We need to be thinking about how to GTFH too

I’ve been thinking about readiness a lot more recently. It’s easy to get complacent, especially when you “feel” ready, but the fact is even the best prepared among us are never as ready as we think we are.

One of the themes that play out in the readiness world is an obsessive focus on “getting out of dodge” when things go south, but the fact is that’s only a limited part of the story. Sure, in the case of some disasters, bugging out may be the only option, and if you have a plan and a destination, that is an important part of planning. What many people don’t think about, though, is how to get home when something goes south and that’s where you need to be.

For me, there are a limited number of unlikely circumstances that would force me to leave home. In fact, while thinking about it, I’ve realized there are a far larger number of circumstances where my necessary goal would be to get home rather than away from it. While getting home in a disaster situation looks a lot like getting out, there are some critical differences.

Often, when I am away from home, I am also not following my usual routine. That means I’m not wearing my usual readiness friendly clothing, especially footwear, and I’m often not near my readiness gear. Realizing that, I’ve also realized I need to rethink how I do things when I’m away from home so I have a better chance of getting back in one piece.

I’m just at the very beginnings of thinking about how all that works, but I will share my insights here once I have them.

In the meantime, what’s your get home plan for yourself and your family. Think on it.

DLH

Get ready now

I’ll be the first to admit I’ve gotten comfortable recently and slacked of my own readiness plans, but we had multiple tornadoes touch down in our area last night, and it reminded me that disaster can strike anyone at any time. Being ready is a must.

This isn’t a statement of paranoia. It’s an acknowledgement that that having a kit in my closet or my car can mean the difference between needing help and being able to help. If I choose, I can buy a premade kit, or I can put one together for  not a lot of money. The internet is full of good resources, and I have a few of them listed on this site.

The moral of the story is this: be ready.

DLH

Being ready no matter what happens

When I sat down to write this post, I intended to write about what I see as the disconnect I see between the demands for firearms control and readiness and how so many people who demand such regulation are also the least prepared for when that regulation fails. Then, I realized to doesn’t matter.

The fact is that the people who are going to be ready are going to be ready irrespective of whether an overbearing government imposes firearms control or demands that people submit to any other kind of forced dependency. History is replete with examples of people being ready no matter how horrible the government restrictions levied against them might be. For some people, the instinct to survive and carry on is stronger than what any government or group can do. We owe our very existence to those kinds of people.

If you consider yourself one of those people, then I am talking to you.

It is very easy, in the face of the trials of our time, to lose focus on the one thing that drives being ready for whatever comes next: life goes on. Life will go on if the government takes all the guns. Life will go on if the government takes all of our money. Life will go on no matter what until the moment life ceases to exist altogether.

But if life is to go on, it requires certain things. For humans, that is, as a minimum: water, food, clothing, and shelter. Without those things, no other preparation matters.

That’s why it’s important for those of us who are ready no matter what happens to remember that we are ready no matter what happens. Eve if the government takes all the guns. Even if the government takes all of our money. We will be the ones who endure because we have dedicated ourselves to being the ones who endure.

I am not suggesting that we should not be concerned about what is happening around us. If we were not, we would have no cause to prepare. I am, however, saying that we should not lose sight of what we are preparing for.

DLH

December 31st, 2012

Have you been putting of getting yourself and those you care about ready? Have you been looking for evidence or incentive to start? Well, look no further.

On December 31st, 2012, most of the nation’s current tax benefits are scheduled to expire. Overnight, every American who pays taxes could see a significant increase in what the federal government takes from his or her paycheck, to the tune of hundreds to thousands of extra dollars a year.

Further, capital gains taxes and estate taxes will skyrocket, crippling the income of retirees and the ability to small business owners to pass their hard work on to future generations.

The result could very well be an unprecedented collapse in the US and, therefore, global economies.

You don’t think it could happen? You think the government will do the right thing before then? Have you been paying attention to what the government has been doing up until now?

Take this potential as a warning. Get ready. Now.

DLH

Some thoughts on Irene

Hurricane Irene has come and gone, leaving a swath of destruction in her wake. The latest reports indicate 21 people died, millions are without power, and the high winds and flooding have probably caused hundreds of millions if not billions in damages on the densely populated East Coast. Yet, it was not as bad as it could have been.

What strikes me about this event is the combination of media and government hype versus the backlash by many people because this event was not as bad as it could have been. Both the hype and the backlash prove that virtually everyone involved failed to get the real point: you should have already been ready before the hurricane came and you should still be ready now that it is gone.

Readiness is not piles of canned food and bottled water collected in advance of a known emergency. Readiness is not panicked preparations just before a disaster. Readiness is not falling for the hype then returning to apathy after it has passed.

No, readiness is being ready for whatever comes next both when things are calm and when things are in chaos. Readiness is a way of life, one that is so different than what most Americans live in 2011 that the mere suggestion of this kind of readiness seems alien and apocalyptic.

Nevertheless, the kind of readiness I describe is the only way to be ready. It means establishing a certain kind of autonomy from the very society that encourages us to be unready then panic when something bad seems about to happen. It means doing hard work for yourself and establishing local networks for what you can’t do yourself. It means being ready to feed, clothe, shelter, and defend yourself when no one else is able to do so. It means being ready to be a leader when all the so-called leaders have abandoned everyone.

My hope is that people will see Irene as a warning instead of an arbitrary occurrence. Be ready because you never know what will happen next.

DLH

Be ready now: 3 things you can start doing this week to be ready for whatever comes next: Establishing self-sufficiency

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

This week’s theme: Establishing self-sufficiency

  • Immediate: Make a list of all of the things you depend on in order to provide yourself and the people to depend on you with necessities. Such a list will likely include things like your source of income, where your food, clothing, and shelter come from, and similar things. Next, make a list of how you could provide for the same necessities if one or more of the things you currently depend on become unavailable. Finally, make a plan for how to implement each change will take place.
  • Intermediate: Consider replacing things you depend on others to do for you by paying them with things you do yourself. If you are unable to do them yourself, seek out the most local source for the thing you are paying for. Pay special attention to the sources of your most basic necessities.
  • Long-term: The best way to establish self-sufficiency is to surround yourself with people trying to do the same thing. Typically, such people gravitate to small, rural farm communities, and they do so because of the lower population density, the access to arable land, and the general tendency for rural people to be more self-sufficient than city dwellers. Before undertaking such a task, carefully consider what you can add to such a community–that is, what are you going to do to be self-sufficient yourself that would compliment what others are already doing.

 

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact meabout ways you can support this effort.

DLH

Readiness Watch for the Week of 13 June 2011

Readiness Watch is a weekly publication intended to provide current, relevant, and actionable readiness information to people determined to be ready for whatever comes next, and especially for those people who are just starting their journey down the road to readiness. Readiness Watch will include observations, commentary, advice, links to resources, and related news.

I always welcome input from my readers, especially tips on information or ways to make this publication better. Feel free to contact me with information, advice, or tips or for ways you can support this effort.

Readiness Watch for the week of 13 June 2011

Previous Readiness Watch posts.

DLH

Be ready now: 3 things you can start doing this week to be ready for whatever comes next: Minimum skills

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

This week’s theme: Minimum skills

  • Immediate: At a minimum, everyone involved in your readiness plan should be trained in basic first aid, CPR, and rescue breathing. Other useful minimum skills can be fire-starting, use of basic clearing tools such as saws, chainsaws, and breaker bars, and orienteering.
  • Intermediate: At least one person involved in your plan should have some level of training in the following areas: medical care, knife sharpening, sewing, shelter-building, skinning and butchering game animals, small engine repair, large engine repair, and weapon repair.
  • Long-term: Long-term readiness skills include raising food and livestock, construction of weatherproof shelters, finding sources of fresh water, negotiation, and self-defense.

 

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact meabout ways you can support this effort.

DLH

 

Be ready now: 3 things you can start doing this week to be ready for whatever comes next: Immediate Readiness Response Checklist

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

This week’s theme: Immediate Readiness Response Checklist

Many things may need to happen at the moment a disaster occurs, but it is important to keep track of your immediate readiness plan:

  • Where is everyone involved in your plan? Is someone missing? Does anyone know why? Where was the missing person last known to be?
  • Is anyone present injured? How badly? Does the injury require first aid? Can you or someone nearby perform that aid? Does someone need to call or go for assistance?
  • Is the place you are safe? If not, can you get to someplace safe? If you can’t get to someplace safe, can something be done to make where you are safe?
  • Once everyone involved in your plan is cared for and safe, are others in need of immediate assistance?

Several things to consider in the wake of a disaster:

  • If possible, shelter in place.
  • If sheltering in place is not possible, evacuate to your predetermined rallying point.
  • If evacuating to your rallying point is not possible, follow your contingency plan.
  • Be sure that you have as many of your immediate readiness supplies as possible given the circumstances.

 

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact meabout ways you can support this effort.

DLH