Here we go with the final post of the Food for Thought series. Part 5 Summary: So far we have addressed weapons and stashes, teamwork, physical fitness and weapons training. Today I just want to cover a few important things. Mainly being food, water and shelter, then a summary. Obviously this is geared more towards disaster rather than crime.

I think we can agree that without food and water we are not going to last long. I mentioned the farm and its ability to sustain itself. Well that’s not an option for everybody. As far as food goes it seems that the big packages you can buy seem to be the best option. 5 gallon buckets of powders and some are like 300 individual pouch servings of say lasagna for example. There’s a lot of different packages so check them out. Just google it. There’s something for most budgets and different durations they are supposed to last for. I will be picking up a 30 day package as soon as I decide which one I like best. I need one too. I have a 90 day supply of “Quake Kare 3600” bars which are really nice and inexpensive. I just wanted something that’s like actual food too. I do recommend those bars though, cheap, lite and really pretty tasty. Don’t forget a decent box of fishing gear and some poles. I hate fish personally but if I was hungry I’m sure they’re delicious.

Water: Depending on your climate you may not last 3 days without it. For city people this could be worse as you rely on city water. Personally I’d get some of that stabilizer stuff and some good clean containers and just switch it out every so often. So at least you have some drinking water. We have wells and 60 some lakes within a 20 mile walk and one way or another I’ll get the water out of them. I also purchased some “expedition” water purifier kits, you can clean up like 500 gallons of water per filter to drink just by pumping it through this gizmo I bought. Even water pumped straight out of a swamp. You can also buy filtration straws which are very portable as well. If you have yet to consider buying a water filter and you are definitely interested in feeling the full benefits that clean, filtered water can give to you and your animals, then why don’t you check out Aquaox water filters for further information. Then if your still not sure there’s good old fashion boiling. Just boil the heck out of it and drink. However you decide to do it just make sure you have water. You could not eat for 3 weeks before you drop but lack of water will kill you in a fraction of that time. If you look up the Quake Kare food bars they also have a line of storable water products good for 5 years.

Shelter being another thing. I have some small portable propane heaters and tents. The gas cylinders are common and burn about 4 hours a can on low. It’s a cheap way to make sure you don’t freeze to death before you can find something more permanent. Don’t have that?? It’s not hard to build a lean-to out of brush and branches. I also have a few fire starters, inexpensive kits available on eBay for 10$. They come in a pouch with tinder and some other odds and ends like saw blades and the magnesium and steel to strike it with. I have practiced my fire-starting with it quite a few times. It does take some practice so try it out a few times. I have found that keeping a sandwich baggy stuffed with dryer lint is the best tinder. It flames up very easily and gets your fire going pretty quick and painlessly.

Last thing would be clothing and field gear. Having spent a career in uniform I have acquired literally 8 or 9 footlockers full of cammies, boots, gas masks, body armor, helmets, mag pouches, canteens, camel-backs, cold weather gear, sleeping bags, back packs. I must have a dozen Alice packs, cartridge belts, blah blah blah, just tons of stuff. You name it I probably have at least 3 of them. So think about your situation and put away something useful like that. If you need to travel on foot how are you going to carry your gear and weapons?? Whats the climate like?? Do you need to be camouflaged or not?? All stuff to consider.

I guess that’s really about it. Prepare for as much of this as you can, make sure the team as a whole has all the bases covered as best as possible. Any preparation at all is a good thing but there is never too much of it. Think about your specific set of circumstances and do the best you can. Hopefully we will never need to put these plans into action but if we do we’ll sure be glad we did it ahead of time.

As always thanks for reading and happy shooting.

By: Cary Kieffer

 

The following two tabs change content below.

Cary Kieffer

USMC Infantry/Combat Veteran/MUESOC/Sniper School - Med Retired LEO w/ 8yrs on job before Iraq wounds caught up with me.

Latest posts by Cary Kieffer (see all)