I was trying to come up with way to write down all of things that I have been going through lately as a concerned husband, son, uncle, and brother. A little background on me: I am turning 36 tomorrow. When I was 24 I joined the U.S. Army. I was fooling around in college (still) without a good source of income. My three year relationship was coming to an abrupt end as my girlfriend was graduating college and moving into the next phase of her life (kudos to her making the tough decision to do what was best for her, which was to keep me from holding her back). So, as any rational screw up in my situation I went to my local recruiter’s office and signed up for five years in the Army.
During my six years on active duty I grew up a lot (I reenlisted once to go to Korea rather than have a very good chance of going back to Iraq. That is where my sixth year comes from). I learned a lot. I became much more self-reliant. I became more aware of the national political scene. Some of this maturing process may be simply due to me getting a bit older, but I truly believe the Army gave me a huge shove in the right direction. My priorities finally began to shift from adolescent ridiculousness, to bigger picture themes not revolving completely around me.
While I was active, I came to notice that no matter where in the world you may be, kids are always the same. Kids want to have fun and play. They don’t hate indiscriminately. That fact in itself tells me that we (adults) are obviously the problem. Kids are kids. We turn them into hateful versions of ourselves. I got a chance to visit a few different countries during my six years, which tends to give you a great perspective on life at home, and how truly lucky we all are to live in such a wondrous place like the good ol’ USA.
I got out of the Army back in the summer of 2006. I was lucky enough to come back home and get hired by a privately owned company having nothing to do with anything in my background. Sometimes things have a funny way of working out. My wife and I met about 18 months before I was discharged from active duty. Being on the other side of the planet had its difficulties, but in the end it couldn’t have worked out any better and we have now been married over 3.5 years. No kids yet, but you never know.
When I was getting out, I spoke to my wife about my wanting to get my concealed carry license and owning firearms. This had nothing to do with prepping at this time, but I think you kind of get used to having something by your side in case something unfortunate does happen. Living in Florida, getting your concealed carry license (CCL) and purchasing firearms is pretty easy. My wife was fine with it until I explained that I wanted her to become as proficient with any weapons we have as possible. She, like most people that haven’t been around weapons their whole life, has this innate fear of guns.
We started her out slow with some simple instructions on my first purchase, a Glock 23 (law enforcement version) that I had fired many times before. There seem to be two types of people, those who love Glocks and those who hate them. For me, and for the money I had at the time, I couldn’t ask for a more reliable weapon to have at the house (for carrying I ended up with a SIG P238 [.380 ACP] to slip in a pocket holster). So, my wife and I went through all of the basics of handling any weapon, treat it like it’s loaded, muzzle awareness, etc. She took to it like a pro. At the range, the bigger the caliber the more she enjoyed it. She was forced to load all of the magazines she used. She would break down the gun when we got back home (practicing her disciplines, of course) and clean it and put it back together all by herself. I told her that I needed her to be competent enough that we not worry if she is home alone and the worst case scenario happens. We came up with situational plans on how she would react to different situations depending on where she is in the house at the time. Most of them ended with her locked in a bathroom with a gun and a phone (if possible) and her willingness to put a few rounds through the door at the least, if someone came inside.
Over the past few years, I have noticed many of the same things you all discuss and write about on this site. Things seem to be getting worse, no matter what the talking heads might say. I think most of us can “feel” that things just aren’t right. When I tell this to my wife she gets a little freaked. I have been doing a lot of research over the past 6 months on prepping, food storage, BoBs, etc. This site has been a God send and I thank Mr. Rawles and the rest of you for all of your hard work. All of the information I crave is there for the taking. I have already paid my one year “donation” and will look to do more soon.
Here is where we get to my prepping so far. We live in a very large metropolitan area in south Florida. Both of our immediate families are within 30 minutes of us. (If money were no object, I would already have left for the American Redoubt and ordered my custom home and bunker to be built with years of supplies waiting for us. Obviously, that is not where we are finnacially, yet.) As I have been doing my research I have begun to stock up and put my plans and lists together. I have assembled a get home bag that each of us keeps in our cars. I have also put together a BoB for each of us that is at the house. My wicked “arsenal” now consists of my carry weapon, my Glock 23, and an AR-15. I have hundreds of rounds for each and plan on really bumping up my number of magazines. I also plan on expanding my weapons to include a longer range, larger caliber rifle and a shotgun at the least. I am working on getting my wife trained up on the AR-15 as we move along. I haven’t taught Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) in a while.
As for my food and supplies at home, I am currently working on our “stash”, which includes some basic foods like white rice, canned goods, bottled water, etc. I have also purchased a Katadyn Pocket, and a couple of filtering Camelbaks. I have 3 cases of Mountain House dry foods also to get started. I also have items to help with fire, shelter, water hauling, etc.
My biggest dilemmas up to this point (besides limited finances) are the following:
- My wife freaks out if I talk about prepping. I explain that I don’t think the world is going to end on December 21st, but I think generally people are not as bright as I would like. Regardless of what happens, the news and every television show will be talking about that date. Food prices are rising now, but just wait until panic sets in. Why not put some essentials aside and protect ourselves as much as possible. If nothing happens, no harm, no foul. I am trying to keep her focusing on that rather than what I think is happening with the global economy, etc. That may not be fair to her, but I am working on her slowly.
- How do I get more family members involved without them thinking I am crazy? My younger brother also spent five years in the Army. My older brother works for the Sheriff’s department in our county. He isn’t a police officer, but we all have our CCL and own a few firearms and have received training. I have come up with a plan of where we could all meet in a TEOTWAWKI situation. I have picked the home easiest to defend, with the most space for materials, and it is the most central. The only problem is they have no preparations, nor are they aware of any plans that I have. I also have a plan for just my wife and I which involves bunkering down at home as a last resort, as well as a G.O.O.D. plan if needed. The problem is that no one is privy to these plans but me. How do I broach the subject?
- We live in a very heavily populated area in South Florida. There is almost no where without people outside of the everglades. There are some places we could go in the everglades if we had to that isn’t just a swamp, but the local population will be tough regardless.
I am currently working on getting my FFL to be able to purchase firearms at a discount and slowly begin a home business. I am curious if any others have similar situations, and how they dealt with those issues. I am continuing to get my stuff together for me and my wife, but I can’t just abandon everyone else. My family is full of people that would be very helpful in a SHTF situation. My wife is a trauma nurse. My older brother is an auto mechanic by trade, and he and my dad are utterly handy. My younger brother is a trained intelligence officer, and currently works as a civilian for the military in that capacity. My two sisters-in-law are both teachers which would be useful for the kids. My dad is a machinist by trade, and one of the hardest workers I have ever met.
I fear for all of us, but I can only do so much. I have brought this up to my younger brother briefly in conversations, but not much has come out of it. I will continue to move forward with my preparations as planned. I am hoping the rest will come to me soon. Hopefully, before it is too late.