Category: Survival Mindset

A Preparedness Plan for a Single Woman With Children

I’ve been reading SurvivalBlog for almost a year.  I am thankful for the advice that I receive each day.  I have had a “be prepared” attitude for about 30 years, although the past two years have thrown several speed bumps and roadblocks my way.  Two years ago my son and his family were in a life threatening accident.  I spent almost every penny I had saved toward retirement to help my daughter-in-law recover.  This year I fought for and won custody of three of my grandchildren from my daughter.  So now, instead of planning for TEOTWAWKI for just myself, a …


Letter Re: The After Armageddon Documentary

Mr Rawles, Thanks for all you do for the Prepper community. It is always a pleasure to see what is new on your site. Just for the record, I was the black shirted “Tracking and Survival Expert” quoted on After Armageddon. I consulted fairly extensively with the production company on the direction of the script early on, but did not know what was going to happen until I saw it. We filmed my interview up in Harlem in an old condemned apartment building in August. The epidemiologist from England was there also. They filmed three hours of interview with me, …


Letter Re: Lessons From “The Twilight Zone”

Sir: I’ve just watched an original episode of [the 1960s television series] The Twilight Zone called “The Shelter” from 1961. It’s interesting to notice how some tenets of preparedness haven’t changed much in almost 50 years. In the episode, a group of neighbors is gathered at a birthday party when a report of unidentified flying objects, alluded to as nuclear missiles, comes over the radio. As the guests depart for their homes to gather food, medicine and water, we learn that the protagonist, Dr. Stockton, has a recently completed fallout shelter in his basement. He secures his family in it …


Letter Re: The Bosnian Experience, Part 2

Sir: The next thing that I would like to cover is mode of transportation. When the society collapses more likely you will have to leave your home. Having a 4×4 vehicle that is equipped with everything that you need to survive would be everyone’s choice for travel but that sometimes might not be possible. In the broken society there is no law. Everyone and everybody is a target. Traveling in the vehicle on the road or off the road is extremely risky. First, vehicles make noise and everyone can hear you. Second, vehicles are big and they can be seen. …


Letter Re: A Holiday Trash OPSEC Warning

James Wesley, I just wanted to mention something that has been on my mind for some time but recently re-emphasized as I drove to work the other morning. Along my route (20 blocks or so before I hit a main thoroughfare) the other day the concept of trash OPSEC really hit me. It was trash day for that part of town and I saw signs everywhere that said “come burglarize this house”. I saw flat screen television boxes, video game boxes, stereo boxes, DVD player boxes, computer boxes, small appliance boxes, toy boxes, you-name-it boxes in all sorts of shapes …


Letter Re: The Bosnian Experience

Mr. Rawles, I want to thank you for having this site and presenting people with opportunity two obtain useful information that could save their lives one day. I have been dedicated reader of your blogs for some time and now think that is my time to contribute some information instead of just reading it. I have survived through collapse of former Yugoslavia and the years of war that followed after. I will try to cover as much of different topics that pertain to every day survival. No matter on how much the person is prepared, it might not be enough. …


Letter Re: Preparedness with Very Limited Resources

Mr. Rawles, I am grateful to you for providing this site. I am one of perhaps to many, who can barely make it check to check. Though I have been aware of what is happening for several years now, the amount of provisions I have been able to secure has amounted to nothing compared to what I am reading here. However, within this site is information which has been the greatest of value to, at the least, strengthen me with understanding. I sit here in the comfort of my home, surrounded outside with cold and over a foot of fresh …


Lessons from History: The Immigrant and the Refugee

As a student of history, it is surprising how often the same traumatic patterns emerge in times of economic turmoil, political upheavals, and civil unrest. All too frequently, average citizens get caught in the middle of tumultuous situations and unwittingly are soon reduced to the status of refugee. Unlike someone that intentionally emigrates to better themselves, a refugee typically hits the road with few or any assets and no sure destination. As I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, if the 20th century taught us anything, it is that the one category you don’t want to find yourself in is “refugee.” Refugees …


Seven Basic Steps, by Jared O.

I first became fascinated with the art of preparedness in my youth during the days and months leading up to Y2K. The thought societal meltdown and global collapse seemed almost too much to bear, hard to wrap my head around. I was 17years old, just starting my life — now faced with a potential situation that I had little training or experience to deal with. But my parents had instilled in me a valuable lesson early in childhood; fear is derived from the unknown and the lack of preparedness. With knowledge, preparation, a “never quit” attitude and maybe a little …


Letter Re: Gerald Celente Predicts Survivalism Will Go Mainstream in 2010

James Wesley: The often-quoted prognosticator Gerald Celente (of The Trends Research Institute) is predicting that the Survivalist movement will go mainstream next year. In a recent issue of The Trends Journal, he wrote: “Back in the Cold War days, survivalism meant building a bomb shelter and stocking it with enough food to outlast nuclear fallout. In the late 1970’s, with inflation soaring, Iran raging, and gold and oil prices skyrocketing, survival meant cashing out of paper money and heading for the hills with enough ammunition and pork & beans to wait out the economic and political storms. In 2000, the …


Prepping as an Active Duty Servicemember Overseas, by M.B.

As a member of the Armed Forces stationed overseas, and for those civilian government employees likewise stationed, we face unique situations as we attempt to get ready for TEOTWAWKI scenarios. First, when you are stationed overseas, usually for a 12 to 36 month tour, whatever happens back home seems magnified in your mind because you are so far away and feel helpless to do anything about it. Mental preparation is of utmost importance if you get a sense of panic after reading about all the horrible things going on back home.  It is important not to panic when you see …


Letter Re: A Prepared Christmas

Sir; I just finished reading a Prepared Christmas by Hunkerdown and it made me smile as I remembered last year. Emergency Essential ran a special on first aid kits and we sent one to each of our adult children. It consisted of two kits – one for the home and an outdoor kit to take in a vehicle. Right after the holidays, our 16 month old grandson put his hands on a stove (those little critters can move faster than a cheetah) and burned the palms of his hands. He was treated at the emergency room (the burns were very …


A Prepared Christmas, by Hunkerdown

As most folks are running around fiercely to holiday parties and the malls in search of the perfect gift, even in these troubled times, it dawned on me that this is a unique time of the year that preppers can share our enthusiasm for our lifestyle. I started my preparedness journey (Yes, ‘journey’, as I’m now sure there is not a final destination. Can you ever be too prepared?) a little less than a year ago, and through sites like SurvivalBlog, have spent many hours educating myself about the numerous issues we may face in TEOTWAWKI. I often find prepping …


Solo Survival in a Societal Collapse?, by Wry Catcher

When it comes to natural and man-made disasters, I’ve seen my share, and each was a learning experience. Although diverse in type, all of them shared a common factor: a dire impact on the human populations they affected. That impact, in turn, led to dangerous encounters with some rough criminals. Some people cannot cope, so they turn to ruthless behavior. Other people are selfish opportunists. While we may have pity for those who can’t cope with the stress of a survival situation, we should nonetheless remain vigilant for those who would do us harm in any way and for any …


Letter Re: Another COMSEC Warning on Social Networking Web Services

James, This is a communications security (COMSEC) warning: Readers may wish to think about the networking tools used to communicate between friends and associates – Facebook, Linked-In, Jaiku, Pownce, Yammer, and others – and realize that not only do they pose a serious threat to the security of their personal information, but some of them are now apparently being used to bring new people into the non-secure comms environment by falsifying “invitations” from others to join. While tools such as Outlook, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Gmail, Hotmail, Flickr, and MySpace should also be used with caution to limit the damage that …