The Prepper Movement - Part 1

What is a prepper? Wikipedia defines a prepper as a survivalist preparing for man-made or natural apocalyptic disasters. While it is undeniable that the potential of man-made chaos increases with each passing day, the necessity for people to be prepared for naturally occurring phenomena exist and have existed since the beginning of time itself. The news - more importantly the internet - is full of information of things taking place all over the world that are waking people up to the fact that the need to prepare for bad situations, both man made and natural disasters, has never been more important. The number of people waking up to this reality increases everyday and is nothing less than a movement.

In my mind, prepping must consist of immediate, short term provisions AND long term sustainability of your life and the lives of your family members and/or those in your prepper "group". Remember, you can not effectively prep for long term survival on your own. We'll go into that in greater detail later. But for purposes of this article we will break prepping down into two basic types. Short term and long term.

Short Term

Prepping for short term survival should be a concern for every American. Even the U.S. Government thinks so. http://www.ready.gov/are-you-ready-guide

If you can read this and not become fully aware that even the Government expects disasters with which it cannot effectively handle, you may be among those who will perish in the aftermath. At this point, our federal government promotes the actions of preppers - to a degree.

Short term means days and weeks - up to several months. Know this and prepare accordingly. Many experts agree that if the power grid should collapse, up to half of our countries population would die within the first 30 days unless power is restored. Remember the rules of 3. 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. Water will be scarce without electricity to pump it out of the ground. Food will be scarce without electricity to keep it cold. It will also disrupt food distribution channels without fuel for trucks to bring food to the masses. Think it can't happen. On a smaller scale think about New Orleans. Even closer to home - think about the ice storm here in the late 90's that left some without electricity for 2 weeks. I can remember vividly the signs in front of the homes on Mt. Hermon Rd. saying "Conective Where Are You?!" Fortunately, these were isolated outages and people could still drive to get fuel and fresh food. A prolonged nationwide electrical grid failure can present life threatening circumstances for everyone in this country - unless you prepare.

So where do you begin to prepare for a short term natural or manmade disaster? Short term disasters presume that for the most part law enforcement and social fabric remain intact. While law enforcement may be tied up saving lives and things of that nature, it still functions as part of that social fabric.The five most important areas of survival are Shelter, Food and water, Security, Medical, and Communication. For short term prepping, the first three are the most important.

Shelter - should I stay of should I go? There should be specific triggers that determine whether you should remain in your home or head for high ground (bug out). Everyones trigger point is different based in personal issues, such as small children, health conditions, etc. You should determine what your triggers are and make them part of your plan. If you plan to leave be sure to have the resources available to facilitate your evacuation - including a destination. DO NOT wait until evacuation time to think of a place to go. If you plan to stay be sure to have the resources available to facilitate that as well. Since most disasters include disruption of power, a generator is essential with plenty of fuel on hand. It would be preferable to have a diesel generator since diesel fuel can be stored for extremely long periods of time. Have your house wired well in advance and be familiar with how to disconnect the main breaker and direct the power supply to you electric panel. Ration your power useage so that you can run the generator for just an hour or two a day. Modern freezers keep food cold for long periods of time without power. Turn the power on only often enough to keep your freezer cold. While it is running, use the power to run your well pump to fill large containers (tub, barrels, jugs) with water and take care of hygiene requirements. Heat will be extremely important in the winter. Most generators won't create enough power to supply heat pumps, electric baseboard heaters, etc. It would be in your best interest to install a wood stove (not pellet) or a gas log fireplace to heat your house. Again, having plenty of fuel on hand will be at the top of the list of every succesful prepper.

Food and water - how much is too much? For most preppers, a good rule of thumb is 3-6 months worth of non-perishable foods. Canned goods should be maintained in a location that permits you to monitor expiration dates and to consume food using the FIFO method - First In, First Out. Once the stockpile is full you should use it as you normally would, replacing it as it is consumed. The idea that you will run out into the woods and kill enough food to feed your family is not just impractical as well as impossible, it is the same idea that 30,000 other people in Wicomico County will have. Stockpiling 3-6 months worth of food will allow you to focus on other important pressing issues that you will face. It will also allow you to help your neighbors who will not be as prepared as you. Charity is something you should consider constantly as you prepare. Water we covered above using well pumps while your generator is running. If you live in a city or town on the shore, you can still hand drive a well in your yard for "irrigation purposes only" ;-) with a pitcher pump. Keep in mind that in cases of flooding, it may be necessary to treat water before drinking. Water purification tablets can be obtained from Gander Mountain, Wal-Mart, or on-line at Cheaperthandirt.com and Cabelas.com.

Security - and we're not talking alarms here. That's right folks - guns. There, I said it. In a situation where lack of food, water, and possibly shelter intersects with a desperate population that has failed to prepare in the same manner you have, the need for personal security will become obvious in less than 72 hours. Law enforcement will not be able to protect you and your family. No excuses. Nothing you can say can obsolve you of your responsibility to protect yourself and your family from anyone who would harm you to take what you need to survive. This is where the rubber meets the road. Security doesn't mean buying a gun and shooting anyone who comes to your door. Security means developing a plan to keep your home, your family, and your supplies safe and implementing the plan using any and all necessary tools - including guns - to get it done. Security may mean a dog as an early alert. It may mean manning an LP/OP 24/7 until things return to normal. In all situations it means that someone remain awake at all times to alert others of any impending danger. It may mean inviting family and/or friends into your home to assure that there are enough people present to carry out this critical task. Security means that one is armed constantly while outdoors. It means that outdoors means on your property only - no wandering the country side. It means that larger properties - such as farms - need to be actually patrolled randomely, never routinely. It means that if at all possible, anyone going outdoors should do so with a partner. Prepping means becoming thoroughly familiar your weapons and your plan BEFORE an emergency arises. It means becoming an effective marksman.

It should be noted that security should be implemented as soon as the decision is made to either evacuate or stay. Incidentally, if you decide to evacuate you still must provide for the food/water and security aspects of survival while enroute to your bug out location and after you arrive.

Prepping isn't something you do a day a month or a week a year. Prepping is a way of life. Everyday you monitor the things going on in the world. You conserve and learn to conserve even more. You learn to be self sufficient. You learn to be compassionate and charitable. You learn to live in a way forgotten in the last 40 years

With any luck, after an incident such as the one mentioned above, electric companies and other utilities will make the necessary repairs and slowely life will return to some degree of normalcy as the infrastructure and food supply lines become re-established. Then we can all look back and appreciate the results of our efforts to be able to provide for our families. If they aren't repaired - if the food supply lines aren't re-established - the breakdown of our society will increase exponentially. The government will implement martial law and the military will take over all law enforcement functions. The constitution will be suspended - temporarily at first - and curfews will be implemented. Anarchy will be the flavor of the day. Our short term scenario has intensified and long term survival will the focus of all prudent preppers. In part 2 we will discuss preparation for long term survival, the development of a group of preppers, and the establishment of a trading/bartering network..