Long term survival means you need a three part system. You need (1) Water, (2) Food, and (3) Security. most people only prep for two of the three or one of the three. I know too many “preppers” that say “all that I need is my AR-15 and a ton of ammo”, but the issue with that is obvious. you will have to turn into a bad guy and steal or kill for the other two. I also know guys who say ” will hoard a 90-day supply of food and water, and my neighbors will help me keep my stuff. Right, because your neighbor is the guy with a gun and no food or water. You need all three in combination, or none of them matter.
Another thing to consider is in a SHTF situation how are you going to do some common things? Let’s take a few things and look at how we are going to deal with them in the future. First, are you going to bug in or are you going to bug out. Well, a lot of this depends on what is the SHTF scenario. Take for instance a dirty bomb attack and you live within the danger zone, or the danger zone where the winds are taking the fall out to. In this situation it is obvious you need to bug out. On the other hand what if the same dirty bomb hits, but it is far enough away to impact others, but only impacts you in Electricity, Water, and other utilities. In this situation I would say you need to bug in.
So you have similar things happening, but totally different out comes. What I am trying to say is you need to be prepared for all types of bugging situations. You need a good 72 hour bag for each person, a first aid kit for either each person(level 1) or a first aid kit level 2 for your family(also, you need to think about taking some first aid classes to go with the tools). I mean what good is it to have a suture kit and bags of intravenous fluid, but not know how to use them? You also might consider a bug out kit for the vehicle you are using, and that also brings up the question, what makes a good bug out vehicle? Now I am not going to tell you the best vehicle, because the area you live in determines a lot of this, but more than likely an older SUV with a carburetor and points will usually be a good choice, for a few reasons. You will be able to haul more gear(including food and water), you can haul more people, most are four wheel drive, and the carburetor and point systems are the only sure way to avoid the pitfalls of an EMP.
Continuing the bug out scenario, consider where are you going. Practice the route, all times of the day and night. Know alternate routes to get there, and map these out. Consider alternate locations, you never know where a disaster man made or natural will occur. Store the gear you need at the locations, that way if you are in route and have to ditch the vehicle you can grab your 72 hour bag, hike the rest of the way, and know that when you get there, you can live.
Do not count on the generosity of others. There will be a few people that will help you, but for the most part civilization will be, well, uncivilized! Don’t think my neighbor has a place I have heard about, or, I can go stay with my mom or kids. If this is not what you, and they, have planned then they do not have enough for you and them. (Another thing to consider is it takes approximate 2,000 plus calories to live, but in a high stress situation you need more than that, some times a lot more.) So do have a plan, don’t rush into things. Think out as many possibilities as you can and plan for all of them. You can not have every possible thing in your possession, but you can account for as a bunch.
A word about bug-out-bags, first aid kits and gear. Stock them with what you think you will need for a real world problem. As things in your life or the world change, change the items in the bags. For instance, in summer you may not need a wool sweater, but in winter you might. if you live in Arizona you probably will not need a winter parka, but if you live in Colorado you more than likely will. Be smart when you are prepping, again this is a lot of common sense, but using common sense when you are calm and only preparing for the situation is easier than throwing a bunch of junk together when you a scared because the Chinese have landed on the Pacific coast Also, one more thing about vehicles. You need to always make sure and maintain your BOV, seems simple, but how bad would it be if you have not driven it in three months and go to start it and the battery is dead, or having to head out at night and the headlights being burned out, think!
Now, onto bugging in. If you decide it will be safer for you and yours to stay in place, then do it! You need to be able to assess the situation and make an informed decision. So now you have decided to bug in and the power is out, natural gas is gone or worse, on fire at the transfer station, Now what? How are you going to cook that three months worth of food? Did you think to buy a propane system and propane? Did you think of a solar oven? there are hundreds of things to think of. When you where putting your food and water stores together, did you get all of the meds you and your family will need for the next 90 days, a multivitamin supplement for each of you, and did you go over all of this with your spouse of another responsible person if you are to get injured or become ill?
This is not a complicated thing, but it does take preparation. You need to go over this over and over, until you and everyone you are bugging in with know it backwards and forwards…
If you live in the mountains [or a northern climate], did you think of how to heat in a grid-down situation? You live in New Mexico, did you think of how to have enough water to work in the heat? there are so many small things to think of, you need to really plan for your area and for your own personal needs. I can tell you a hundred things to look at, but most of them will fit me and my family, but may be totally wrong for you and yours.
A thing that I did not think about until recently, communication. If the SHTF then more than likely you will not have a working cell phone. Did you plan on it? Did you buy a CB or ham radio? Do you have a way to power them? There are [photovoltaic] solar panels, generators, and wind turbines. So many options, but what is right for you? It all depends.Wind is great if you live in Kansas, but solar is better if you live in Florida. As a prepper I can tell you ideas, and problems, but you need to come up the best solution for you.
There a hundred things to consider, rain barrels for extra water for cleaning or boiling for drinking and cooking, food and water for your pets, fuel for the generator,vehicle, and cooking appliances, and so many more. We over the next few weeks and months will hit as many of these as we can. If you have a question, ask, I will get you the answers. We will learn this all together.
A few things all of us need to think about is long term food, water, and security.
( a little note: the point of all of this is to survive. This seems obvious, but if you make it through what ever happens and can go past your 72 hour kit, your three month supply of food and water, or if you are very ambitious, make it through the one year mark, and you die because you have no skills to thrive after, then what is the point of all of the prep? One thing you need to consider doing outside of the prep most people teach about is learning to live without technology. Growing your own food, hunting for your own meat, and a trade or skill to barter. In most SHTF scenarios the government will have failed or collapsed and the money you have will be useless. So if you are a stock trader for a living, then learn a trade or skill that will be useful in a market that doesn’t need a banker. The point is to live on, and take care of those in your family and hopefully help others around you.
May God bless you and yours. In Christ’s Love, – Brother Robert