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- 1. 1 Worst Case, Best Plan A Practical and Applicable Guide to Being Prepared
- 2. 2 Preface Be Prepared - The Boy Scout Motto Since the dawn of time people have been preparing. Preparing for life by planting food, saving money, and storing things that can be used in the future. This has been acceptable socially for as long as societies have existed. There are so many benefits to having a healthy backup plan. Its very obvious that a lot of Americans have become dependent or even expectant on localized food and water sources. Accessibility to fast food and so many other amenities have become as easy as walking across the street. This accessibility has caused us to become lazy, skilless, and weak as a people. There is a way to reverse this, but it isnt easy and it will take some work. After working in the field of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity for a fortune 500 company, Ive decided to take my experience and apply it to preparing my family for possible events. After months of research and digging through countless hours of prepper videos and reading numerous blogs, it became apparent that there are many different views towards preparing. Im a fan of simplicity, straightforwardness, and more of a way of life rather than a quick 1-2-3 guide. Its my goal to present you with a very practical and applicable guide to being prepared. Whatever the situation, youll have the information you need to survive and to teach those around you to survive as well. Prepare! - Mike
- 3. 3 Preface The Basics Water Security Shelter Fire Light Medical Food Others The First 24 Reminder Assess The Situation Stabilize Medical Needs Execute The Plan Secure a Location
- 4. 4 The Basics By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Benjamin Franklin One of the most basic requirements of survival is a positive mental attitude (PMA). Obviously youll need the list below, but keeping your mind on the tasks at hand with your eyes on a future goal will be just as necessary. Never underestimate the will to survive! Reminder Under stress your body releases adrenaline to give you the energy you need to take care of business. This is known as a fight or flight reaction. Cortisol tempers bodily functions that arent necessary such as digestion or growth during this time. It will be difficult but not impossible to focus during this reaction, so it is important and recommended to train/practice doing certain tasks under pressure. This will help set in memory things that youll need to get done despite your physical or mental state. Here are the basics youll need to survive: 1. Water 2. Security 3. Shelter 4. Fire 5. Light 6. Medical 7. Food 8. Others Water Youll need a clean source of water for hydration and cooking. You can survive about 3 days without water, but you do not want to get to that point. Your thinking ability diminishes greatly along with rational If you do not already have water stored, this will be something you want to seriously consider. A person weighing 150 lbs, living in a normally warm climate, and performing about 60 minutes of vigorous exercise a day needs about 100 ounces or 3 liters of water per day to stay fully hydrated. Consider that you will be in survival mode and need to conserve or ration your water. Security When an event happens youre going to need some type of protection to keep looters or the like from taking what belongs to you or your family. A family dog can definitely aid in early warning
- 5. 5 of intruders and may even scare off some. Although highly debated, a firearm can and will offer you peace of mind and the firepower to stop intruders or would be criminals. Merely owning a gun will not protect you or your family and could become problematic if not used properly. Train and practice with your firearm. Check your local, state, and federal laws regarding firearm ownership. (The US Constitution Second Amendment guarantees the right of every citizen to keep and bear arms.) Shelter It may be that the event you experience takes away your primary shelter or residence. If this is the case youll need to find somewhere to protect you from the elements. If you can afford it, purchase a good waterproof tent. You can always use scrap or debris from your residence to build a temporary shelter. An alternative to this would be to keep a few durable tarps and some paracord on hand. You can build a simple lean to type tent. This will at the very least shield you from the elements. Fire This should be a staple in everyones house, though its easy to get lazy. Matches, lighters, or flintrock and steel are all acceptable flame sources. If youre going to store matches, do so in a waterproof case of some kind. Old prescription bottles work great for this. Add a patch of sandpaper and youll have a striking surface. If you can afford it, purchase a small propane camping stove. This will allow you to cook virtually smoke free inside of your shelter. Light Youll need a dependable light source. Light provides freedom in darkness. Grab a few inexpensive LED flashlights and keep them in various places that you occupy (bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, living room, car). While youre at it pick up and store batteries. No telling when power will be restored. Medical Often overlooked are first aid kits. Keep it simple, youre not going to perform surgery with this kit. Some basics like sterile bandages, antiseptic wipes, gauze, alcohol wipes, tape, burn gel/cream, ibuprofen, and acetaphetamine should be sufficient for first aid. Food Most of us live within walking distance of a market of some kind. In todays urban living scenarios most if not all of us take advantage of the convenience of living so near to a food source. However, in an event it is likely that these sources will be looted and shelves left bare leaving you concerned about your next meal. The average human can live about 30 days without food, but trust me you dont want to get to that point. Storing enough food for you to live independent of an external food source for up to 3 weeks is a good idea.
- 6. 6 Others Surviving is something that you can choose to do on your own or you can team with others who think like you. Consider including others in your community to participate in your preparations and drills (practice). Always maintain operational security (OPSEC) when it comes to privately stashed food, water, or firearms. They dont have to know where your reserves are, unless you know or trust a neighbor with sensitive information, keep it private. In an event, not everyone can maintain a sense of community and could easily snap back to self preservation mode.
- 7. 7 The First 24 There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation. - W. C. Fields Reminder Directly after an event there will be panic and disorder. Its natural to want to help others, but youll have to avoid this urge in order to secure yourself and/or your family. Social unrest goes hand in hand with disastrous events, which means youll need to be on high alert so as not to be caught off guard. The first 24 hours are crucial in most situations. During these crucial hours your mind will be racing with what ifs, How comes, and What nows. Its imperative that you do the following. 1. Assess The Situation 2. Stabilize Medical Needs 3. Execute The Plan 4. Secure a Location Assess The Situation After an event this is crucial step. Check your surroundings, yourself, and ensure that you do not have any immediate medical needs. Take care of yourself first, then those around you. If you dont survive, those who are depending on you may pay the price. Be careful as you begin to move about (broken glass, nails, sharp objects, fires, gas leak, electrical). Stabilize Medical Needs Once you have good grasp on your situation, its time to focus on any medical needs in your immediate vicinity; these may consist of your family, coworkers, etc. Remember that emergency services will likely be flooded and unable to help. Attend to bleeding out injuries first. These will have the swiftest consequences if not stopped. Secondly, you can attend to other injuries or non-life threatening injuries. If you come across someone who is deceased, its best to leave them for now. If you have or can find a sheet to cover them you can, but you have other things youll need to do to ensure your survival. Later you can move the deceased away from your shelter in order to avoid Execute The Plan After the assessment and stabilization phases youll want to begin executing your plan. Your plan should consist of all the items discussed in the Basics section.
- 8. 8 Secure a Location Regardless of your plan, youll need to secure a location in order to make an educated and informed decision about what to do next; bug in or bug out. Only you will be able to make this determination, but you should have this in your decision tree.
- 9. 9 What Next? Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. - Abraham Lincoln Societal Changes Following an event of a large enough scale, you need to be prepared for severe societal changes. If youve prepared to have food, water, etc., for you and your family, you will be targeted for theft, looting, etc. You have what people will want; Clean water, food, shelter, firearms, ammo, etc. Trust only those whom you know well and never reveal all your secrets. Desperate times can make people do desperate things. Long Term Plan Remember that long term plan you put together? Well, now is when that plan would be enacted. You have priorities. Water, Shelter, Food, Protection, etc. and you have people depending on you. Your long term plan doesnt need to be set in stone, in fact its actually better if youre flexible. Assume that things will never be as they were and youre going to need to provide for yourself. You wont be able to depend on government services for anything. Remember to review your Basics section and keep your supplies up. The worst possible thing you could do is become lazy regarding your basic needs. Good luck...