Category: Survival Mindset

A Military Wife’s Perspective on Preparedness, by Laura M.

I take a different approach, but one that may prove useful for other ladies. My husband is military, so that would make me the military spouse. However, I can tell you from experience that there SHOULD be a survival guide to being a military spouse. Now, I don’t plan on making this some betty home maker guide; Because in my opinion there is so many other survival aspects that us ladies should be aware of when our husbands are away. Unfortunately, we are not aware of these survival tactics until some misfortune is staring us in the face and we …


The Time in Between the Moments, by Paul G.

So you are a prepper. You have trained yourself for survival, bought survival gear, and built up personal survival items not only for yourself, but for your family as well. You’re even thinking about how to improve your plans, modify your techniques, and seek continuing to educate yourself with additional survival skills. Then TEOTWAWKI situation happens and everything goes to heck for a day, a week, or maybe even your lifetime. There could be an economic collapse with looting situations, severe weather scenarios causing mass casualties, natural disasters wiping out the power grid, or you may even be in an …


Getting Back to My Roots — Why I am a Prepper, by Chad T.

I was born into a family of preppers.  My grandparents were all farmers and lived through the Great Depression in the Midwest.   My parents both grew up on farms and came from large families.  While my folks would not label themselves today as preppers, they would consider themselves as independent and self-reliable.  In order to understand my journey as a prepper, you have to go back a few years.  Early into my parents’ marriage, my dad just got out of the navy and worked in various cities and towns, from Texas to Minnesota.  The largest town we lived in was …


Letter Re: Home Invasion Prevention

Sir, I’ve often wondered what the “typical” home-invasion victim’s house looks like.  Does it have high fences; does it sit perched on a hill with a beautiful view; are BMWs seen entering & leaving?  Perhaps.  I wonder if home invaders (or burglars, for that matter) even bother with modest homes that have 20-year-old cars parked in front?  Probably not so much. What I’m saying is that, even if you have the means to live well, part of OPSEC should probably include maintaining the appearance of being a low-value target.  Making your home into an obvious fortress will naturally cause those with …


Spiritual Preparedness for Hard Times, by ZeBo

In preparing for hard times, it has long been my belief that the first priority of Christian men and women must be preparing spiritually for the difficult road ahead. The church and culture of the United States have grown very soft, and, unlike our forefathers, most Christians in America today have little experience coping with hard times. We live in a culture that believes in having an insurance policy or material solution for any crisis that life brings our way. This applies down to the smallest personal tragedies, with only a handful of exceptions, and leaves us woefully underprepared to …


Letter Re: Details Emerging on the Outlaw Maine Hermit

Hey Jim, This guy lived within 30 miles from me for 27 years. An interesting story to be sure. I’d like to bail him out just for the chance to talk but for $5,000 it would be too expensive. This is not wilderness. It is a 30 minute walk from Pine Tree Camp – I have been there a few times. My buddy in high school worked there as a cook. Here is some news coverage about him, from another source. Keep up the good work. – Bubby JWR Replies: After you wrote me to mention this, I found an …


Letter Re: Hard Working Homeless in Kansas Dug Tunnels

James, A brief article I saw on underground homeless camp in Kansas: Underground homeless camp cleared near the East Bottoms. Although the article does not give much detail, I find it an interesting use of space, staying out of the way and a lesson to learn regarding people who may be close to your proximity without one even knowing it.  It also drew my mind back to the Bielski partisans and the camps they dug in Naliboki Forest. God Bless, – John in Ohio


Thoughts on a Recent Disaster Drill, by Ken J.

Mr. Rawles:  I run a health care facility in a particular state.  I’d prefer not to give away all details as I do have access to certain pharmaceutical supplies in the event of certain happenings due to my position in the local community.  But I’ll be as specific as I can be in this forum in the hopes of shedding some light on a recent disaster exercise.  Local authorities from the state department of health teamed up with numerous statewide personnel from various agencies to conduct a disaster simulation recently that assumed an anthrax attack on the local populace.  It …


So You Want to Become a Prepper — Now What?, by Daniel A.

History has shown that empires, nations, societies, and individuals all pass, and that the events of our lives can be, and oftentimes are, very uncertain.  About a year ago, my wife and I read the novel One Second After by William Forstchen.  While this book is a fictional account of a catastrophic event and the resulting collapse of civilized society, it may depict a disturbingly accurate account of events that could occur in a real-life catastrophe in the near future.  Reading this book resulted in a complete shift in our mindset and caused us to re-evaluate our pursuit of the …


Pre-Trib Rapture Doctrine and Preparedness, by P.H.

In my conversations in person and online as well as select daily readings including SurvivalBlog; it seems to me that there are a few very common themed roadblocks that people throw out as reasons why they can’t or don’t need to prepare or are unable to take their prepping to the next level. The four that come to mind are: 1)      My spouse doesn’t buy into the need to prepare 2)      We can’t afford to move 3)      God is in control; He will take care of us. 4)      Your prepping is actually a sign of a …


Letter Re: Dealing With Mentally Unbalanced Trespassers

James, Regarding the recent post “Dealing With Mentally Unbalanced Trespasser, I’d like to begin with a relevant Bible passage, Matthew 25:31-45, King James Version (KJV): When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his …


Survivalism: A Jewish Perspective, by DystopianLiving

Since I am Jewish, I read with interest “A Prepper’s Holiday” by C.E.B. (posted March 7th), in which the author described what he has learned by observing the Old Testament holidays of Passover and Sukkot. It occurred to me that Jewish history and culture – being largely a five-thousand year track record of survival against all odds – actually has quite a few lessons that would be relevant to SurvivalBlog readers of all faiths. Here are a few. 1) WHEN IN DOUBT, GET OUT In 1941, Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. At the time, my grandmother and her family …


Letter Re: One Christian’s Plan for When Things Fall Apart

I would like to thank B.H. in North Idaho for his candid discussion of world views and the church.  As a Christian, I have the same beliefs that he has.  And as a Christian, there is no way I cannot feed the hungry and the poor.  Jesus said the most important commandment is to love God and the next is to love your neighbor.  That means charity.  And charity entails feeding the hungry.  I may run out of food and die myself, but I know God would bless what I did for others.  As long as I’m doing what God …


Letter Re: Dealing With Mentally Unbalanced Trespassers

James, In Hearthkeeper’s account of the man arrested for trespassing while attacking a chicken run, she mentions that they had decided to “press charges” as it seemed the cops were aware of the guy, but nobody else had wanted to press charges.  Her rationale was that now he would get some kind of evaluation in jail.   Well, he probably won’t.   I don’t work in a jail environment anymore, but when I did it wasn’t that long ago.   What they did was well-intentioned and the right thing to do, but let’s point something out…   Under every state law …


Leading from the Middle: A Lesson Learned from the Middle East, by Brian H.

In the survivalist/prepper world, one can argue that we are all leaders, yes?  Well, ask yourself, what happens when you thought you were going to be the leader of your compound/ neighborhood/ community but got to the party late and someone else is in charge?  What happens when you can’t or simply aren’t THE leader? You lead from the middle. This article proposes two ways in which you can lead without being the designated leader.  As survivalist/preppers we know a neighborhood or city block is better than one home, while a community is best. Let’s assume the SHTF and you …