The 'prepping' phenomenon and why it's a GOOD idea.

I'm going to split this up into easily digestible chunks. Expect salty language and lots of shitpost jokes. You are, after all, dealing with a Veteran that has ZERO fucks left to give.

1.) What is 'prepping' anyway?

'Prepping' is literally what it sounds like: Preparing for any and all imaginable emergency situations. That includes natural disasters, riots, war, disease outbreaks, alien invasions and/or the same kind of wrath that God unleashed on Sodom and Gomorrah. (Which you really should be worried about if you live in a place full of deviant sinners like California.)

The media will tell you that this is something that crazy people expecting World War Three or the Boogaloo would do. (More on the Boogaloo and the Media's lies about it will be discussed later in another blog post.) The Fake News Media used to call them Survivalists or Extremists, but they don't bother to hide their disdain anymore. They are, after all, assuming that all Preppers are Trump supporters, Republicans, Libertarians & gun enthusiasts. The truth is that Preppers can be anyone. 

They badmouth anyone who decides that getting ready for a potential crisis situation as being nuts. And as usual, the Media is full of shit. Prepping is not crazy at all. It's something that everyone does to an extent. Did you buy some non-perishable food, a 20 lb. bag of ice and extra consumable supplies before a hurricane? Did you make sure the car's gas tank is full before that hurricane? That's prepping right there! Being a New Orleans native, I can assure you that we all regularly do this kind of prepping down here, regardless of whether or not a storm is heading towards us. (Especially those of us who remember the really bad storms like Betsy, Camille and/or Katrina.) Even when we're not in hurricane season, I am still making sure that I have more-than-adequate supplies on hand. After all, some of that stuff is actually cheaper to buy when we're not in hurricane season.

That being said, this blog post is not just about being ready for a predictable natural disaster like a hurricane. It's going to be very generalized and I'm going to operate on the premise that you're on the run, fighting for your life in a warzone. Why? Because that is the ultimate disaster scenario. If you're prepared for that, you're prepared for anything else that's likely to happen. 

2.) Unusual methods of prepping that aren't necessarily for 'natural' disasters...

There's more to being prepared than just having extra food and ammo. Other things you keep around the house can also be useful in preparing for disasters. For example, keeping a few extra gallons of fuel in the garage. In addition to things like a bag of ice in the freezer, I tend to keep a few gallons of gasoline in my garage at all times. It's for my lawn equipment, but I can just as easily use it as fuel for my car or (if you're a veteran like me) ingredients for a number of booby traps and improvised weapons. No, I am not going to teach you how to use gasoline and other petro-chemicals to make your own incendiary devices. I don't need the Feds knocking on my door and you can find that info online with great ease. In fact, you can actually buy the Army field manuals that tell you how to do these things from Amazon. I am not kidding at all. I have looked them up and they are readily available and cheap. 

That being said, DON'T BE A DUMBASS and actually try any of that shit. Chances are good it won't be much help to you if you're under siege from Antifa Commies in your neighborhood. Just save the gas to burn their corpses after the firefight is over and you've emerged victorious. Can't be leaving garbage like that lying around. That would promote disease and then, unlike this Kung Flu bullshit, we'd have a REAL pandemic on our hands. :P

Speaking of which... when everyone panicked at the start of the COVID crap and bought all the paper products they could, I just laughed. I usually have months' worth of supplies on hand of items like that, as well as household cleaning chemicals, hand sanitizer & ammo for my weapons. In those areas, life was 'business as usual' for me because I was well prepared for supply interruptions. I was actually more worried about the food supply. Thankfully, food wasn't too much of an issue. The worse that happened was not being able to get my favorite brand of peas or any cans of Ro-Tel tomatoes for a while.

Why would I keep month's worth of Toilet Paper in my household inventory? Well, Sam's Club only sells it in bulk. For me, just one of these enormous boxes of paper towels or asswipes are enough to last me for months, maybe even a year. Prepping is pretty easy in that area. Yay Capitalism! I had lots of hand sanitizer on hand because I like keeping my hands clean. That's something you become rather obsessive about when you go through Basic Combat Training for the military. The Drill Sergeants will insist that you have a bottle on you at all times. Trust me, you want to keep as clean as possible in that environment. Living in a large bay with 50+ other recruits can get pretty toxic. That's also the same reason why I keep a lot of cleaning chemicals like bleach on hand. Nothing cleans the house better.

As for the ammo... Well, I remember the kind of chaos that happened after Hurricane Katrina. Chances are good that's going to mean needing much more than one or two boxes of rounds for a hand gun. So, I stocked up over the years. If that kind of post-hurricane anarchy (or any other kind of anarchy) happens again, I will be ready.

3.) Time to bug out...

"But what if I have to evacuate my home/leave town?" you ask. Well, there's a solution for that too. It's usually called a 'Bug-out bag' or something similar. Essentially, it's a bag with clothes, equipment and supplies that you keep at the ready in case you need to disappear fast. Some people keep it in their vehicle's trunk or backseat, some leave it at home in a state where they can just grab it and go. It can be similar in composition/load out as a hiker's backpack or a soldier's pack. However, that's largely based on what you want in the bag. It's up to you to decide what you will need for your unique environment/situation. I can only relay some general advice in this area.

Here's what the (perhaps self-styled) experts will say you should have...

- Water purification supplies (Portable water filter, purification tablets)

- Food Supplies (Snacks, Non-Perishables, MREs, can openers)

- Warmth Supplies (Cold weather gear, poncho, survival blanket, microfiber towels, et al.)

- Shelter and Bedding Options (Sleeping bag, tent)

- Fire Starting Tools (Waterproof Matches, windproof lighters, lighter fluid, flint sticks.)

- First Aid Supplies/Prescription Meds if applicable.

- Core Survival Tools (Compact Shovel, compass, multi-tool, folding pocket knife)

- Lighting Tools (Military Flashlight, glow sticks)

- Communication Devices (Extra cell phone batteries, solar chargers, walkie-talkies, pocket radio)

- Self-Defense Tools (Knife, Gun, Ammo, etc.) 

Source: https://americanpatriotsurvivalist.com/bug-out-bag-checklist/

My recommendations for additional bug-out supplies:

- Plan the bag for 72 hours' worth of misadventure. Anything more will make the bag too heavy to carry on your back. Pack 3 days of clothes, hygiene kit (This includes package of baby wipes for wiping after you shit in the woods. They take up less space than a roll of TP.), snacks, multi-tool, folding knife, med kit & sleeping bag in the backpack. Be sure to put clothing and towels into plastic/waterproof bags to keep them from getting wet. You may have to trudge through a river or get caught in the rain. You'll want to have dry clothes on hand to change as soon as you're in a dry place again. Walking around in cold weather soaking wet is just a good way to get sick. Also, be sure to have lots of extra socks and change them often. Otherwise, you'll eventually get athlete's foot or trench foot from your feet sweating inside your shoes/boots. Whatever weaponry you have should be hanging from your hips in holsters. Long guns (Rifles, Shotguns, et al.) should be carried at low-ready with a shoulder strap for when you need your hands free.

- Use a really durable bag. Military duffle bags are great for this purpose and easily/cheaply acquired at you local Army surplus stores. (Or, in my case, taking them home with me when I left the Army because the Central Issue Facility didn't want them back.) You can use specially made backpacks for this kind of thing like the EVATAC Combat Bag, but I don't want to spend the extra money. I already have the duffle bags from my time in the Army and I'm cheap/usually living paycheck-to-paycheck. If I don't have to spend money, I usually don't.

- Multi-tools are your friend... And reduce the amount of stuff you'll have to carry. I personally recommend using the Gerber Truss tool like the ones that I used in the Army years ago. They are durable and useful in all kinds of ways you'd never expect. I still keep them in my toolbox to this day.

4.) My recommendations for weapons:

- Have at least two knives: A good folding pocket knife and a KA-BAR. The pocket knife is essentially just another tool. The previously mentioned multi-tool has a blade, so you could substitute that for the folding knife, if desired. The KA-BAR is, obviously, intended to be a weapon here. It can be used as a tool, which Service-members have been doing since 1942. It's also your last line of defense when you run out of ammo... or you were a dumbass and let the enemy get within arm's reach. If that happens, use the KA-BAR to embrace your inner Michael Myers and gut that fucker like a fish. Speaking of fish, DON'T use it on any kind of food you plan to eat w/o thoroughly cleaning it first.

- Have a hatchet on hand to chop up tree branches for firewood. I personally recommend the Army Ranger Tomahawk or something similar. It has both an axe head and a knife blade, which will give you a third knife. (Or fourth, if you include the blade on the Gerber.) Yes, you do need ANOTHER knife. You can never have enough knives. Yes, you can also use this Tomahawk for a weapon. Why do you think they are issued to Army Rangers?

- Have a semi-automatic pistol with a large caliber round. If you have to shoot a wild animal or a Communist (which, honestly, is really two of the same thing), you're going to want to only have to shoot him once. A good 1911 chambered for .45ACP works great in this application. It puts a man down with only one round, and that bastard is going to stay down.

Screw Glocks and all this new-fangled plastic shit with no hammers. You want something relatively low-tech, reliable and easy to use/maintain. Remember, Civilization is probably dead and you're on your own here. Don't get fancy and leave NOTHING to chance. (Revolvers also work in a pinch, but keep in mind that they will not have as many shots before needing to be reloaded.)

- Have a good, easy to maintain rifle. Make sure it's semi-automatic and has a magazine for its ammo. Screw bolt-action. You need to be able to send rounds down range faster than that if you're in the middle of a war zone. (Snipers can use bolt-action if they want, since that is the standard for their weapons.) 

Choose whichever rifle you want. AR-15s using .223 rounds are popular and plentiful. Just keep in mind that they are NOT the same as military M-16s & M-4s or use the same rounds. For me, I think I'd prefer something a little more old school and well-proven against the Forces of Evil, like a M-1 Garand chambered in .30-06 Springfield. If they were good enough to help my grandparent's generation to smash the Axis Powers to rubble, they are also good enough for me.

- If you're going to be stuck in an urban environment currently suffering a societal breakdown, shotguns may be preferable to rifles. They take up less space and are much easier to wield when clearing rooms in buildings. Keep in mind that they cause a lot more collateral damage and do not have much in the way of range. They're still great for using as a 'trench broom' to clear out a whole nest of Commies all at once, though.

Also, shotguns can be a great makeshift flamethrower, if you have some rounds called 'Dragon's Breath' at your disposal.

I have never had a chance to fire some Dragon's Breath rounds, but I really do want some. Imagine shooting at some Antifa Commies with that stuff while said Commies also had a Molotov cocktail in their hands. The resulting fireball would give them all a taste of the Vatican's fictional 'Fire and Brimstone' Hell before they go and cause chaos in their ranks. Enemy infantry (for lack of better term here) is much easier to pick off when they are disorganized, demoralized and scared shitless.

- Keep a few condoms in your pack. Yes, they can be used for sex, but that's not why I'm recommending them here. They should be on hand so you can put them over the rifle barrel in bad weather or when hiking through muddy terrain. The condom will keep the barrel from getting full of sand, dirt and/or mud, all of which can really mess up your rifle. I picked this up from some Vets who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It worked wonders for them.

5.) Emergency Cash 

Not every gas station or small town general store takes credit/debit cards (especially in the middle of a disaster when power & internet access is probably out), so having some cash is quite advantageous. I recommend a minimum of a few hundred dollars in bills no larger than $20. Yes, places like this do still exist in the early 21st century. You may have to go to some strange place like rural Oklahoma to find them, but they do exist. 

Also, using cash makes it much easier to 'go off the grid' and hide out from whom/whatever is looking for you. That could be a hitman that the local mob boss sent after you. (Should have paid your gambling debts to your bookie...) Or, it could be something even scarier like a psycho ex-girlfriend. Use your imagination on that one. The possibilities for scary things are, unfortunately, almost endless. Remember the proverbial shit has officially hit the fan. You can't afford to take unnecessary risks. DON'T leave any paper trails.

6.) Technology isn't necessarily your friend.

Cell phones these days can be easy to track. I would recommend turning them off when you're on the run. This depends on who it is that might be chasing you and what kind of tech skills they have, but why take chances? Better yet, pull the battery and put the phone/battery into a metal box to block any chance of a radio signal getting to/from that phone. Remember, you're on your own with little chance of any help from anyone in anyway. Make yourself impossible to track.

Also, if you can afford it, I recommend having an old-school 4x4 that uses a carburetor and has ZERO electronics in its drivetrain. That kind of vehicle would be immune to electronic hacking & electromagnetic pulses. They're also relatively simple to work on yourself. The meme below goes into more detail.

I made a few other memes based on that theme, but those were for situations when you were staying in a city or hiding in plain sight. This one with the old-school 4x4 is for when the world has officially gone to shit. And that leads us to...

7.) Welcome to Hell, Soldier.

Assume the worst and be ready to do whatever is necessary to survive, escape, evade, resist and sabotage the enemy. Even if the enemy is just a bunch of idiot kids pretending to be 'Anti-Fascist', you should still assume the enemy is just as capable as you, if not more so. That means using asymmetrical & guerilla warfare tactics against them. Those Army field manuals are also available online and easy to find. (I am seriously surprised that Amazon would actually sell something like that...)

Finally, you have to mentally prepare for the absolute worst. You may well have to take life to protect your own and/or your loved ones. Remember, civilization is gone. You don't know when (or if) it's coming back. Until then, man will behave more like the beasts. Under those dreadful circumstances, the only law is the Law of Natural Selection. Act accordingly, or you may not live long enough to see civilization again.

- Lord Publius