SHTF: The Importance of Team Work

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

The sooner you start to prepare, the easier it will be. Let’s say that Tom, John and Sarah live in a small town. Let’s call it Bloomsfield. If there’s a disaster and Tom started preparing 6 months in advance, he’ll be better off than the Sarah if she didn’t prepare at all. And if John started to prepare 12 months in advance, he will probably be better off than both Sarah and Tom. So preparing for an emergency will put you in a better position to survive in a disaster. If a hurricane hits the Bloomsfield and all three survive, it will be important if John and Tom stored up some extra food and water.

Now, let’s say that Tom is injured. Sarah has no food or water and most of John’s stored water was contaminated. If Tom prepared ahead of time and his water survived the disaster and John still has a lot of stored food. Sarah can get John to help Tom. John can share his food with Sarah and Tom, while Tom shares his water with John and Sarah. If Sarah has some medical supplies and John is strong enough to move Tom, they will be able to help Tom out in a more effective manner.

If you can network with some like-minded people, this should improve your chances in a time of crisis. Simply put, I am convinced that America’s political and economic systems are imploding and soon we maybe forced to deal with a tough transition. This transition may include failures in basic systems such as food and water. I don’t know. No one does.

Here's what you can do to improve your chances during a civil unrest scenario:

1) Create An Emergency Plan
Have a meeting with like-minded friends and family and decide how you will protect each other for things go south. You need to figure out how you will communicate if the cell phone towers become unreliable.

2) Create Standard Communication
Me and my friends live close to each other so that helps. But we will still need to form a plan to use CB radios or something.

3) Standard Your Equipment
You need to use the same type of radios and same caliber of ammunition. My buddy Nick thought it would be a good idea to pay a pistol that shot 40 SW, because he wanted his girlfriend to be able to shot it. Which makes sense. However, since I am the only friend he has who owns a pistol, he could have benefited from buying my caliber 45ACP. Maybe I am at fault for buying such a large caliber. But I bought the best caliber for me, not for a woman. With that said, he is not into prepping. If something bad goes down, he won't be able to get ammo from me, because we don't shot the same caliber. Make sure that if you form a security team that everyone shoots the same caliber and if you really have your act together, you'll be shooting the same gun (i.e. Glock 21 or whatever). That will allow you to offer each other additional magazines when people run out.

Bottom line: If you work in groups, you'll be less likely to be targeted and more likely to be able to protect yourself in a SHTF situation.

What do you think?