Category: Survival Mindset

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 …


Letter Re: Jewish Resistance During WWII

James, Your mention of Zus Bielski’s birthday and the film Defiance. (and the book upon which it is based) brought to mind an excellent 90-minute documentary by PBS, “Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans,” produced in 2001. It is available online at Vimeo.  (or from PBS Home Video on DVD) It includes interviews with many partisans among them Aron Bielski, the youngest of the brothers (still living). After more than half a century since the holocaust, the myth still persists that all of the Jews just walked peacefully to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis.  Nothing could be …


Letter Re: Remembering Robert W. Ford

James, You recently mentioned the death of the late Robert W. Ford, in England. I highly recommend his book Wind Between The Worlds, his account of experiences in Tibet, captivity by the communist Chinese, and his fight against brainwashing. It is an inspiring story of mental resistance which makes you wonder how well you would have fared in his position. A free PDF is available to download. Regards, – Don in Oregon


We Have Lost Our Way, by An Optimist in the Redoubt

This may inflame some folks, but for others I hope it jogs our brain cells to ask, how did we get to this spot, and why are we of this prepper mindset? Think back to the early sixties (if you can), 6th grade in sunny California, and unlike my folks who suffered through the Great Depression, life was good.  NY Yankees’ Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were hitting away, trying to break the Babe’s home run record.  Every kid in my school played ball, at every opportunity, and you carried your glove with you, everywhere…it was a mark of boyhood. …


Second Chances, by Dirt Surgeon

Introductory Note: I originally composed this story in August of 2011 just months after our family went through a devastating event.  At the time of writing the essay was short, sweet and to the point.  I have reconstructed my family’s journey of the past 24 months to the present. Thanks for all that you and others do by sharing information, educating and inspiring the thought process. It is my hope that this short family history will provoke some to think about their lifestyle, what is important and the effect an event like this has on a family. Four years ago …


The Importance of Prepping Together, by F.G.

As I imagine many of the readers on this site, I once found myself somewhat isolated in my prepping, embarrassed to let on to how I felt, why I prep, et cetera . My family is very close, very involved in each others lives, and I couldn’t imagine or want it any different. My entry into this contest will be an explanatory background on myself and my preps, followed by a realistic guideline on how to “save the ones that matter” to you; or at least, my means of doing so. I am a young, 30 year old father of …