If you haven’t read the post on September 1, 2019 that explains this post…well, go read that post first (91/2019) and then this post will make more sense.

It has been six months since the collapse of America. There is no electricity or other functioning utilities. There is no help from the government. The food distribution system shutdown months ago and grocery stores are basically empty shells. Many folks who couldn’t take care of themselves relocated to massive FEMA Family Care Centers. In the FEMA-FCC’s they provide lodging in tents and basic food to eat. But, for those benefits, you also have to work on large-scale infrastructure projects in the bigger cities scattered around the country like, New York, Los Angels, Chicago, etc.

You and your family had been preppers for the 1-1/2 years prior to the collapse. You got excited about prepping after your best friend shared AHTrimble.com with you one day. You followed the “layers” system of prepping and subsequently you were ready when everything fell apart. You have developed a pretty self-sufficient lifestyle with a close knit group of other preppers. But there is a problem…

Your nearly 1-acre garden is showing signs that someone is coming in at night and stealing some of your crops. Since your garden is essential to your family’s survival you are very concerned. Your garden has just really started producing after 4 months of hard work getting it to this point.

Each morning for the last four days you have noticed about the amount of food for one person missing each morning. Nothing else is disturbed or damaged. No large amount of anything is missing just about enough of your garden for one person to eat each day.

You have been looking for tracks but they have been brushing their tracks out to cover any evidence that they have been there. But, this morning you found a single track about 12’ away from the garden…a size 6 or 7 shoe print that appears to be from a tennis shoe.

What do you do next?

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without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

If you haven’t read the post on September 1, 2019 that explains this post…well, go read that post first (91/2019) and then this post will make more sense.

You have been a prepper for five years, you’ve lived in the same house for the last 10 years. You and your neighbor were almost best friends until you joined the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints church 7 years ago. You quit drinking and smoking, but your neighbor hasn’t. He thinks you are a goody-two-shoes now and harasses you occasionally when your are grilling outside. He only does it when he has been drinking, which is most of the time. You’ve been polite to him but you’ve had to ignore him several times when he got verbally abusive to you in front of your family.

Times are tough economically in the country, the stock market isn’t doing well, businesses are suffering. You work for a highway construction firm and they have a couple of interstate contracts lined up so your work and financial situation is pretty decent. You have been putting away food storage as well as other prepper items for when tough times hit. You are outside with your family on Saturday grilling and splashing around in your above ground pool that doubles as your bulk water storage. You and your family are having a great time together.

Just as you sit down to eat burgers and hotdogs your neighbor leans over the wall. He is not wearing a shirt, he has a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other hand. He yells out that he sees where your teenage daughter gets her good looks from…her mom. He laughs out loud at his own joke before he breaks into a coughing fit. You ignore him, your wife rolls her eyes, your teenage daughter looks upset…and mumbles “gross!” under her breath.

As he walks away he tells you not to worry, when you go out of town to work he will watch over your wife and daughter. Then breaks out laughing one more time before resuming another coughing fit. Your daughter runs into the house knocking over her chair and spilling her plate of food in the process.

Later that night you find out that your neighbor has made comments to your daughter for over two months now when she gets off the bus after school. She hasn’t told you because she was embarrassed. The comments aren’t threatening or lewd, just suggestive. Your daughter is scared of him…for good reason.

It is now two weeks later…the stock market and economy basically crashed about 7 days ago. It is Saturday and you made some last minute runs to Sams Club, Walmart, and the Dollar store. That afternoon you came home with a load and rather than pull into the garage and close the garage door to unload your groceries and other items, you unloaded the SUV in the driveway.

As you finish up the unloading you look over and your neighbor is drinking wine from a bottle, a cigarette in his hand, and flashes you a thumbs up. You realize that you just made a huge mistake by unloading the SUV in plain view of your neighbors. But you have no time to worry about that right now, you leave in the morning to travel to your company’s work-site 250 miles away.

Later that week on Wednesday you get a frantic phone call from your wife. She tells you about coming home with your 14-year old daughter from cheerleader practice. As she and your daughter were getting out of the SUV your neighbor and five of his buddies were drinking in his open garage. They all started yelling very obscene comments about her and your daughter. Your wife is inconsolable and very afraid for their safety. Later that night she finds your 12-yearold son loading a shotgun in his bedroom. He refused to give it to her stating that he will kill the pervert neighbor next time. Your wife begs you to come home even though you are not due home till Saturday.

The next morning (Thursday) you wake up to news reports that truckers have gone on strike nationwide and nothing is moving, no food, no fuel, nothing. There is a lot of violence on the interstates between union and nonunion truckers. Grocery stores empty their shelves by 9am. Gas stations run out of gas by noon. You talked to your boss and he tells you to get back to work, you have a job to do, and you can’t leave till Saturday.

You decide to quit and head home, its 1pm. You get into your pick-up truck just to see your fuel gauge is sitting nearly on empty. You have 250 miles to get home, but it will probably take 10 hours due to the road conditions, strikes, etc. The radio is playing and the emergency notification systems starts with a message that a nationwide curfew will go into affect starting at midnight.

You pound the steering wheel and gaze out the windshield. You are trying to figure out what to do next. As you are trying to figure that out, you find yourself staring at the company’s fuel storage tank that is nearly full.

Nine hours later you are pulling into your driveway just to see your neighbor and three of his buddies still drinking. You have to park in your driveway because there is no room in your garage to park. You want to say something to your neighbor but decide the time is not right. Although he has different ideas…he starts yelling that he appreciates all the prepping you’ve done. He says he and his buddies will help themselves to anything they want that is yours…anything. And then they start cat-calling and whistling.

Just then your wife starts coming outside because she heard you drive up.

Answer the following questions:

1. You filled your truck’s fuel tank up from the company fuel storage tank. How do you justify it and make it right?
2. What is your most imminent risk right now at this moment as your wife is walking towards you?
3. How do you deal with your son and the shotgun?
4. You decide you are going to talk to your neighbor about the comments concerning your wife and daughter? When and how do you do that?
5. What is your plan to deal with your neighbor regarding his remarks about your food storage, etc.?
6. What actions do you take 30-days later when your neighbor is threatening to take your food because his kids are starving?

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

If you haven’t read the post on September 1, 2019 that explains this post…well, go read that post first (91/2019) and then this post will make more sense.

A liberal was elected president in 2020, she took office 1/20/2021. It is now mid-summer 2018. She has been issuing one Executive Order after another covering just about anything. The Supreme Court is not overturning any EO she issues. The Republican Congressional leadership are rubber stamping anything she wants to do.

Last March she issued an EO requiring all gun owners to register their guns. Some protests broke out in more conservative areas. The FBI swooped in using MRAP military vehicles and their fully militarized SWAT units (called HRT) to make arrests. Over 250 people were killed while resisting arrest. In every instance the FBI said the people were reaching for weapons in their shirt pockets. 35 of those killed were under the age of 12. 87 of those killed were over the age of 75. Only the most grainy video has been released for each of the killings during the arrests. None of the videos shows any gun.

You are fearful for your family and their safety, you register each of your guns according to the EO.

On July 4^th , during a Independence Day celebration, the President announces her latest Executive Order…gun confiscation. Each person will be required to turn any gun other than a single shot 20gauge shotgun or a .22cal single shot rifle. All guns must be turned in within 10 days to the local police department.

After that 10-day period you will be considered automatically guilty of a 1^stdegree felony, a warrant will be issued for your arrest, and all of your assets are forfeited under the Civil Asset Forfeiture laws. Since the FBI has a list of all guns owners, on day #11 FBI SWAT teams will begin raiding homes of suspected gun owners who have not turned in their guns. The FBI makes a statement that anyone whose home they raid will be considered highly armed and highly dangerous subject to being shot on sight.

Later that night (July 4th), your best friend comes over with someone who you have never seen before. They want you to join a local militia group that will begin ambushing police officers that next night and eventually FBI personnel. They leave without you giving them an answer. You just can’t get behind ambushing anyone. As they walk out the door, the new guy says he really hopes you won’t turn into an OpSec problem.

You have hidden several guns at your weekend cabin property. It is a 800 mile drive to get there. The guns you hid there are unregistered.

The next day another best friend who works for the local Sheriff’s department stops by, not in uniform. He tells you he can get you an AR that is not registered and not traceable. He assures you that you can get way with not complying with the new law with this AR. He tells you his buddy will give you a really good deal because he knows you are a prepper and “we will need guys like you when the bullets start flying.”

So, answer the following questions:

1. What do you tell and do with the militia folks, one of whom is a best friend?
2. What do you tell your best friend that is also a deputy?
3. What is your most important threat/risk right now?
4. Who do you align your family with? Why?
5. What are your plans with the cabin?

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

If you haven’t read the post on September 1, 2019 that explains this post…well, go read that post first (91/2019) and then this post will make more sense.

Today is Friday July 8^th. The economy fell apart two weeks ago, the stock market crashed so low that the government closed it down until the economy stabilized.

There was talk the last week all over the media that criminals, gangs, and drug cartels are taking advantage of the situation. They are leveraging their criminal activity and their large supply of cash to become stronger and a more formidable force at citizen expense.

To combat this new problem the government has just announced that:

1. The banks will not open on Monday as normal.
2. No debit cards will work either until further notice.
3. Credit cards will work as normal at merchants, but not at ATMs until further notice.
4. The US Treasurer has issued a statement that it will issue a universal debit card to access cash that is currently in your bank account. No other debit cards will be accepted at any bank or vendor.
5. On Monday July 18^th all banks will reopen. But they will only be open to issue the new US T-card issued by the US Treasury Department. To obtain the card you must turn in all other debit cards at that time.
6. The US Treasury also states no cash will be accepted for any financial transaction until Monday July 25^th. At that time the old currency will no longer be legal. A replacement currency, all paper bills, no coins, will be put into service.
7. On Monday July 25^th banks will only be open to exchange old currency and coins for new currency. The banks will only provide the exchange services for 48 hours. After which time you will no longer be allowed to swap currency, new for old. When turning in old currency and coins you must show a government issued picture ID, be finger printed, and your picture taken.

You’ve talked to your spouse about this. Your spouse thinks there is no need to worry, no reason for alarm, it all makes perfect sense. No one wants criminals to profit from hard times. On the other hand, you have been visiting AHTrimble.comfor over a year now and the SitRep postings tell you something way different than what your spouse is thinking.

You have a gut feeling that this is a move by the federal government to finally be able to track every single financial transaction and eliminate any secondary economy.

What two actions do you and your spouse now take in regards to the news regarding the upcoming Federal government move?

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

If you haven’t read the post on September 1, 2019 that explains this post…well, go read that post first (91/2019) and then this post will make more sense.

North Korea hit the US with an EMP strike from a satellite that they had just put into orbit a couple months ago. No one was expecting it, the strike occurred two months ago. The electric grid is down, the transportation system is all but non-functional. There is sporadic violence breaking out, even in your small town. The big cities are pretty much a mess, gangs control large portions of the cities where even cops will not longer go.

You have been faithfully following the advice on AHTrimble.com for two years prior to the strike. You feel you are 100% ready for most of what is to come. You have 3 years worth of food for your 6 person family. You have heirloom seeds for two year’s worth of 2-acrea gardening. Your family has been practicing with their weapons regularly and you actually work on tactics together as a family. You even went so far as to practice “immediate action drills.”

Your kids range in ages 13 – 19, 2 girls, 2 boys. They were on-board with the whole prepping thing since the beginning. Now that the grid actually went down and SHTF they almost worship you since it turns out you were right all along.

Your family attends a great church around the corner, about three blocks away. You have been going there for years and you know most everyone there. Your kids love it, your wife is part of the women’s group leadership. Your two oldest children both have “special interests” at the church as well…meaning boyfriend or girlfriend.

Yesterday during the Sunday Service, the main speaker talked about how some families are really struggling and have little to no food left, their children are hungry. They reminded the congregation that the government can no longer provide food; even the basics are no longer available because that supply is drying up as well. But not to worry…the church leadership has a solution.

The concluding speaker gets up…the leader of the church. He outlines the new program:

1. We are all Christians and we can all help each other out by working together.
2. No one has to starve and the children don’t need to suffer.
3. Everyone in the congregation will bring all their remaining food to the church…all of it, everyone.
4. The food committee will then hand out the food to each family as it is needed.
5. All the seed will also be brought to the church and another committee will be in charge of community gardens. Everyone will be expected to work in the community gardens. And the food from those gardens will be handed out by the food committee.

Your spouse thinks this is a wonderful idea, everyone works together for the common good of everyone. No one suffers, everyone benefits.

Do you participate?

• If yes, why?
• If no, why?

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

note: If you haven’t read the post on September 1, 2019 that explains this post…well, go read that post first and then this port will make more sense.

So the basis of the article is the first steps to take when we have a hard grid-down. Let me explain the scenario background first:

1. We have the exact same situation in the scenario world as we do today.
2. We are talking a family of 5. The Hansen family –
   • Dad (Brad) is 45, 4-year Navy veteran, currently construction project manager
   • Mom (Ashley) is 44, was a teacher, stay-at-home mom
   • Son (Sam), 17, a senior in high school, cross-country runner on track team
   • Daughter (Jenifer), 15, a sophomore in high school, smart, glee club
   • Son (Joseph), 10, 5th grade, smart.
3. Christian, church goers, limited involvement in community, some involvement in block watch
4. It is a Wednesday.
5. School is in session, kids are at school.
6. Dad is at work.
7. Mom is out shopping for groceries.

Narrative – Tensions with Russia have been getting worse by the day for the last month. Muslim terrorists really stepped up strikes in Europe, especially France. For the last month there have been numerous attacks on malls, Christian churches, and a few government facilities here in the USA. The neo-cons led by Lindsey Graham are calling for all-out war in the Middle East and for economic sanctions against Russia. Price of oil, natural gas, and gasoline has been steadily going up the last two weeks.

The Hansen family has been working on preps for three years; really dedicated preppers for the last year. The Hansens are best friends with the Goodman family (mom & dad, 2 teens). The Goodmans live about one mile away and are hardcore preppers. The Hansens are also friends with the Smiths who live in the same neighborhood one block away. The Smiths (mom & dad, 2 teens & toddler) are so-so preppers, the wife never saw the need for prepping.

Summary of prepping level based on the AHTrimble.com priority system:

• Hansen family – all “short, medium and long term priorities” plus more.
• Goodman family – all “short and medium term priorities” plus a couple of the “long term priorities”.
• Smith family – most “short term priorities”, a couple of the “medium term priorities” and most of the “immediate priorities”.
• All families have Ham radio communication capabilities.
• All families have guns and ammo. Hansen & Goodman families are well trained. Smith dad is well trained. Smith mom is afraid of guns.

All the families have a meal together about once a month or so and have gone on a couple weekend camp-outs together and enjoy each others company. They have a very loose “plan” for emergencies, disasters, and grid-down. Smith mom thinks it is all a little whacko but enjoys the group’s activities because of the other women.

At 8am local time this morning a suicide bomber blew themselves up at the entrance of the Pentagon. As 10am local time three Muslim gunman attacked the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis. The situation is still on-going, gunman are in the mall with a large number of people are trapped in the mall. At lunchtime there were attacks in New York City, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Detroit and Paterson, NJ. All were a combination of suicide attacks and gunman. All of the attacks took place at middle and high schools.

The groups Black Lives Matter and The Nation of Islam are calling for attacks on white people, especially white police officers. CAIR (Council on American–Islamic Relations) is saying that the attacks are against Muslims by the US Government. CAIR is calling this a provocation against Muslims and that Muslims need to defend themselves against police. Tensions everywhere in the US are rising quickly. Schools along the east coast have cancelled classes for the day and sending student home.

At 2pm the New York Stock Exchange announces it will close early at 2:15pm. Oil futures price spike world-wide. The DOW has been dropping all day, down 1500points, now it takes a dive of another 500points based on the closure announcement

At 2:10 local time a powerful car bomb explodes outside of the New York Stock Exchange killing dozens, injuring over 120, and destroying the entire front of the building. Before trading can be halted on the other exchanges, all indices drop 10% within minutes.

Now, what are the steps this little group should take? Here’s what they started with…

Step #1 –

• Situational Awareness…Validate the information that is most likely to affect them. There can be a lot going on, but what is really going to affect them and “how?”.
• Establish communications with all family members and group members (in that order). Exchange information, confirm trigger events.

Step #2 –

• Make an operational decision of what to do.
• Get buy-in on the decision by all affected people.
• Communicate that decision to all group members.

UPDATE: In this case the decision is; 1) pull all family members back to their respective homes, 2) once that is done, reassess the situation, 3) Hansen mom will turn on the mobile Ham radio unit that is already set-up. She will monitor it as well as the emergency short-wave radio and TV for updated information.

Step #3 –

• Assign one or more people to continuously monitor the situation (observe and orient).
• Implement the operational decision.
  1. All adults arm themselves with their everyday carry (EDC) weapons. That would include knives, pistols, and trunk guns are loaded and readily available. Smith mom won’t because she doesn’t know how to use a gun.
  2. All adults confirm that their BOKs & IFAKs are at hand and readily available.
  3. All adults check that their communications are working, including handheld radios and cell phones.
  4. Goodman and Smith moms will return home. Once there they will secure their homes.
  5. Hansen mom (Ashley) will pick up their youngest son at school that is close to their home. Husband Brad will pick up the two oldest at high school on the other side of town.
  6. Husbands and wives will check-in with each other when the kids have been secured and are en-route to home. If someone can’t reach their spouse they will check in with Ashely Hansen monitoring the Ham mobile.
  7. No Ham call signs will be used to protect identity. Pre-arranged call signs will be used instead. They are using their ComPlan outline.

UPDATE: Children are secured and everyone is at their respective homes.

Step #4 –

• Situation Awareness – Reassess the situation.
• Protect the home and family members against violence by getting all tactical gear ready.
• Check all communications gear.
• Fill any suitable containers with water.
• Families agree on some organizational structure for now.
• Charge all rechargeable power batteries.

UPDATE: Three shopping malls are four more schools attacked. Rioting breaks out in multiple cities. All schools nationwide have been let out and all classes are cancelled for tomorrow. The President tells people to not jump to conclusions and that this is not the work of true Muslims. Washington DC is put under martial law.

Step #5 –

• Make strategic decisions. Group meeting is called for dinner at the Hansen’s home. Situation is discussed. Contingency plans are decided upon. Smith mom asks for gun training. Communications check-in times are decided upon. Hansens will continue to monitor the base station. Families head home by 10pm.

UPDATE: Overnight there have been riots in most major cities. Attacks continue, police have been targeted, multiple cities have declared a state of emergency, the National Guard has been called out in 5 major cities.

Step #6 –

• Situation Awareness and maintain communications. One person from each family have been designated to monitor developments. They will talk at 0800, 1200, 1600, & 2000 to collaborate on what is happening.
• The families do a radio check on their tactical net every 4 hours.

UPDATE: At 4pm the power goes off for unknown reasons. Rioting has broken out in the local town and gunfire can be heard. Police are overwhelmed and ineffective. Multiple fires are present in town and the fire department is not responding due to threat of violence.

Step #7 –

• Situational awareness. Families talk via cell phone conference call.
• Make a decision. Families decide that they are safer as a group. But due to concerns of movement at night, they decide that they will consolidate all three families at the Hansen home by 5pm the next day. They transition will begin at 9am. They will first move the Smith family to the Hansens, then the Goodman family. The wives and oldest child will stay at each home for security until all supplies are moved. The husbands and next capable children will make the move in three vehicles convoying with food and supplies at the same time.

UPDATE: The move is complete, all families are now at the Hansen home. More rioting is reported all across the country. Drug, electronic, and liquor stores are being looted. Muslim mosques, Jewish temples, and Christian churches have been targeted and are being looted and burned. All major cities have declared a state of emergency, National Guard units have been mobilized to those cities as well. Most National Guard units are less than 40% manned. Law enforcement is ineffective. Streets are becoming very unsafe.

Step #8 –

• Set formal security in-place.
• Designate first aid responder(s).
• Create a sanitation plan.
• Agree upon group organization (ICS).
• Sec formal ComPlan in-place.
• Ensure everyone is drinking sufficient water.
• Establish eating schedule.

Step 9 –

• Reinforce the house.
• Coordinate with neighbors and immediate community.
• Agree on tactical defensive response with neighbors.
• Contact wider area preppers for information updates.

Step #10 –

• Bug-out:
  • Confirm location
  • Establish trigger points
  • Create travel plan
• Bug-in:
  • Establish criteria
  • Create long-term plan
  • Establish trigger point to cancel and return home

Summary –

This has been a nice break from the average article that I have been writing lately, a little creative diversion. But, there is some good information in this article. Summarizing some of the first steps to take during a “grid-down”:

1. Situational Awareness and make a decision. And then communicate that to all family and group members.
2. Take defensive actions and prepare to defend yourself and family from violence.
3. Ready all medical kits and ensure that everyone has a BOK & IFAK with them at all times.
4. Establish and maintain alternative communications capability.
5. Organize an interim plan of action and organize the folks that you have.
6. Make sure everyone is getting some water and food in them.
7. Plan to shelter for the first night; where, where, and how.

I have intentionally left some gaps and holes in what the families are doing. And, I want some input from website visitors…Now, what else could, or should, the family have done?

Use “reply” to give your input, ideas, and thoughts…

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

note: If you haven’t read the post on September 1, 2019 that explains this post…well, go read that post first and then this port will make more sense.

Quite awhile ago I was thinking about different scenarios of emergencies, disasters, and grid-down events and how they might develop and play out. I just let my mind really go off in a number of interesting directions. Then I caught myself saying “Wow!”

As I tend to do when thinking through a problem, I go to the “worst case” aspect of the problem. Now remember, I have 20+ hurricane seasons I have gone through while I lived in Florida, so I have some real experience in this kind of thinking. So I decided to play it out a little in my mind.

Here was the set-up…

• A major grid-down event was going to occur.
• I had 3 hours advanced warning that it would occur.
• What would I do?
• What would my wife do?

I then talked to my wife about this, as well as my best friend who lives in the same city that I do. Then I thought it through some more. Yeah, I do a lot of thinking.

What I came up with was an “action plan.” The list of things I would do in the three hours before the grid-down event and for the 6 – 12 hours immediately after the event occurred. As I built my “to-do” list some interesting points started to surface as well as what were the most important steps that I should take. So this article is the result of all of that thinking, talking, and planning.

Some of this may not apply to you, some of it may be a little overwhelming, some of it may sound outright stupid. So be it. I am putting this out there for you to consider and if some or all it applies…use it, modify it, apply it, and make it your own.

But here are some of the take-a-ways from this mental exercise and its planning cousin.

1. You have to avoid Normalcy Bias at all costs! When you have the warning that the event will occur, you must take action, no delays.
2. You must have buy-in of the plan from your spouse. If not complete buy-in, at least not active objection.
3. When the time comes to pull the trigger on the plan you must do so immediately.
4. You are going to need help.
5. When going to the stores the optimum team will be three people. One to guard the vehicle, one doing the “shopping” and one providing security for the shopper.
6. You must have a cash stash already put aside. Banks and ATMs may not be available.
7. As soon as you pull the trigger on your plan, your #1 priority is the safety of your family and group. After that is accomplished the next priority is getting whatever cash out of the bank and ATMs that you can, if it is even available.
8. Do not stop or slowdown completing the items on your “to-do” list while you still have the time and means. That means do not stop to explain what you are doing, to warn someone else, to stop and think it through again. You must stay on task and complete the list.
9. Try to keep a low profile when you are working on your tasks. Example: when you bring home a load of food, pull into the garage and close the garage door before unloading the food. Your neighbors don’t need to see what you are doing. Poor OpSec can bring disaster.
10. Don’t flash cash. If you are going to use cash (or gold or silver) to “influence” store personnel, do so off to the side where it is just you and them. Have your security overwatch standing far enough away to observe the area and keep you safe.
11. Everyone involved must understand that safety is priority #1 and anything that jeopardizes safety must be weighed against preventing harm being done vs. the benefit of the action/task. And when I talk about “safety” I mean the safety of your family and your group. While you don’t want to be cold or cruel, and you surely don’t want to take a life if you don’t have too…your family’s safety and your group safety is #1. You’ve committed to them, keep your promise, keep them safe.

Remember, keep this in perspective…I am saying this is the “worst case scenario” that you would face. This is NOT what you would do for a hurricane or wildfire…but a major grid-down event where things won’t come back to normal anytime soon. Maybe a “martial law” kind of event might be a good way to think of it to put it all into perspective.

Then, once you have prepared for the “worst” you can dial it back to whatever is appropriate for the actual event that you are dealing with. This plan is flexible, adaptable, and scalable. But like any “plan”…it is worthless unless action is taken. And once you take action, be relentless, be a pitbull, stay after it until your action items are all completed.

Once that is done…then you can move on to the next phase of surviving and thriving.

Let’s review the priorities:

1. Safety¹ of our family and the group.
2. Safety¹ of others.
3. Communications. Everyone has to know what is going on and keep lines of communications open.
4. Action. Everyone involved must take action on the “to-do” list and be involved.
5. Tenacity. Everyone must keep working through the “to-do” list until unable to physically continue.
6. OpSec is a must. No discussion outside of the family or group should take place about what your family and group are doing. This is extremely important! The safety of the family and/or group could be very easily jeopardized if what you are doing gets out to the wrong person or people.
7. Pre-planning is vital. A cash stash (a must) and precious metals stash (if possible) is critical to the success of this operation.
8. Be mentally prepared. The only way to prepare mentally for something such as this is to talk it through…multiple times. Something that might help is a “dry-run.” No, not actually buying the items and doing the tasks on the list, but drive to each location, walk around the location, ask to see the manager, and just familiarize yourself with those places you will be going to should the need arise.

Let’s talk about security for a minute. I mentioned that 3-person teams are optimal. However, don’t delay action if you can’t reach that optimal team level. A person by themselves is an easy target, especially once word gets out about what is happening, and people realize and recognize what you are doing. So it is safer earlier on in a incident than as the event develops. So yes, I would go to the bank by myself within the first hour of the operation without too much concern. But going to Sam’s Club by myself six hours after the event occurred could well be suicidal.

How you implement security will have to be on a specific “threat specific.” Openly carrying your AR while wearing your tactical vest with complete kit could really deter a whole lot of minor threats. But law enforcement might take exception to your appearance and try to intervene. The outcome to that situation would be a “no-win” regardless of who is left standing.

On the other hand, carrying concealed might give you a lower profile and draw less attention while pumping your tank full of gas. But it also might make you look like easy prey. Setting a single security standard it is a tough call to make but you are going to have to make a decision on your security stance.

Just remember, there is safety is numbers. If you have someone acting as security overwatch as their only task you will be light-years ahead of of 99.9% of everyone else.

But also remember this, you must protect yourself, your family and your group. Getting into a full-on firefight with someone, or some group, is not the answer…it is a mistake. Now, it may come down to that as an only option, a last option, but be very careful. It should be only your last resort, not a top three option. When the bullets fly, who knows who gets lucky, or unlucky. I would normally rather give up a shopping cart of food then take a life over it.

Well, that might not be entirely true…one less “thug” might not be a bad thing 😉

Choose wisely.

So now…What would you do?

¹ – Means the physical safety of a person. Sufficient action to protect that safety may be required. Those involved must be mentally and physically ready to take that action if required.

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