Category: Survival Mindset

The Philippines: The Stuff Has Indeed Hit the Fan by G.V.R.

I have been thinking about writing an article on what is going on in the Philippines since I first saw the news last Friday.  There is so much that I saw I realized that I would need to write far too many pages to explain it all.  But I will write a few.   I saw the news of Typhoon Yolanda, as it is called in the Philippines, live from PI.  They called it Typhoon Haiyan elsewhere.  I am married to a Pinay (a Filipina lady) and we get several of the Philippine television networks right here at home via …


War Games, by Phil S.

The United States Military tests its capabilities and preparedness by exercising its systems, soldiers and supply chains in war games. [These include field training exercises (FTXes), Command Post Exercises (CPXes), and Mobilization Exercises (MOBEXes), Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercises (EDREs) and more.]  These war games are used to ensure that their personnel is trained and fit, that the hardware of every sort works as it was intended to work and that in times of duress their supply chain will provide the fighting men at the front what supplies they need in order to be victorious.  I have extended my preparations for …


Letter Re: In Extremis, Compunctions Dwindle

Sir, I know that seeing this attitude is not news to you, but I read this article and thought it may be helpful for the SurvivalBlog readers as reinforces what you and others have long said: that all bets are off in regards to morality and standards by the average Joe who has gone without food for a few days. This tale of post-Typhoon Yolanda includes the gripping quote: “I am a decent person. But if you have not eaten in three days, you do shameful things to survive.”  In any event, I thought you might find the link useful. Thank …


Remembering Dear Aunt Flow, by Kali

It is a reasonable assumption that most SurvivalBlog readers are already going to be in the preparedness mindset. Whether you’re preparing for a natural disaster, economic collapse, zombie apocalypse, or something in between you must always have each and every family member’s needs in mind. Most of us start with the ‘generic’ items that everyone needs such as water, food and standard medical supplies. While that is the absolute best starting place for all families, after the basics are accounted for you should then consider any unique or special needs that you may have to provide for. Many of us …


Preparing Your Body and Mind, by Michael P.

The Body There are two primary tools used to in every situation ever encountered; the mind and the body. Despite the body being such a crucial aspect of survivability, preparing the body for the unknown remains one of the least addressed topics in survival books and on-line forums. It is also one of the areas of survival that necessitates the most maintenance, and requires the most amount of dedication and consistency. Though most survival manuals fail to address the importance of preparing the body, the fact remains that there are no military units in the world that do not have …


Lessons Learned as a Military Civilian Contractor in Iraq, by Robert S.

I started my journey much to the dismay of my wife and family, in December, 2007. Not ever having been in the military or anything closely resembling it. Without having a clue of what I was doing I headed off to good ol Houston Texas where my journey began at an old shopping mall with portions of it still active selling goods. This was the “processing” phase of me getting ready to deploy as a US DOD contractor to the war effort in Iraq. My life was about to take a very drastic turn and I jumped head long into …


Resolve: The Ultimate Survival Attribute, by Talon Flyer

Ask yourself this question:  “Do I really think I could use deadly force against someone to protect my family?”  Most, (if not all reading this) quickly respond with a resounding YES!  In fact, you may even have fantasized about scenarios where that might happen; usually in the context of “what would I do if…”   One has to plan for every contingency, right? The thing is, these fantasies are usually on the same level as a Hollywood movie—contain some sense of bravado—and almost always leave you feeling like somewhat of a hero.  There are those who are unnerved about this and …


From Just Surviving Life to a Life of Survival Preparedness, by Michael B.

From Just Surviving Life to a Life of Survival Preparedness, by Michael B. I was born into the percentage of Americans,who statistically don’t make it to the American dream. I was Born 1980 in Modesto, California. The third child of a young mother and father hooked on Speed, KJ and any other number of drugs they could get their hands on. By 1983 we found ourselves 140 miles south in Visalia Ca. That year my father was shot point blank range in the lower abdominal area with a .22 Long Rifle hollow point. It was the neighbor in the next …


Letter Re: The Blackout Docudrama

First of all: The creators are in the "Hollywood way" so they live there, their friends are all there, They are not going to go build a bunker, they are already working on their next project about an Alien invasion or something like that.  So from my perspective, they did pretty good over all considering the source. Over acting, oh yeah.  I have seen some pretty tense situations and there are many men who show no emotion at all.  they are deep in their thinking and in this video, we have simply lucked out that all the characters are highly …


Letter Re: Situational Awareness, Complacency, and Common Sense

Dear Survival Blog, As a journalist, I’m constantly intrigued by the dissemination of information in our world. Obviously, with the advent of social media, people have become exceptionally lazy about seeking out information. There are very few circumstances in our modern society where your technology can’t help you find out what’s going on within seconds. However, every now and then, we encounter a situation where your technology can’t help you – unless you’re prepared.  Earlier this week, I was in just such a situation. I was near the front of a interstate closure caused by a burning catering truck. Because …


Knowledge: The Survivor’s #1 Preparation, by Chad H.

What is a prepper’s number one tool? What is the asset that all preppers need regardless of where they are or why they are preparing? Some will say water purification, others will say food, and either others will give a list of shelter, weapons, or a medical kit. I disagree with all of these. Yes, all of these are necessary to survival and great preps to have; however, they are not the number one prep needed. After searching hundreds of lists and web sites, and watching show after show about survival, and piecing together preps on a budget, I have …


A Terrifying Awakening, by Mike C.

“My grandpa taught me how to live off the land, and his taught him to be a businessman.” Remember those words from “A Country Boy Can Survive” by Hank Williams, Jr.?  Those lines are the story of my life.  I was born just outside of San Francisco in 1963.  I was raised overseas and lived in Singapore, a nation where possession of guns by citizens was (and is) illegal.   The extent of my outdoor life was exploring what was left of the jungles around our home, and digging up WW2 relics (casings, helmets, hubcaps etc.)  I returned to the US …


Two Letters Re: The Blackout Docudrama

James, To respond to the recent letter about the fictional Blackout show:   I too was annoyed with the way they portrayed some of the people in the story but after thinking about it I am afraid that this is how a lot of the people will act.    The prepper is the story obviously had no idea what he was doing.  I think they portrayed an arm-chair prepper with more resources than street smarts spot on.  First of all letting his young son patrol the perimeter in the middle of the night while he is nice and cozy in bed …


The Things that Drive Us to Prepare, by Bluegrass Preacher

When the subject of Prepping comes up there are many facets which can be equated with the reason for Prepping.  Many people in regions where severe weather is a perpetual problem are preparing to deal with the effects of a weather related emergency situation.  It was actually the ice storm of 2009 which devastated almost the entire state of Kentucky that opened my eyes to the potential danger of being unprepared.  We were without power for 3 weeks while others went longer.  The first week two of the grocery stores actually opened for a few hours a day on generator …


From The Mountains of New York, by M.D.L.

In this, the third installment of the chronicles of my preparedness journey (#1 The Secret Prepper and #2 Selecting a Retreat), I hope to share with you the improvements I have made in my retreat home. I have found in the last couple of months that owning a second home is a monstrous headache.  If you only own one home just imagine everything that can go wrong and multiply it by a factor of two to the exponent of Murphy’s Law.  Or worse… my liquid asset value has fallen victim to the inverse square law: The amount of money I …