[Jeff Randall]

Ref: Bear Grylls, etc. - Exactly!

A lot of people believe that survival is a skill that can be taught in a few outings or sessions. Not so...It's a way of life for those that are good at it. Mostly it's mental conditioning, common sense, and being able to improvise that will get you through most happenings outside your comfort zone.

If the stuff really ever hits the fan those that will be comfortable will be those who have devoted a huge portion of their life to the lifestyle. There's something to be said for those folks that push groceries up out of the ground, can their own food, etc., can head shot squirrels with a .22 rimfire and iron sights, and pretty much live their life under the radar.

Here's part of an old article I did for SWAT magazine a few years ago on the subject:

Ask any true survivor and they will tell you that a survival situation it’s nothing like you planned for. Gear breaks down, people break down, society breaks down, and eventually you will break down. To be a survivor requires that you be able to improvise, make decisions, and most important: utilize your individual skills and abilities.

A couple of weeks after Katrina devastated New Orleans I caught a blurb on one of the news networks about an old Cajun who was still living on the bayous south of the city. Life was still the same for him even though his shack was a little rough around the edges. He didn’t evacuate or get in the midst of the mobs looting for survival (or profit). He lived a true survivor’s life without the need for electricity, running water, or grocery store food. He was self-reliant and accepted the consequences of his actions. While it’s true we can’t all live that way, it’s also true that people don’t starve to death in one week, as the news organizations would have you believe about the people inside the Superdome. We’ve become a society of wimps who believe every scare tactic the college boy desk jockeys tell us. Then we follow the masses when things go bad, instead of avoiding these opportunistic human predators. We’re not happy being individuals when it’s dark outside and strange noises abound. When the lights go out and the food runs out, we panic and beg others to save us - then blame them when they don’t show up fast enough. To our own demise we’re drawn to social interaction and Socialism during catastrophic events. All of our macho planning goes out the window along with the skills of being an Individualist. We either become predators ourselves, stealing gas and supplies at gunpoint (as seen with the motorists evacuating Hurricane Rita) or become another crying mouth to appease, unlike the Cajun in the swamp.

All of this is human nature; an ideology that has been instilled in us by years of living well in the Welfare State. We no longer practice hard skills. We never travel alternate routes from our homes and learn the lay of the land since it’s not the shortest distance between two points, not to mention we might miss the football game on TV if we don’t hurry and get home. We never store a few extra gallons of gasoline or keep our tanks topped off because the “stop and rob” down the road always has plenty at the credit card pumps. We never learned how to change a flat tire because we might get dirty and that’s what AAA is for. We never keep extra cash hidden away because the ATM always works just fine - besides, who cares about the 2 dollar service charge for such a great convenience. We never think about having a few days supply of our life saving prescription meds because the pharmacy is open 24 hours a day and an easy walk from the house, and Medicare won’t pay for more than one refill at a time. We buy 5-dollar a gallon drinking water (a gallon at a time) but never thought about simply filling a few empty jugs with tap water (oh, the horror!) for times when we may need it. The list goes on.

If you want to be a survivor then be an Individualist first. Think outside the box, avoid the predatory masses during a situation, don’t trust or rely on the government to save you, and prepare your stores and skills now. Practice your efforts with your family and trusted friends, then learn from the mistakes of others. Having a good firearm with plenty of ammo doesn’t hurt either.