Category: Survival Mindset

10 Lessons Learned from the DoS Attack on SurvivalBlog, by The Orange Jeep Dad

On May 26, 2012 the SurvivalBlog.com server was attacked and knocked offline.  The method of attack used is commonly referred to as a Denial of Service or DoS attack. I won’t delve into who might have sprung the attack nor how it was done. Both topics have been covered.(1)  What will be discussed are the 10 lessons learned from the attack as it pertains to preparedness and survival. Lesson #1: We don’t know what we don’t know. We can’t all be experts in everything. Regardless of where you are in the preparedness journey, we’ve all realized at some point that …


Preparedness as a Disabled Individual, by Barbara H.

Disability has many faces and people with disabilities come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you are born with a disability or become disabled at some point in your life, learning to survive “differently” than able bodied persons is a challenge. Life in general is geared for those who are strong in mind, body and spirit. Having a disability, whatever it is, does not mean that you are less of a person or unable to have a good life, or survive catastrophe should it occur. Our Disabled Veterans would surely agree since some of their injuries are visible and some …


Lessons from Afghanistan, by W.B.

SurvivalBlog is the best in it’s field because it draws upon the different skill sets and experiences of it’s readers. On that note, I would like to offer up my own experience for the benefit of other readers. I am a former Army Infantry Sergeant with combat service in Afghanistan and am currently a private security contractor. I was not a prepper before my service there. However, witnessing a post-collapse environment first hand made me confront some painful realities. I hope to God that my experiences will aid fellow preppers by giving them insight in to one type of collapse …


Sound Judgment and Reasoning Skills for Preparedness, by Anthony C.

p align=”left”>Judgment, reasoning, decision-making, logic, figuring it out… Call it what you will, the first level of preparation should be your mind. To roughly quote Einstein “the thinking that created the problem is not going to solve the problem”. Computer folks call it “garbage in, garbage out”. There are numerous “rosy paths” that can cause a person to make a poor judgment call. Considering each of these in turn will, I hope, increase your awareness of them in your own decision making, and make you less susceptible to those who would use them to change your actions against your better …


Advice for Less Able/Disabled Preppers, by M.D.M.

I was born and raised on a farm, lived military and worked all my life, so I am accustomed to hard work and understand the need for a strong physical body. After years of working 10-12 hours a day, I decided to go back to college at nights to get a degree in pastoral studies, so I could keep busy during my ‘retirement’ years. In August, 2005 my life changed with a bad accident, now, disabled and in a wheelchair, my life is upside down and for me it was TEOTWAWKI.  I have always been a prepper and I’m not …


Planning for TEOTWAWKI, by P.S.

Everyone is familiar with planning for “The End Of The World As We Know It” (TEOTWAWKI).  Our long and costly preparations that we make in order to survive the massive disaster that will one day change our present way of living. We try to predict what type of disaster may happen and plan accordingly. It may be plans to survive the coming economic collapse, some form of EMP whether be it solar or man made, or some form of a global pandemic, the list goes on and on. I enlisted in the US Coast Guard back in 1975 and took …


Letter Re: A Non-Warrior Surviving Traumatic Times

Dear SurvivalBloggers: I would like to offer a personal experience with a situation that might help Deborah C. and others like her.  First of all she was very honest in her assessment of a future event and her concerns she mentioned and I think all Preppers have thoughts or experiences or thoughts that parallel Deborah’s to some extent.  Future events, are unknowns for most and the ‘fears/concerns’ are valid, however how we react to or even function is helped by addressing the potential situation in the here and now.   The adage we often hear in the Prepping community “Hope for the best and …


Leaving Suburbia, by M.J.W.

It all feels so strange – I live, eat, and breathe “prepping.”  Sometimes I look in the mirror and ask “who are you?!”  In trying to remember when the change in me began, it is traceable back to the financial collapse of 2008.  Even before then, I had become very concerned about privacy – or the lack thereof.  In my professional life, I am a security and privacy consultant, so I know a lot about how little security and privacy exists in our networked world.  I understand in minute detail how online access to the most sensitive and confidential information …


Letter Re: A Non-Warrior Surviving Traumatic Times

Hi, Thank you for sharing all of your info, but I have to be honest, I am so overwhelmed with it all that if or when this happens I would rather be dead.  Who would want to live like  this and what would be the reason to live?  I wouldn’t have the heart to shoot someone  to protect my food and I am a sharpshooter. I just wanted your opinion.   Best Regards, – Deborah C. JWR Replies: The underlying theme to my writings is to be part of an integrated team.  That team might be just a few families …


A Concentric Circle Preparedness Plan, by Second Hand Lion

As a professional project manager for a large international corporation, my position requires me to mitigate the risks of unknown variables that can alter the success of large and small projects. Donald Rumsfeld quote that ‘we don’t know what we don’t know” comes to mind. It is my job to insulate our company from cost overruns, time delays, or catastrophic project failure by identifying those variables and reducing their impact. These principles of project management applied to small personal events to those effecting us globally has led me to recognize some concerning trends in the preparedness community. My observations have …


A Rural Community Retreat, by Scott L.

Location is the most important thing to consider when developing a plan for long-term habitation in a TEOTWAWKI setting. Of primary concern are Community, Safety, Water, Food, Sustainability, and Natural Resources. It is absolutely imperative to find a locale with a well or fresh water spring. You will need fertile ground that is within distance of easy irrigation. The safest places will be those that are away from major highways and population centers; however, these small rural communities are typically suspicious of outsiders. You will need certain natural resources available as well to guarantee you are not reliant on trading …


Consider Your Cordage, by Andrew G.

It is very regrettable that more often than not, those who prepare for surviving the future are viewed by society as being isolationist, separatists, and downright anti-social. Sure, this can be blamed on the media, propaganda, and perhaps a few loose cannons out there, but it’s also in part because many “preppers” do fall prey to a fearful “bunker” mindset. Sometimes even removing themselves from society at large. I wonder if more people would see the value of advanced preparation if they witnessed more preppers offering positive contributions to the general welfare of others in their community, state, and nation? …


Orientation and Situational Awareness For Your Kids, by B.P.G.

I am a victim. I am a spectator. I am luck incarnate. You would think based on my chosen career for over twenty years as a US Navy SEAL that I would be the poster boy of preparedness. You would think that now retired from the military and currently a security professional that I would have stockpiled food, weapons and supplies in preparation for the next Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 or other mass casualty causing disaster. Instead, like so many others I have assumed luck is on my side. I have assumed that because I have lived a life on the …


Assessing Risk and Analyzing Hazards for Any Scenario, by Kyrottimus

As a former United States Air Force Readiness Troop (formerly known as “Disaster Preparedness” and, I think, now known as “Emergency Management”), AFSC 3E9X1, part of the Disaster Response Force within Civil Engineering Squadron’s “Prime BEEF” (Base Emergency Engineer Force), and having trained heavily with RED HORSE, I was exposed to quite the gamut of “Full-Spectrum Threat Response Plans”. I could go on ad nauseam about the myriad of tasks and responsibilities affiliated with this career field, but I wont. Specifically, this is about the process of performing a Risk Assessment and Hazard Analysis. I’m sure as many experts in …


Two Letters Re: Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays

Jim: I have to say, the recent Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays article hit exactly how I view prepping for morale, especially for children (which can in turn improve the morale of adults). When I was 10 my dad lost his job and for four years he toiled at any hard labor job he could find, including roofing all the hail damaged house in the area. We went from having dessert every other dinner to barely eating and forget new clothes, we barely had money for the thrift store bargains. Luckily, there were three of us girls, so all the …