Posted on 06/27/2012 7:14:39 PM PDT by Kartographer
Ha!
I am not as prepared as I should be. I have tradeable skills, and lots of ammo.
No one can be prepared for every possible scenario. I have the basics covered, I have some training, and have trained the wife and kids. I live in the country and don't plan to go anyplace, for quite some time. There is however always a plan B, C, and D.
I made it barefoot, wearing just a frown and carrying the $14,000 fire extinguisher.
And back, before the firetrucks and cops got there to not arrest me.
Nobody wastes time on roads or trails. Not travelling like that, anyway ;)
/johnny
/johnny
Adapt and improvise, steal when necessary. Always be polite, always be professional, always be prepared to kill everything with a pulse.
I would guess that you are better prepared than 95% or more of the population.
I am always amazed at the number of people I meet who have this outlook:
"The way life is now is the way it is supposed to be. If something goes wrong it is the responsibility of Big Government to fix it before it becomes bothersome."I think a prime example is the way people, local government and the press reacted to Katrina. I didn't hear criticism of people too featherbrained to fill an empty jug with water - the criticism was on the federal government and George Bush for not being right there with emergency supplies, water pumps, transportation, housing, etc.
Even Survivorman needs his multitool.
Skills and gear are important. One without the other will get you killed.
Frankly (and I'm a former Boy Scout, too) I was impressed with the general ability to adapt things which one might not have considered for particular uses to emergency medicine. The winners left the scene nearly naked, but the 'patient' was patched up.
Gear is great, but being able to adapt--knowing why the gear does what it does and being able to improvise--can be equally or more important--especially in the absence of gear.
My attitude is to take the tools to make or obtain what I will need. A very good knife--it need not be fancy, just good. The means to keep it sharp. (The skill to sharpen it.) A small axe, the means to make fire (not just matches), to filter water, and a small, light pot/stove to boil it on (volcano stove, which can use almost anything which will burn).
If your stuff requires consumables, you have tied the eventual use and worth of your gear to the ability to obtain resupply, or your ability to haul what you will need. Minimize that, if you are on foot.
If you have the basics, and the skill set to use them, you can make/acquire what you need.
That doesn't mean you will be able to leap tall buildings with a single bound, but one of the most valuable skills is the ability to spot dangerous situations and avoid them. That light .22 rifle that is good for most anything up to and including deer isn't likely to be something to go hunting grizzly with, so avoid the bears...
Similarly, if conflict is inevitable, choose your fights, when and where, control the battlespace and the size of the opposing force by avoiding large threats whenever possible, and use what you have at hand to obtain what you will need.
Combat skills may be important on occasion, but more often the ability to avoid/evade conflict, to barter, harvest resources, navigate, trade valuable skills, teach those to others, and construct what you need will trump that.
If you listened to the Mercury launches, ‘Jose’ got around (on radio, for us, then).
If you start there, and we did, you can get 747s as an end result.
In this day and age, you can't go anywhere without finding something to use as a tool, even if you are salvaging from the ashes of civilization.
At that point, skillsets and knowledge become important.
/johnny
Drop someone in a bad situation and the person with skills and tools has a far better chance of survival than someone with only one of those.
Sure you can find things to use, but survival can depend on the most minor item. The time you take to build a tool takes away from time gathering food, making shelter, or establishing a defense.
I keep my go bag ready to go, but over-reliance on specific tools can cause focus disaster.
/johnny
Our group had a discussion last night.
IMHO, both are needed: gear and skills.
Our main priorities are still water, food, defense, opsec.
I cannot stress enough, to survive you need to form a group. It’s not as easy as it sounds but it’s worth it.
I’m trying to talk the group into running drills like living without electricity for a week. Getting a lot of resistance on that one.
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