Six Survival Necessities That Don’t Fit in Your Kit, by BOB in S.A.

So it’s the end of the world.  No problem.  Don’t panic.  Just grab your handy bug-out kit, sit back with some popcorn, and try to make the most of Armageddon.  I just have one question for you: what in the world did you put in that bag that makes you so confident you’ll do any better than the unprepared masses around you?  (Don’t answer that… it’s a trick question!)
Do you remember that old cartoon “Felix the Cat”?  There was a line in the theme song that went, “…whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks!”  Those were the good old days, huh?  Well the sad truth is that we often approach survival preparation just like that.  If you think you can pack a bunch of gear in a bag and call yourself “survival ready”, then you are in for a world of hurt.  If being prepared were that easy, we’d all just pick up a FEMA-approved survival kit from Wal-Mart and wait out the next disaster in duct-tape-and-plastic shelters.  The truth is, there is no magic bullet, and if it’s TEOTWAWKI out there, there’s no guarantee you’ll even make it home to your bullets.  There’s one thing that I will guarantee though: In an emergency, your survival kit will not contain everything you need, no matter what you’ve packed.

Now before you get too bent out of shape defending the $15,000 you spent on Bisquick, whiskey, and ammo, here’s what I mean:  Packing a bag is not the same as being prepared.  Regardless of what gear you’ve decided you need for survival, I’d like to offer you six important things that won’t be found in your kit:

#1 Questions (BE SPECIFIC!) – Survival is a mindset, and questions can be powerful when preparing for the worst.  Ask them now while life is easy.  You might not like the answers you come up with when the pressure’s on.  Below are a few good questions to ask yourself.  These questions are not rhetorical.  It’s up to you to come up with your own answers, but I did include a few of my own in italics.  Now on with the questions:
-Can I really be so cold-hearted as to hunker down with a year’s supply of food and firewood while my neighbors are starving outside in the cold? 
Be specific:
Do I have the mental toughness to turn strangers away?  What about my neighbors?  How would I explain that to my kids?  Is isolation the answer?  Is there some better approach that still protects my family?  If not, am I willing to stand firm?

-What gear am I putting too much faith in? 
Be specific:
What if I lose the key to that lock or forget the combination? (More on lock-picking later…)
Is my flashlight waterproof?
What if my GPS is dead when I go to get my secret cache in the woods? 
I’ll answer this one for you.  All you need is a decent compass with clear angle markings.  Standing at the cache site, carefully record the angles (from North) for at least two objects nearby.  Now you can find the spot again as long as you can find your reference objects.  You may want to pick more than two references just in case the view to any of them is blocked.  Avoid things like trees or buildings that might not be the same when you go back.  …now back to the questions.

-When is my kit going to cause more problems than it solves?
Be specific:
Did I leave anything in my hidden cache that could compromise my security (or the location of my other caches)?
Am I going to get in trouble if a state trooper finds my [fill-in-the-blank] hidden in the woods?  What if a teenager finds it? 
Could I stand to carry that heavy bag all day?  On the run?  Quietly? 
Could there ever be a situation when it’s safer to be unarmed? Last year a man was killed in my neighborhood when he threatened a gun-toting punk with a rock… not smart and ultimately tragic. If you are outgunned, it’s probably best if you are not seen as a threat.

-What about creature comforts?  Sure, I can survive using X,Y, and Z, but can I make my life easier by preparing better?
Be specific:
Am I willing to use nothing but a Leatherman to open canned goods for several weeks or months?
Can I stand to sleep on/in [fill-in-the-blank: my packable hammock, cot, sleeping bag, truck bed, back seat, etc.]?  How will poor sleep affect my ability to keep up with the daily tasks required for survival?
Do I have to wipe with 80-grit toilet paper just because it’s WWIII outside?  Wouldn’t the soft toilet paper be okay for emergencies too? 

-What if X,Y,or Z doesn’t work? 
Be specific:
Will I starve in my own Y2K bunker because my can opener fell apart? Probably not, but if you buy a cheap-o can opener and it breaks, you might do something stupid like cut yourself while trying to get into your can of beans with a knife.  Seriously, get a reliable tool for the important things like food.
What if the batteries/generator don’t work?
What if the water supply dries up?
What if I run out of cartridges?  What if the slingshot breaks and I run out of arrows too?  How will I hunt?
What if there are no animals to hunt?  Where will I go?  What will I do?

-Have I printed out all of the manuals and instructions I might need just in case the computer gets fried?  Do I honestly expect myself to remember all this info without any printed manuals? 

…And so on and so on.  You get the idea.  Ask the hard questions.  Expect the first, second, and third plans to fail, then learn how to improvise and adapt today while learning is not a matter of life and death.

#2 Understanding Physical Security – Physical security is more than owning a gun or putting a lock on the door.  It requires careful thought.  Think like a thief.  Think like a desperate, scared, and hungry soul just trying to find the next meal.  What would you do?  Where would you hide if you wanted to ambush someone on the road?  Physical security means thinking like your opponent and staying one step ahead:

Locks: A lock is only as good as the door it’s attached to.  Sure your door has three locks on it, but this is the end of the world, and that guy is hungry.  Why wouldn’t he just break the window or kick in the doorjamb or smash through the wall with a car?  Locks keep honest people honest.  For everyone else, it just slows them down a little (“a little” may be all you need).  A good lock will at least make life harder for looters and thieves. 

Lock-picking: When used responsibly (and legally), lock-picking can be an extremely valuable skill.  Even if you don’t use the skill often, it will give you a better understanding of how much trust you can put in any given lock. There’s a ton of info on the net about locksport (see: MIT Lock-picking Guide by Ted the Tool), but learning takes time and practice.  In an emergency, you will have neither the internet nor the time to practice, so you’d better learn  to do it now.  And don’t bother spending $100 on some fancy “professional” pick set.  Some of my favorite picks have been cut from a dull hacksaw blade.  If you buy a set, get a cheap one that you don’t mind losing or breaking. 
           
When you practice lock picking, don’t get cocky.  Remember that there’s a big difference between a file cabinet lock and the deadbolt on your house.  Remember that lock-picking takes time, so don’t expect doors to just fly open if you’re on the run.  Also remember that it can be a useful self-protection scheme to  honestly say: “I don’t have a key to that lock.”
           
One more thing:  don’t lose sleep over thieves picking locks.  If they can’t cut the lock, kick the door in, or break a window, then they probably won’t bother picking it.  Even if they do, that’s what alarms are for. 

Alarms: Alarms are the second line of defense when your locks and physical barriers have failed.  Ideally, the alarm gives you notice before they fail so you can decide whether to take a stand or run.  An alarm can be as simple as a few pebbles in a can on a string, but my emergency alarm system of choice  is a sophisticated mobile listening device that I like to call “my dog”.  She just happens to have a very handy set of teeth on her too.

Camouflage and Deception: Sometimes that big padlock just screams “Something valuable is in here”, so you really need to disguise it.  When you do, remember that “almost perfect” camouflage is usually worse than an okay disguise.  Most people have a knack for noticing when something is “not quite right”, and inappropriate camouflage may draw attention rather than hiding your treasures.  In other words, it’s better to make something look like useless trash than to make it look like a weird rock.  To really understand what I mean, try going geocaching.  Not only is it fun, but it will also expose you to a wide variety of both well and poorly disguised containers in all sorts of unusual hiding places. 

Show of Force: You may scare off the lone thug, but be wary of scouts who may come back with a group.  If you put your biggest gun on display, someone will find a bigger one or come at you in some way you don’t expect.  You must balance the element of surprise with deterrence.  This is a judgment call.

Use of Force:  If you have a CCL, you know all about this.  This has been covered elsewhere on SurvivalBlog, so I won’t say too much about it.  It is a last resort, but you need to be willing and capable of using whatever weapons you own instinctively and effectively.  Just be prepared to live with the consequences.

#3 Staying in Shape – 24-hour gyms don’t take new members during the apocalypse. Just play it safe and get in shape now.  If you don’t already have a fitness plan, I would recommend using the US Army Physical Fitness Manual.  It provides basic exercises with and without gym equipment. The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) at the back of the manual also provides an excellent baseline for determining how in-shape you really are.  If you are fit enough for combat, you are fit enough for emergencies.
           
When you exercise,  push yourself.  You’ll be mentally and physically tougher for it.  Hard exercise teaches you to endure and overcome pain and discomfort like nothing else.  This is especially true of long-distance running.  If you are not a consistent runner, you will find yourself rationalizing shortcuts before you’ve reached your goal.  Learning to recognize and overcome these head games in sports will help you deal with them confidently in life too. 

#4 Having Fun – You don’t have to study the psychology of survival to know that your mental state can determine whether you live or die.  Have a plan for keeping spirits up and especially for dealing with boredom.  You can’t afford boredom-induced mistakes, so have something on-hand in case you are stuck in one spot for a long time.  At the very least, throw a deck of cards in your kit.  A harmonica or an Irish whistle can be great portable morale boosters if you know how to play them (but very annoying to others if you don’t).  Likewise, a football, hackey-sack, or Frisbee might take up valuable space, but they may be well worth it when you need a physical distraction from the stress of survival.

#5 Clothing for Daily Use – Think about the Virginia Tech shootings or other “going postal” scenarios.  More than anything else, the shoes you are wearing right now could determine whether you survive the first thirty seconds of such an event.  You may not have the luxury of showing up at the office in your jungle boots, but there’s still a good chance an emergency will happen during working hours.  If you can’t run in your work shoes, then at least keep a set of tennis shoes nearby. 

As far as outfitting for work, here’s what I do: for my shoes, I wear what amounts to a leather tennis shoe.  They look professional enough to go with my slacks, but they’re comfortable, and I can run in them if needed.  Even on Fridays I prefer slacks to jeans, because they are lighter, more comfortable, and easier to run in.  I always carry a pocket knife, an LED key-chain light, a pen with a metal clip on the cap (the clip makes a good flat-head screwdriver in a pinch), and a small lock pick set. I also keep a light jacket and a pair of boots in my work locker.  You may want to add a few things to your own list, but the main point is that you should wear and carry whatever makes sense for your own environment.

#6 Practice and Experience – You can’t train for every situation, but constant survival practice will build confidence in yourself, and it helps you keep a level head when the time comes.  Practice will also build your confidence in the gear you carry and teach you how to improvise when something is missing or goes wrong.  Only experience teaches you what gear is trustworthy and which things are going to need routine maintenance. 

“Survival training” doesn’t have to be unpleasant.  Try to have fun with it.  I already mentioned geocaching, and camping is an obvious way to practice, but be creative.  There are countless ways to hone your survival skills that won’t make you miserable in the process.  If you don’t enjoy it, you won’t do it often enough, and that means you will rely too much on unproven equipment when an emergency comes along.

Conclusion –  If you ask 100 survival-minded individuals what items you should keep in an emergency kit you’ll get at least 100 different answers.  For myself, the answer is simple and yet not so simple: pack your brain.  No matter what gadgets you may pack away, you can’t predict what you’ll need, what will break or get stolen, or what will be in short supply.  So do your best when picking and packing, but be prepared to make the most of whatever you can find around you.

Trust (in yourself or in your gear) should be earned, so don’t give it out blindly.  Ask questions, then try out your solutions in practice.  Have fun with it, but don’t take it too lightly.  We are still dealing with life and death.  Only you can decide the best way to prepare, but remember that you will be the same person five minutes into an emergency that you were five minutes before.  Be the best person you can be today, and you won’t regret it tomorrow.

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, but most of my more extreme, gun related stuff ended up on the cutting room floor. I could tell the Brits found my gun comments distasteful, but that is their reality. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the show. Not perfect, but I think it will help people have conversations about preparedness.

An ironic side note. The main character died of septicemia after a cut on his hand became infected. I just got out of a four day hospital stay for treatment for septicemia. Now I have tracked wounded tigers, mountain lions, and bob cats. I have skinned all sorts of animals that I have hunted or trapped. I have eaten all kinds of crazy food and imbibed water from questionable sources. Never got sick. Not once. But I almost died from an infection that came from a bite by my house cat. If I did not have access to modern medical care, I would be dead. So think long and hard about what pharmaceuticals you are going to store. And recognize that what seems like an inconvenience here, will be a disaster in a grid down situation. Awareness is better that treatment.

After Armageddon airs again Saturday at 8:00 pm Eastern, but check local listings. – Kevin Reeve, onPoint Tactical

Economics and Investing:

A bit more of the truth comes out: Geithner’s Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure. (Thanks to Shale for the link.)

From GG: U.S. regulators warn banks on interest rate risk

Brett sent us this bit of confirmation for the prevailing sentiment amongst Rawlesians: Krugman: 40 Percent Chance of Double Dip Recession

Items from The Economatrix:
Fed Wants Florida Bank to Boost Equity or Find Buyer

Construction Spending Down Seven Straight Months

Bank Lending Poised to Pick Up

Bernanke Says Confident in Fed Strategy for Exit

Blackstone’s Wien Sees Strong 2010 US GDP, Profits

Fed’s Kohn Says Economy, Jobs Will Recover Slowly

Odds ‘n Sods:

As a follow-up to previous mentions in SurvivalBlog, Nanci M. suggested this article: Finding Dolly Freed.

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Reader Trent H. spotted this interesting article: An Amish Entrepreneur’s Old-Fashioned Approach; Without electricity, a car, or a cell phone, Amos Miller turned his dad’s Pennsylvania farm into a $1.8 million national food retailer. Oh, and speaking of locally-grown foods, Jason W. sent us the link to Well Fed Neighbor.

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Yishai flagged this: IDF to blanket Israel with gas masks. Yishai’s comments: “To show the chemical threat is real, and to point out to your readers that retail gas masks may be scarce in the near future, Israel will be making and distributing gas masks to every citizen over the next three years. An Israeli blogger pointed out that the distribution should take less than three years, and he’s right about the distribution, but there is almost eight million Israeli citizens (Jewish and Arab), so the production of the kits will be the bottleneck.”

#1 Son’s Quote of the Day

Vizzini: “He didn’t fall? Inconceivable!”
Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
– Wallace Shawn as Vizzini, and Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya, in The Princess Bride (1987). Screenplay by William Goldman

The “After Armageddon” Docudrama is Scheduled to Air Again

SurvivalBlog readers Len and K9 both mentioned the two hour special docudrama “After Armageddon” will soon air again on The History Channel. The program shows in graphic detail just how fast normal society can break down, and even has a small segment on the importance of amateur radio to be able to communicate without infrastructure.

While the program uses the flu virus as the reason for the breakdown, It could just as easily be any one of a number of other causes.that

“After Armageddon” re-runs:

What have past acts of destruction taught us about what will happen to mankind after the apocalypse? Is it inevitable that disaster will someday strike America on an unprecedented level? How has history prepared us? History’s most dramatic events–Hiroshima, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and others–are examined and analyzed with hard data gathered from their massive aftereffects. The disappearance of water and food supplies, the effects of deteriorated sanitation and health care on the remaining population, and the increased use of violence as a means of survival–all illustrate how societies have responded and survived.

The scheduled re-airings are Saturday, January 09 at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, January 10 at 12:00 AM.

I also got the following from our friend Michael Bane (of Downrange.tv), who was an advisor on the project:

“I missed it first go-around, but watched the DVR’ed version last night. I have to say that other than a tendency at the end to look for sunshine and lollipops (and the Brit production crews’ aversion to guns/self-defense) it’s pretty good. Obviously, a lot of my hard-core gun stuff was left on the cutting room floor, but I’m happy to say that a lot of the concepts that I outlined ended up in the final show.

As usual, the family depicted are poster children for stupid, but upon reflection I’d say they’re probably more representative of urban dwellers than the people I know now. There is one segment where the wife has to kill a gang member to save her husband. Good so far, but then she drops the gun and they run out of the warehouse. My girlfriend was screaming, “pick up the guns, you idiots!'”

Despite its flaws, it still seem to be worth watching.

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 but the neighbors, now in a panic, return and demand entry.

Unprepared themselves, they fall to infighting, attack the immigrant among them, and eventually batter down the shelter’s door. As they enter the breached room (which ironically would now protect none of them) an announcement on the radio reveals that the missiles are actually harmless satellites and the emergency is over.

Dazed, the neighbors all sheepishly apologize and discuss having a block party to get things “back to normal” again. Dr. Stockton says, “Normal? I don’t even know what normal is anymore.”

The messages are many and clear in this episode. First and foremost – be prepared. Second, keep strict OPSEC and keep your preparations to yourself. Third – a little charity stocked up in advance, and kept outside the shelter’s locked doors, might have kept the wolves at bay. Fourth – panic and fear are the mind killers, the most dangerous threat of all. It is well worth remembering what Rod Serling says in the episode’s final line, “For civilization to survive, the human race must remain civilized.”

As we enter 2010 and all the unknowns that the new year brings with it, we would all do well to reflect on that. – Sean in Malibu

Letter Re: A Tale of a Concealed Encounter Carry in Texas

Jim:
I was going home this evening at 5 pm right before dark and I was going fast. Right before Chappelhill on 290 a Hypo (Texas Dept of Public Safety Officer) pulled me over. I always have a smile on my face and act courteous with the cops. He came to my passenger window and asked for my license and insurance and said “your were going 77 in a 70” I gave him my handgun license and drivers license and said wow the wind was pushing me then, and then I truthfully told him that I had been on the road since 6am and went to Temple Texas to Scott and White as my mother in law had a part of her lung removed and we sat in the waiting room most of the day and she came out of surgery fine and I’m on the back to Houston.

Then he asked “where is your handgun” I said on the back seat, I drive Jeep Grand Cherokee, he said “your tint on the back window is real dark, can I “he” move it to the very back behind the rear seat in the cargo area, I said yes, he said he was going to open the rear door (remember he is on the passenger side) he opens the door and picks it up and sets in the far rear area then looks on the floor board and starring at him is my AK-47, he smiles and said I will have to set that back there too. So he does. He had a big smile and said you know I can’t let you sit in here with a .45 and a AK while I run your registration because your tint is too dark, he said I have to ask you to stand outside your vehicle! I said “Okay no problem.” He came back and gave me a warning! No ticket. I said to him “that’s great and I even had a AK!” I talk too much. And said to him, I never go out of town now without it now days because the world might break when I’m on the road, and I laugh and say I listen too much to Glenn Beck! The DPS officer said “I don’t blame you at all, in fact I want you to help me if it happens! I want you on my side! You will be on my side right? I replied: “Yes, I’m a good guy”! I became flushed upon hearing this from the young officer! We shook hands and I left feeling good! Sometimes respect is mutual. I hope one day I can by him lunch at the least! – Word in Texas

JWR Replies: This dovetails nicely with my recent comments about the prevailing attitudes about gun ownership. If you don’t live in a gun friendly region, then move.

Economics and Investing:

GG sent this: Double-Dip Risk Seen in ‘Stall Speed’ Recovery: Stephen Roach

Darryl C. suggested this: Time for Fed to disprove PPT conspiracy theory; Commentary: Analyst charges that government is manipulating markets

Items from The Economatrix:

GM Sales Fall 33% in 2009, Ford Up in December

Pending Home Sales Fall 16% in November

Pump Prices On Pace to Top 2009 High By Weekend

US Public Pensions Face $2 Trillion Deficit

IMF: Commodity Prices to Rise in 2010

Stores to Post Modest December Sales Gains

European Stocks Remain Lower After US Jobs Data

US Job Cuts Shrink to Two-Year Low in December

Odds ‘n Sods:

Attention SurvivalBlog readers in California: I just got this from the NRA’s legislative arm: Right-to-Carry Bill Scheduled to be Heard Next Week! Please Contact the Members of the Assembly Public Safety Committee Today! Assembly Bill 357 is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Committee on Public Safety on Tuesday, January 12. AB357, sponsored by Assembly Member Steve Knight Republican, District 36), would create a “shall issue” concealed handgun permit system in California. Under current law, an applicant must show cause as to why they should be issued a permit to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense. AB357 would remove that stipulation and require sheriffs to issue the license if all other mandated criteria are satisfied. Please contact the members of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety immediately and respectfully urge them to support AB357.

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From The Telegraph: At last a minister says it: we need to grow more food For the first time in more than a decade, a government minister has been talking about ensuring that we have something to eat, says Clive Aslet; (Thanks to GG for the link.)

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A friend in Ireland mentioned this web page with some Ray Mears video links Extreme Military Survival.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Gold – the ultimate money – Why? Because it is the only monetary asset that isn’t someone else’s liability. It doesn’t represent a promise to pay and it isn’t dependent up the survival of a particular power or group of powers. In a word, it is valuable because it is.” – C. M. Allen, 1974

Note from JWR:

The new UK edition of my book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know it: Tactics, Techniques and Technologies for Uncertain Times” will be released today. It will be priced at just £7.19 postage paid.

OBTW, since Amazon doesn’t automatically feed through reviews to the UK site, it would be great if you could re-post your reviews of the book on Amazon.co.uk so that this book reaches the widest possible readership. Many thanks!

—

Today we present another entry for Round 26 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Luger, 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $249 value.

Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 26 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Preparing to Be Prepared, by A Patriotic Christian

Preparedness and survival are becoming increasingly popular discussions in these days of economic and political instability. Head to a diner in the morning and you’ll hear ol’ timers talking about their deer rifles they have with extra ammunition. Pass in a supermarket and you’ll hear middle aged housewives speaking of the class they are taking on home canning. Most people have the mental image of a worldwide doomsday when “survival” is brought up. That fact is that survival is simply that…survival. Whether your family is snowed in for a few days in a cabin, an earthquake ruptures water and power, all the way to nuclear bombs dropping, survival is a must. From my view, the first thing that you can do is to prepare yourselves is to put your faith, trust and life in the hands of the Lord. Through Him, you will find strength and knowledge that will help you survive until He decides to call you home. The next steps for preparing are what you can do for you, your families, and your friends.

Read, take a class, and learn! There are literally hundreds of books to help you become prepared. This aspect is especially crucial for people who are not familiar with the process of surviving a tragedy. Having all the guns in the world will not help you if your weapon and ammunition have ceased to be useable because you didn’t know how to properly store them. Literature on weapons is certainly, if not the top, near the top of the list for reading material. Firearms are extremely dangerous, and are meant to be that way. Firearms are dangerous to you if you do not understand how they properly function. Pick up some books on basic firearm components and functions. Find a firearms safety class near you to get hands on and practice. I strongly recommend classes from the NRA. If you decide to buy an AR-15 semi-auto rifle, it would be prudent to purchase books on maintenance.  Even Rambo can’t be Rambo if he’s not taking care of his weapon. In the same, Julia Child is not a cook if she doesn’t have the right ingredients. During a disaster, food and water will more than likely be in high demand. Proper food and water storage is more than just keeping a few extra cans of beans in the pantry. Ask someone that knows to show you the proper methods of canning. When dealing with food and water, one cannot be too careful on storage. Illness can befall a family if food was not properly canned, dates weren’t checked, or water is not in the correct containers. Most books on this topic can give rough estimates of how much food and what type to store for a specific number of members. Just as illness can present with bad food, it can show up with anything. Anything from the common cold to a fractures arm can strike at any time. With the means of getting to a doctor diminished and EMS services at nil, first aid is crucial. Sign up for CPR and a First Aid class at your local community college or American Red Cross. Once you have developed basic skills, there is a bountiful supply of resources on primitive medicine and military combat style first aid. Don’t let your skills expire! You must be persistent on keeping your certificates and hands on training up to date. Like the saying goes, if you don’t use it, you lose it!

All the brain food in the world won’t be of assistance if you don’t have the tools to perform your skills. Purchase your first firearm if you do not already have one. Go out and get some cold weather clothes. Buy that solar panel that you know could be a lifesaver. In discussions of preparedness, many folks have the knowledge either from living a certain lifestyle or by reading. Some do have quite a bit of products already bought and stored away somewhere. How many have the stuff they really need?  You must look at what is most important to you and your situation. If you have a small budget and live in south Florida, is it wiser to buy the really neat camo cold weather jacket for $350 or extra screening for your windows. Do you even have a six month supply of food before you buy that extra screening? All the high tech GPS systems, voice activated handheld radios, and night vision goggles won’t do you any good if you and your family die of dehydration in three days. Start with the most basic items first and work your way up. Begin with food and water storage and move your way to appropriate clothing. Move on to an advanced first aid kit with basic medications and vitamins. Figure out if you want to stockpile store bought ammunition by the thousands or buy some reloading equipment. Only once the basics are acquired should you be worrying about the GPS that also cooks your dinner for you. When purchasing an item, do your research. Find out if it is at its lowest price. Is it the most trustworthy and durable? Hopefully with all of the reading you did before will give you great insight of what you need.

Training is the last step after reading/researching and purchasing. Once you become comfortable with firearms, take and advanced course such as combat shooting or self defense with a side arm. If you’re strapped for cash, hook up with a combat veteran or law enforcement officer that has experience in these topics. Since practice makes perfect, make sure you are hitting the range at least once a week and are trying different styles. Weapons training is one of the tasks that you can practice on your own. Since performing CPR and first aid on a healthy human being is harmful, ask your local fire department if you can become a volunteer. Adrenaline runs high for non-medical personnel during routine medical treatment let alone during a medical emergency. You may find yourself surprised when someone’s ribs break while you doing CPR. Your mind and body must also be accustomed to the lifestyle and events that may occur during a survival situation. Get your body in physical shape. This involves being used to the cold and heat. Start with hiking in good weather and advance to backpacking in the dead of summer of during a cold spell of winter. Just take the proper precautions so as to not injure yourself, others, or become stranded. A small garden is a grand way to embark on your agricultural skills. If you live in an area such as an apartment where a garden is not feasible, try a few tomato plants and carrots in a normal houseplant pot. This is something that even children can help with. They will enjoy helping you out and will learn valuable lessons at the same time. Children require the same steps that you go through as well. Start with them young and have them read and take classes. Buy them their first .22 rifle. Take them camping and fishing with you so they can get their training in as well. Remember that children are all different. Never force your child to do something that puts them in a dangerous situation, but guide them so that when the time is right, they are well taught and eager. Training is not for just one person, but for the whole family.

These three cycles are meant to repeat. Do not spend six months reading everything you can on survival, then dump twenty thousand on some supplies. Start small so you do not overwhelm yourself or your family. Begin with reading on gardens, buy the tools, and start one. Move on to firearms, and so on. With so many people just talking about being prepared, they don’t realize that they themselves are not prepared. None of us are God, thus we can’t just speak things into existence. One aspect to remember is that once you have the basics covered, continue on with your own personal items. Remember that children will need to have toys to keep up morale, so is a video game or board game more feasible? If you are taking care of an elderly family member how will they handle a difficult situation? What if they have a specific medical condition? Literature on basic psychology and of the medical condition would be of great help. My desire is for this article to get you thinking. There aren’t enough books in the world to tell you how to prepare for every type of disaster and every item that you must have. The important rule is that you learn, then buy, train, and repeat. Talk’s great, but doing is greater!

Letter Re: Surviving Severe Winter Weather in Ireland

Good Afternoon Mr. Rawles,
I thought you might like to know how the so called severe weather is treating us here in Ireland. We have had snow and ice on the ground for the past two and a half weeks. We live a couple of miles out of town and our local road resembles a skating rink, very easy to drive down the hill but not so easy to drive back up. But driving is not much of a problem as my wife is from the American Midwest and I spent five years living in the highest town in North America.

Due to the abnormally cold conditions for Ireland nearly everyone was unprepared for the conditions but we are doing just fine. The local water main is frozen solid so everyone is going to town to buy water for drinking, toilet flushing etc. We are now glad that my Wife insisted on buying a Berkey water filter so we use the 600 litres of water from the roof which is kept on the sunny side of the cottage for drinking and toilets.

The lack of water is also causing heating problems as all central heating systems here rely on water the end result is that a lot of people have no heat in their homes and have no fireplaces to provide heat. Luckily there is no problem with the electrical supply so they can use expensive electric heaters but they will cry when the bill comes. Again this is not a problem for us, when we moved in to this old cottage three years ago we ripped out the oil fired central heating system and replaced it with a solid fuel stove which burns coal, wood and anything solid, combined with the 2 foot thick stone walls we are nice and warm. During our construction boom houses were built without fireplaces and chimneys to save on construction costs, and with our new building regulations requiring house to be air-tight, many homes have no supplemental/back-up heating systems.

A nationwide complaint is the state of the roads. They was no supply of salt in the country to treat the roads, so, 40 tons of salt had to be shipped in from Spain yesterday. Currently no buses are running, schools and airports are closed and if people don’t have to go to work they are staying at home in their cold house with no water. The weather forecast is for another week of this weather, which will cause further chaos.

Yesterday Our beloved Government took a break from their month long Christmas holiday, the result of the meeting was that they managed to agree that the weather was bad, roads were impassable etc. The result of the meeting, believe it or not, was the usual reply to anything, “What do you want Us to do about it???”

We will survive the current weather crisis with our stash of food water and fuel, however, we are worried that people will die from the cold conditions. We keep a check on our neighbors to make sure they are fine but people in more remote locations are probably not so lucky. We will just have to wait and see the results when the thaw sets in.

To close I suppose the moral of the story is that you never know when or in what situations your preparedness skills will be required and most important of all keep a positive outlook. I am off now as my stew which is cooking on top of the wood stove is ready.

Keep up the good work on the blog – INNUKSUK

Letter Re: The Upcoming “Book of Eli” Movie

Hi Jim,
I received an email from Grace Hill Media regarding the upcoming movie “The Book of Eli.” From the looks of it, it’s your standard post-apocalyptic, TEOTWAWKI story, but there’s a twist that the main movie trailer doesn’t really address – the “book” is the last known Bible on earth.

I learned this because there’s a Web site with clips from the movie and sermon notes as part of the movie’s marketing campaign.

While I’m not really a supporter of turning the pulpit into a marketing tool for Hollywood films, the material might provide a starting point for Christian preppers to talk about important matters to others who might see the film. Cheers! – Jason R.