Posted on 06/12/2013 10:01:12 PM PDT by 101stAirborneVet
FReepers, want to know how you can prepare?
Start rucking.
But 101stAirborneVet, I was never in the military! What is "rucking"?
Explained here, it is essentially walking quickly, over rough terrain, with a load on your back.
But 101stAirborneVet, why in the world would I want to do that? How is that helping me to "prepare"?
One of the basic tasks (if not the basic task) of a person who finds themselves in a combat situation is to move. That means getting from point A to point B, usually with supplies/ammo/weapons/correspondence/food/water, as quickly as possible. If you can’t get yourself and some basic gear down the road, you could find yourself in big trouble if (when) this country reaches DEFCON 1.
But 101stAirborneVet, I'm out of shape! I might have a hard time carrying food, or water, or ammo a long distance - especially during stressful times when my body will already be weaker!
That's why you need to train up now. The First Implement is your body. If you're out of shape, start getting in shape now, and practicing realistic physical challenges like strapping a pack on your back and moving out. Your goal should be to travel at least 12 miles as quickly as possible with a pack of basic gear on your back. (Work up to this, of course. The above linked web site has some tips on this.)
But 101stAirborneVet, I'm 107 years old! There's no way I can do this!
No problem! Just do what you can do, but do something. Increase your abilities in some way, any way. Even if it means finally turning off Judge Judy reruns and walking around the back yard. Increase your physical activity within your capabilities.
But 101stAirborneVet, are you saying I’m going to be ferrying ammo between machine gun nests? Or delivering a message to some general like it’s the Civil War? Isn’t that a little crrrrrrazy?
I'm not saying that at all. Everyone will be doing something different. The point is that you’ve got to start giving yourself the tools to survive now, and that includes achieving a basic level of fitness and being able to move out if the need arises.
Wait, 101stAirborneVet! I’m already fit! I can ruck a 50-lb. pack 12 miles in less than three hours!
Well done! That means you can move. But that’s only one of the skills you’re going to need. Next, try rucking 12 miles to your local shooting range, and see how well you shoot when fatigued (remember to obey all local Nazi dictates about how to transport your firearm). If you want to have what it takes to defend yourself, your family, and what’s yours, your goal should be train until you can do this with little to no difficulty. Once you have accomplished this, you will be able to shoot and move.
You underestimate me, 101stAirborneVet! I can shoot and I can move! I rucked 12 miles to the range and shot 50 rounds of 9mm, center mass, at 15 yards! Am I ready for SHTF?
Not quite. Now do all of the above with close friends or family members. Discuss and practice what you would do if you encountered danger while rucking between points. Discuss and practice at the range how you would cooperatively engage multiple targets that are attacking you. Establish words or phrases that will prompt your buddies or family members to take certain actions, or to know what actions you are going to take. Achieve this level of training, and you can now shoot, move and communicate.
Uh, 101stAirborneVet, I’m not one of those “Preppies”. I don’t believe anything bad is going to happen, or I’m unwilling to prepare myself for it.
First off, it’s “prepper”. But that’s okay, you don’t have to be one. If nothing ever happens, and Obama rides across a rainbow in the sky on his fiery unicorn and everything is A-okay, you have benefited immensely from all of the above. You will have become more physically fit, gained a great deal of confidence, learned cooperation under extreme stress, become a proficient shooter under adverse circumstances, spent time in the great outdoors, and learned that the word is “prepper”, not “preppie”.
For those of you who are preparing yourselves in other ways, don't neglect the most important preparation of all: your own health, fitness and situational awareness and readiness.
So start rucking, remember to drink water, and I’ll see you out there.
Back when my youngest son was in the second phase of Marine Corps boot camp at Pendleton they were hyping up a pack trip through the coastal dunes, and he wrote that he was a bit leery of it.
After the trip was over, he wrote back that it was “pussy,” and that the hikes that we went on through the local hills when he was younger were far more arduous, and that he had laughed at the platoon leaders all the way back to base.
LOL! Lovely theory!
um...Is that how the pants ended up on the roof???
so if I use the petroleum jelly, does it even matter which kind of socks are worn??
(LOL! and ewwww re the axle grease!)
Thanks. In my case, typically it involves the area in the ball of my foot at the base of the 3 inner toes. Would I put moleskin on each side, or would I place moleskin over the whole ball? And I’ve also tried changing shoes, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference. My limit for tolerance seems at this time to be 2 miles. It’s weird.
>> “Why do all these Preppers think that they’re going to be in a very specific disaster type of scenario? Who said that the planet will be in a ‘MADMAX’ mode?” <<
.
Can we start with God’s word, and common sense for starters?
Does the phrase “after the tribulation of those days” suggest something other than the life of a couch potato to you?
If I'm not going more than about 4 or 5 miles on foot, cactus slime works ok, but it dries out pretty quickly.
/johnny
Oh wow! thanks for the links!
If I’m at altitude, or going to be doing a lot of shank’s mare transport, I slather on petroleum jelly, before I put on my socks. You get used to the squishy feel.
And it makes your feet as soft as a baby’s bottom, if you keep doing it.
I LIKE the idea of softer feet!
Thanks to both of you!
>> “If I’m at altitude, or going to be doing a lot of shank’s mare transport, I slather on petroleum jelly, before I put on my socks.” <<
.
Something that I have found to be even better is “vapo rub” which is the jelly with herbal oils added.
It controls fungi and bacteria quite well, which is good when you have to go days without changing socks or washing.
Is it the lack of humidity that causes it? I’m at 7200’, but don’t notice it any drier than the valley floor.
That is interesting about the vapo rub. Makes sense.
With the suggested sock changes, moleskin usage, petroleum jelly, and vapo rub suggestions, surely out of all of that I can find at least one that will solve my problem!
Very sincere thanks to all!
I don't EVER go days without changing socks.
In sporty times, I've been known to change socks 3 times a day.
If your feet don't work, about all you can do is a Thermopylae. And I'm not big on that.
/johnny
Another thing to put on my shopping list and in my bags. Thanks!
Tex, I’m 68 years old, and spend at least three days a week carrying my surveying equipment up into steep wooded hills, sometimes 70 to 80 lbs of it at a time (plus the extra 100 lbs of body weight that I’ve added over the years), and have found that the vaporub really does the trick to control foot irritations.
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