Long term survival means you need a three part system. You need (1) Water, (2) Food, and (3) Security. most people only prep for two of the three or one of the three. I know too many "preppers" that say "all that I need is my AR-15 and a ton of ammo," but the issue with that is obvious: you will have to turn into a bad guy and steal or kill for the other two. I also know guys who say they "will hoard a 90-day supply of food and water, and my neighbors will help me keep my stuff." Right, because your neighbor is the guy with a gun and no food or water. You need all three in combination, or none of them matter.
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Another thing to consider is in a SHTF situation how are you going to do some common things? Let’s take a few things and look at how we are going to deal with them in the future. First, are you going to bug in or are you going to bug out. Well, a lot of this depends on what is the SHTF scenario. Take for instance a dirty bomb attack and you live within the danger zone, or the danger zone where the winds are taking the fall out to. In this situation it is obvious you need to bug out. On the other hand what if the same dirty bomb hits, but it is far enough away to impact others, but only impacts you in Electricity, Water, and other utilities. In this situation I would say you need to bug in.
So you have similar things happening, but totally different outcomes. What I am trying to say is you need to be prepared for all types of bugging situations. You need a good 72-hour bag for each person, a first aid kit for either each person(level 1) or a first aid kit level 2 for your family(also, you need to think about taking some first aid classes to go with the tools). I mean what good is it to have a suture kit and bags of intravenous fluid, but not know how to use them? You also might consider a bugout kit for the vehicle you are using, and that also brings up the question, what makes a good bugout vehicle? Now I am not going to tell you the best vehicle, because the area you live in determines a lot of this, but more than likely an older SUV with a carburetor and points will usually be a good choice, for a few reasons. You will be able to haul more gear(including food and water), you can haul more people, most are four-wheel drive, and the carburetor and point systems are the only sure way to avoid the pitfalls of an EMP.
Continuing the bugout scenario, consider where are you going. Practice the route, all times of the day and night. Know alternate routes to get there, and map these out. Consider alternate locations, you never know where a disaster man-made or natural will occur. Store the gear you need at the locations, that way if you are en route and have to ditch the vehicle you can grab your 72 bag, hike the rest of the way, and know that when you get there, you can live.
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Do not count on the generosity of others. There will be a few people that will help you, but for the most part civilization will be, well, uncivilized! Don’t think my neighbor has a place I have heard about, or, I can go stay with my mom or kids. If this is not what you, and they, have planned then they do not have enough for you and them. (Another thing to consider is it takes approximate 2,000 plus calories to live, but in a high stress situation you need more than that, some times a lot more.) So do have a plan, don’t rush into things. Think out as many possibilities as you can and plan for all of them. You can not have every possible thing in your possession, but you can account for as a bunch.
A word about bug-out-bags, first aid kits and gear. Stock them with what you think you will need for a real world problem. As things in your life or the world change, change the items in the bags. For instance, in summer you may not need a wool sweater, but in winter you might. If you live in Arizona you probably will not need a winter parka, but if you live in Colorado you more than likely will. Be smart when you are prepping, again this is a lot of common sense, but using common sense when you are calm and only preparing for the situation is easier than throwing a bunch of junk together when you a scared because the Chinese have landed on the Pacific coast. Also, one more thing about vehicles. You need to always make sure and maintain your BOV, seems simple, but how bad would it be if you have not driven it in three months and go to start it and the battery is dead, or having to head out at night and the headlights being burned out, think!
May 12, 2010
