Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 2, by P.N.

As an educator, I’ve been a part of many types of drills for safety, including active shooter drills. Most schools practice active shooter drills by “calling” the drill while students are already in class. When the drills are called, the teacher shuts the door (that typically is already locked from the outside) and the students sit in the corner away from the door. Then the drill is “cleared”, and that’s pretty much it. There are a variety of problems with this, and as parents we can do some things to improve the safety of our students by helping them be …




Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 1, by P.N.

As an educator that has worked in quite a few small and large schools, there are a number of safety drills I have been required to take part in. The list includes fire drills, shelter-in-place drills, bomb threat drills as well as lockdowns (active shooter) and evacuation drills. One drill that I find lacking in every school I’ve entered is the active shooter drill. Security in schools are more than willing to admit that “it’s not if, but when” for the next school shooting. Current Active Shoot Drills Most schools practice active shooter drills by “calling” the drill while students …




How To Prep For … Throwing In The Towel- Part 2, by DR in Tennessee

Yesterday, we began by asking many questions to determine just how prepared and ready you were for a situation when you or your spouse were unable to continue daily or regular responsibilities around the homestead. It is apparent that many preppers are aging and just can’t do the independent prepping and property maintenance and management they had envisioned and begun decades earlier. So, in part one of this article series, we discussed some of what it takes to prepare your property for sale. Today’s Reality That brings us to today’s reality. Plan now for a time when the Good Lord …




How To Prep For … Throwing In The Towel- Part 1, by DR in Tennessee

Certainly if you read this blog frequently, you know why and how we prepare. The archives of SurvivalBlog are an unmatched treasure trove of practical and technical survival wisdom. This article is designed to offer practical guidance of another kind. It’s intended to encourage mature individuals to imagine a different type of prepping. I want you to think long and hard about your realistic future as successful long-time preppers. I write this based on personal experience and with firsthand knowledge of the experiences of others who share my age and attitude about preparedness. Those of you who may be relatively …




The Measure of a Man, by J.H.

Not too terribly long ago, I was at work and came across a young man. (The word “young” is used as a relative term. I am 37, and this young gentleman was approximately 20.) I work for the U.S. Army on a military installation in CONUS, and this young soldier out of uniform happened into my work area to ask me a question. And the manner in which he asked me the question made my blood boil. It wasn’t that he was disrespectful or rude. By those standards he was completely polite. But he looked at my feet and muttered, …




The Blizzard of 2003, By 97B40

It was 2003 and we needed the moisture, so I was glad to learn that snow was in the weather forecast. Our part of the state got most of its precipitation in March and April, so I was optimistic. I should have been more precise about what I wished for. My wife had flown to Los Angles a couple of days before for business, and I looked forward to hiking or snowshoeing with our three dogs and relaxing. Our Colorado Rocky Mountain Blizzard Story On March 17th snow began falling in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. At 7,000 feet in the foothills, …




Applying the Wisdom of Sun Tzu to Prepping, by B.P.

Many regard Sun Tzu as the ultimate military strategist, at least in the way he described the more philosophical applications of combat strategy. Being more abstract in his direction than simply issuing commands like a common general, his focus was on developing a perspective rather than defining procedures. In this way, his wisdom and direction have remained contemporary and relevant, whereas battlefield applications come and go with advances in technology and expansion of the combat arena. In studying the lessons of Sun Tzu, we find that much of his advice on strategy not only lends itself to the field of …




A Collection of Thoughts on Survival, by Sven

There is a number of thoughts and observations I’ve had that seemed worth passing on to SurvivalBlog readers, but most of them weren’t long enough to merit full articles. Hopefully, everyone can find at least one thing here that they hadn’t considered yet. Wool Blankets Wool blankets are heavier than down or synthetic sleeping bags but are lifetimes more durable and fire resistant. You should have both wool blankets for when weight is not a concern and regular sleeping bags for fast, light trips. Knives– Serrated or Not Knives with serrations require special tools to sharpen. Consider using only knives …




Never Waste An Opportunity To Buy Good Stuff Inexpensively!, by Old Bobbert

When there is an opportunity, we don’t waste it. We preppers are very good at nearly everything we do, once we finally start down the road to project completion and timely success. The few things we do poorly are generally the foundation for our poor public image. Some of these are our poor selections, among the millions of printed pages concerning “being prepared” to live through a disaster. Our most glaring and dramatic procedural mistake is also the main reason non-preppers also fail at an alarmingly high percent of starts. Yes, we still have much in common with our non-prepper …




Time, Effort, and Attitude (TEA) and Keeping Focus, by E in the North Woods

I think a lot of us who are doing our best to prepare for a SHTF scenario usually had some moment when we popped our heads out of the sand and were pushed to that point. I look back on it, like I have heard others explain, as the red pill versus blue pill moment from The Matrix movie. Once you have your eyes opened and decide to take action in living a prepared lifestyle, it feels like you just got ripped from your comfy cocoon and are now standing at the base of a mountain looking up at all …




A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 4, by R2

Four Types of Giving Yesterday, we started describing the four types of giving outlined in the Scriptures, starting with an offering to the Lord. Today, we’ll finish up this series with the last three types of giving, on which we have instruction. The most controversial one, and the one that is probably on most people’s mind, is next up. 2) Tithe This is the method of giving that most think of when we talk about giving to the Lord. It is the most controversial one, because the basic church structure today depends upon it to survive, yet there is no …




A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 3, by R2

How Does the Lord Value Your Gift? The Lord does not value the gifts He receives in the same way that man values gifts. The exception perhaps is a mother valuing gifts she has received from her children. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat in church during the obligatory sermon on tithing to your church just to see some un-Biblical practice being followed. Give in Secret On one occasion, the pastor of the church we attended thought that he would encourage the congregation to give by being an example. He held up the check that he …




A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 2, by R2

Yesterday, we talked about how people have a desire to give to the Lord but that all gifts are not valued by Him. We looked at some early examples of our Biblical fathers giving offerings and paying tithes to the Lord as well. Today, I want to continue with one more example that we can use as we begin to build our foundation of understanding on the subject of giving. It is important to note that these are not the only examples, just the first three obvious examples of people planning and arranging to give something of themselves to God. …




A Christian Prepper’s Perspective on Giving- Part 1, by R2

Christian charity is a huge topic in the Christian prepping circles and particularly now as holiday and end-of-year giving is on people’s mind. I have seen solutions run the gamut, from churches and groups attempting to feed anyone who knocks to those individuals who refuse to prep to give anything for fear of violence against their own. There are three aspects of giving, and many confuse these, though they are distinctive. They are as follows: Giving to the Lord Giving to your family Giving to others The most complex type of giving is actually the first— “Giving to the Lord”. …




Into Bear Country- Part 2, by George Fox

In part 1 of this article series, I wrote about the likelihood of people encountering bear, the different types of bear, and began with an overview of how to detail with one in the event of an encounter. Today, we’ll go into more detail about preventing encounters and what to do if you have one. Setting Up “Triangle” Camp to Avoid Bears When you set up camp, there are procedures that should be followed to keep your food secure, to keep you safe, and to prevent bears from coming to the tent to look for snacks. I was taught to …