What gear would be required in your opinion? Besides weapon and ammo, of course.
>>What gear would be required in your opinion? Besides weapon and ammo, of course.
Keep in mind that I’m talking about fulfilling your role as militia, so you don’t need a perfect set of military grade equipment. Some military gear is good and cheap. Some is overpriced. In many cases, there is civilian gear that is superior, but may be expensive.
I’d start with gathering up all the weaponry I’d take to a fight: rifle, handgun, magazines with ammo, knives, nightstick or truncheon. Now pick it all up and imagine that you need to walk 5 miles with it and then stand in the sun for half a day waiting (think Bundy Ranch standoff). What would make that easier?
Holster, mag pouches for the pistol, good rifle sling, pouches for rifle mags as a start. Enough for every magazine.
Now what do you hand those on? A belt? That’s going to get heavy. Belt with suspenders? Better. Wide suspenders! Certainly! Maybe a vest of some sort to hang all that on and really distribute the weight well.
Now you need shoes. Good boots. Padded socks. Sturdy pants with cargo pockets. T-shirt that you can wear as outwear. A sturdy shirt and jacket. Maybe a coat, if your climate makes that necessary. Rain gear because its gonna rain!
Gloves, because you never know what you’ll have have to climb over or move through or handle. Knee pads could be handy. Maybe elbow pads too.
A broad-brim hat that absorbs sweat. Maybe a ball-cap too. Perhaps even a helmet. It doesn’t have to be a military helmet, just something to keep a bump on the head from knocking you silly for a precious few seconds. Although a military helmet would be very good!
Eye protection. Tinted and clear. Ear plugs. Disposable dust masks.
Water. You’ll need water. There’s a wide choice of hydration gear available. Get more than you think you’ll need.
Then, your personal supplies. What would you need in a small pack for an overnight trip into the woods? Small saw, entrenching tool, cord, matches, toothbrush, extra socks, Clifs bars, hard candies. there’s a lot of stuff you might need, but keep it light and keep that pack packed. You never know when there will be a natural disaster that you can use the exact same stuff for!
There’s a lot more, but this is just an idea of how to get started. Put it all in a duffel bag so its ready to go (again, it all comes in handy if a tornado hits the neighborhood just as much as if a zombie mob or gang of blue helmets marches in).
I keep a couple bright-colored backpacks and messenger bags in my duffel too, so I can cram a bunch of this gear into harmless-looking bags and just look like a guy out for a stroll.
Keep some MREs or freeze-dried survival food with the duffel. I keep 30 days supply with mine. You can’t carry it all, but you can grab as much as you can from that supply and have some left to come home to later.