What is preparedness?
There are so many answers to this question. Many are good, but in my opinion, there is one true answer. Empowerment. Preparedness empowers individuals and communities to take an active role in their own safety and recovery. Preparedness cultivates a feeling of empowerment when confronting challenges and difficulties. I know this because I have lived it for the last 20 plus years.
I have lived nearly my entire professional career by this one phrase: “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Would you believe I got that from a fortune cookie? I truly did and it spoke to me about how I had been blindly succeeding and then how I would continue to reach goals. From then on, I prepared for everything. When you think about it, we do it our whole lives and think nothing of it. Studying for a test, laying our clothes out the night before, packing for a trip, making appointments. These are all forms of preparation to achieve specific tasks and goals, being productive and successful. We do this to make life easier. Using this same mindset and with some information and tools, I am going to show you how to do the same in preparing for any man-made or naturally occurring emergency so that you can be empowered to not just deal with it, but handle it and come out on top.
I wanted to put on paper some things I have learned over the years with planning, preparing, training, and executing. I worked in the Operations department for 20 years in the United States Marine Corps attaining the rank of Master Sergeant. Now make no mistake, I say operations and DO NOT mean Operator, Special Forces, Special Operations, Door Kicker or any of the high speed low drag jobs that our amazing men and women who serve in those roles do. I mean planning and execution. Yes, pushing the pencil to the furthest extent of the budget. As a young Marine, I had no idea what my job was, being the junior guy, I was taking out trash, filling out logbooks, you know doing busy work. But as I learned and proved my capabilities, I gained more responsibilities. Learning about risk assessment before putting crews in the air, all to avoid mishaps, accidents, and so on. Learning how to develop and execute a training plan to make the most of time, money, and resources. Seeing how that plan impacts the unit’s readiness and combat efficiency, and reporting that to higher. Gaining the true understanding of how it all relates to one another, and using historical data and information to better plan, and train a unit for repeated successes. I eventually was entrusted to help develop and train multitudes of personnel; both civilian and military in contingency planning for the office of the President of the United States.
It all started with basics. When I first joined, you had to be in a mindset that at any time, you could be told you are deploying within 96 hours. Not joking, I thought it would be an all the time thing, but I was only given the 96 hour order twice. Neither time did it come to fruition, but it did happen. Which is why we always kept our seabag (duffle bag for some other services) packed. Not just packed any which way, it was to be packed with a Kevlar helmet inside your Enhanced Modular Tactical Vest so that you can pull your vest and Kevlar out immediately if needed. From there it grew as previously mentioned, to the point where I was one of the Senior Watch Officer’s of the Emergency Operations Center for an entire Marine Corps Air Station, in which infrastructure, contracts, emergency operations, airfield operations, continuity operations, inclement weather operations and the list goes on became my responsibility along with the whole team. Throughout the years, terms like Continuity of Operations Plan, Emergency Operations Center, Security Augmentation Force, Defense Readiness Reporting System, Training Management System, Curriculum Development and so on forced me to become a subject matter expert, sometimes in just days…occasionally you gotta fake it until you make it, but if you don’t make it, people will find out really quick. Learning from lettered agencies like FEMA and others that I will not mention, added to the knowledge base of tying how entities work together (yes even unbeknownst to the public) and provide mutual support in areas combat and non-combat related. Eye opening to say the least.
All this goes to say, planning, training, executing, tracking, and projecting readiness, preparedness, on the tactical, strategic and operational levels have bolstered an experience that I am truly grateful for. What better mission in life is there than to help others feel more secure with their family, in their home or anywhere for that matter with a better understanding of planning and preparing. I hope to help empower you in this quest.
Planning will be a common theme in this series, as it is a huge part of preparedness as we briefly discussed already. We will continue talking about planning (until you’re sick of it) and more within this series. For now, we will focus on understanding risks, assessing vulnerabilities, basic preparation principles, building a preparedness mindset, and the preparedness cycle.
In this series, we will look at the copious amounts of information that is already out there from FEMA, Ready.Gov, to NIMS and gain an understanding of the State and Federal Level responses so we can better align, or understand how their system works to either integrate, use the resources in our planning, or avoid them all together. This book’s purpose is not to spread fear…it is to take what is already out there and apply this same level of care for your family. Afterall, no one cares more about you and your family than you do.
The intent here is to introduce you to how these various agencies have already set the groundwork, foundation, identified the resources and programs, and detailed how to make the necessary plans and preparations. Let’s use their resources, and gain an understanding of how they work, so you can understand how to work with them or avoid having to deal with them at all. Like we all saw during Hurricane Helene for the folks affected in Virginia, Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina, FEMA can only do so much or so little. All I am doing is attempting to simplify a complex web of information into a digestible, easy to understand overview giving you the ability to create a robust and comprehensive family emergency and disaster preparedness plan. If it is good enough for the Government and businesses, it is good enough for the people you love. Before we get into planning, we have to understand what our needs are.
What are our basic needs?
There are 6 categories that we look at as basic needs. Why do we address these 6 categories for organizing and equipping? Because these 6 categories are at the base of your daily needs. So we will always try to organize and equip ourselves to sustain these needs. What I want to point out is that all of these basic needs (also called survival priorities) that we will discuss shortly do overlap and affect one another. Like using heat for first aid such as to cauterize a wound, or disinfect water to irrigate a wound. Having a proper shelter such as warm clothing in the winter is only amplified by having a fire to dry your wet clothing and maintain homeostasis. These needs are common sense, but they were put into a hierarchy by Dr. Richard Maslow; therefore a science is behind this. So let’s break down what to acquire by Survival Priority Needs:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
1. Shelter: First and foremost your home is your primary shelter. It provides you warmth in the cold seasons, and in the hotter times a cool setting. When we are talking about preparedness, the majority of it centers around your home. It is your sanctuary, your safe haven, your kingdom. Protect it at all costs! Other shelters that you need to prepare are things such as an RV, Trailer, Tent, alternate shelters (locations) and so on. A less common shelter that is discussed is an everyday item, your clothing. Your clothing is the first shelter line of defense you have. When you leave your house, you need to dress appropriately for the weather, you need proper clothing to stay both warm and dry in the cold weather, and to stay cool in the hot weather while protecting yourself from the sun and heat.
2. Fire: Fire may seem like a trivial thing, but it can greatly affect Shelter, Water, Food, First Aid, and Sleep. Heat is extremely important in the cold months, and this does not necessarily need to be a wood fire, but your heating system to keep your home warm. Not maintaining this or keeping extra fuel on hand (regardless of wood fire, generator/electric, however you need to keep the heat going).
3. Water: Water is simply life. Without water, you have the widely accepted three days before dehydration sets in. Your home must have clean drinking water for consumption and hygiene. Water is needed for cooking, cleaning, drinking, and so on. You must have the proper equipment to clean and treat water in the event that is no longer available through pipelines. Eventually bottled water will run out. How are you going to source water? How are you going to make it safe for drinking when you do source it?
4. Food: Grocery stores will not save your family. When the grocery store runs out, you’re on your own. Most preppers like to stockpile food. There is nothing wrong with that, but eventually if this is a long game, it will run out. The accepted rule of thumb is to have about 2 weeks of food per person in your household in the event of a disaster. My advice is to have at least 2 to 3 months of food if you can. There are ways of saving up and building it slowly, but there are very many what I call “heritage” skills to acquire food. For example farm fresh eggs can be stored up to 6 months if they have never been refrigerated. Seems we are the only country that refrigerated eggs making them less shelf stable…odd.
5. First Aid: This is an obvious concept, if you are not 100 percent physically able, you are a liability instead of an asset. That is not to sound harsh, that is just a fact. If your arm is broken, how can you help move heavy objects in a recovery operation? If you are bleeding out, with no medical training or sufficient equipment, you only have about 3-5 minutes of life left. Get the training for the level of medical care you need, and acquire the gear to sustain that level of training. STOP THE BLEED® and a basic First Aid class are the two best options to start. Doing a wilderness first aid, and possible Emergency Medical Responder course would be a really good level to take care of most prehospital medical emergencies.
6. Sleep: You need rest. Without proper rest, sleep, you can’t function at 100 percent. We all think we’re tough and can go without sleep. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”, I have heard this and said this thousands of times. I can tell you from experience, sleep deprivation has not helped me to do a better job at all. Not only that, but I have serious health related issues due to lack of sleep that I still struggle with today. Getting a quality bed at your home, and ensuring you have the right sleeping bags, or cots, hammocks etc for other locations/scenarios.
I wanted to show you a comparison of the “Survival Priorities” as outlined in nearly every publication, a survival manual or how to book and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. They are for the most part universally accepted as the priorities and they are in no specific (albeit arguable) order. I’m one of many who believe the order is dependent on your current circumstances due to factors like geographic location, equipment, physical state and so on.
With having a good understanding of our real needs, not internet, not television or streaming services, not ice cream sundaes or any other luxuries, barebones needs. What you need to live each day, not vacation, but live. That is what you prepare, plan and execute to. The basic needs. I’m going to now show you a formula I use that is very basic, and works from the smallest facet like a backpack scaled all the way up to your home. This formula is called REPs to pREP, silly I know, but if it helps you remember it, than I can be the clown.
REPs to pREP
I have learned different processes over the years, this is just my own interpretation of how I see things. Risk mitigation issues/situations ahead of time. This is absolutely true. Two is one, one is none. How do we truly prepare or “prep” our kits, pack, vehicles, home and so on?
When I was still actively flying in the military, for our survival vests we always had to check it prior to going out and again when we got back, our lives literally depended on this (well if we survived a crash), this was drilled into my head throughout time. Many other service members know the drill for gear inspections, junk on the bunk inspections and so on. There were many reasons we did this, but I have broken down my approach for nearly any scenario. I truly hope this helps anyone else in here out evaluate and properly prep their gear and what goes into it. By no means is this the gospel, do what works for you:
I call it REPs to pREP because it is a short way of remembering Repair, Repurpose, Replenish, Replace, and Repetition. The order of this formula is not important. But utilizing each of them is just as important as the other. This is more of a mental checklist but you can always write it down, however you choose to accomplish your goals. This is definitely a system that can scale from the micro to macro and it just works in any capacity. From packing a bag, to ensuring your home is well taken care of. I will use examples for a backpacking trip and your home to show the scalability and function of this thought process. This should be done during your planning process, and should be a constant part of your preparations. It fits nicely into a continuous process improvement mindset. Again, Repair, Repurpose, Replenish, Replace, Repetition (this should be done prior to going out, spot checks while you’re out and absolutely when you get back.)
REPair: Sounds pretty obvious, but looking over your gear and ensuring it is serviceable and in good working order like maintaining your knives by sharpening, honing, stropping and oiling. Is your clothing good to go or does it have holes or is it worn out, maintenance of equipment, oil changes for your vehicle, maintenance of your home (leaks, power, water heater etc), if you have a generator is it serviceable. if you can repair damaged gear, clothing, ensure maintenance of equipment that needs it. Check boot laces/soles, rips/tears in packs, fraying, anything that may lead to failure, Uncle Murphy don’t need any more help.
REPurpose: What gear do you have that is multi-use? You have Meal Ready to Eat in your pack, what can you do with the heavy plastic bag it is wrapped in? Most of the time we field strip them, losing a heavy duty plastic container, which can be used for water collection or collecting tinder/kindling and keeping it dry. The boxes that the meal is in can be used as tinder material. We are looking for multi-use items, like using a shovel as a pan to cook, and an axe to chop small wood and kindling for a fire. Repurpose (recycle/reuse): obviously you are looking for multi-use items, a shovel that can also be used as pan, small axe or other functions, an MRE bag for water collection/tinder collection/flame extender etc. Items that you would want to put in your kit/EDC/pack that have a multitude of uses.
REPlenish: A lot of folks keep bug out, go bags, everyday carry bags or whatever you want to label them as. I often wonder how often do they use the items in it? I have always been taught to train like you fight, so when you have items that you exhaust like consumables and perishables you have to replenish your supply prior to the mission. Some examples in an outdoor setting are batteries, food, cordage, medical/medications (expired), tinder materials, Bic lighter fluid, matches, fatwood, charred materials and so on. Take note of the things that you would collect in the woods, and replenish those along the way. All too often we hear about BOBs/SHTF/Get home bags, but how long have those extra batteries been sitting in the pack, were they used and not replenished?
REPlace: Look for damaged/broken gear, bulbs for lights, irreparable items. Some more considerations could be seasonal items, such as switching out to a lighter sleeping bag for summer, or a wool cap for winter. Cutting tools (buck saw vice folding saw) axe for hatchet or large saw. So many items can be switched out regardless of circumstances. Replace: Irreparable damaged/broken gear, bulbs for lights, seasonal items, lighter sleeping bag for summer, wool cap for winter, cutting tools, axe vs. saw etc. You may have items that you switch out for the type of season, or location etc.
REPetition: Simply do it over and over until you know exactly what is in your gear and it's state. If you have never heard of the 5W's, you need to know them for your gear: who, what, when, where and why. Create the muscle memory, so that you can get gear day/night without having to see it in the event you forgot to REPlenish your batteries, which of course you did not because you followed the REPlenish part. Repetition: simply do it over and over until you know exactly the 5W (who, what, when, where, why) of your gear, muscle memory. Drill this in so that you can get gear day/night without having to see it.
This is a good little print off or copy to keep in your pocket for refreshing your memory on this.
Again, I chose to use a backpack and your home in the below chart because during any given time we spend the majority of our time in our home and typically we have a pack in our vehicle, and if you don’t…you should.
This is a great side by side example of how you can use this formula in both your pack and your home. Do not limit yourself to just those two categories, use it for your vehicle, your EDC, your boat, your RV whatever you can think of. One last nugget that I hope helps you out: Remember to INSPECT what you EXPECT!
I hope that you have a more basic understanding of preparedness, and how it can help you become resilient to pending events that may occur. We'll really get into some more resources and in depth discussion of some of these topics throughout the series. So now that we kind of understand what needs must be met, we can start assessing the risks we face and need to mitigate in our next installment on assessments.
#preparedness #alwaysready #family #emergencyplanning #prepared #heavycrown
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