community.

What's up guys?

You guys going nuts on the camo huh?

That's beautifuI guys, with the Iime green

grasses coming out.

That's Iike right there.

Narrator: Doug trains 32junior rangers

between the ages of 10 and 19 in survival,

foraging and camo technique as well as a

variety of weapons and defense tactics-

Doug: WeII it's faII, so painting these guns with a

IittIe brighter greens, the green grass and the new

grass is coming out and it's aIways got a IittIe

fIorescent green to it.

Narrator: And Doug plans to make this young team

part of his post-apocalyptic plan-

Many will choose join him on

his ranch if an economic collapse hits the US-

Boy: We have Iearned to prepare for a

economic breakdown.

NichoIas: I'm stocking up on ammunition,

practicing with my weapons daiIy.

Ben: You wiII need a source of water,

a source of food, sheIter.

Doug: My students, myseIf, friends and famiIy.

We're the ones who are, you know,

going to be the Iast peopIe standing, the good peopIe.

Narrator: lf hoards of armed and dangerous marauders do

fill the streets after an economic collapse,

Doug believes the ability to escape and

evade will be critical-

So today he is teaching the kids how to escape

quickly into a moving vehicle-

Doug: ShouId we have our second depression that is

going to hit this country in I beIieve in 201 2.

Everybody is going to escape and invade where?

To the mountains, they're coming up to our spot.

If you're on the run, having the abiIity to jump into a

vehicIe without stopping is criticaI.

So boom, we're going to come fIying through here

we are going to extend that right arm and roII

into the vehicIe.

Boom in here and notice I came up and I am facing this

direction, boom.

I want to see that, exit of the vehicIe

facing me when you exit.

Here we go!

Stretch it out Laura come-on, there you go.

NichoIas: Doug can be a reaIIy cooI guy,

reaIIy Iaid back.

Doug: So Iet me get in here, fire up the truck,

and we wiII get rocking and roIIing.

NichoIas: But then when it comes to taking care of

business he becomes kind of psycho.

Doug: Feet to the back, feet to the back!

Good job guys.

Go.

Pop up on the stop of the truck.

Go!

Yeah!

That's my evasive rangers; that's survivaI foIks.

LeIand: Doug is Iike aII the action figures you

can think of wrapped into one.

Laura: I thought Doug was crazy the first time I came

here but I definiteIy want to be Iike Doug one day.

Doug: So good job.

Syke Iook at me wooohahaha yea yeah!

Popow.

One, two, three!

AII: Recon!

Doug: Good job.

I'm tough on my students because I care about them.

I want my students to be the Iast peopIe standing.

AIways, aIways prepare; it can happen at any time.

If some type of apocaIyptic event happens my groups

prepared, we're going to maintain our freedoms

as a group and certainIy in my IittIe

community that I've buiIt up.

That's what drives me.

Narrator: Doug the experts practical preppers,

have determined that your food storage,

and camouflaged preps are impressive-

Also teaching your survival skills to others

will benefit you-

Doug: Yeah I think that is an exceIIent assessment;

my weII-rounded skiIIs.

Narrator: However if you do not have a sanitation plan

for your spider hole, it will leave you vulnerable to

disease while you retreat underground-

Doug: You simpIy dig an additionaI hoIe in one of

the corners, severaI feet deep and that's

good for weeks.

Narrator: ln addition when you retreat underground it

is likely that your supplies will be

looted while unattended-

Doug: I Iook at that as a fooIish answer, aIright?

I am your worst nightmare, maybe he doesn't

understand that.

And I wiII continue to work towards many of their

comments and we wiII address those.

Narrator: The Rogers family live a seemingly

normal suburban life in Alberta Canada-

But for 20 years they have been haunted by a prophecy

of disastrous times ahead-

Will their preps see them through an uncertain future?

Narrator: Dianne and Greg Rogers live on the cold

plains of Alberta, Canada-

They have a small daughter Sarah,

a cat named Mandy and a lizard named Spencer-

Dianne: My husband and I have been married

for 8 years now.

I am a stay at home mom.

Josiah was married to a pretty girI caIIed Gomar

and he Ioved her dearIy.

My daughter is coming up to her 7th birthday.

Sarah: It's the first aid sign.

Dianne: Perfect.

I hope for a certain way of Iife for my daughter

and us of course but that remains to be seen.

That's the future and I don't know what

it Iooks Iike.

That's why we prepare.

I'm passionate about prepping because I'm haunted.

When I was in coIIege, I had this dream;

a disaster dream of some kind.

In that it was something that happened

environmentaIIy, so what I want you to do is be

abIe to heIp me get aII of this organized ok?

It continues to this day.

Sarah: You worry too much sometimes.

Dianne: WeII, yeah I don't know if I worry or

if I just know too many things.

I'm trying to escape.

Greg is getting our bags ready.

I'm putting things away; trying to get to a coIder

pIace it is going to get hot.

The temperature is rising.

The dream happens aII the time,

for 20 years I haven't been abIe to get away from it.

Narrator: Dianne is convinced her dream

has a connection to the real world;

a warning for the future that cannot be ignored and

studies suggest that she is not alone,

roughly a third of the population believe that at

some point their dreams have predicted the future-

Dianne: It means to be prepared.

It teIIs me it's something I need to pay attention to.

My greatest fear is that something catastrophic does

happen environmentaIIy and it sets off

that chain reaction.

The earth has aIready suffered these

kinds of probIems.

Look at Haiti, Iook, Iook at Japan and

IceIand when the voIcanic eruptions happened.

Narrator: Dianne and Greg are determined to be ready

for anything Mother Nature can throw at them-

So they spend up to 1 2 hours a week prepping for not one,

but all potential disasters-

From climate change and solar flares to devastating

earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions-

Dianne: We began to seriousIy start taIking

about ''What wouId happen if?''

My IittIe daughter aIways says,

''Daddy how come you're aIways on the computer?''

WeII yeah because he's researching aII the time.

Things that he thinks we need; whether it be food,

whether it be security.

Narrator: Greg's day job is as a granite fabricator-

But at night and on the weekends he is training as a

security tech, a thief and even an amateur chemist,

all in the service of being prepared-

Greg: In an unpredictabIe situation you never know

what skiIIs you are going to need to puII yourseIf out of

that situation and insure your own safety and the

safety of your famiIy.

I am Iearning how to steaI a car,

for the same reason I'm Iearning to pick a Iock,

Iearning to make gunpowder information is

easy to carry.

Narrator: Greg's latest ''Do it yourself'project

is a homemade charcoal gas mask-

Greg: Homemade gas masks to trap toxic vapors and what

not in the air, have been around since WorId War One.

Narrator: Activated charcoal is readily available in

health food stores and when used this way can act

as a barrier by absorbing any harmful chemicals

in the air-

Greg: Trying to take the scissors and rough up the

inside a IittIe bit.

So that that it reaIIy gets into the waIIs of the mask,

now having trapped the activated charcoaI in

between the two masks; I'II just tape them up

and there you have it.

Narrator: Greg hopes this skill will allow him to

protect his family against anything from

tear gas to a volcanic eruption-

Greg: Someone might Iaugh at me if they said,

''Why are you making gas masks, you're paranoid.''

No there's a thousand reasons that you couId

think of to make a gas mask.

When I was a kid and Mount St. HeIens bIew in 1 980,

we were right in the path of the ash cIoud,

having asthma, I was affected by that.

Narrator: When Mount St- Helens erupted it spewed

520 million tons of abrasive ash into the atmosphere-

Most of the 57 people killed died of asphyxiation

due to ash inhalation-

Greg: This gas mask wouId easiIy handIe it.

And then you put it on, Iike so.

If you're deaIing aIso with something in the air that

wouId irritate your eyes, just get a kids pair

of swim goggIes, that's good enough.

How's that?

Narrator: lf Dianne's nightmare comes true and the

world suffers a cataclysmic event the Rogers immediate

plan is not to bug out but to stay put in their home

and bug in so despite a limited budget Greg and

Dianne have spent 3 years stock piling enough food and

water to survive for 1 2 post-apocalyptic months-

Dianne: If I go to the store to do my reguIar groceries I

might pick up a few IittIe extra things that wiII go

downstairs into my storage area.

This is what I was given for my birthday this year,

cIose to 500 gaIIons of water.

HopefuIIy we can get severaI months if not a

year out of it.

We wiII have to ration, I'm sure.

My priorities are much different and that's one

thing with prepping.

You don't focus on what you want,

you focus on what your needs wiII be.

Narrator: For the Rogers prepping is a family affair

and they hide very little from 6-year old Sarah-

Dianne: Sarah knows that mom and dad are putting food

aside; she knows that we are giving up things so that

we're abIe to get other things we might need

for the future.

Narrator: To prepare her for their worst case scenario,

Greg and Dianne have a ''Family prepping talk''

every night before bed-

Dianne: We try to make it game and have fun with it.

''SHTF''; when you hear mom and dad say that.

Now you might hear us say, ''(bIeep) hit the fan''

it's serious, something terribIe has happened.

You know what you got to do?

Narrator: Greg and Dianne would do anything to keep

their daughter safe in the apocalypse so next they take

a step into unfamiliar prepping territory-

Narrator: A recent survey found more than half of

American's fear that either an earthquake,

a terrorist attack or a financial collapse will

occur within the next 25 years-

But Dianne and Greg Rogers are prepping for

an entirely different reason-

Their fear is based on a recurring disaster dream

that Dianne has had for 20 years,

which they believe foretells of a disastrous

and apocalyptic future-

Dianne: Whatever catastrophe or whatever naturaI disaster

happened in my dream aII I knew was the sense of

urgency, I had to get out I had to Ieave,

the things that are happening in my dream may

very weII be reaI.

Narrator: So with thousands of dollar's worth of food

and water stored and a young daughter to protect,

Greg and Dianne are eager to take the next

step in their prepping plan-

Worker: What can I do for you foIks today?

Dianne: We're here to Iook at some handguns.

If things come down to it where there is no Iaw,

and the onIy one who is going to defend you is

yourseIf, you better be prepared for that.

What I'd reaIIy Iike is a.

Greg: That 9mm gIock.

Dianne: The 9mm gIock, it was a gIock yeah.

Worker: So you're Iooking at a gIock are you?

This is a gIock 9mm, gIock 1 7.

Narrator: The glock handgun is standard issue

in over 65% of American police departments,

and because of this widespread use many preppers

believe ammo and parts will be easier to obtain

in a crisis situation-

Worker: ButterfIy your two thumbs because when the

sIide comes back, Iike that, if your thumb was there it

wouId surgicaIIy gauge any part of your thumb

that had to be in the way.

Dianne: Got ya.

Greg: I am not a big gun enthusiast myseIf,

but I reaIize the importance and it is another tooI

in the tooI chest.

Worker: Sarah, do you see where you Iook to

see about the ammunition?

In there you got to make sure that the gun is empty

whenever you pick up a gun.

Do you know what you do if you ever see a gun?

What do you do?

Sarah: You wouId caII your parents.

Worker: Yeah of course you wouId caII your mom and dad

right away and don't touch it huh.

Dianne: Sarah knows there might come a time when mom

and dad need to use those weapons for things.

She's ok with that and I wouId prefer that's she's

comfortabIe around them.

It is another step towards finaIizing and

towards being prepared.

Worker: Of course you know what the bad probIem is,

women wiII kick our butts aII over the range on the

sub caIiber guns and they wiII outshoot the men aImost

every time, so get ready to be embarrassed.

Greg: Ok.

Yes of course they wiII.

Dianne: You ready to go shooting range?

Sarah: Sure Iet's go.

Dianne: Ok.

Narrator: But in order to protect themselves

effectively Greg and Dianne need to be able to react

quickly and confidently against the potential

intruder in their home-

To develop these skills gun experts suggest practicing

at a range at least twice a week-

Worker: You're going to stay out here aIright;

you want to just watch us through the window there?

You're getting better.

Dianne: Nice, woohoo!

I get bragging rights, I get bragging rights.

Sarah: She got the buII's-eye, right there!

Narrator: The latest government guidelines

suggest that being underground,

even in a basement; can provide extra protection

against anything from a tornado to a nuclear blast-

So the Rogers basement is outfitted as a

makeshift bunker, along with their food and water

supplies they have a propane stove,

a medical and surgical kit and even a port-a-potty-

Dianne: If aII of a sudden something happens and we get

the information that oh my goodness,

something terribIe has happened our first reaction

is to go into our basement that is secure.

Narrator: The Rogers want Sarah to be ready for a ''bug

in'' to their basement at a moments notice and today

they are running a full practice drill with her for

the first time-

Dianne: AII we need to do is say,

''SHTF'' and we know where we've got to go.

(bIeep) hit the fan, Iet's go!

Go, go, fast.

We have packs prepared we caII it a dash kit with food,

water, medicaI suppIies, not onIy for us but aIso

for our animaIs.

We have dash kits for them too.

Greg: Gotcha baby, gotcha.

Get in there, get in.

Dianne: Go ahead, quickIy, quickIy, around the corner,

go, go, go.

Hop on the bed because daddy is going to come down.

Okay stay right up there, take a breath take a breath.

Greg: Ok that was good, under five minutes.

Dianne: I want to try and cut that down think we can?

It's kind of Iike doing an extended camping expedition.

If we need to stay down there for an extended period

of time we have everything we need down

there ready for us.

You ok?

Yeah, that wasn't too much?

A IittIe scary?

Sarah: No it's just the bags, it was reaIIy heavy.

Dianne: But you're ok sitting up there right,

you feeI safe?

I think prepping has become such a big movement because

there is so much more uncertainIy in the worId

than there ever used to be.

We know so much more now, than we ever used to.

Maybe it was easier when we didn't know.

Narrator: The experts are impressed by your extensive

food preparations, which will keep you and your

family sustained for a year-

But to prepare for the possibility that your

basement is taken over by a hostile force,

we suggest that you have a second supply in a different

location, which you can access independently-

Greg: I agree with that.

Narrator: Also you live in close proximity of others

which can be a disadvantage in a disaster however you

can turn this to your advantage by establishing a

network within your community for survival and

disaster planning-

Dianne: There seems to be a bit of hesitation

among other peopIe.

They just don't want to think about it.

Greg: This is a Iearning experience and this is

vaIuabIe feedback and so I'm gIad we got it.

Narrator: Ed & Dianne Peden are modern day flower

children who prepare for the possibility that economic

turmoil may bring desperate people to their front door-

But will their plan to spend doomsday

underground impress the experts?

Narrator: The peace loving hippy movement of the

1960's is still alive in 2 1st century America-

Pockets of holdovers can be found all over the country

even in the middle of Kansas-

Ed: What's it aII about how big is it.

Narrator: That's where former school teacher

Ed Peden and his wife Dianna live and keep the

spirit of the sixties alive in a home dedicated

to peace, love and prepping-

Ed: I'm preparing to survive and thrive underground.

We Iive in a decommissioned atIas-e missiIe site,

somewhere west of Topeka, KS it's a very Iarge

underground hardened structure it keeps us very

safe from Iots of things.

Narrator: Ed originally chose his home because he

feared American would be attacked from above-

Ed: I first saw this site in 1 982,

RonaId Reagan was then president and it seemed to

me that nucIear exchange was a reaI possibiIity.

Narrator: These days he thinks there's another

ground level threat that's more likely-

Ed: The economy is certainIy in troubIe,

in some ways the economy has aIready coIIapsed.

And everybody thought the economy was just going to

bounce back and it was just a IittIe recession,

weII that hasn't happened it's not happening,

there's going to be desperation and there's

going to be potentiaI vioIence and those who can

make adjustments to the changes in optimaI ways wiII

thrive whiIe many others are going to suffer.

Living a Iife of faIse iIIusion.

I spent 7 years as a competitive water skiing,

what a waste, I wouId wiIIingIy give up more

frivoIous pursuits to be a prepper,

sometimes I wish we had been more discipIined and

serious about this sooner.

Narrator: Ed believes that there is no time to lose in

his prepping as an economic doomsday is already underway-

Ed: We are at a criticaI moment the banking

institutions are troubIed, the stock market is

refIecting these things, the poIiticians have no answers

and we are not finished with these trends.

Narrator: He and his Dianna do take some comfort however

in the fact that their home was specifically designed by

the government to survive the end of the world

as we know it-

Ed's base along with 26 others like it was

constructed in 1960 as a part of the US-

Military's atlas missile project-

lts previous inhabitant a 4 megaton atomic weapon

with 200 times the destructive power of the

bomb dropped over Nagasaki-

Ed: Here we are getting on top of the missiIe bay area

here, we do give many tours, there are a Iot of peopIe

interested in seeing our project.

This entire area here is a very Iarge

doorway weighs 400 ton and it roIIed back to the

west and then once that roIIed back the

missiIe the 75 foot Iong rocket with a nucIear

warhead on top raised up out of the bunker here

and come to stand to about where the tower is.

Narrator: 20 feet below this hatch,

a nuclear missile rested in a horizontal launching

system appropriately called a ''Coffin Launcher- ''

lt cost the government 4 million dollars to build in

1960 but in the early 80's Ed bought the base

as a fixer upper for around $40,000-

The Pedens renovated their silos command center

and turned it into their living space

replacing launch codes with lava lamps and

advance guidance systems with cable TV-

The main living area is connected to the missile bay

by a 1 20 foot long service tunnel-

GirI: So you couId Iive down here if something

terribIe happened on earth?

Ed: This wouId be a good pIace to be if chaotic

things were happening above ground yes.

GirI: If something did happen couId we come down

here and Iive with you?

Ed: We wouId want to bring everyone in but

we wouId have to make wise choices.

I couIdn't answer that right now.

If you were coming bring aII the food you couId.

GirI: Ok.

Narrator: The Pedens believes that as the economy

collapses food shortages will occur in major cities,

then desperate and hungry people will be begin to

migrate outward's towards the bread basket of America-

Ed: There is a Iot of food growing here in Kansas and

as events unfoId into the future I think there wiII be

many who think about us here.

There is a possibiIity that I think too many

wiII want to come.

Narrator: Unlike other preppers who plan to avoid

hoards of hungry refugees by retreating to hidden

bug out locations-

The Pedens plan to survive by closing their 20 inch

thick blast proof front door and permanently

bugging in underground-

Ed: The onIy sensibIe thing is to aIter Iife make

preparations for the future that is cIearIy coming.

Narrator: The Peden household has special features

that make such long-term bug-in plan feasible-

They have 20,000 square feet of space;

more then enough to hoId their years' worth

of food stores.

They aIso have 1 8 inch waIIs buiIt by the

miIitary to withstand a direct nucIear strike.

In the 1 960's five men worked here on a scheduIe of

24 hours on 48 hours off to mitigate the psychoIogicaI

strain of Iife underground.

Dianna: I didn't think I couId Iive underground

because I reaIIy enjoy Iight, the sunIight.

Narrator: The Pedens relieve the stresses of subterranean

living in their own way-

This Jacuzzi which Ed and Dianna installed in 2000-

Ed: Our hot tub here is not just about surviving

this is about thriving, and we Iove it.

We don't get in the hot tub with suits

because the Iaundry never rinses thoroughIy.

Dianna: Nobody seems to mind!

Ed: Nobody seems to mind.

Narrator: When Ed and Dianna moved in this space was

cluttered with outdated communications equipment

and rusty control panels-

The couple removed the cold war hardware and

turned this former nerve center into a kitchen-

Ed: I don't want to give up the good Iife,

I want it to go on, I want the American dream

to go on the way it's been.

Dianna: WeII maybe part of that is to reframe what we

think the American dream is.

Maybe it's not about having the IittIe house with the

white picket fence.

Narrator: Ed and Dianna's home is protected by an 8

foot tall steel and barbwire gate,

built by the government to keep curiosity seekers out-

ln all the years they lived here the gate has stood

open, but as Ed fears an economic collapse could

unleash ground attacks on his compound he has

installed an automatic control system now with a

touch of a button he can close the compound

off from outsiders-

Ed: Part of my roII I'm the protector of you and

of this pIace and I Iike having the gate there.

I think probabIy my most nightmarish scenario is that

there wouId be a Iarge group of maybe motorcycIe riding

peopIe with guns dozens of peopIe at the gate wanting

in because they heard we had food they saw it on TV.

And so that wouId reaIIy be a tragic scene and

may that pIease never happen.

Narrator: Next the Pedens have assembled the ultimate

and most unlikely team to live underground with them

for months, or even years-

Ed: We're going to pass this stick around and you can

teII us who you are.

Narrator: But will the experts agree they have what

it takes to survive?

Narrator: lf Eds worst fears comes true and intruders

breach the front gate, they enter the 2nd ring of

defense a field of fire stretching 100 yards

between the gate and Ed's front door-

Keeping constant watch above this area are seven

surveillance cameras-

Ed recently upgraded his system

so he can control the cameras from below ground-

Now he can watch every inch of the property without ever

having to come to the surface-

Ed: Security cameras are our eyes on the outside worId.

Narrator: Today Ed, a product of the 1960's gets a

crash course on 2 1st century security technology from

Sean a friend and frequent house guest of the Pedens-

Sean: For a faciIity this size security can be an

issue for two peopIe.

Edward and Dianna they can onIy do so much together.

So if we have a camera and a way to monitor the premises.

It becomes much easier for them to take

appropriate counter measures.

With this you wiII be abIe to zoom in and you wiII be

abIe to actuaIIy identify something as simpIe as a bag

of groceries or a weapon.

BasicaIIy what I wouId Iike to do with you guys is kind

of have Iike a dry run where you wouId monitor me

entering the premises.

Dianna: Ok.

Dianna & Ed: There he is.

Ed: He's got a Iong something,

that's a gun in his hand, aiming and Iooking.

These are not groceries he's carrying I stiII see him

moving and there he is coming through the gate,

here he is right here at the door, at the door.

Narrator: lf Ed identifies that an intruder has entered

the compound with hostile intent,

he is ready to set aside his desire for

peace and declare war-

Ed: Dianna is absoIuteIy committed to non-vioIence,

I am not.

Weapons are death-deaIing devices that I hope

to never use.

I don't show them but I am weII trained in them.

That's aII I wouId care to discuss about it.

Narrator: lf Ed and Dianna Peden's predictions

come to pass and an economic catastrophe societal

breakdown occur they are aware that the two of them

do not possess all of the skills they will need to

survive so they have selected a group of people

to allow in their fortified bunker-

Ed: We're going to pass this stick around and you can

teII us who you are and what preparations you may be

making or thinking of making.

And what you may bring to a time of change that

couId be happening.

Narrator: When preppers assemble survival teams

commonly sought after professions are emergency

room doctors, mechanics, and professional soldiers-

But for their team the Pedens have selected a

living food chef, an intuitive healer

and a spiritualist-

chef: There is a Iot of stories around 201 2 that

couId be reaIIy chaotic.

Woman: Rick and I try to teach peopIe to get

congruent and to get in aIignment with the changes

that need to happen on the pIanet.

Ed: If difficuIt times do come I think that's most

IikeIy it's going to be so important who you are

around, who you have on the bus with you so to speak.

Man: Yeah we're aII going to die,

so why even try, and that's aIright.

Ed: Love is probabIy the essence of preparation,

and Iove is the onIy engine of survivaI,

I don't want to be the voice without peace of somebody

eIse's thoughts not anymore, not anymore.

Dianna: This isn't a compound that peopIe buy

into and they have guaranteed a room to be,

this is us opening our home to Iike-minded friends,

so the thought that others may come to our home seems

quite unIikeIy to me and if they do I don't

think they wouId find that this is reaIIy where they

want to stay.

Narrator: Ed, the experts Practical Preppers agree

that your missile base home provides protection

from outside chaos-

However, while your subterranean home may be safe

you can still come vulnerable if you do not

properly monitor how events are unfolding in

the outside world-

We recommend a HAM radio, which will help you,

be aware of the situation above ground-

Ed: Good advice.

Narrator: Additionally we recommend you train

consistency with any firearms you store in the

silo and consider investing in bullet proof vests in

case your home comes under seige-

Ed: I'II choose my own way with that.

His consciousness is at a different pIace than ours.

Since NationaI Geographic was here we have buiIt this

set of doors going into the east side of the missiIe bay

area and these doors are going to give us the

capacity to Iock down and effectiveIy controI this area.

Narrator: Although economic turmoil in the

Eurozone does not bode well internationally-

The World Bank has predicted minor growth at

about 2-5 % in the year 20 1 2-

The possibility of a global economic collapse however

cannot be completely ruled out-