Survival | Prepping Philosophies

Survival Essential Concepts

Why Survive?

The following is a comprehensive overview of how to devise a survival plan or schematic. Created for the analytical planner, this video is a Special Forces soldier's suggestion on how to prepare both your gear and mind for eventual catastrophe.

If you're generally apathetic, you might not be worried about surviving at all. You might even assume that a tragic and swift death is inevitable during a catastrophic situation. You might even further assume that a quick death will come to your loved ones as well. But what if that's not the case? What if like most people you survive the initial chaos?

Just like those poor folks in Katrina you'd immediately be confronted with challenges of every sort. Always remember this, humans are incredibly resilient and are legendary for their abilities to adapt. if given just have a chance, in most cases we cannot only overcome adversity, but even thrive in it. What you do today to prepare will not only increase your own chances of survival but also the chances of your loved ones or some other special person in need as well. So, when preparing your survival plans always bear in mind this larger picture.

Survivability As A Concept

I hear people say all the time, "I'm packing this item just in case", or they say, "You never know when you need this item over here." The truth is no matter how earnestly we plan and prepare we cannot expect to cover every single disaster scenario. I'm sorry but that's just a brutal truth. Even if you could it would literally cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and be so enormous that you'd have to pack everything in an 18 wheel trailer. So what do we do? In order for things to remain practical we must obviously, limit ourselves to absolute essentials. We must also be smart, choosing tools that have multiple functions. Which is to say, many of your tools should overlap or crossover with another tools shared function. In addition to this, it's also highly advisable to build redundancies into your survival systems, and they should be organized in a way that makes sense to you and to you only.

The multi-tiered system

I chose to build multitiered survival systems in the following manner. First we had the bug out bag. this is an emergency 72 hour bag will keep me alive while either on foot or while away from my main base of operation. Second we have a bug out vehicle. This is any car that you can use to get out of the A.O. Quickly and will usually be supplemented with transportable modular kits of food and water while traveling. Third, we have sheltering in place. This is usually someone's home or mountain getaway. Here, you have stationary modular kits of food, water, and ammo to help you survive long periods in one place.

Developing fluidity

As the need arises you should be able to move flexibly from one system to the next with relative ease. That is, from the bug out bag to the car and then back again to your permanent shelter. And more than anything else you should also be aware of the interconnecting relationships between all three systems which include The bug out bag, the bug out vehicle, and sheltering in place. Not only that but be aware of the interconnecting relationships between all the tools within those systems as well. Now that part is crucially important because it's the foundational basis for innovative thinking or what in the military we called field expediency. Remember, no disaster scenario is going to be clear-cut. Real-world situations will most likely require you to draw from across these various systems simultaneously. In fact, you can count on that.

Now today I hear a lot of people talk about guns and ammo. Well, bang, bang, bang is good to have around of course but that's only a small fraction of your survival toolset. In the end, it's most likely going to be either water or food that's going to save your ass much more than an AK-47. Trust me! Listen, I'm just saying balance your thinking, and regard all your systems as equally important. Again, strive to recognize the interconnecting relationships between all your systems, and all your tools. In the end, this will give you the ability to quickly adapt in an emergency situation more than anything else. Your mind is your ultimate survival instrument and your tools are merely coextensions of your mind.

To Summarize

Memorize the layout of your survival gear. Know how each tool functions, and how it is connected or interconnected to the next. Constantly quiz yourself for different scenarios. Make up pretend situations and quiz yourself about what tools and supplies would you need to overcome those certain problems. Additionally, make sure your spouse or partner knows how to use each and every survival tool. Remember, if you get injured or sick they will have to take effective control for both of you.

Defining Fluidity

Now by doing all of this you will develop what I call fluidity which is the ability to move effortlessly and very quickly between all three systems and between all of your tools. You won't get bogged down but you'll always be on the ready. Even when you are in Garrison you are not just sitting around waiting for disaster to strike. You're always thinking, your mind is moving, you're figuring out angles, you're memorizing tool system layouts and so forth. That is what I mean by fluidity. Always be moving and don't be stagnant.

How Much Gear Should I Purchase?

A solid survival preparation plan should be based on the one third failure factor. You can anticipate that in a disaster scenario one third of all your survival gear and plans will invariably fail, get lost, malfunction, go bad, or spoil. This is the nature of the crisis situation, get used to it. This is the nature of Murphy's Law. The remaining two thirds of gear that you have salvaged will be adequately sufficient to get you and your loved ones through any disaster scenario. However, anything less than two thirds is courting failure. Your goal should be to develop overwhelming odds in your favor in anticipation of the one third failure factor.

Here Is An Example

If you buy prepackaged dehydrated food to last you a whole year don't let that be your only source of long-term food. Additionally, store beans, rice, and pasta in separate plastic buckets, preferably in a different location as well. Don't stop there, in addition to this store some military MRE's and canned food in yet another location. This is called building in redundancies. Redundancies is a fancy word for backups. Build redundancies into your system so if one food source fails, and it will, you have two other sources or two thirds to fall back on. It's as simple as that.

Disclaimer

Paraphrased Transcription or That Is…

The preceding article is a paraphrased transcription of the related video. Transcribing word for word most videos found on Youtube would assuredly result in confused reading. Let’s face it, most Youtube videos are a mixture of information and personal ramblings. For that reason, the transcriptionist will attempt to glean the information from the video and then employ paraphrasing to restate that information into logical written text. Additionally, the transcriptionist does not attempt to change or in any way distort the original intent of the videographer.