Showing posts with label Readiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Readiness. Show all posts
25 March 2010
Do Not Tire, Do Not Relent
Do not allow the opposition to break your spirit. Continue to press forward, continue the advance, and do not stop until victory is ours.
USMC 9971 OUT
24 June 2009
Emergency Readiness Supplies - Part 2
See the previous posts:
Emergency Readiness Links
Emergency Readiness Supplies - Part 1
4. The Evacuation ERK
The evacuation kit is for a situation in which our family would be required to evacuate our home. It has been recommended that individuals be prepared with at least three days worth of supplies in such a situation, since help may not be available before then. The evacuation ERK will provide just that.
Everything in the evacuation kit is in a large Rubbermaid storage container, although three separate cases of water (one for each member of the household) are also considered to be part of the ERK. Further, it is expected that we will grab our grab-and-go kits (see Emergency Readiness Supplies - Part 1) when we evacuate, and we will most likely be evacuating in one of our own vehicles with a vehicle ERK, so we should have the previous two categories of ERKs with us besides just the evacutation kit.
With that said, the evacuation kit contains:
The three big keys when you start building your evacuation kit are to keep it compact, avoid salty foods, and make sure that you will actually want to eat what you put in the kit. Bulky packaging will prevent packing a lot in a limited space, so find the single serve portions or reduced packaging brands; high salt will make you thirsty, and you will run through your water faster than you may want to; and foods that fit the kit's container, but that don't appeal to you or your family, will not make for a happy meal time.
Besides those keys, try to use pre-cooked foods that you can rotate from your existing food stores in your cupboards. This makes it much easier to keep the food current (you don't want to evacuate and then find that your food has all expired 18 months ago), it removes the requirement to cook the food when you need it (you may not be able to use a camp stove or open flame), and it also prevents a system shock to your body in a stressful situation due to a radical change in diet.
I use a similar technique to rotate the medical supplies. We have the same first aid kit for household use as we do in the evacuation ERK. This provides familiarity with the kit if we need to use it, and it allows me to rotate the first aid kit out of the ERK on a regular basis so that the medicines and other items in it are current.
With the kit above, and our grab-and-go kits, we will eat well for at least three days. We will also be able to get updates and entertainment via radio, and we will be able to entertain ourselves with the books and games packed in the kit.
I found that the best way to tweak the kit was to use it on a camping trip, since that is sort-of what you will be doing if you evacuate anyway. This allowed me to be able to buy supplies that we needed, but that weren't in the kit, and it also allowed me to determine which items seemed useful at the time, but weren't.
Also, camping with the kit has allowed me the opportunity to come up with some quick-and-easy recipes for things that can go in the evacuation ERK. For example, you can mix some peanut butter, whiskey, and tabasco together to make a peanut sauce that goes well with chicken. Or mix a couple of single-serve containers of ranch dressing, one can of chicken, sunflower kernels, and some chicken chili seasoning to make a chicken salad. With a little creativity, you'll be amazed what you can make.
The next post will deal with shelter in place.
USMC 9971 OUT
Emergency Readiness Links
Emergency Readiness Supplies - Part 1
4. The Evacuation ERK
The evacuation kit is for a situation in which our family would be required to evacuate our home. It has been recommended that individuals be prepared with at least three days worth of supplies in such a situation, since help may not be available before then. The evacuation ERK will provide just that.
Everything in the evacuation kit is in a large Rubbermaid storage container, although three separate cases of water (one for each member of the household) are also considered to be part of the ERK. Further, it is expected that we will grab our grab-and-go kits (see Emergency Readiness Supplies - Part 1) when we evacuate, and we will most likely be evacuating in one of our own vehicles with a vehicle ERK, so we should have the previous two categories of ERKs with us besides just the evacutation kit.
With that said, the evacuation kit contains:
- First aid kit (1)
- Breakfast bar (6)
- Energy bar (6)
- Canned diced pears (9)
- Instant coffee (1)
- Lawry's seasoning salt (1)
- Mrs. Dash's seasoning (1)
- Peanut Butter (1)
- Low sodium crackers (1)
- Tang (1)
- Tabasco (1)
- Coloring book (1)
- Paperback book (3)
- Cribage board (1)
- Deck of cards (1)
- Uno (1)
- Brandy (1)
- Whiskey (1)
- Aluminum foil (1)
- Canned cooked chicken breast chunks (3)
- Canned beef stew (3)
- Mess kit (1)
- Colapsable camp stove (1)
- Solid fuel for camp stove (4)
- Hand sanitizer (3)
- Water boxes (12)
- Latex gloves (4)
- 13 gallon garbage bags (50)
- Tent stakes (4)
- Tarp (1)
- Rope (1)
- Canned pineapple chunks (6)
- Feminine hygiene items (8)
- Hot chocolate mix (10)
- Crayons (48)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Lip balm (3)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Liquid soap (1)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Drinking water treatment tablets (100)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Facial tissue (8)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Toilet paper (3)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Toothbrush (3)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Toothpaste (3)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Handy wipes (24)
- Hygiene sub-kit: Pre-moistened washcloths (4)
- Medical sub-kit: First aid kit (1)
- Medical sub-kit: Instant cold compress (2)
- Medical sub-kit: Digital oral thermometer (1)
- Medical sub-kit: Strip thermometer (1)
- Medical sub-kit: Antacid tablets (24)
- Medical sub-kit: Asprin (100)
- Medical sub-kit: Ace wrap bandage (1)
- Signal sub-kit: Radio (1)
- Signal sub-kit: Wooden matches (160)
- Signal sub-kit: Wax fire starter sticks (12)
- Signal sub-kit: Emergency candles (10)
- Signal sub-kit: Battery operated lamp (1)
- Signal sub-kit: Green lightstick (3)
- Signal sub-kit: Red lightstick (2)
- Signal sub-kit: AC adapter for radio (1)
- Signal sub-kit: AA batteries (10)
- Signal sub-kit: Whistle (1)
- Signal sub-kit: Flare gun (1)
- Signal sub-kit: 12 GA flares (5)
- Tool sub-kit: Latex gloves (10)
- Tool sub-kit: Work gloves (2)
- Tool sub-kit: Electrical tape (1)
- Tool sub-kit: Hockey tape (1)
- Tool sub-kit: Rubber bands (25)
- Tool sub-kit: Multi-tool (1)
- Tool sub-kit: Hammer (1)
- Tool sub-kit: Screw drivers (6)
- Tool sub-kit: Wire cutter (1)
- Tool sub-kit: Plastic sheeting (4)
- Tool sub-kit: Duct tape (1)
- Utensil sub-kit: Ziploc 1 quart bag (11)
- Utensil sub-kit: Pre-moistened washcloths (4)
- Utensil sub-kit: Can & bottle opener (1)
- Utensil sub-kit: Toothpicks (250)
- Utensil sub-kit: Plastic fork (16)
- Utensil sub-kit: Plastic spoon (13)
- Utensil sub-kit: Plastic knife (14)
The three big keys when you start building your evacuation kit are to keep it compact, avoid salty foods, and make sure that you will actually want to eat what you put in the kit. Bulky packaging will prevent packing a lot in a limited space, so find the single serve portions or reduced packaging brands; high salt will make you thirsty, and you will run through your water faster than you may want to; and foods that fit the kit's container, but that don't appeal to you or your family, will not make for a happy meal time.
Besides those keys, try to use pre-cooked foods that you can rotate from your existing food stores in your cupboards. This makes it much easier to keep the food current (you don't want to evacuate and then find that your food has all expired 18 months ago), it removes the requirement to cook the food when you need it (you may not be able to use a camp stove or open flame), and it also prevents a system shock to your body in a stressful situation due to a radical change in diet.
I use a similar technique to rotate the medical supplies. We have the same first aid kit for household use as we do in the evacuation ERK. This provides familiarity with the kit if we need to use it, and it allows me to rotate the first aid kit out of the ERK on a regular basis so that the medicines and other items in it are current.
With the kit above, and our grab-and-go kits, we will eat well for at least three days. We will also be able to get updates and entertainment via radio, and we will be able to entertain ourselves with the books and games packed in the kit.
I found that the best way to tweak the kit was to use it on a camping trip, since that is sort-of what you will be doing if you evacuate anyway. This allowed me to be able to buy supplies that we needed, but that weren't in the kit, and it also allowed me to determine which items seemed useful at the time, but weren't.
Also, camping with the kit has allowed me the opportunity to come up with some quick-and-easy recipes for things that can go in the evacuation ERK. For example, you can mix some peanut butter, whiskey, and tabasco together to make a peanut sauce that goes well with chicken. Or mix a couple of single-serve containers of ranch dressing, one can of chicken, sunflower kernels, and some chicken chili seasoning to make a chicken salad. With a little creativity, you'll be amazed what you can make.
The next post will deal with shelter in place.
USMC 9971 OUT
20 June 2009
Emergency Readiness Supplies - Part 1
CC (a.k.a. Carolina Cannonball of The Crescat fame) had asked my about emergency preparedness on Thursday, and I provided a couple of links to emergency readiness websites in my last post on this subject.
This post will be about emergency readiness supplies that one can keep handy for nearly any emergency.
This is not a definitive, must-do list. I will be using what I have done at our home as an example, so that means that some of this may apply to you and your needs, and some of it may be completely irrelevant to what your needs are. Think of this, then, as an idea starter for creating your own personalized emergency readiness kit(s). I will be referring to the supplies and kits as ERS (emergency readiness supply) and ERK (emergency readiness kit) for ease of typing (and, don't forget, I'm prior service Marine Corps, so I am obligated to work in the occasional acronym).
1. My ERS Categories
I have four main categories for the ERSs that I maintain for our household:
The vehicle kits are just emergency kits for the car and truck. You may already have one, but if you don't, you will probably decide to make one after you get stranded in the middle of nowhere because your vehicle sputtered out.
The evacuation kit is a large storage container filled with supplies that we would need in the event that we had to evacuate our home. If you live in a hurricane prone area, you may already have one of these. It is compact enough to be easily carried to a vehicle and stowed in the trunk or truck bed, and it will get us through at least three days with no outside assistance.
The shelter in place kit is really just stored supplies that we would need in case we were stuck in a situation where we were not able to leave our home. Do you have a pantry with extra stores of canned food? If so, then you have the makings of a shelter in place kit.
Finally, don't be overwhelmed by the number of items that you will see below. These items were purchased over an extended period of time, so it wasn't necessary for me to spend a large amount of money at once. If you have the luxury of time on your side, then you should be able to put together something very similar over the course of six months to a year.
2. The Grab-And-Go ERK
What would you do if you woke up in the middle of the night and your house was on fire? This may be the most likely emergency that any of us can face, and far too many are not prepared to respond to it.
In our home, we have a fire escape plan, and we have drilled on it over and over (under stress, my eight-year-old will not remember some plan that I recited to her, but she will most likely recall and execute the fire escape plan that we have run through many times). Make a plan of how to get out of your house if there is a fire, and practice running though it with your family. It can be a fun drill, and the more you do the dry-runs, the more likely that it is to instinctively kick-in if the need arises to actually execute the plan.
Also, keep in mind that a fire escape plan is simply a get-out-of-the-house-as-quickly-as-possible-and-go-to-a-pre-arranged-meeting-place plan. If you need to get out quickly, the fire escape plan is what you would execute.
For our household, our plan includes reaching for our grab-and-go kits. These ERKs are backpacks with a few necessary things that we may need in the short-term. The contents are:
You will probably be surprised at how much you already have in your house that you can use to put together a grab-and-go kit. When it is started, then it simply becomes a case of spending an extra few dollars on a new item or two each time you are buying food or household items.
One other thing that I have in my pack is an important documents folder. This has account numbers, insurance information, birth certificates, etc. It also has a small stash of cash. If you need to go quickly, you may not have access to this information later (especially if you are getting out due to a fire), so it is a good idea to get this information put together in advance so that you don't need to cut through a bunch of red tape later. Also, the cash can come in handy if you need to pay for something and you are not able to use (or don't have) credit or debit cards.
Some people may roll their eyes at the whiskey, but unless the pack is for an alcoholic, I'd put it (or something similar) in the kit. You may want a little nip once a high stress situation has been dealt with, and if nothing else, it is a great item to use if you ever would need to barter.
And on that note, if you're a smoker, keep a pack in there and rotate them out occasionally. Besides the fact that you will probably want a cigarette during or after a stressful situation, they, too, are excellent barter items.
3. The Vehicle ERK
I have a kit in each of our vehicles for emergency situations. Most of the items are in a backpack (which is in the trunk or truck box), but other items that are too bulky are placed separately in the trunk or truck box. This kit contains:
An interesting note on this kit is that the spool of wire was not part of the kit initially. One day, however, one of the bolts on my muffler clamp came off, and my muffler dropped and started dragging along the pavement. When I pulled over and saw the problem, I opened the trunk and grabbed my pack to get something to temporarily tie the muffler up with. I didn't have the rope yet, and even if I did, I would have been concerned with using something that may melt to the hot muffler or catch fire. I ended-up using the wire from some headphones I had with me to tie-up the muffler. The spool of wire was added to the kit later that same day.
This topic (and kit descriptions) will be continued in my next post. I hope that it is helpful, and that it inspires you to start being finding ways to be prepared for an emergency. Remember, it is better to be prepared and not need something than to need something and not be prepared.
USMC 9971 OUT
This post will be about emergency readiness supplies that one can keep handy for nearly any emergency.
This is not a definitive, must-do list. I will be using what I have done at our home as an example, so that means that some of this may apply to you and your needs, and some of it may be completely irrelevant to what your needs are. Think of this, then, as an idea starter for creating your own personalized emergency readiness kit(s). I will be referring to the supplies and kits as ERS (emergency readiness supply) and ERK (emergency readiness kit) for ease of typing (and, don't forget, I'm prior service Marine Corps, so I am obligated to work in the occasional acronym).
1. My ERS Categories
I have four main categories for the ERSs that I maintain for our household:
- Grab-and-go
- Vehicle
- Evacuation
- Shelter in place
The vehicle kits are just emergency kits for the car and truck. You may already have one, but if you don't, you will probably decide to make one after you get stranded in the middle of nowhere because your vehicle sputtered out.
The evacuation kit is a large storage container filled with supplies that we would need in the event that we had to evacuate our home. If you live in a hurricane prone area, you may already have one of these. It is compact enough to be easily carried to a vehicle and stowed in the trunk or truck bed, and it will get us through at least three days with no outside assistance.
The shelter in place kit is really just stored supplies that we would need in case we were stuck in a situation where we were not able to leave our home. Do you have a pantry with extra stores of canned food? If so, then you have the makings of a shelter in place kit.
Finally, don't be overwhelmed by the number of items that you will see below. These items were purchased over an extended period of time, so it wasn't necessary for me to spend a large amount of money at once. If you have the luxury of time on your side, then you should be able to put together something very similar over the course of six months to a year.
2. The Grab-And-Go ERK
What would you do if you woke up in the middle of the night and your house was on fire? This may be the most likely emergency that any of us can face, and far too many are not prepared to respond to it.
In our home, we have a fire escape plan, and we have drilled on it over and over (under stress, my eight-year-old will not remember some plan that I recited to her, but she will most likely recall and execute the fire escape plan that we have run through many times). Make a plan of how to get out of your house if there is a fire, and practice running though it with your family. It can be a fun drill, and the more you do the dry-runs, the more likely that it is to instinctively kick-in if the need arises to actually execute the plan.
Also, keep in mind that a fire escape plan is simply a get-out-of-the-house-as-quickly-as-possible-and-go-to-a-pre-arranged-meeting-place plan. If you need to get out quickly, the fire escape plan is what you would execute.
For our household, our plan includes reaching for our grab-and-go kits. These ERKs are backpacks with a few necessary things that we may need in the short-term. The contents are:
- Change of clothing (shirt, pants, underwear, socks) in a sealed bag
- Footwear (sneakers or hiking shoes) in a sealed bag
- Cold weather jacket, hat, and gloves
- Rain suit (the pre-packaged kind that you can buy in the camping section that is the size of a short paperback book)
- Poncho (pre-packaged in camping section)
- Emergency blanket (silver foil looking kind found in camping section)
- Work gloves
- First aid kit
- Radio
- Walkie-talkie
- Flashlight
- Batteries (for radio, walkie-talkie, and flashlight)
- Lightstick
- Whistle
- Maps
- Compass
- Strike anywhere matches (in sealed matchbox)
- Wax fire starter sticks
- Notepad
- Pens
- Energy bars
- 3600 calorie emergency rations
- Water boxes (like fruit boxes, except they contain drinking water)
- Flask of whiskey (adults only)
- Single serve instant coffee
- Chewing gum
- Collapsible cup
- Enamel camp cup
- Hobo tool (spoon, knife, fork, can opener)
- Folding knife (adults only)
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Dental floss
- Facial tissue
- Toilet paper
- Feminine hygiene items (adults only)
- 13 gallon garbage bags
- 1 gallon ziploc bags
- 1 quart ziploc bags
- Liquid soap
- Foot powder
- Toy figures (kids only)
- St. Jude holy card
- Rosary
You will probably be surprised at how much you already have in your house that you can use to put together a grab-and-go kit. When it is started, then it simply becomes a case of spending an extra few dollars on a new item or two each time you are buying food or household items.
One other thing that I have in my pack is an important documents folder. This has account numbers, insurance information, birth certificates, etc. It also has a small stash of cash. If you need to go quickly, you may not have access to this information later (especially if you are getting out due to a fire), so it is a good idea to get this information put together in advance so that you don't need to cut through a bunch of red tape later. Also, the cash can come in handy if you need to pay for something and you are not able to use (or don't have) credit or debit cards.
Some people may roll their eyes at the whiskey, but unless the pack is for an alcoholic, I'd put it (or something similar) in the kit. You may want a little nip once a high stress situation has been dealt with, and if nothing else, it is a great item to use if you ever would need to barter.
And on that note, if you're a smoker, keep a pack in there and rotate them out occasionally. Besides the fact that you will probably want a cigarette during or after a stressful situation, they, too, are excellent barter items.
3. The Vehicle ERK
I have a kit in each of our vehicles for emergency situations. Most of the items are in a backpack (which is in the trunk or truck box), but other items that are too bulky are placed separately in the trunk or truck box. This kit contains:
- 3 Rain suits (the pre-packaged kind that you can buy in the camping section that is the size of a short paperback book)
- 3 Ponchos (pre-packaged in camping section)
- 3 Emergency blankets (silver foil looking kind found in camping section)
- 3 Caps
- Work gloves
- First aid kit
- Radio
- Walkie-talkie
- Flashlight
- Batteries (for radio, walkie-talkie, and flashlight)
- Road flares
- 3 Lightsticks
- 3 Whistles
- Maps
- Compass
- Strike anywhere matches (in sealed matchbox)
- Wax fire starter sticks
- Notepad
- Pens
- 3600 calorie emergency rations
- Water boxes (like fruit boxes, except they contain drinking water)
- Folding knife
- Handy wipes
- Facial tissue
- Toilet paper
- Feminine hygiene items (adults only)
- 13 gallon garbage bags
- 1 gallon ziploc bags
- 1 quart ziploc bags
- Liquid soap
- Toy figures
- Shovel
- Fix-a-flat
- Spool of wire (to secure damaged parts, wire-up muffler, etc.)
- Rope
- Hatchet
- Tarp
- Blankets
An interesting note on this kit is that the spool of wire was not part of the kit initially. One day, however, one of the bolts on my muffler clamp came off, and my muffler dropped and started dragging along the pavement. When I pulled over and saw the problem, I opened the trunk and grabbed my pack to get something to temporarily tie the muffler up with. I didn't have the rope yet, and even if I did, I would have been concerned with using something that may melt to the hot muffler or catch fire. I ended-up using the wire from some headphones I had with me to tie-up the muffler. The spool of wire was added to the kit later that same day.
This topic (and kit descriptions) will be continued in my next post. I hope that it is helpful, and that it inspires you to start being finding ways to be prepared for an emergency. Remember, it is better to be prepared and not need something than to need something and not be prepared.
USMC 9971 OUT
19 June 2009
CC's Question
CC has a recent post on her blog (The Crescat) regarding the need to be prepared. I left a comment on that post, and she left one in my last post asking if I could recommend any sites for disaster preparedness and firearms storage. Yes on the former, but I'd look at the NRA website for the latter.
Emergency Readiness
Thanks to all of the state organizations, those are a lot of links. If you want to check out only a few, then I'd suggest Ready.gov, your state's emergency website, and the Red Cross.
I would also suggest that you do a search on emergency supplies or emergency kit. This will bring up links to many online stores with emergency gear and pre-packaged kits. Some of those websites also have their own blogs on emergency readiness and survial.
As far as firearm safety and storage are concerned - read the manual that came with your firearm (or get one from the manufacturer), practice with it, clean it after every use, and store it as is appropriate for you needs and state law. If you are new to firearms, I strongly recommend that you enroll in an NRA training program. They have programs for everyone, as well as those that specifically cater to women or youth.
I'll do another post soon with a break-down of what I have in our home for emergency preparedness.
USMC 9971 OUT
Emergency Readiness
Federal GovernmentState GovernmentsOther Groups
Thanks to all of the state organizations, those are a lot of links. If you want to check out only a few, then I'd suggest Ready.gov, your state's emergency website, and the Red Cross.
I would also suggest that you do a search on emergency supplies or emergency kit. This will bring up links to many online stores with emergency gear and pre-packaged kits. Some of those websites also have their own blogs on emergency readiness and survial.
As far as firearm safety and storage are concerned - read the manual that came with your firearm (or get one from the manufacturer), practice with it, clean it after every use, and store it as is appropriate for you needs and state law. If you are new to firearms, I strongly recommend that you enroll in an NRA training program. They have programs for everyone, as well as those that specifically cater to women or youth.
I'll do another post soon with a break-down of what I have in our home for emergency preparedness.
USMC 9971 OUT
