When I was a boy I went through the whole scouting program starting with Cub Scouts in grade school, then Boy Scouts and finally Sea Explorers. It was perhaps the second best thing that prepared me for adulthood second only to my Fathers guidance.
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The motto of the Boy Scouts is simple and straight forward. It has no hidden message or deeper meaning. It quite literally means what it says...Be Prepared.
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The events following huricane Katrina showed us all the importance of being prepared. For those of a liberal bent who believe the nanny state will be there to take care of all our needs, it must have been an eye opener. For those of us with a somewhat more conservative approach to life it only confirmed our belief that we can only count on ourselves.
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In my previous blog I discussed responsibility and how as citizens we have the responsibility to chose our elected officials to implement the laws and policies of the community. We do so by delegating to those we elect the authority to conduct the affairs of government. But delegating such authority to the government does not alleviate us of our responsibility for all those things we ask the government to do such as protect us from criminals or fires or enemies foreign and domestic.
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Being prepared to provide for our own safety and well being is a responsibility we all have and if we are the head of a household, particularly one with children, failure to accept and act on that responsibility is negligent at least and could border on criminality if you fail to protect your kids.
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Being prepared takes place on many levels but in this blog I am going to address being prepared physically to survive for at least one week without any assistance. Primarily this means providing for adequate supplies of water and food and medical needs. Beyond that being able to protect yourself from adverse environmental conditions and preditory individuals is a secondary consideration but still important. I am detailing here an example of the sort of supplies that should be on hand at all times, both in the home and in the car.
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These supplies can be put together into kits (the best approach) or at least be kept available in the home and car. These emergency kits will actually consist of several seperate kits with layered survival capability. Each car or truck you own should have a car emergency kit containing what you need to get by for at least three days. Of course in a vehicle you no longer need to provide for shelter but food, sanitation and water are still important. At home you should have a grab and run kit with supplies for 7 days for each member of the family. These should be identical for adults and if there are children they should each have one that is identical to all the other kids grab and run kits. In addition to the above an extended survival kit should be kept in the home for the family.
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The car emergency kit should consist of a real first aid kit complete with any special medications required by family members. Don't bother with a scratch and cut kit such as found at most stores. Instead go to an industrial safety products store and get a real first aid kit capable of handling serious injuries. If you are not first aid and CPR trained get the training now! Your car kit should also contain an entrenching tool (a folding military type is very compact and sturdy) and road side emergency items such as reflectors and flares. You need a flashlight in each car. This should be a light with an LED bulb and should use a standard battery such as AA cells. You should also have food for each person for three days. This does not need to be fancy. Put in three granola bars or power bars for each person per day. These are compact and cheap and when you rotate them every 6 months the old ones you replace with fresh should still be edible for snacks. Also a one gallon jug of water for each person. This is actually less than needed for three days but will do in an emergency where you are stranded in your car and not working hard. A couple of light blankets are also recommended. A very important aspect is to keep the gas tank as full as possible at all times. Never let the gas go below half full when you are in town. Better yet, if you can only afford to get a quarter tank at a time, make it the top quarter of the tank. One last item is an emergency CB set and a cell phone charger that can be plugged into the lighter socket.
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The next item to look at is a grab and run kit. The reason you need one for each person is that in an emergency you may not all be home when the emergency happens. You may also not be able to communicate and make plans. By having seperate identical kits, you can grab one and go. If the others make it to the house theirs will be waiting. If you can contact each other and make plans where to meet, then one person can grab all the kits. By making them all identical, one kit will have everything and if you meet up later, you still have what you need but just for a shorter period of time. Unlike the car emergency kit, the grab and run kit is a bit more detailed and I am providing a sample list here for a family of two adults for 7 days (a kit for kids should be lighter).
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Grab and Run Kit
[] Pack or duffle bag with pack straps large enough to hold all of the following gear:
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DOCUMENTS
[] Water proof wallet or bag
[] Copies (on one sheet if possible) of each adults drivers license, medical plan card, concealed carry permit, insurance companies/phone numbers and policy numbers, bank/phone/address/account numbers, Credit card account numbers and phone contact, Doctors name and phone number (include eye doctor and dentist as well as any specialists), medical conditions, out of area contacts with name/phone and address, next of kin with name/phone address, emergency contact with name/phone/address.
[] Children - keep an indelible ink pen handy with kit. If an emergency happens and you have time write on each childs upper arm their name, address, phone, your name and relationship and SSAN, any medical conditions and an out of area relative or friend who has agreed ahead of time to take responsibility for them.
[] Cash - at least $100.00 in $10.00 bills or as much as you can afford.
NOTE on account numbers, SSAN etc. It is recommended that these be encoded so that only you can determin what the number actually is. There are many ways of doing this. Work it out.
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WATER
[] 4 Liters (1 gallon of water) in 1 liter or 1 quart containers
[] 2 to 5 gallon collapsible water jug (empty)
[] Water purification tablets, 2 bottles (sufficient for 10 gallons minimum)
[] Water filter (straw type)
[] Clear instructions as to how to turn off the water supply coming into the house and how to turn off the water supply coming into the hot water heater. This is up to 50 gallons of safe water available if kept uncontaminated!
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FOOD
[] Aluminum cooking pot (1 quart) with lid. Inside will be:
...[] Spoon (cut handle short if necessary to make it fit)
...[] Bic type lighter, full
...[] Spare fuel tabs for stove
...[] Can opener such as a military P-38 type (some of these come with a spoon handle)
[] Folding fuel tab stove with fuel
[] 21 Food bars (granola bars or power bars)
[] 7 Packets of instant oatmeal (can be eaten cold if necessary)
[] 7 packets of instant soup
[] 7 Packets of instant coffee, tea or instant hot chocolate
[] 14 sugar packets (or splenda packets for diabetics)
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SAFETY ITEMS
[] First aid kit with 7 day supply of any special medications needed by family members
[] 2 Rolls of toilet paper in 1 gallon plastic freezer bags (more for larger family)
[] Container of wet wipes, preferably anti-bacterial
[] Pistol (recommend a .38 special with 2" ~ 3" barrel for its small size, light weight and adequate power. A .22 can suffice but is not really adequate for defensive purposes).
[] 50 rounds of ammunition
[] Holster suitable for both belt carry and pocket carry.
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CLOTHING (all sized to largest adult or for kids to largest kid)
[] Boxer shorts with no fly or with botton fly, subdued color
[] T-Shirt, subdued color
[] Sweat pants, subdued color
[] Socks, dark
[] Windbreaker with hood, subdued color
[] Light gloves (jersy)
[] Light wool stocking cap
[] Bandana, subdued color
[] Flip flops.
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SHELTER
[] Sleeping bag adequate for climate or at least a blanket
[] 2 Emergency space blankets
[] 1 Poncho, light weight
[] 2 large black lawn/leaf bags
[] 50' Nylon cord.
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TOOLS
[] Leatherman type multi-tool with belt pouch
[] Plastic or metal trowl
[] LED flashlight w/spare batteries
[] AM/FM radio w/spare batteries
[] FRS/GMRS radio w/spare batteries
[] Compass
[] Map of area or state
[] Note book (small) and pencil (#2 wooden pencil with eraser)
[] Recommended: Monocular of approximately 7 - 12 power)
[] Recommended: Hand axe
[] Recommended: Cable saw
[] Walking stick (telescoping type prefered)
[] 2" Belt, nylon or web type
[] Belt pouch, multi-use.
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The above kit is pretty much the minimum needed for a variety of contengencies. Of course not everyone can afford to put together such a complete kit so what is important? The Rule of Three's gives us a clue: You can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.
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AIR: Keep a couple rolls of duct tape and some cheap plastic tarp in the house in case a tanker truck filled with chlorene gas turns over up the road from your house. You can seal doors and windows with it.
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WATER: Most important. Have water. A one gallon jug for each member of the family and don't forget how to isolate the water in your hot water tank. Be prepared with water purification tablets or chlorene bleach and know how to purify water.
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FOOD: Keep a supply of granola bars on hand. Every few months replace a few and eat the ones you replaced as snacks.
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PACK: Keep some sort of pack or bag so you can carry these minimal items if necessary. From there start adding to the kit when ever you can until it is complete.
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For kids a grab and run kit must be smaller since they can't be expected to carry the forty to fifty pounds the above kit weighs. Reduce their waterload by half but make sure they have a collapsible water jug and water purification tablets to replenish their water as needed. Their food supply can be the same without the coffee. Tools should be limited to a multi tool and a plastic trowl for sanitation needs. Of course no firearms. (If a kid is older and has been taught to use a .22 rifle it may be grabbed as you head out the door, but that is the parents responsibility to control). They should have an FRS/GMRS radio and flashlight but other tools and gear are not needed. Make sure they have an emergency space blanket and at least a light weight fleece blanket. Spare clothing can consist of a pair of socks, underwear and light weight cotton pajamas and a stocking cap and gloves. Even in summer keep a jacket handy. The important thing is to make sure they have water and food and their load is as light in weight as possible and they have identification written on their arm.
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The extended emergency kit is designed to work in conjucntion with the car emergency kit and the grab and run kit. it should include the following items but since it must be able to be carried it can be split into two or more duffle bags with shoulder straps:
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Extended Survival Kit
[] Duffle bag(s) with shoulder straps and back pack straps if possible
[] Tent sized for family
[] Ground cloth, plastic
[] 50' of 3/8" Nylon rope
[] 2 - 50' 1/4" nylon cord
[] Entrenching tool
[] 2 Collapsible water jugs to hold 5 gallons each
[] Water purification tablets for 50 gallons
[] Water filtration kit with spare filters for at least 50 gallons
[] Cook stove and fuel
[] Cook kit
[] Freeze dried food for 1 person for 60 days (2 people for 30 days)
[] 60 Granola or power bars
[] 60 Instant oatmeal packets
[] Instant coffee or tea bags
[] 6 rolls of toilet paper
[] 2 Small towels for toilet sanitation if necessary (these can be cleaned and reused unlike toilet paper)
[] 2 Towels - medium size bath towels
[] Plastic tarps
[] Folding saw or bow saw
[] .22 rifle at minimum or better yet a 12 (or 20) gauge shotgun with slugs and buckshot (for defense)
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The above is not set in concrete. These lists are guidlines of the type of items one should have on hand. The biggest determinate of what you have in your kit may be your financial resources but do the best you can starting with the essentials of water and food followed by safety and shelter and last convenience items.
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The single most imporant thing to have for survival is a mind set that says you are responsible for your own safety and you are willing to do what ever it takes to protect yourself and your family.
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