Preparedness: Principles, Planning, and Resources

Robert Slaughter

Who am I?

I am not an ex-soldier, former police officer, or tactical operator, just an ordinary citizen

I am a liberty-minded person, attempting to be responsible and self-reliant

I am a History major, now involved in the information technology field

Within IT, I am an Analyst – I examine issues, ask questions, do research, and come up with recommendations for solutions

Those are the skills this presentation is meant to provide to you – a “Preparedness Analyst”

I have a wife (and a cat), but no children

And I am concerned about several significant issues in the world today, so I prepare

Not a brand-new beginner, but not nearly as far along in my preps as I would like to be

About this presentation

This presentation assumes you are familiar with the basics of preparedness

This presentation has two main parts Principles – ways to organize yourself and your

preparations, so that you are making sure that you have covered the fundamentals

Planning – ways to look at your personal preparedness to help you cover all the details

As we move through the presentation, and also at the end, resource suggestions will be provided

Regarding asking questions

There will be 'breaks' in the presentation specifically for asking questions

But if you need to, please go ahead and just ask! “Hey Bob, I have a question...”

There are no silly questions. There are no stupid questions. There are no 'obvious' questions

If you're thinking it, so is someone else here Ask! Our preparedness is important

What is preparedness?

Preparedness is not just being prepared for ‘the end of the world as we know it’ (“TEOTWAWKI”), though it could be

It is simply being prepared for any abnormal and disruptive situation, so that you and your family can remain safe and reasonably comfortable for the duration

Possible situations: Tornado or hurricane Disease outbreak Loss of job

More questions than answers

I will not be telling you what specific events to prepare for, or what specific preparations to make

Too many options and too many different opinions What I will be giving you are specific questions to

ask yourself, and approaches to examine potential situations, so you will make good judgments as to what you need to prepare for, and how to approach those scenarios in an organized fashion

At the end of this presentation, you will have a straight-forward and simple, useful process to follow to improve your preparedness

Discussion

Any questions or comments so far? FIRST: Principles

Principles

Several preparedness experts have looked at how they approach their preparedness activities, and created lists of guiding principles for others to use

By reviewing several examples of such principles, you can consider both where that person sits relative to you (and thus how strongly to consider their advice), and they can help you clarify your own personal principles of preparedness

Having an organized set of principles gives you a framework on which to 'hang' your preparedness planning upon; an organizing structure

James Wesley, Rawles

Mr. Rawles (and the comma is intentional) has distilled his approach to four main steps

Beans – have sufficient food and water available Bullets – have means of defending yourself, your

family, and your preparations Band-aids – have means of taking care of health,

both emergencies and long-term Bullion – have a means of trade and barter based in

tangible items with real value (junk silver, silver rounds, spare ammunition, alcohol, cigarettes, socks, etc.)

His suggestion is to apply these in that order

Rawles Resources

Website: Survivalblog.com Books: Non-fiction

“How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”

Books: Fiction “Patriots”, “Survivors”, and “Founders”

Kellene Bishop

Kellene Bishop has created the “Ten Principles of Preparedness”

Preparedness Pro Resources

Website: PreparednessPro.com YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PreparednessPro Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Preparedness-Pro Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/preparednesspro Book: Forthcoming

Prepography

Andrew Jackson of Prepography.com has come up with his Full Spectrum Preparedness Doctrine, with 10 principles and 4 aspects

Prepography Resources

Website: Prepography.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004138572281

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Prepography

PrepperLink

The folks at PrepperLink.com have created a diagram of the tasks and skills to be fully prepared

PrepperLink Resources

Website: PrepperLink.com Diagram:

http://www.prepperlink.com/index.php/prepare/getting-started/item/114-prepping-matrix-ver1

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Prepperlink Twitter: http://twitter.com/PrepperLink YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/PrepperLink

Review

There are certain basics common to all sets Food and water First aid / medical

Two lists have an order, but with significantly different emphasis

Do any of the lists “ring true” (or instead, “ring false”) for you? Can you see ways of using these directly or creating your own personal approach?

Based on these sets of principles, have you spotted gaps in your own preparedness you were unaware of before?

My principles – guidelines

I see value in all the sets of principles, and in the planning matrix

In my opinion, more than five principles within a set starts being hard to recall and use

I like Prepography's four aspects as another dimension to principles

Tentative: Mental - “know”, Physical - “do”, Social - “who”

At the moment, mine are: Spirit, Sustenance, Security, Society, Silver

My (subject to change) principles

Spirit – a grounding in something greater than me “There is One Presence, and One Power, in my life and in all the

Universe: God, the Good, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present”

Sustenance – food and water, both stores-on-hand and the means to re-supply

Security – firearms, self-defense, and other security and defense activities

Society – first-aid, shelter, communications, learning, and building a supporting community

I do not believe it is prudent to rely only on a small group for long-term scenarios

Silver – Silver and other tangible goods for barter

Discussion

Any questions or comments so far? NEXT: Planning

Planning – THE quote

“A failure to plan is planning to fail” Said by:

Benjamin Franklin ? Winston Churchill ? Alan Lakein ? (70's time-managment guru)

Does it really matter who said it? It is very necessary advice

Planning

By showing you a process for planning, the intent is to help you …

Understand how any potential threat impacts your personal preparedness plans

Decide if a given threat pertains to you and your family

Determine what specific preparations a given threat requires – duration, special changes, etc.

Understand how complete your preparations and planning are, and what gaps or modifications are required

“Write it down!”

Evaluating potential events

Once you have your basics in place for whatever period of time you have initially chosen (a minimum of 3 days to a month), you should start considering possible events for the impact on your planning

Write down a simple list of all events you can think of, discarding only those you believe are absolutely impossible

People have very different beliefs around various events, which makes a one-size-fits-all approach to preparedness planning so difficult

Rate each event on how important planning for it is to you: High, Medium, Low (not everything High)

Event evaluation

Starting with those events on your list most important to you, for each event answer the following questions as best you can:

How likely is the event to occur in the next 5 years? (Very High, High, Low, Very Low)

How likely is the event to occur in the next 20 years? (Very High, High, Low, Very Low)

How much lead-time will you get before the event trigger? How much time between the trigger and maximum impact? How long will the maximum impact of the event last? How long will there be significant impacts? Will life return to some level of normalcy afterwards?

Event evaluation: Tornado

Event: Tornado hitting your neighborhood, perhaps your home

How likely in 5 years? Very Low How likely in 20 years? Low Lead time: Zero to possibly a few hours Time between trigger and maximal impact: zero Length of critical period: minutes Length of significant impact: 3 days to several months Return of normalcy: Yes

These are my answers. Your's certainly may be different. Neither of us are wrong for ourselves

Event evaluation: Terrorist EMP

Event: Terrorist EMP via nuke launched over US from cargo ship

How likely in 5 years: High How likely in 20 years: High Lead time to trigger: zero Time before maximal impact: three days Length of critical period: two weeks to two months Length of significant impact: three to five years Return to normalcy? Yes, with caveats

These are my answers. Yours certainly may be different. Neither of us are wrong for ourselves

Event evaluation: Group choice

Event: ? How likely in 5 years: ? How likely in 20 years: ? Lead time to trigger: ? Time before maximal impact: ? Length of critical period: ? Length of significant impact: ? Return to normalcy? ?

These are some answers. Yours certainly may be different. Neither of us are wrong for ourselves

Looking at your evaluations

Do a batch (dozen) of evaluations, then for each, review its impacts on your prepping activities

Is the combination of likelihood and severity enough to adapt your plans?

Consider ranking events in priority before making changes

Would the event require sheltering-in-place or bugging-out?

What additional specific supplies, skills, or other changes are needed?

Write down your review on the evaluation (in a Notes section, or on the back)

Post-evaluation

After reviewing the impact of multiple events, look for commonality of changes needed. If multiple events require similar adaptations, consider folding those changes together, so that as many of those events are taken care of by as little time and expense as necessary

If circumstances around or understanding pertaining to an event changes, re-evaluate it, then review the revised event's impact on your planning

If changes in your life occur, use the evaluations to determine how best to adapt

Review all your evaluations at least once a year

Events – points to ponder

In addition to evaluating events, you should review your preparedness around your family's daily routine, especially around these potential impacts:

Where they may be when something happens Knowing what to do Knowing where to go

Having some level of formal consideration beforehand makes success more likely

Location-based example

Situation: Wife: at work Husband: At grocery store, doing weekly shopping Children: at school, 2 at elementary, one at middle/junior

high Event: News alert via media – nuclear devices detonated in

New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles

Who gets the kids from school? Using what route?Who gets home first? What do they need to do there?

Deciding these by phoning is not efficient, and potentially impossible (cell network overwhelmed)

Dealing with locations

Make a list of all the places your family goes regularly

Determine place or places to gather (likely home) Determine who picks up whom based on locations.

Look for imbalances (if one parent gathers children from 3 different locations, while one goes straight home, is this OK?)

Establish plans for first-to-arrive activities Adjust plans as needed for certain events Have a framework for handling special locations

(vacations, work-related travel, special events)

Establish formal plans

Creating written plans, as either “task lists” or “checklists”, allows for several things

Clarity – everyone knows what to do Memory aid – having a list makes sure steps are

not forgotten or missed Review – having a plan in writing allows for review

and discussion. You and your family can make sure a plan is complete and correct

Reference – you family may know the plan now, but may need a refresher in 6 months

Do not use a format that has too much detail, or that you and your family are not comfortable with!

Plan – framework essentials

Any plan should have its own name and focus on the Six Question Words:

Who – who is involved, by name or by role? When – under what conditions/events does the plan

trigger? What – what specifically needs doing? By whom? How – additional details for 'what', if needed Where – location of action, especially if not home Why – not typically necessary “in the moment”, but

useful to explain during training and review to show the importance of the plan

Plan – a simple example

Plan – Secure Apartment

Who – Bob (Primary), Mary (Secondary)

When – Civil unrest / rioting

What

Primary locks doors and sets up security bracer bar ; Secondary monitors news

Primary retrieves firearms; Secondary fills water-bob Primary and Secondary jointly prepare pepper soakers Begin 6-on 6-off security rotation (Primary first)

How – Have pepper spray pre-mixed and stored near soakers

Where – At home (bug-in). Return to home if external

Plan organization

Keep your printed plans in one place; three-ring binders or file folders. Copies on the computer are your backup, not primary

Keep individual plans simple – instead of “Bug-Out to Grandma's”, make it three separate plans, to execute in order: “Load Car”, “Set Up Nightly Camp”, and “Drive to Grandma's”

Keep plans short – front and back of one page of paper is ideal

Eliminate as many “if” changes from the plans as possible. Make multiple plans, and use the “when” portion to choose between them, to handle variants

Plan – additional details

Do NOT just “write and forget” your plans. Review them periodically

Rehearse your plans wherever possible. This helps you and your family fully understand them, as well as find missing parts and make corrections

Make sure everyone has the training and supplies they need to do their part. Also make sure they have the right mindset for what they are doing

Try not to have only one person capable of certain tasks. “Two is one, and one is none” applies to people as well as gear

Plan considerations – OpSec

“Operational Security” or OpSec is important One one hand, you want your friends, family and

neighbors to also be prepared. On the other hand, if they are not, but know you are, they could become a problem

Planning resources

Basics of planning managementhelp.org/planning/index.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right”,

by Atul Gawande Preparedness planning

www.ifrc.org/Global/Preplan.pdf foodstoragemadeeasy.net/getting-started/ www.thesurvivalistblog.net/basic-preparedness/

Discussion

Any questions or comments about plans or planning?

NEXT: Resources

Resources

There are two main categories of resources I will cover

Personal resources – personal things you need to have as part of your planning

External resources – things you can use to further your planning and your preparedness activities

Personal resources

As part of your preparedness activities, you need to have easily accessible and portable ...

Important personal papers – passports, birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce papers, insurance paperwork, adoption papers, property titles, mortgage paperwork, property tax receipts, etc.

Your preparedness plans in a folder or notebook Gear instruction manuals – any piece of equipment

that cannot be used or repaired is not useful Reference works – detailing any skills or providing

key information

External resources: books

Survival books and magazines – as a general rule, books on specific techniques or skills are better than a catch-all book attempting to cover everything

“The Prepper's Pocket Guide” by Bernie Carr If you can get only one book, consider this one

Backwoods Home Magazine “The Backyard Homestead” by Carleen Madigan

My 'Preparedness' wish-list on Amazon has 287 items in it, not including the 200+ items on the 'Homesteading' and 'Firearms and Self-Defence' lists

External resources: websites

Survival websites – great ways to gather information. Use discernment about possible events; do your homework

www.survivalweek.com www.thesurvivalistblog.net www.themodernsurvivalist.com ModernSurvivalOnline.com www.resilientcommunities.com preppercentral.com

If you find a great skill or tip, print it out. The website “printfriendly.com” makes this easy for most web pages

External resources: discussion

Discussion forums – useful for asking questions and similar. Always use discretion when contacted directly by someone

www.survivalistboards.com/index.php www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com/forum.php www.preppergroups.com/

Email Discussion Lists groups.yahoo.com/group/SurvivalCreed groups.yahoo.com/group/survivalretreat

Podcasts www.todayssurvival.com

External resources: people

Your friends and family – getting them on-board before something happens

Workshops and conventions Charlotte PrepCon Heritage Life Skills Self Reliance Expo

If you have a question, ask someone who knows something about it

Need to grow some food? Ask a farmer! You don't have to tell them why you need the info...

Discussion

Any questions or comments about anything in the presentation?