Hello from the Midwest

[Trihonda]

Hi, I was referred here, and am happy to find a new place to land, get great outdoors tips, and discuss ways to make myself less dependent.

I’ll be honest, my primary interests of late revolve around preparedness. This interest (like many others) spiked during the craziness of 2020. This is not to say I haven’t always been a survivalist at heart. My father was a smart man, genius in fact. He was as anti government interference as anyone I’ve known. He was all about the constitution and survival. Back in the 80’s, the threat was nuclear war, and my dad was an expert in post detonation nuclear survival tactics. He even taught this in the military. He was so passionate about this, he even created his own role playing game called “Survive” to help spread the word. So this was my childhood... raised in part by a mad genius survivalist.

Fast forward to my early adult years, I held a lot of jobs in security and safety related fields, firefighter, EMT, emergency management, etc.. I received a lot of tactical and security training, and have stayed in the field ever since. I’ve always been a Boy Scout of sorts. I even ran competitively in multi-day “Adventure Races” similar to events like the “Eco Challenge”, where fitness, teamwork, and wilderness navigation and survival skills were put to the test.

To present day, I’m not rich, but financially stable enough to procure the preps I feel necessary. My neighborhood has pros and cons. First, it’s suburbia, and not ideal for off grid style preps like raising chickens, gardens, etc.. but, I do have the best prep imaginable.. I have a network (a team) of amazing neighbors who are all similarly situated in their preps. These are guys I trust, and who have an amazing set of skills to bring to the table. My team consists of a couple of cops (two are actually SWAT officers), a current fighter jet pilot (who’s wife is a current army medic), a hunter/woodman, and a former (successful) off grid homesteader, etc.. this is our core group. We are all situated the same when it comes to food and security preps, etc.. we all live within two blocks of each other. We also have a network of patriot neighbors.. a second tier of folks who will be good resources should the SHTF, but are not privy to any of the core group’s plans/preps. The idea of a lone wolf prepper is antiquated imho.. you need a network.

We also have a couple of remote cabins available within a few hours of home. The plan is to bug in. But if we need to BO, these cabins are huge, on stocked lakes, and contain everything we’d need for our families to live off grid in a pinch.

Ok, so in 2020, I significantly ramped up my preparations. I’d read Glen Tate’s “299 Days” (crazy good book series btw) and it mirrored exactly what was happening in society today. Scary how accurate this book is (written 10 years ago) and so relevant today. Thus, I upped all my preps, from home security (which was already top notch) to food and supplies. I don’t stress about these things now, as I view them as an insurance policy. I’m much more at peace now I don’t worry about feeding and protecting my family.

Anyway, glad to be a part of this community. Looking forward to learning and participating.