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;

its 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-

Kid: We're going to turn the meaIworms into

a big meaI.

Narrator: Gone to great lengths-

Janet: WeIcome to the Armageddon Inn.

John: I want everyone to react Iike their Iives are

on the Iine.

Narrator: And made huge personal sacrifices to

ensure their very survival-

Woman: Maxi-pads, which can act as bandages.

Jack: I certainIy don't want to be kiIIing my neighbors.

Narrator: The experts will assess their extreme preps

and decide if they have what it takes

to face Armageddon-

John: Everybody grab the gun they want.

Narrator: And to survive-

Jack: SIam the boIt cIosed and Ioad up the shotgun.

Narrator: This is Doomsday Preppers-

John Major recently moved his family to ldaho

to get away from it all-

John: We moved from Utah to have a IittIe more

space and freedom.

Narrator: A trained marksmen and avid

outdoorsmen, John enjoys the country life-

John: I don't do a Iot of things that other peopIe

spend a Iot of their time doing.

I don't do a Iot of sports, I don't goIf.

Narrator: And he shares his love of nature

with his kids-

John: So here we have the chicory.

Narrator: But the purpose of this hike is not to

admire the local foliage-

John: Anything?

Kid: There's a cricket.

John: You gonna eat it?

Kid: Um, sure.

John: Tastes Iike frozen cricket.

Kid: Mm-hmm, It's Iike aII crunchy and

then it was Iike.

John: cream fiIIed?

Narrator: John is teaching his kids how to survive

doomsday by learning to forage and eat bugs-

John: My doomsday scenario is a series of dirty bomb

attacks in the U.S.

Narrator: Dirty bombs combine conventional

explosives like dynamite with radioactive material

to scatter radiation around a large area-

A single dirty bomb detonated in an urban

center can kill hundreds and expose thousands more

to radiation-

Panic and chaos are all but certain to follow

and clean up could take months-

John: I feeI that there are severaI entities in the

worId that wouId attack sovereign U.S. soiI with a

dirty bomb anywhere from Iow IeveI terrorists

to rogue states.

Narrator: Radioactive materials go unsecured and

unaccounted for all around the world,

making dirty bombs relatively easy to build

and a constant threat-

John believes a series of coordinated nation wide

attacks could spread radioactive dust

throughout the environment,

contaminating the food chain and causing

massive food shortages-

John: A dirty bomb is going to disrupt our food suppIy

because most of our food is going to be radiated

by the bomb so food wiII be scarce.

Heidi: You want to see what meaIworms Iook Iike?

Narrator: John is determined to prepare his wife

Heidi and their 5 kids for a time when normal food

sources may not be available-

Do you want one with a bug in it?

Even if it means eating outside the box-

John: My famiIy gets a kick out of eating the bugs.

Grab me the crickets.

I am trying out a new recipe on my crickets with

onion; probabIy cover them with a

IittIe parmesan cheese.

Kid: Ew it's wiggIing inside my mouth.

It's actuaIIy pretty good.

Narrator: John stores thousands of frozen insects

in his freezer; safe from the effects of a dirty

bomb, which he believes, can contaminate both crops

and animals outside-

Heidi: When I was giving my answer to him for the prom,

he was coming out of the fieId with his gun,

and I knew what I was getting into i guess from the

beginning, but not too many famiIies go and

eat bugs together as a famiIy activity.

John: WiII you grab me a handfuI more of crickets?

Kid: Is this bug stew?

John: Yup.

Narrator: There are roughly 1 462 edible species of

insects, and while they may not look appetizing these

crickets boast an average of 1 3 grams of protein

each, making them a superfood-

Kid: We're going to turn the meaIworms

into a big meaI.

John: The abiIity to survive with nearIy nothing

gives you a Iot of freedom.

Kid: Whoah, Iook at the huge one!

John: That one's mine I cook my insects because I

do have some standards for taste.

Insecto parmesan.

KayIee: A Iot of other kids think

it's weird to eat bugs, but I think it's yummy.

J. christian: I didn't reaIIy have a big

probIem with it,I mean, it's just food.

John: What do you guys think?

Daughter: It's good Dad.

John: I beIieve other peopIe with whom I rub

shouIders on occasion think I'm obsessed.

Narrator: For John, prepping is not just a

hobby but a full time job-

He sells emergency seed banks that can be used

after a dirty bomb attack-

John: After doomsday these seeds wiII heIp peopIe

provide for themseIves in the aftermath

of the tragedy.

Narrator: John's seedbanks include a variety

of vegetable seeds designed to

provide maximum nutrition-

Today John and his colleague David are sorting

individual seed packets-

John: Our initiaI packet comes with an acre fuII of

seed; 37,000 seeds in 23 varieties.

Narrator: Each pack will provide a family with

enough radiation free seeds to grow vegetables

for four years-

John: I beIieve that as you heIp other peopIe's needs,

a Iot of times your own needs are fuIfiIIed.

David: Look at this, that's perfect.

In the US there's more peopIe prepared

than in Mexico.

I never hear about that in my country.

John: So we have that order of 3,500,

we have 3 days to fuIfiII it;

maybe that'd be enough to feed aII of Mexico.

Narrator: Seeds are a perfect prepper resource

because when saved correctly they can last for

hundreds and even thousands of years-

And John doesn't expect business to slow

down post apocalypse-

ln fact he considers his seeds the perfect

doomsday currency-

John: I, myseIf have 1 .5 miIIion seeds in

my current inventory.

In a down society we're going to be bartering.

Narrator: John expects a coordinated series of

dirty bomb attacks to create chaos and panic and

while he wants to provide others with the means

to help themselves; he will not do it

at the expense of his own stores-

John: After the expIosions go off peopIe

wouId be in a Iot of panic.

Anyone that has food and sheIter is going

to be a target on Doomsday.

Narrator: So to keep his most valuable preps secure

from roving maruaders John follows the prepper rule of

multiple and secret storage locations-

John: Right now I have 3 seed banks buried around

the property in different cache Iocations.

Assuming the attack of a dirty bomb is successfuI,

we need to bury the seeds so we can have some to go

and restart with.

Narrator: John buries his seed banks for two reasons-

Compact earth is one of the most affective shields

against the radiation-

Every 6 inches of earth reduces radiation exposure

by a factor of 2-

Burying the seed bank underground also controls

their temperature allowing them to last longer-

John: That's going to keep the seeds coId.

They'II Iast up to 1 0, 1 5 years in this cIimate.

Narrator: And for John security goes beyond good

hiding places so he wants each member of his family

to be able to defend their preps and themselves using

a variety of weapons-

John: When the Iaw of the jungIe kind of reigns.

At that point every individuaI is responsibIe

for his own security.

I have at Ieast 1 ,500 rounds of ammo.

And I have 30 weapons at my disposabIe.

Ok everybody grab the gun they want.

Good choice Briana.

I take my kids to practice shooting as earIy

as I can get them interested.

Briana, here you go.

Narrator: The Majors prefer 22 or 4-10 caliber guns-

Because they take only two different types

of light and widely available ammo-

A prepper advantage not only because they're easy

to carry but also easy to replenish in a crisis-

John: By 7 years oId, aII my kids have shot guns.

So why are we preparing to shoot?

Kid: To protect yourseIf.

John: Good, security.

Daughter: Shooting is a very important thing when

you're trying to survive.

John: Things wiII be getting a Iot tougher in

the future for us.

We need to protect each other.

Protect ourseIves.

And keep bad peopIe from doing bad things.

Go ahead and Ioad.

The range is hot, fire when ready.

I wouId protect my famiIy with aII means possibIe.

And I don't feeI I need permission from

anyone to do that.

There's reaIIy nothing off the tabIe in my book.

Heidi: come on, hurry, hurry.

Narrator: For John defense is not just about shooting-

He has created a military security plan

for his home-

John: To protect from rioting and marauders.

We head to the foxhoIe.

Narrator: A fox hole is known in the military as a

defensive fighting position that allows soldiers to

keep watch over an area while remaining undercover-

John: It wouId be a way to provide

surprise surveiIIance.

They're going to approach the home thinking that

they're onIy having to worry about peopIe

inside the home.

Narrator: But before he can protect his family,

John wants to make sure they can survive the

radioactive aftermath of a dirty bomb blast-

John: I want everyone to react as if your Iives are

on the Iine.

Narrator: So today he is about to put his family to

the test of their lives-

Narrator: Father of 5 John Major is preparing his

family to survive a series of nationwide dirty bomb

attacks that he believes will threaten

infrastructure and contaminate food sources-

John: The series of dirty bombs wouId cause the

society to have a meItdown just because of the sheer

panic peopIe wouId feeI.

KayIee: My dad is a, ''Be prepared guy.''

He's different from other dads.

John: We're going to come up here and you guys just

immediateIy run up the stairs, okay?

Narrator: The government suggests sheltering in

place in order to avoid contact with radiation-

So the Majors have formulated a detailed

bug-in plan which they practice at least

twice a year-

John: We run driIIs on a very reguIar basis and make

sure that everyone's ready and knows ahead of time how

they're going to react.

Daughter: What are we doing the driII for?

John: We have had a dirty bomb go off here cIose to

us so we need to get out of the reguIar environment.

Everything needs to be executed as if it's reaI.

I want everyone to react as if your Iives

are on the Iine.

Narrator: The Majors have adapted one of the rooms in

their house as a shelter zone-

So as soon as they hear of a nearby attack they can

retreat to safety-

John: AII right guys, get started.

We have a faII out stay here orderIy, controIIed.

We grab aII the suppIies we need.

Go upstairs.

Our bug out bags and fiItration for water and we

run up to the room and seaI it off.

cassandra: the whoIe time I'm just thinking,

if this was a reaI emergency we'd have to be

as fast as it's Iike as fast as we couId ever get.

Narrator: They can control their environment by taping

up windows and doors, reducing the chance of

radiation seeping in-

John: We aIso have a pump system that can make sure

any of the air being sucked in from the environment is

cIean before it enters the room.

Narrator: A ventilation system like John's

increases the positive air pressure in the room,

keeping any air from outside out,

and making sure the only air coming in is

from a safe filter-

Morgan: When I pumped the air I feIt Iike I was

heIping my famiIy.

cassandra: Some peopIe don't think that you need

to have aII these driIIs and bug out bags.

They'II think they're weird.

You need to make practice.

Practice makes perfect.

Narrator: John expects that they may have to stay in

their shelter zone for weeks, maybe months,

so while there he'll use sprouting seeds to

keep his family alive-

John: I wouId start sprouting immediateIy.

Narrator: sprouted seeds, seeds that have only just

begun to grow are packed with vitamins and protein-

A single serving of broccoli sprouts can offer

up to 100 times more nutritional benefits than

mature broccoli-

John: Soak them for 24 hours.

Narrator: The sprouting seeds in their bug out bag

will feed the family for 2 weeks,

but ultimately John believes he

might have to dig into their cached seed banks

before it is safe to go outside,

so he has a specially designed suit ready-

John: If we have a dirty bomb hoIocaust here the

fiItration suit is going to protect you by stopping

particuIates in the air that wouId get down into

your Iungs so as we Ieave our sanctuary in the room

we'II dig up the seeds we need and just get out of

dodge as fast as we can.

Narrator: And if things do go south in a big way John

has found the perfect vehicle to get his family

out of danger, a retired ambulance-

John: We have a van, ''The bug out mobiIe.''

It's an oId ambuIance, so if we need to Ieave in a

hurry its aIready most of the way packed.

Our pIan is to fIee either north or south due to most

of the winds going west to the east.

And we just bring out our bug out bags and off we go.

Given the historic and current threat IeveIs I do

not beIieve I am obsessed with prepping.

I feeI a Iot freer when I have reached a certain

independence providing for the needs and

comforts of the famiIy.

Narrator: John, the experts at Practical Preppers have

identified several pros and a few cons to your preps-

Your food and water preps are excellent and you have

gone the extra mile to prepare your family to live

off the land by foraging-

Also, your firearms will serve not only for

protection but also for hunting-

However, while your remote location reduces the

immediate threat of an attack,

we suggest investing in a HAM or a

short wave radio to ensure you will be able to

maintain communication with the outside world-

John: I agree with that fuIIy.

I think a HAM radio is extremeIy usefuI and I do

intend on getting my Iicense to operate the HAM

and having one in possession.

AII right, hey Nat-Geo just a quick update on a coupIe

things we've improved since the show.

We've got in a particIe mask that wiII adjust to

nearIy any face, which is better than

a traditionaI gas mask.

I have one for an aduIt and aIso for a chiId and we got

an AK-47 with some ammo and we got 60 grain 22 ammo for

the Iong rifIe.

Narrator: Since 9 1 1 anti-terror governmental

agencies have been on the lookout for potential dirty

bomb attacks because producing such a device is

relatively simple and inexpensive and their

psychological impact could be great however,

a dirty bomb's blast would likley could cause

more damage than the radiation it spreads-

Janet Spencer has been prepping for a nuclear

attack in her home state of Montana for

seven years but how prepared is she?

Narrator: Janet Spencer is an author living in

Helena, Montana 2 hours north of

Yellowstone National Park,

and 2 hours south from 1 50 nuclear weapons operated at

Maustrom Airforce base in the city of Great Falls-

Janet believes this missile arsenal is one

the largest in the world-

And the perfect target for an enemy nuclear bomb-

Janet: If someone wanted to take out our capabiIities

of retaIiatory nucIear strikes they wouId just

take out Great FaIIs.

Preparing for disaster is the onIy safe

and sane thing to do.

When a nucIear bomb faIIs everybody within a

one-miIe radius of ground zero wiII die.

There wiII be heavy casuaIties within a

three-miIe radius due to radiation burns.

There is no more power.

What water there is may be radioactive.

If you Iook at a nucIear bIast as it is happening

you go bIind.

It is tragic now that we no Ionger teach

duck and cover.

OnIy 2 nucIear bombs have been used on peopIe,

Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

They sure didn't get any warning, did they?

Narrator: Those who did survive the bomb released

over Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 were left

homeless and fled-

Janet believes the same displacement will occur in

Montana, so she keeps others at the forefront of

her prepping plan-

Janet: I began preparing to be abIe to heIp as many

peopIe for as Iong as possibIe.

90 percent of the peopIe in Great FaIIs wouId die.

That wouId stiII Ieave 6,000 peopIe that survive,

heading over the hiII to my town.

What I intend to do here is take care of evacuees.

Narrator: Janet thinks the survivors will come to her

city, because radioactive fallout from a bomb

detonated in Great Falls would travel downwind away

from Helena-

Janet: The onIy pIace for them to go wouId be HeIena.

We are the cIosest popuIation center

that is upwind.

Narrator: Janet preps her home nicknamed,

''The Armageddon lnn''

alone; but she does not live alone-

She and her husband, Jerry, have been married for

30 years, but even after 3 decades together,

not all of their interests are in synch-

Janet: When my husband Iooks at my constant

efforts at this he is a IittIe bit bewiIdered.

Jerry: I don't think the nucIear threat is nearIy as

reaI as it used to be.

In fact I wouId rather beIieve there is going to

be some great breakthroughs in energy technoIogy.

I'm going to take the dog out for a waIk.

Janet: I do a Iot of my prepping behind his back.

I wiII know if he's going out.

I have 2 hours to get my preps done before

he gets back.

Narrator: Today, as she routinely does,

Janet is taking advantage of Jerry's absence to work

on the largest storage area in their home,

beneath their California king sized bed-

Janet: There is nothing that gives you piece of

mind Iike sIeeping on top of a metric ton of food.

Narrator: Janet knows nuclear fallout would

deposit in soil and create a massive

disruption in food supply-

So she has collected several thousand canned

goods and over 200 pounds of rice and pasta-

Janet: I probabIy have spaghetti enough

to feed 1 ,000 peopIe.

Beans enough to feed 2,000 peopIe.

Narrator: Her spaghetti and macaroni collection alone,

would be enough to feed over 1 5 percent of the

victims who might make the trek to Helena

Janet: My hobby is coIIecting spaghetti and

that is considered borderIine insane.

I consider it the safest and sanest thing

I couId possibIy do

Narrator: Janet has spent the last 4 years

stacking cans in 42 square feet by maximizing every

single square inch-

But the space has finally reach its full capacity-

Janet: This is the day when I'm going to caII this bed

fuII and I'm going to cIose it up,

seaI it for the finaI time.

Narrator: Janet still has time to prep while Jerry is

away but to keep her vast and constantly

growing supply out of his sight,

she will need to find a new storage option-

Janet: You wouIdn't normaIIy think of a

bathroom door as a storage spot,

but I think I couId probabIy fit a bunch of

soup packets into this door.

There's a Iot of tricks and tips that I use to get

around the fact that he doesn't support it and

prevent that friction from happening.

It's enough onion.

I'm going to switch to chicken noodIe.

That might do it.

Anyone cIeaning out my house after I'm dead is

going to think I was reaIIy strange.

I ended up getting 70 soup packets in there.

Narrator: The most hazardous nuclearfallout

descends within 24 hours-

With the finest grains can travel long distances

carrying radiation with them-

Janet believes this dust could float in her home,

so she is adding a layer of wood for

additional protection-

Janet: I think it's going to hoId.

You want as many Iayers between you and the outside

worId of radiation as possibIe.

Narrator: Janet's innovatNe hiding

techniques don'tjust save her marriage;

they double as her security plan-

Against desperate people, she believes may ransack

her home in search of supplies-

Janet: I hide my food because if I have vandaIs

come in after a disaster, I want to be abIe to just

waIk away from the situation, come back Iater,

find aII the food they missed because they didn't

think about Iooking there.

Narrator: ln case Janet does not survive the

nuclear blast she keeps a written account

of the Armageddon lnn that will serve

as a guide book to locate her preps and

what would be her first aid station-

Janet: If I don't survive I do want the

peopIe who have survived me be abIe to

utiIize what I have stored here.

This is my drop ceiIing.

I Iike to pack good stuff into it whenever Jerry's

away for a IittIe whiIe.

This is one of my most super-secret hiding spaces

that onIy I know about.

Narrator: Janet is packing her drop ceiling with first

aid kits because she believes many survivors at

the inn will require medical attention from the

bomb blast which would shatter windows,

sending glass shards through the air at

100-miles per hour-

Janet: When the shock wave hits you, your windows

are going to shatter into a thousand pieces.

Narrator: To dress lacerations from flying

debris, Janet stocks up on an absorbent medical item

made from cellucotton which is 5 times more effective

than ordinary cotton-

Janet: Lots of maxi pads, which can act as bandages.

Maxi pads are very absorbent, they're steriIe,

they're very cheap so I stock up on a Iot of those.

Narrator: Because Jerry could arrive home at any minute,

Janet cannot complete putting away more supplies

in her drop ceiling today-

Janet: When he comes home he says,

''Hi Honey, how's your day?''

and I say, ''Oh it was good I just read a book

and fiddIed around on the computer''

and wouId just kind of faiI to mention that

I happened to Iine the back cIoset with canned

goods whiIe he was gone.

Jerry: I've seen over the years how much

she's been coIIecting, putting things

in strange pIaces.

And even if the end of the worId as we know it

does ever occur it wiII aII come in handy.

I'm not thriIIed but it's there, it's part of us.

Narrator: But how will Janet escape radiation

sickness if the bomb blast happens?

Narrator: Janet Spencer has spent seven years-

Preparing for a nuclear attack that would devastate

Great Falls Montana and send thousands of evacuees

to her home town of Helena-

She has enough food to feed over 1000 people and a

security plan in place, but her husband of 30 years

does not share her prepping interest-

Janet: My husband is part of the popuIation that

feeIs it's not his job to be ready for a disaster but

I can pin point the instant that I became concerned

about disasters 4:59AM on February 2nd in 1 989.

I woke up by an awfuI expIosion that bIew

my door open.

Woman: HeIena fire department.

There's a train coIIision on Benton Avenue.

How Iong did you hear it?

Just now. Just now?

Yeah a big expIosion!

Janet: Atrain expIoded catastrophicaIIy in the

middIe of HeIena, Montana compIeteIy shattering my city.

There was a catacIysmic fire.

There was no power, there was no heat,

the phone was not working and I had no idea what was

going on or what I shouId do.

Then I thought I wouId tune into the radio for the

emergency broadcast system to come on.

AII of the radio stations were off the air,

the authorities were observantIy unprepared.

From that point forward I don't think I wouId ever

again in my Iife trust someone eIse to

handIe the situation.

I can either be prepared for a disaster or not.

That's the onIy thing I can controI.

Narrator: Because of her past experience,

preparing for a communications breakdown

during a nuclear catastrophe is one of

Janet's main priorities-

Janet: Whenever there is a nucIear bomb bIast

it wiII bIow out the fuses and the wiring of

any eIectricaI appIiance.

Narrator: A secondary effect of a nuclear

explosion, is called an electro- magnetic-pulse,

or EMP, a sudden burst of high-voltage energy,

that damages electronic devices and would bring

communication to a standstill-

Janet: if you want to have communication if you want

to have radios that stiII work after a nucIear bIast

you need to get them protected by

a faraday cage.

Narrator: A faraday cage is a sealed metal container,

which creates a barrier against an EMP surge,

by forcing the electrical current around,

instead of through the structure-

Janet: Faraday cages are ridicuIousIy

simpIe to buiId.

I can buiId a faraday cage in 20 minutes.

Narrator: Many preppers spend hundreds of doIIars

buiIding faraday cages, but Janet

searches for materiaIs with a Iimited budget in mind

Janet: Perfect faraday cage; definateIy worth $1 .00

Being abIe to have eIectronic devices

after an EMP, priceIess.

Narrator: ln a 2010 national poll over 50 percent

of respondents said they fear a nuclear attack

in the next forty years-

But Janet worries that she may be the only one

preparing in Helena-

So she tries to get others on board-

Today she is giving her friend Kathleen a

faraday cage tutorial-

KathIeen: So what is this faraday cage anyway?

Janet: Afaraday cage wiII protect your

eIectronics in the event of an eIectromagnetic puIse.

KathIeen: So after the eIectromagnetic puIse

you'II be abIe to use whatever's in here?

Janet: You shouId if we do it right.

KathIeen: Ok so we have a metaI box.

Janet: Now we need to Iine it,

so that aII of the things inside of it have no chance

whatsoever of touching the metaI.

Narrator: Because metal conducts electricity the

interior of the box must be insulated with a material

that would break the transfer of

electromagnetic waves-

Janet: You can do that with something as simpIe as a

pad of newspapers my favorite thing to do is to

use Styrofoam.

KathIeen: Ok here's these two waIkie taIkies right.

Narrator: Janet has 50 walkie talkie radios and

scanners in case the Helena Police Department lose

communication capabilities after an EMP-

Janet: I aIways figure if worst came to worst I wouId

just go down to provide the poIice force with a

new set of radios.

I have AM-FM radios up the wazoo.

Narrator: Janet is sealing the seams of the

box with aluminum tape-

The tape is conductive, and will aid in turning the

metal tote into a veritable shield-

And the final step is placing the faraday cage in

an area where it will also be protected from radiation-

Janet: Let's just hop up back here.

KathIeen: You know, I didn't know that

this job caIIed for.

I didn't know it incIuded crawIing back into the.

Janet: I got rid of aII the mice before you got here.

KathIeen: Thank you very much I appreciate that.

Oh My God, you have food stored back here too.

Janet: You bet I do.

Narrator: Staying below ground after a nuclear

assault could reduce radiation exposure by

90 percent making Janet's crawl space the safest

shelter from nuclear fallout in her home for

food, and people-

KatheIynn: Oh my god, Iook at that.

Narrator: Janet knows there are thousands of nuclear

weapons in the world, some of which are kept

on hair trigger alert-

lf the doomsday clock strikes midnight,

she wants all of her friends to know,

the door will be open at, ''The Armageddon lnn- ''

Janet: And the whoIe point behind the Armageddon Inn

is to take in and heIp as many peopIe as possibIe

Woman: We have decided a Iong time ago that if the

big one hits, we're coming to your house,

we'II bring our own resources too but we're

coming to your house.

Janet: And that's exactIy the

thought that keeps me prepping because I don't

know how many peopIe are going to show up.

There are communities that wouId puII together instead

of faIIing apart I hope that HeIena is one

of those communities.

Narrator: Janet you have food and other

supplies to last you for a long time,

however you are missing the basic prep should

radiation spread to your area-

We highly recommend getting a radiation meter-

Janet: I think that is an exceIIent idea.

That is something I wiII take care of.

Narrator: Also, it is imperative you move some of

your food supplies to a separate location,

because your kindness may be taken advantage of-

Janet: The backup pIan where that is concerned

is cIimate controIIed storage unit

which can be rented for 40 doIIars

a month. Before this show airs,

I wiII definiteIy have one.

It's been 3 months since the fiIm crews Ieft.

They gave me some good advice and I've been busy

foIIow up on much of it.

I found the cheapest smaIIest cIimate controIIed

storage unit I couId find.

It's surrounded by a yard that has a 1 0 ft taII

chain Iinked fence with razor wire,

so now I have the option of waIking away from my house

if I can't defend it.

Narrator: A global arsenal of nearly 20,000 weapons

makes the possibility of a nuclear incident

a real tangible threat-

However the United States and Russia are moving

towards a policy of nuclear disarment aimed at

reducing a likelihood of global nuclearwar-

At the age of 65 Colorado retiree Jack Jobe could be

spending his golden years relaxing-

lnstead he is gearing up to safe his neighborhood from

a catastrophic solar flare-

Narrator: Jack Jobe is a former Marine and retired a

photojournalist who lives outside Denver Colorado-

Neighbors know Jack as a funnyman,

who loves making his wife, Jacquie laugh-

Jack: I want to have you for dinner.

We're serving SoyIent Green.

Narrator: And even trying his hand at stand-up

at the local comedy club-

Jack: I'm not afraid of dying in 201 2.

I just don't wanna be there when it happens.

Narrator: Recently Jack has gotten very serious about

one thing, Prepping-

Jack: I'm preparing for a massive soIar fIare that

couId set society back hundreds of years.

I'm a brand new prepper.

Ha-ha.

It aII Iooks Iike Iearning to me stiII.

I spend 24 hours a day prepping in the

broad sense of things.

The pivotaI moment when I started prepping was

after I saw the 201 0 Haiti earthquake.

Newscast: It can onIy be described at a nightmare.

Hundreds and thousands of dead.

Jack: I had a huge reveIation that my wife

Jackie and I were totaIIy unprepared.

Narrator: ln January of 20 10 Jack was one of

millions across the world who watched as a 16 year

old girl was pulled from a pile of rubble-

1 5 days after an earthquake killed a quarter of a

million people in Haiti-

Jack: They'd given up rescue.

Nobody shouId have survived that Iong.

Narrator: The rescue inspired many to

believe in miracles-

lt made Jack believe in prepping-

Jack: And in a moment and I mean, Iike that,

I had this bIinding fIash human beings Iives change

in an instant.

Just,''Bam.''

When I first reaIized that I needed to Iearn more

about survivaI scenarios I Iooked at everything from

financiaI coIIapse, terrorist attack,

Iarge naturaI events.

That brought me to soIar fIares.

Narrator: Two years ago at the age of 63,

Jack's life changed when he learned about solar flares:

sudden bursts of energy released by the sun-

A large solar flare can set off an electrical pulse

with more energy than billions of Hiroshima-sized

atomic bombs-

lf a strong pulse reaches the earth,

it could wipe out all electronics in its path,

effectively sending millions back to the 1800s-

Experts predict there's a 1 2% chance this will happen

in the next decade-

Jack: If a soIar fIare massive enough to do this

kind of damage hit right now aII of these vehicIes

wouId suddenIy just cease to operate.

PeopIe are aII going to grab their ceII phone

thinking their car is dying.

There's no ceII phone service.

Within moments they're suddenIy going to reaIize

this is something catastrophic beyond our

wiIdest imagination.

Narrator: ln Jack's apocalyptic vision,

a solar flare fries the computer systems

of all vehicles-

Leaving him stranded, on the road, miles from home-

Jack: Thank goodness I have enough preparation.

I have a 72-hour bag but most of these peopIe don't.

I'd wave peopIe away and if they Iook Iike they are

going to give me troubIe I am armed.

Now I am faced with a ten-miIe waIk to get home.

This wouId suddenIy turn into a very

dangerous worId.

Narrator: Realizing that getting home by foot may be

his only option after a solar flare,

Jack knew he had to get himself in

better physical condition-

Jack: Everybody was very skepticaI about my prepping

when I first got started because I basicaIIy had

been a fat oId Iazy couch potato.

Narrator: He has lost 90 lbs in the 2 years since he

started preparing, mostly because 3 days a

week, he straps on his 7 2-hour bag

and walks the neighborhood-

Jack: It does me no good if the event happens and I

can't Iift the darn thing so I began to carry it.

And I reaIized that was a chance to taIk to my

neighbors about being prepared.

My name is Jack.

I Iive in the house across the street.

Good to see you.

What I do is on my business card on the back I show you

just a few IittIe things that I recommend peopIe

carry these days.

It couId save your Iife in an emergency.

I 'm encouraging peopIe Iike yourseIf

to Iearn first-aid.

In an emergency you are my doctor and I'm yours.

If you had ten minutes to get out of your house,

what do you have to carry with you?

What are you going to do when the neighbors come to

you and they are out of food and you got it?

This is a sIingshot.

The more of my neighbors I can teach about soIar

fIares, the more they're not going to be hunting

Jacquie and I down to kiII us for our suppIies.

And I certainIy don't want to have to be

kiIIing my neighbors.

I'd rather taIk to 'em about it.

A Iot of canned goods in this one.

Narrator: Just because Jack likes chatting with

neighbors about prepping doesn't mean he's telling

them everything like where he keeps his

4 months of food supplies-

Jack: How about that rice box?

That's good.

Jacquie: This one here?

Narrator: Only Jack's wife Jacquie knows all the

places he's stashed food around their house-

Jacquie: And then you just tape it up.

Jack: Yeah, ''Sink Parts.''

We Iook at how to put food in situations where we know

where it's at but other peopIe who wouId

come and visit wouId never notice it.

Jacquie: No, I am not a Doomsday Prepper.

I am married to a Doomsday Prepper.

Being married to a doomsday prepper means

that you understand.

You have to have patience.

Narrator: Jacquie knows that the Haiti earthquake

had a big impact on Jack, But she believes that's not

the only reason he started prepping-

Jacquie: We both have been Iaid-off.

I think Jack saw things were changing more quickIy

than they had in the past and I think that gave him

thought that we might be in a doomsday cycIe right now.

Jack: I am having to now at 64 re-teach myseIf aII the

survivaI skiIIs that I knew back when I was a

teenager and young aduIt.

Narrator: Even as a beginning prepper,

Jack considers it foolish to stock up without a plan

to defend his supplies and his family-

Jack: If a soIar fIare hits,

society wiII just deteriorate into a

ravishing pack of animaIs.

Your Iife can go from great to just miserabIe

in a moment.

How are you set up to cope?

Narrator: lf a catastrophic solar flare sends society

into darkness and chaos, Jack fears that he and

Jacquie won't be able to hold off marauders forever-

Jack: PeopIe that don't have preparations are going

to go after peopIe that are prepared.

Narrator: So he's putting the finishing touches on

his post-apocalyptic bug-in strategy-

Narrator: At an age when most Americans are getting

ready for retirement, Jack Jobe is getting ready for a

second career: as a prepper-

ln anticipation of social chaos after a massive solar

flare, he is teaching his wife Jacquie,

to fight with knives-

Jack: I think about this area in the kitchen and I

reaIize with this Iarge door here we hadn't

made any pIans.

Narrator: As a first line of defense against

home invaders, Jack tapes knives next to

every entrance of the house-

He also keeps extra knives under the counters,

and in the bedrooms-

Jack: Jacquie, it's taken quite a whiIe for her to

come around to the idea, but when she did,

that's when we decided we wouId practice for exampIe,

knife training.

Narrator: lf a solar flare leads looters to their

door, Jackie knows to grab the nearest one-

Jack: I now come in Iike I'm the intruder,

putting more pressure on her, and that stress,

that adrenaIine rush, that ''oh my god,

what am I gonna do?''

I want her to get used to that.

I'm gonna give you a good ride!

Jacquie: Ohhhoohh!

Jack: Ohh, I'm going to come in and make

your Iife miserabIe.

The more you practice something,

the more it becomes naturaI to you.

Narrator: lf their home comes under siege,

the Jobes believe their 8 hidden knives will

be more useful than one gun-

Knives are light, easily concealed

and silently deadly-

Jack: That's right, that's right.

AII right, that is great hon.

I think you are ready.

We have been through the entire batch of knives so

we are ready.

Jacquie: AII right.

Narrator: And if that's not enough to stop an invader,

he has a backup plan-

Jack: We're putting in a safe room,

and the next thing we're gonna do there: we've gotta

get a door on it.

Narrator: Saferooms are fortified spaces that often

hold food, water, and first aid items-

They are recommended for hurricane and tornado prone

areas, but Jack has different concerns-

Jack: Did you know we had a huge, gigantic,

the biggest one in recorded history,

soIar fIare in 2003?

And the thing that scares me is that we are not even

to the peak untiI 201 2 or 201 3.

Mitch: It is a matter of Iuck if the earth

is in the way.

Narrator: Jack's safe room contains 100 gallons of

water, 2 months of food, and a 1 2-gauge shot gun-

Today, his friend Mitch is helping him add a finishing

touch; a door that locks from the inside-

Jack: And I just wanted to have something to heIp buy

us time and keep Jacquie safe.

Mitch: This shouId do it.

You want to test the Iatch?

Narrator: Jack plans to retreat into this safe room

with Jacquie as a last resort if they can't hold

off multiple invaders-

Jack: Ok, works good, ok.

My dear, your new safe room.

Jacquie: Wow, this Iooks great!

Show me how this works.

I understand why we have a safe room.

But the thought of having to Iock myseIf in

there is scary.

Jacquie: I Iove this.

Mitch: Ok then you just take it out.

You're ready to go.

Jacquie: Oh this is great.

Jack: I know I thought you'd be excited.

Jacquie: Yeah.

Jack: Now if you have an intruder,

the first thing you do is your run in here,

sIam the boIt cIosed and Ioad up the shotgun.

Jacquie: Ok.

Narrator: Realistically, Jack expects the door will

only buy him a few minutes, just enough time to

load a weapon-

Jack: The moment we sIam that boIt shut on that safe

room we've kind of made a decIaration:

the worId is gone.

We are either going to have to start kiIIing peopIe who

are trying to kiII us, or just gonna have

to kiII ourseIves.

But I'd rather be prepared for it to happen.

So I'm putting it in.

I'm using myseIf as an exampIe to say,

hey if I'm 65 you can certainIy do some steps,

the more prepared more peopIe are,

the more peopIe that wiII survive,

and wiII be abIe to cooperate to buiId this

neighborhood back the way it was.

Narrator: Jack, the experts practical preppers commend

you for your outreach to your neighbors-

Additionally, it is good that you are getting in

shape as this will greatly increase your

chances of survival-

Jack:I wiII definiteIy continue the

physicaI training.

It has been a bIessing aIready with

Iosing the weight

Narrator: However, your safe room is not

enough to protect you and Jacquie-

You need to establish a defensive perimeter around

your home if you want true security from invaders-

Jack: I do want to Iay in a Iot of traps around the

yard, camoufIage hoIes that have spikes and things set

up throughout the yard.

Since our Nat Geo teIevision appearance and

the first coupIe of episodes are out,

my wife Jacquie is actuaIIy more

interested in prepping.

And what I've done is taken the expert's

advice about beefing up our home security.

Here's the first of 3 pieces that wiII fit inside

of each of our windows in the event of Iooters.

Narrator: The chances of devastating solar flare

destroying the power grid for millions of people is

as high as 1 2% over the next 10 years-

However the majority of solar flares pose no threat

to life on earth-