Bug-Out Bag...Got One?

At this point, I'm guessing that many of my regular readers will nod and say "yep, sure do." A few others will claim that they meant to put one together, or used to have one (get it in gear, slappies...) and the remaining few will ask "what's a bug-out bag?"

Simply put, a Bug-out bag, or BOB, is a day-pack filled with 72 hours' worth of supplies--food, water, medicine, basic of shelter, and whatever environmental gear that you need for your unique operating environment. Small enough to pack in your car or stash at your workplace, it has one purpose--to help get you out of Dodge when things go bad. These "bad times" may come in the form of a severe storm, a major power outage, or what some idiots like to refer to as a "man-caused disaster (terrorist incident). Basically the power's out, your car's not running or the roads are all shut down, and you're either stranded waiting for things to improve, or else you're a refugee on the road. In any case, in times like that, it's nice (crucial, actually) to have access to a few days' worth of nutritional food, clean water, and other essential items that might mean the difference between you making it through the crisis or not.

My own pack is a simple enough one, but it serves as a good example of what you might want to consider in yours, assuming that you don't already have one. For food, I have six Mountain Home dried meals--just add boiling water and I have lasagna, beef stew, or spaghetti. I also use MRE entrees when I can get them--ideally the food should be compact, light, yet high in useful calories. 1800-2000 calories a day is a good guide. Remember, you may be walking a lot. I also have some beef jerky, some hard candy, and some oatmeal, all of which is light, stores for a long time, and serves as a good tummy filler to supplement and stretch out the basic meals.

My bag is built around a worst-case scenario in which bad things happen while I'm away at one of a couple of places that I regularly have to go, each of which is roughly sixty miles from the Lair. If I can't drive home, and if I can't acquire a bike, I plan on walking it and based on a realistic assessment that I can make roughly 20 miles per day, I should be home in three days' max. Ideally Lagniappe will be holding the fort and protecting my main store of supplies and life'll be good for a few months once I get back there.

So I have my food. I also have basic cooking/eating utensils, an Esbit folding stove and heat tabs, and a small single-burner Coleman Peak One stove with a full tank of white gas that will last me for several hours' use. It's heavy, but if the weather's bad or I have to boil more than a cup of water, it'll be worth it. I also have waterproof/windproof matches and a magnesium bar for back-up. I WILL have fire and heat, no matter the conditions.

Speaking of weather, I have shelter in the form of a GI rain poncho (which doubles as a shelter half), a nice poncho liner (makes a great light sleeping bag) and a disposable rain suit folded into a pack smaller than a deck of cards. Being wet sucks. I plan to stay as dry as possible, whether I'm hunkered down or on the move.

There's a pretty decent first aid kit in a pocket of the pack, too. It has gauze pads, assorted bandages for dressings, slings, splints, etc., gauze rolls, tape, trauma shears...even a couple of occlusive dressings and a few trauma pads. I've also packed an epi pen since I'm allergic to things that sting, and some pain meds--aspirin and something a bit stronger courtesy of one of my surgeon friends. Bad times often bring both increased risk of injury and decreased access to medical treatment so you need to be ready to treat yourself or someone else. I'm ready.

There's a Sawyer water filter in the bag (and a camelback which will let me carry 3 quarts) and chemical tabs which will remove the viruses from water that the filter won't get. Face it--you can't carry three days' worth of water (at least I can't, not at a gallon+ a day minimum) so you need to be able to treat and use any water that you come across. And remember--just because it looks clean, that doesn't mean that it is. Treat it, unless you want to go down with a stomach virus.

Finally, there are the misc. items--solid knife (A K-BAR), a small sharp knife, a compass, a whistle, a flashlight, a small hand-cranked radio, 50' of 550 cord, and for me, one set of replacement liners and socks for my leg to replace damaged ones or to quickly rebuild it before setting out on a sixty-mile hike. I keep some ready cash in my bag, too. Just in case.

This pack all weighs less than 12lbs and fits nicely in a medium daypack in the back of my vehicle. Sitting alongside it is a duffle bag with a change of practical clothing, since I never know what I might be wearing when the time comes. Some nylon BDUs and a change of underwear and clean socks are a bare minimum, and this bag can be re-parked as the climate changes to add cold weather/thermal gear, extra rain protection, and other seasonal items. Snugged in between the two bags: a small free-standing two-person dome tent that I can secure to the pack.

This set-up puts anything that I could possibly need no farther away than my vehicle, with one exception of course: defensive armaments. I did not pack weapons into this kit because I don't like to leave such things in my vehicle unattended, and there are times when I have to turn my vehicle over to others--sch as a mechanic or a valet. Besides, I almost always carry a handgun and extra ammo on my person, so one in the bag would be redundant anyway. And whenever I travel long distances or the threat level is high, there's usually a long rifle temporarily added to the vehicle's storage area. A 1911 or a .357 revolver are handy, but not nearly as handy in some situations as an AR-15 or a FAL. Just know that there could come a situation where you wind up walking away from your vehicle but can't carry a rifle openly. In that case, be prepared to disable that weapon by removing the bolt or some other component to prevent someone else from taking possession of it--it would suck royally to wind up on the wrong end of your own hastily-abandoned rifle, wouldn't it?

Above all, and perhaps the most important thing to have with you, is the survivors' mindset. Without that, all the gear in the world is useless. You have to know without a doubt that no matter what happens, you're going to make it. "Do or do not--there is no try." Truer words were never spoken by any muppet.

Now get out there, build up a bag (or check over the one you've got), and prepare yourself mentally to use it. Sad to say, but with Obama and his band of looters running our country into the ground, we may all need such packs one day soon.

Some rules to live by

These are not original sayings, but rather ones I've picked up here and there over the years. I can't even cite sources to most of them but the sources don't really matter that much. What matters is that these are my mottoes for my life--I've adopted them and applied them when times got tough and I use them daily for motivation and guidance. They've helped me get this far and maybe you can draw something from them too.

Who dares, wins. Motto of the British Special Air Service (SAS). If you think you can't pull something off, you're probably right. So believe in yourself and be bold. Sometimes sheer audacity can carry the day.

Never give up, never surrender. Got it from a totally stupid movie, but it's perfect for those times when the odds seem stacked against you. Dig your heels in and keep fighting. Never quit.

Do or do not. There is no “try”. Yoda said it to Luke Skywalker back in 1980. It works for me today. There are only two possible outcomes to any effort: failure or success. Which are you going to choose?

Second place is just the first place loser. Damn straight. If you're going to engage in something, be the best. Don't settle for just doing it--get out there and win it all.

You can achieve anything if you want it bad enough. Truer words were never spoken. Since losing my leg, I've run races I never could have run in before, fought to get my pilot's license back, and badgered my way into an even better job than I had before, and all while people kept telling me that I couldn't do these things with one leg. They were wrong. In each case, I wanted it, I worked hard for it, and I did it. And I'm not even close to done yet.

“Fair” is a word used only by small children and Democrats. Life isn't fair. So stop whining because you think you got a raw deal and get out there and do something about it.

Life's tough; it's tougher when you're stupid. John Wayne said this once. It's true, as is it's corollary, "If you're going to be dumb, you'd better be tough." Decisions have consequences. The wrong ones are liable to hurt/cost you money. Think before you act, dammit.

Every morning that you wake up this side of the grass is a gift. OK, I made this one up myself when I realized that I probably should have been killed a few years back instead of just losing a leg. None of us know how many tomorrows we have left, so make the most of every one you get and don't waste opportunities or defer enjoyment of life's pleasures.

When the crisis comes, you will not rise to the occasion; you will default to the level of your training. I've been there. When the stress and pressure really hit, you'll go on autopilot and do what you've learned to do in training. You won't magically excel just because you're special, and the ones who make it look so easy...they undoubtedly trained right and trained hard. Why aren't you training?

To achieve greatness you just need to do two things: train whenever you want to, and train when you don't. Some Olympic joker said this recently. He's right. So just do it, ok?

Improvise, Adapt and Overcome. Yes, there will be challenges and obstacles in life. Things won't go as planned. Surprise. So engage your brain, find a fix, and get past it.

Always have a Plan B. When circumstances change, well-laid plans can go out the window. A man with only one plan is like a warrior with one weapon or a craftsman with one tool. Having a back-up plan, or better yet, a whole toolbox full of back-up plans, will increase your odds of accomplishing your objective exponentially.

Oh—also:
No matter how responsible he seems, never give your gun to a monkey.
Meh. What can I say about this one? Live and learn, right?

Now get out there and win something, dammit.

There's got to be a reward for this chick

At the end of World War Two, thousands of Nazis fled from the allies and justice, hiding in every corner of the globe. Many of these people were sadistic torturers and most were never captured and held accountable for the pain that they caused.

Well I think I found one.

She's too young to have participated in WW2, but I could see her being maybe a grand-daughter of one of those soul-less monsters. She's certainly got the torture and infliction of pain down pretty good.

I am, of course talking about my new trainer at the gym. "Brutal" doesn't begin to describe this Valkyrie. She's pushing me hard. She never stops, knows no mercy, and she's totally remorseless, kind of like that chick Terminator in the last Schwarzenegger movie, only snarky.

I'm sore tonight after our most recent session. I'll hurt worse tomorrow.

But on the other hand, I've progressed more in the previous two weeks working with her than I have in the past couple of months. So it's paying off.

Still, I told her tonight that if she was a guy, I'd take her onto the boxing mat and cure that little sarcasm problem that she seems to be suffering from.

She replied that if I stick her program out and stay on track, she'll go for the best two rounds out of three.

NOW I'm motivated.