I grew up with the saying, “If you are prepared you shall not fear.” It’s a good mantra to have in the back of your head to remind you that when you get a sense of fear about something, you need to get prepared to deal with it. Before a first date or a job interview you prepare yourself. You think of potential questions that will be asked. You get your mindset ready to deal with distractions that might come your way. All of these reduce the anxiety and fear leading to the situation. We need to be doing the same thing when we think about our safety and the safety of the people we care about.
I was taught there were three parts to a gun fight. Shoot, move, and communicate. They are the three basic elements that if performed effectively give you a better chance of thriving in that environment. Those three steps can be applied to any emergency. If you have a plan on how to employ those steps then you will not live in fear. Click here to learn how living in fear affects you and your community.
Shoot
This step could be restated as take action. When you are in an emergency situation doing nothing is the worst thing you can do. There is a phenomenon when people are put into a stressful situation that they are so concerned with doing the right thing that they end up doing nothing. It’s called paralysis through analysis. Making the right choice is ideal. However, doing the wrong thing is better than doing nothing. General Patton is famously quoted by saying, “A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan next week.”
During every CPR class you will ever attend they will tell you to assign someone to make the phone call to 911. The idea behind that is that if you don’t task a specific person with the job then everyone will stand around watching assuming someone else is making the call. Everyone has a phone on them so anyone should be able to handle that task.
The experience of everyone assuming that someone else will do it can be seen in our day to day home life. At the beginning of a week say that someone needs to perform a mundane chore that no one likes to do, like take the dog for a walk. At the end of the week, see if the chore got done. Odds are the dog will have spent the week on the couch. Now assign a specific person to do it and odds of it getting done are significantly greater. Add the return and report where they tell you when the job has been accomplished and it’s almost guaranteed to get done.
Being prepared to take action will help you perform the action when the time comes. Carrying a tourniquet in your glove box or purse is an excellent idea. Practicing applying a tourniquet every few weeks or so. Remember to verify the scene is safe. Then apply a stop gap while you get your tourniquet out. Then apply it high and tight and keep applying pressure until the bleeding stops. Take it to the next level surprise your significant other or your kids and have them perform the steps on you in different situations.
If you are put into a situation where someone wants to mortally wound you or someone you are responsible for, first try to deescalate that situation. Humanize the situation and empathize with your attacker. If you can’t get everyone out of the situation to safety then do not be the reactor, take action. There is a drill using paint balls or sim rounds that teaches the importance taking action and not reacting. It puts two people roughly 15 feet apart. One person draws the gun and the other reacts to it. The few second delay in the reactor is enough to be fatal. This drill can also be performed with the attacker running at the reactor with a knife. The result is the same.
I don’t think I can write a post without saying that if you choose to carry a firearm then you have to shoot at least monthly. Ideally supplemented with dry fire practice. For some links to free targets and drills click here. Owning a gun brings lots of responsibilities. If you aren't committed and ready to handle that then don’t get one.
Move
Get out of a situation or avoid the situation before it begins. If you are caught in a flood, get to higher ground. If you are involved in a car accident, pull off the road to somewhere safe. Try to mitigate the emergency where you can.
Don’t put yourself in situations that make you vulnerable to injury or attacks. It seems obvious, but people do it in their day to day life all the time. Something as simple as talking on a cellphone while walking through a parking lot. According the Bureau of Justice Statistics, parking lots are one of the most common places for pick pockets and purse snatches. These situations can easily escalate into violence. Luckily they are also easily avoided by keeping good situational awareness.
You can plan ahead by knowing multiple ways to make an exit. Any experienced biker will have multiple ways to get out of the way if traffic changes suddenly. The more prepared (or paranoid) of us will look for exits whenever they enter a building. Before most screenings, theaters will point out where the exits are. They do that because when people panic they default to the lowest level of training they know. Like lemmings, everyone will run to the same exit even if there are multiple available.
Learn multiple ways out of your city, in an emergency your normal routes might be over-crowded, closed, or damaged. You don’t want to be trapped in traffic when it’s time to evacuate. To be prepared, never let your gas tank get below a half a tank that way you will always have means to travel if needed. In an emergency the gas stations might not be open for business. The gas station attendants are probably trying to leave also.
Keep your body able to move. You need to stay healthy. You only get the one body and you want it to be able to perform in all environments. The more work it takes to move you, the more of a burden you are to your people. Walking 10 miles in a day should not be a challenge. Picking up your body weight should not be difficult. Stay hydrated and get enough sleep. You want to be the one your people can count on.
There is an argument that can be made for fortifying your home for all emergencies. Instead of bugging out, you bug in. That is practical for most situations. Being ready to evacuate or bug out can be done as well as preparing to bug in. They are not mutually exclusive. In this section I’m generally talking about when bugging in isn’t an option and you need to move.
Communicate
The last piece of the puzzle is communication. It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole with comms. You can make a personal comms plan as detailed or as simple as you want. Start small and let it grow organically as you find things that need to be improved. To start, figure out who you need to talk to on a regular basis like friends, family, neighbors or coworkers. Your plan can be as simple as having a number to text or call them. I recommend having at least two or three ways of getting in touch with them. It’s pretty easy when you think about it. Phone number for calls and text, an email address, or Facebook, and other social media.
Things to add to your comms plan might be national and local news, local weather, first responders, and public works. We are lucky enough to have most of this accessible on multiple devices that can connect to the internet. But now let’s think about the a situation where internet and cell phones might not be an option.
In the past during emergencies we have seen cell service be unreliable because of the amount of calls and text flooding the area. All technology has the capability to be unreliable. Having a backup form of contact that doesn’t rely on cell service or the internet would be optimal. If it had the capability to be mobile so we could have it on the move would also be a plus. There are affordable radios available nowadays that fill both of those requirements.
The radios I’m talking about are similar to walkie talkies. They can receive and broadcast on UHF and VHF. They are available for around $30 - $50. There are quite a few YouTube channels dedicated to teaching you about these radios. Click here to see one of the ones I like. There are a few laws that you should know before you hop on the airwaves. They are pretty basic and easily understood. The YouTube channels do a great job of explaining the ins and outs.
The main advantage is that radios don’t rely on infrastructure. If someone is within range they will be able to hear you and vice versa. Get a radio, program all the emergency channels in to it so you can stay informed during an emergency. Have a plan with your friends/family for a primary, secondary, and tertiary channels to be able to reach other. Radios can become a fascinating hobby, check it out.
Communicate your opinion to your elected officials. Let them know what you think. People make careers out of telling politicians what is best. If you aren’t keeping the lines of communication open with them don’t expect them to know what you want. Don’t expect them to be able to think too critically. Tell them what you want and hold them responsible for making it happen. Click here to be taken to a post that gives you the easiest way to contact your officials.
I want all of us to be as prepared as possible. These are just a few ideas. Having a strong community helps out in every aspect of preparedness. Actively looking out for the welfare of your neighbors and community will have a huge impact when an emergency occurs. Empathy, understanding, and actions are the pillars to change the place you live into the place you call home.