Hot New Product: "Stove in a Can"

I am sold on this:



Get it here.

My Favorite Superbowl Commercial

The return of Ferris Bueller was cool, but you can't argue with the end of the world approach to sell trucks ...

"The Last Day"

A timely, well-produced video from Israel:

Premier 7.5-month Storage Food Package on Sale at $1800; Plus We Welcome Back Some Old Favorites

We just put together our latest version of the good old USS FoodBundle. This one we call the Comfort-Essentials Edition and it is good to sustain a survivor for 7-1/2 months (at 2000 calories a day).

This may be the very best value package we've ever offered, based on the discounted price, variety range, and premier quality of foods in this 18-case bundle. It is an outstanding mix of foods and beverages that provide the full range of sustence that will not only keep you alive, but content and satisfied as well.

Our sale price is less than $1800! Plus this package qualifies for our Members Mountain House Buyer Rewards program ($150 gift certificate back in the program's current installment). Sale price and rewards offer subject to change in the near future.

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Some other "new-again" listings at Safecastle: Yoders bacon (our all-time most popular product), Organic Green Coffee Beans in cans (the only way to effectively store coffee long-term), and a new favorite, our unique Mega-Protein Meat & Dairy Pack.

Safecastle Now Matches Mountain House Sale Pricing from Other Dealers

Safecastle can now match Mountain House prices at any time. So, bottom line for you--you find any dealer running a MH sale and we will give you that price, PLUS you will of course also get your free shipping AND any Mountain House Member Rewards in effect. (Right now--that is $75 gift certificates for every three MH can cases!!)

Here are our Mountain House cans listings. If you find a sale price out there that you want us to match on a purchase, just email me with a link to that sale and I will get you a coupon code to use in our store for that purchase.

Background detail:  Most of our customers are familiar with the way Mountain House regulates its dealers with regard to sale pricing and practices. However, I'll explain for those who are not aware ...

Mountain House dealer regulations for the last several years have required that dealers sell MH cans at full list price except during limited approved sale periods. MH cans are also precluded from being discounted for our buyers club members due to those manufacturer restrictions--they must be sold at the same price for members and non-members. (MH cans are the only exception in our store to the members' standard 20% discount minimum.) That's why we offer the significant member incentive gift certificates for MH cans.

Now, our ability to match prices allow us to give the best prices out there all the time AND give our loyal customers the incentive packages they have come to count on as they build up their preparedness enterprise.

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Additional FYI ... a brand new program is in the works that will provide our buyers club members with cumulative purchase rewards this year (retroactive to the first of the year), applicable to all purchases at Safecastle in 2012.

Last year, we had the Cache-Back program. This year will be quite different and a lot more fun and rewarding. It's taking a while to get it all put together--we've had to hire a software engineer to get it done, but when it's ready, it should be awesome (and it may even go viral).

So again--stay safe.

2011 Safecastle Freedom Award Winners!

Thank you to all of you who put together an article or video regarding crisis preparedness in 2011 for our Freedom Awards contest. The collective effort and overall results are encouraging. We are hopeful that more and more will become publicly proactive and vocal about issues that are important to all of us in this arena.

Clearly, the time is now for preparedness. We are seeing strong growth in this field, as well as a good deal of passion revolving around readiness, self-sufficiency, and freedom. Remember--each one of us is a torch-bearer. Carry the flame high.

The Champions

Without further ado ...

Video Category:

1st prize: "Survival and Prepping - The Basics" by Falcon15, Survivalmonkey.com - Katadyn Pocket

2nd prize: "PSK Survival Exercise" by ia woodsman, Survivalistboards.com - Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator

Article Category:

1st prize: "What is a Well-Stocked First Aid Kit" by K.M., Survivalblog.com - Katadyn Pocket

2nd prize: "Preparedness for Young People" by Maria S, Rural-Revolution.com - Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator

Each of the finalists as submitted to us from the participating blogs and websites will receive an engaved Freedom Award trophy, recognizing their achievement. Congratulations to all!

Testimonial for Safecastle: "a ministry to those trying to prepare"

I certainly appreciate all the feedback we receive from our customers. It helps to know what we are doing right and where we can improve.

I don't normally post or promote the raves we sometimes receive from our thoughtful buyers club members, but in this case, this comment is so heart-felt and on-target with what I've always felt is our mission:

From M. Brooks, Jan. 20, 2012:

I am in the military and first heard of Safecastle about 3 years ago while stationed overseas.  If memory serves me correctly I found it at Survival Blog. At that time I placed some orders and had them sent to my mother’s home back in the States.  Upon returning to the U.S., I saw the Safecastle advertisement again and the membership offer. 

I was quite skeptical to be honest because I figured the “lifetime membership” offer was too good to be true and if I paid the nominal amount for the membership, when I got ready to use it Safecastle would not be around. 

I decided to take a leap of faith and join what I hoped would not be a fly by night enterprise.  Soon I began to order products and am absolutely amazed!!!! 

The service is incredible; each time I have contacted Mr. Vic, I get an immediate response. He has always been kind and considerate and very professional and stands behind his word. Safecastle is a LEGITIMATE company. The membership perks are phenomenal. Because we are at such a critical juncture in our world, preparedness has become big business and there are a lot of folks in it just for the money and provide substandard products and services. 

I believe Safecastle is really a ministry to those trying to prepare.  I am still in the military and Safecastle continues to help me prepare for the uncertainties of the future. I am not paid by Safecastle nor have I been asked for this testimonial. I just want to reach any who are skeptics and don’t believe Safecastle’s claims. It is truly a first rate outfit, selling quality products at a reasonable price, owned and operated by a man who has a servant’s heart.

John Williams: No Way Out–Hyperinflation by 2014 The warning signs are getting worse | James J Puplava CFP | FINANCIAL SENSE

John Williams: No Way Out–Hyperinflation by 2014 The warning signs are getting worse James J Puplava CFP FINANCIAL SENSE

John Williams from Shadow Government Statistics sees no way to avoid hyperinflation, as some of the warning signs are getting worse: rising real inflation rates, massive Fed monetization, foreign nations dumping dollars, and the US losing its triple A credit rating.

"Your Wages Will Be Cut in Half"

Must read from Video Rebel's Blog: "Translating Zero Hedge: Your Wages Will Be Cut In Half"

Excerpt:  "... after the 2012 elections the Russians, the Chinese, Iran, Venezuela plus their clients states and a few other nations can and will force a devaluation of the dollar by refusing to accept Federal Reserve Notes in international trade. If Americans balk, China just has to dump a hundred billion dollars and buy commodities driving the price of food out of the reach of WalMart shoppers. Of course I realize the Chinese will just be doing what the bankers want them to do.

"An international conference will be held at which the dollar will be devalued by about 40% as predicted by Bernanke. This will complete that 50% pay cut I have been predicting.

"The Chinese will have dumped most of their dollars before the conference so that their economy will not be harmed by a dollar devaluation. If Americans can’t afford to buy Chinese products, China will just sell them to people whose currencies were revalued upwards.

"I would suggest you buy storable food, silver coins (not collectibles) and household items that will just increase in cost."

Experts Advise What to Freak Out About in 2012

The World Economic Forum's Global Risks 2012 report is out. There's plenty to set your hair on fire about. Check the interactive report here.

Some of the biggest concerns:  Chronic fiscal imbalances, water supply crises, severe income disparity, and food shortage crises.

To get the drift in one overall chart, feast your fearful eyes below. (If you are prone to laying awake at night worrying about things, you might want to skip this one.)

World Economic Forum: "Global Risks 2012," an initiative of the Risk Response Network

Why Mountain House Food is the Best Choice for Long-term Storage

Last Two Days of 25%-Off Mountain House Sale; Brand New Variety Available Today!

Last Two Days of the Maximum MH Sale ...
And cool news --

We've got the apples back in time for those who didn't get some the last time around. There are still some cases available at the factory which we will have shipped directly to you. Take your pick: diced apples or diced apples w/ cinnamon.

And just in time for the end of our sale: the brand new, delicious Mexican Style Rice & Chicken.

This Two-Week MH Sale (Shop here)

Ends January15 ...

As always with our MH sales--we are offering the maximum allowed discount on all MH can varieties: 25%.

As always--it all ships free to the continental US.

As always, we are offering buyers club members special reward gift certificates for their MH cans case purchases ($50 for every three cases).

And this time around, we are also offering an early-bird option to the rewards, while supplies last.

For those Royalty Reward details, see: http://www.safecastle.com/jan-12-mh-sale-rewards.aspx

Being Cool Always Trumps Freaking Out—To Douse the Hair, Just Prepare

Even for optimists, there’s not much to be pleased with these days. Fact is, this is clearly the time to be serious about your preparedness planning and activities.

How much would it take right now to pull down this whole teetering mess and force us to find out the hard way how cooperative, resourceful, and committed to each other Americans really are? (Or would that be committed to "what's mine"?) Clearly, what we have is a plateful of risk, served up flaming hot. But at this point, it’s still just risk. It's NOT the time to be panicking, locking up with worry, or freezing in the spectacle of the growing headlights of the oncoming tractor trailer loaded with trouble Mad Max-style.

No whining, crying or running around with your hair on fire

Right now, it’s enough to recognize that things are getting kind of dicey out there in the world. This is no longer a game of imagining what MIGHT happen IF "such and such" was to happen. Fact is, it may just be that a whole lot of "suches" are jamming up in the doorway right now, needing just the right jolt to come surging through your livingroom.

So what are you doing about it? Watch it unfold in high-def living color? ... or worse yet, maybe blog about it? ;-)
How about instead getting that last big project done that you know you really want completed before things get turned upside down? Or topping off the supplies while you can. Can you think of a better time to do it?

For those who have been quietly, systematically putting aside emergency food and supplies for a while, you're justified in momentarily embracing that twinge of vindication as more and more about economic chaos, food shortages, buyer panic, rumors of war, protests, strikes, riots, and revolutions around the world occupy the headlines.

No one enjoys seeing what is transpiring around the world. Malnutrition and starvation in various populations are still the reality … and circumstances are indicating that may multiply in numbers impacted. There’s a real risk that pain and suffering among millions of innocents is only beginning, given the trickle-down effects of economic collapse, should that come to fruition.

International tensions, political incompetence (or worse), corporate greed, natural disasters, crop diseases, short harvests, water shortages, skyrocketing energy costs, and budding public panic are now colliding in a harsh cacophony that will continue to resonate for years to come.

It’s Late, but Not Too Late

It's all beyond what any individual can impact in a positive way. You can certainly still be community-sensitive, but the important thing to do now is to try to take necessary steps to look out for you and yours. The longer you wait, it becomes exceedingly more difficult and costly.

Prepare by stocking up on good storage food that will keep for decades. Put it away and out of sight. The same with water, purification resources, guns, ammo, precious metals, cash, and whatever else your circumstances require.

Publicly, the responsible approach to the situation before us as a civilization is to economize and conserve limited resources--particularly in the realms of energy and food. Nonetheless, if you have on hand the resources to satisfy and protect your loved ones—you are going to be ahead of the curve.

In wealthier societies such as in the U.S., folks who have done nothing to this point to mitigate their household risks vs. energy crises and runaway food inflation and/or shortages now are in danger of having their backs against the wall. It's a tough way to wake up and to have to just start the journey. If this is you, you likely will want to break into a sprint. Regardless, if you're in that position--do what you can before you can do nothing at all.

For those somewhere else on the preparedness path--just keep on keepin' on. Try to keep your momentum going--nothing more, nothing less.

Whoever you are, whatever you still need to do to get to a satisfactory point of equilibrium for your situation--this rule always applies: Stay Cool.

The Panic Option

Panic will increasingly become the default option. But it never is the smart choice.

Whatever the crisis that presents itself ...

• Stop.
• Take deep breaths.
• Weigh the options.
• Pray.
• Choose wisely.

These days, the smart money is investing literally in preparedness. The crisis preparedness market niche is a cousin of the insurance industry, sharing a common peace-of-mind forebear. We are there for folks to help mitigate some of the risks we all face in an uncertain world. There are never guarantees, but in spite of the ever-present doom-sayers, our world is, all-in-all, a pretty decent and safe place to call home. In a nutshell, don't sweat the little things.

How-To

My single best, always-relevant, practical suggestion for folks new to preparedness:  take decisive steps that are not sole-purpose or specialize for one specific threat, that is unless you have more money than you know what to do with and you have no one else to answer to insofar as how you are spending that superfluous cash.

Examples:

- Buy emergency storage food that is genuinely edible, that you will eat, and that you will enjoy. Make sure it is canned for long-term storage and that the brand and variety is of proven quality. Don't buy stuff that you will have to throw away at some point and replace with more inedible, cheap storage food or grocery store sale items that will spoil quickly ... and surely don't buy stuff that will you will not use before its shelf-life expires. You always will need food ... buy some to store away--stuff that will store well for many years and that you can go and eat and enjoy anytime you need or want to. Did you know that freeze-dried food such as Mountain House will remain delicious and nutritious for many decades? Very true. Mountain House is the number-one choice for those serious about preparedness. It will always be there as a resource for you whenever the need arises, whatever the scenario.

- If you are building a new home or addition and there is some part of you that feels like you ought to have a safe place in your home to go to in the face of threats, then by all means, take advantage of that best-time opportunity to build-in a dual-use safe room or shelter that will protect your family from natural or man-made disaster. Besides serving as an emergency refuge--shelters and saferooms make for ideal storage spaces and even work-spaces or spare bedrooms.

- Do you enjoy the great outdoors? Do you hike or camp? Many of those outdoor pursuits make use of equipment that can double as critically needed gear in the event of disaster. Keep that in mind when you make those recreational purchases, as you may just want to adjust your purchasing decision to cover all your needs.

- How about investing in the means to operate some of the most critical appliances and conveniences in your home in the case of blackout? Most of us have had the experience of having to do without power for some extended period of time, risking the loss of all the food in our refrigerators. A generator (propane powered or diesel or gas powered) can be had for a very reasonable amount of money. Consider also a professionally installed transfer switch in your home that allows for that generator to safely power at least parts of your home. This makes sense for not only shorter-term power outages, but is a life-saver in longer-term crises. Similarly, solar and wind solutions are becoming more economical, practical and available.

The list goes on and on. The main point here is—it’s time to approach preparedness logically, calmly. Be serious about the need, but try not to get too worked up about any particular threat of the hour as yet. The risks are many, but your opportunity to mitigate those risks is still before you.

Safecastle LLC is a leading crisis preparedness provider. Emergency storage food such as Mountain House freeze dried foods, Safecastle steel-plate shelters and saferooms, and other unique survival gear solutions are available at www.safecastle.com

Customer Finds 29-year-old Mountain House Canned Food to be in Perfect, Delicious Condition!

Submitted by Safecastle customer Ed Perry, January 7, 2012:  "While up North I opened two cans of Mountain House Freeze Dried food ... a can of freeze dried pears and a can of freeze dried chicken and noodles. Bear in mind these were almost 29 years old and I had taken no special care in storing them. We ate all of each can. They were just as good as the day they were packed ... absolutely no degrading of any kind ... color, texture, taste were perfect. What a quality product! Mountain House says their freeze dried food will store for 25 to 30 years but I am betting that they would store for much longer than that.

"I have probably 60 cans of Mountain House purchased around 1982-83. I opened these two to give me an idea as to how they had fared without any special storage. I am totally impressed with Mountain House. I bought a lot of it that we used for back country canoe trips up in northern Canada and these were just left over. Actually I had forgotten about them and ran across them just by chance."

As they say, the proof is in the pudding. Mountain House is proven again and again the best storage food money can buy ...

• Award-winning for best taste freeze-dried food
• Oregon Freeze Dry Inc., in business for 48 years, is the world's technological leader in freeze-drying technology.
• 30-year shelf life (in cans) makes this the kind of tangible, appreciating investment you can eat
• Entrees include real meat, unlike many competitors' offerings (careful about buying "long-term" food from companies cashing in on the trend today) 
•  Among the most USDA inspected food around--continuous, multiple government inspectors on-site (especially for the volumes of government contract work OFD does)
• Prompt, free shipping when purchased from authorized dealer Safecastle
• Club member bonus awards during our current 25%-off sale. 
• Safecastle has a spotless 10-year record: A+ BBB rating, 0 conmplaints; satisfaction guaranteed.

Safecastle 2011 Freedom Awards Finalist Judging - Please Help Us Decide

2011 is in the history books. Our Safecastle Freedom Awards contest is in the final stage of deciding who will receive the contest's valuable grand prizes, including two Katadyn Pocket water filters and two Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrators. 

And we want your help in making those decisions.

The best qualifying survival-related articles and videos of 2011 as submitted to our many participating contest blogs and forums have been decided by those website administrators. Every finalist below will receive an engraved Freedom Award as pictured here. (Some of the original websites did not deliver finalists to us for various reasons.)

Our best-article finalists, in random order ...

From ModernSurvivalOnline, submitted by RobNPhx:  "A Survivalist Mindset Amongst Apathy."

From Bison Survival Blog, submitted by D. Ritchey: "Threat Analysis: Bikers"

From Survivalblog, submitted by K.M.: "What is a Well-Stocked First Aid Kit?"

From Rural Revolution, submitted by Maria S.: "Preparedness for Young People"

From Survivalmonkey, submitted by Bison Forge: "Building Better Bugout Bags"

From ModernSurvivalBlog, submitted by TripodXL: "Situational Awareness and Your Personal Protection"

From SFTFblog.com, submitted by gat31: "Growing Vertical Veggies"

From SurvivalistBoards, submitted by Mtnman Mike: "Year End Report about What Happened Last Summer on my BOL"

Our best-video finalists are ...

From Survivalmonkey.com, submitted by Falcon15: "Survival and Prepping - The Basics"

From SurvivalistBoards, submitted by ia woodsman: "PSK Survival Exercise part 1" (this video has two follow-on videos, but we are only judging part 1 for this contest).

Below, we have posted all the articles and videos so you can easily scroll down and view all the entries. We are limiting images posted here to no more than one per article. Some articles have many more images that you can see in their original posts linked above.

Thank you so much to all the contributing websites and to all the good folks who submitted entries for consideration in this contest. I think we all win as the result of having been exposed to so much survival-related wisdom and insight from all of you.

Please vote for your favorite by January 20, 2012...

We wanted to post a poll for each category to allow for you to quickly select your favorites. However, for some reason, we are being limited in our blogspot gadget admin to a maximum of 4 options per poll. So plan B ...

Please let us know which of these articles and videos are your favorite by posting a positive comment under your selections. (You can vote anonymously.) Your comment will not appear immediately, so do not keep commenting trying to view your comment. We have editorial approval set-up here to protect from spamming.  We will approve all positive comments to be seen, but it might take as long as a few hours for your comment to appear.

Your comments will assist our judges in making the final prize-winning decisions.

Freedom Award Finalist: "PSK Survival Exercise part 1"

by ia woodsman, as originally posted to SurvivalistBoards



Help us determine the best survival-related article of 2011 as written for Safecastle's 2011 Freedom Awards contest. See all the finalists in the article and video categories: www.safecastle.blogspot.com

Freedom Award Finalist: "Survival and Prepping - The Basics"

by Falcon15, as originally posted to Survivalmonkey



Help us determine the best survival-related article of 2011 as written for Safecastle's 2011 Freedom Awards contest. See all the finalists in the article and video categories: www.safecastle.blogspot.com

Freedom Award Finalist: "Year End Report About What Happened Last Summer on my BOL"

by Mtnman Mike, as originally posted to Survivalistboards

This summer - from June to about Nov. began on June 1, 2011.

On that busy day I first picked up Glen from New Zealand at the Greeley, CO bus station at 8:30 A.M.

We first went to Anderson's salvage yard to take a large roll of old metal fencing I had obtained from a neighbor in Greeley. I wanted to show Glen one of the best and most interesting sites / sights in town. At least I think so. I only got eleven dollars for that heavy roll of fencing though.

And I also took Glen around town to get a tent. We went to the Super-Walmart and a couple sporting goods stores. I went to the biggest one first which that sporting goods store had many dozens of guns. Even a couple AR's as well as other guns I was sorta surprised to see.
I thought Glen would buy a gun but not sure how he would get it back to New Zealand, maybe FedEx?
Glen only bought a 500 round box of .22 ammo which he and Steve shot quite a bit on my land in late July.

I picked up Steve from the bus station at 9 p.m. Steve had ridden a bus from Washington D.C. since he lived in southern Maryland. And Glen and Steve camped in my backyard in Greeley for almost a week until we went up to my mtn place on June 7th.

Below are Steve's light brown MSR tent and Glen's $20 blue dome tent although later in the summer he bought a $200 large MSR tent which UPS delivered to a motel in Encampment, WY
After Glen, Steve and I went to a dollarstore and the Super-Walmart and bought over $400 worth of supplies, mainly food then we built a wood box in the back of my truck and loaded it. I did not buy anything that day since all winter I had slowly been buying canned food etc. etc. on sale.

This article is heavy on images and they are integral to the article, so please go here to view the entire article.
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Help us determine the best survival-related article of 2011 as written for Safecastle's 2011 Freedom Awards contest. See all the finalists in the article and video categories: www.safecastle.blogspot.com

Freedom Award Finalist: "Growing Vertical Veggies"

by gat31, as originally posted to SHTF Blog

Rangerman has been kind enough to let me write an article in response to those of us who would like to have a garden, but don’t really have the space. So I have been looking into alternative gardening methods to help us all out. I’m going to give you a few methods I have found and maybe you can get some ideas. I live near a company called Vertigro. They do hydroponic gardening. Like its name suggests, you grow vertically. Now this is a great method for the space challenged, however it can be pricey to do the initial set up. So feel free to research that method if you’re budget allows, but here’s some more economical yet workable options.

One method I have seen is PVC pipes and chains. You hang two chains roughly 3 to 4 feet apart (depends on space) and you take 4″ and 6″ pipe, cut out the top, and drill drain holes in the bottom. Then put end caps on that have a hole drilled in them. Attach hanging hooks and wal-lah, you have “rows” for gardening.

Top row is for your smaller stuff, radishes, butter crunch or romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, herbs, etc. This is also a way you can start plants for later in ground if you are in colder regions and can’t put plants in the ground yet. Middle rows will hold hanging or vining plants, peas or beans. Bottom layer is for items that has bigger heavier items, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, etc. The bottom layer(s) is better for the 6″ pipe.

Another option is trellis growing. I found a long window type planter at a thrift store for 2 dollars. I filled it with dirt, planted a squash, zucchini, lima bean, and pea plant. Set the planter in front of a strip of lattice board and let them do their trick. As they grow, guide the plants up the trellis and they will be great. Not to mention all those plants make a flower first so the nosy neighbors will just think you have nice flowers.

You could also use one of those little arch things that people have at the end of their walkway and plant beside each foot of those too. If you don’t have lattice board, you can take eye hooks, put them in the ceiling, then wrap twine, floor to ceiling around your planter a couple times and use that for guides as well.

The other day I saw strawberries in a hanging basket, and we’ve all seen the topsy-turvey tomato growing method. Hanging baskets and pots are always options and can be used in conjunction with any of these other methods. I even had a friend of mine plant seeds under his window AC unit. (He lives in a 1 room apt.) Remember you’re not trying to feed the masses, just give your family a few fresh items that will help you survive if stores are closed.

Just a side note here for anyone doing gardens this year. Seeds can be expensive so anyplace you can cut corners always help. Go to your grocery store for your bean and pea plants. In the dry bean aisle, they have several options. All those beans that are not broken can be planted. I found a 9 bean soup bag. Most of those were intact and were plantable. Lot cheaper to buy a 1.49 bag of peas then 2.00 an ounce envelope of peas. Another option I found was the dollar store. At my Dollar Tree, they had seeds that are too late to plant this year for my region on sale for a quarter a pouch. My seed bank for next year is filling up nicely. These can be kept in a cool place or even in the fridge or freezer for next season. Also only plant what you need. Seed prices keep climbing much like gold and silver. I’ve limited my garden to 4 plants or less of each item. We won’t eat anymore than that so I saved the rest for next year.

Happy gardening everyone and feel free to add ideas for those with very little growing space!

Help us determine the best survival-related article of 2011 as written for Safecastle's 2011 Freedom Awards contest. See all the finalists in the article and video categories: www.safecastle.blogspot.com

Freedom Award Finalist: "Situational Awareness and Your Personal Protection"

by TripodXL, as originally posted to ModernSurvivalBlog

In having a personal protection plan (and you do have one, whether you’ve thought it out or NOT), before you make a personal protection plan you have to ask the following question… “What is a survivalist?”.

Now this will sound obvious after the question, but if you get up and manage to get bathed, fed and make it to work without dying and get home the same way; if you can get up, find breakfast, make it to school and back without dying, are you a survivalist? Of course, you are. You survived! That is the definition of survivalist in its simplest form. So, in essence, everyone is a survivalist to some degree or other and is differentiated only in the degree of survivalism that we embrace.

This would come as a great surprise and shock to those who would claim to not be “one of THOSE survivalist people”. Survival is one of the strongest elements in our human nature and perception of life around us. Some think it barbaric to address such an issue and others will embrace it. I embrace it. The freedom to survive, the RIGHT to survive is, as far as I’m concerned, a God given right, or if you are so inclined, a natural right.

Anyone that stands between you and your survival implies that they don’t care if you live or die, they don’t care what your quality of life is, and you are of no consequence or meaning to them. It becomes a key philosophical mountain that you must climb and conquer conceptually, to have a basic survival MINDSET, with which to use for you and your family’s survival. If you do not come to a point where you think that you have a right AND an obligation to your family and self to survive, then you will probably not survive, except by luck, and if that’s how you manage to survive, you may not be happy with the outcome.

So, what does a personal protection plan encompass? First, have a plan. A proper plan encompasses situational awareness, physical and mental preparation, and proper equipment and execution (tactics). The equipment is easy. All you have to do is buy it after researching what is best for YOUR situation.
Situational awareness is a mindset of just being aware of what is around you and the dynamic circumstances related to you.

Expertise is also something that you can buy, sort of, but will require practice, whether it is a classic martial art or some other training by either getting DVDs, or books and/or professional instruction. You have to have the discipline to accomplish it.

Mental preparation is also something you can get training on, or read books and listen to CDs/DVDs. It is something that takes place inside your head. Your psyche MUST change to the point that you understand (in advance of needing it) and will do whatever it takes to survive and protect you and yours. It will require getting past the lame, egalitarian, sheeple crap that you are taught in school, from liberal academia and society in general, about not hitting, not fighting back and just being a cooperative little sheeple in general.

Execution, both mental and physical requires practice, practice and more practice. Practice your plan mentally and brainstorm scenarios as well as hone the physical skills needed to have reasonable physical prowess and execute the appropriate skill sets successfully.

The number one part of a Personal Protection Plan and probably the most difficult to achieve is situational awareness (SA)? Simply put it’s your situation and your awareness of it. The best way to deal with trouble is to avoid it in the first place, which is the purpose of SA. No trouble, no problem!
Next time you go to Wally World, perform this exercise. Sit way out in the parking lot for a while and watch how insipidly and inanely people do things. They will walk down the middle of the driving lane, talking on their phone, completely oblivious to the 8 cars they are holding up, right behind them, motors running. Or they will just walk out in front of oncoming cars, pedestrians have the right of way don’t they, and just walk on in complete bliss and oblivion. No one will look around and they won’t look behind themselves to get some idea of what their situation is, day or night! They will mosey on and never look back. How dumb.

Here are two real-life examples of SA or the lack of it.

A young Wally World employee was walking out to her car after work, in the dark, and you can see on the parking lot video as she walks along, oblivious to all around her. In the dark a guy runs up behind her as she nears her car and abducts her in her car and as you can probably imagine she was found dead some days later. I’m not blaming this on her, it is solely the killer’s fault for killing her, but she does bear responsibility for her own well being, or lack thereof.

This next one is personal. My wife calls me one morning from work and asks me to go home at lunch and see if her purse is there. I do and it isn’t, the purse is gone. After hindsight and thought, we came to the conclusion that when she dropped off the baby (you park, run in, throw the baby through the window and sign the paper and leave), someone in an adjacent parking lot watched her at daycare and noted she did not have her purse with her, ran over and took it out of the running car. Wow, how much worse could that have been? Less than two minutes.

Some people are nothing but trash and you accommodate them (by being easy prey) at your own peril. Others are very opportunistic and will stab you in the back, literally. You will have to learn to be steely hard and be aware of subterfuge and cunning when dealing with everyone, even a “defenseless” mother and child. Beware, who’s watching you? That’s scary isn’t it?

Don’t just daydream and walk along…quit it! We all do it but when you make an active personal protection plan, your ways of looking at the world change and your mind changes the way it functions. You develop a cognizance of the world around you.

Some of the things you need to think about or be aware just don’t occur to you because you’re not a criminal by trade. I remember someone said something about having their rural house broken into and they performed some serious security upgrades to the house. The next time the crooks just chopped a hole in the roof! I remember thinking to myself, “why would they mess up the roof that way”? Oh, they’re criminals and don’t care about the mess they leave. To deal with the criminal world around you, you have to think like a criminal.

Also, listen to the “inner you”. The INSTANT a thought goes through your mind that, “that doesn’t look right”, it probably isn’t. You should do a 360, both mentally and physically right then, just stop, spin around and reassess your situation (I don’t mean bust a dance move or behave in a manner that would cause stress to people, just stop, look at your watch, dig in your pockets like you’re looking for something ALL the while looking around you and taking it in).

You should look around and watch people. I never park by the door at the big box stores. I need the exercise and it lets me overlook the parking lot and see who’s watching whom. What looks odd, out of place and not right? Be observant, it is a learned habit. It should become second nature to look for oddities in people’s behavior.

Not to be sexist, but women are taught to be nice and tolerant. They will climb into a locked, soundproof, isolated, metal box (elevator) with someone that gives them second thoughts, but they don’t want to be impolite or rude, even though they get bad vibes they do it anyway. Ladies AND gentlemen, quit it! In the military it’s called “watching your six” (your six o’clock position, directly behind you).

Be aware of what and whom is/are around you, with out fail. If it doesn’t look right, feel right or you’re just not sure, then BREAK OFF THE ENGAGEMENT (be impolite) with the situation so you can back up, observe, consider the facts and reassess the situation.

The key to SA is to stop, look, assess and then act on that information. The better you get at this, the more likely you are to ACT in advance of some event, instead of REACT to it as it occurs. Which do you think is to your advantage?

Remember, the best way to use your Personal Protection Plan is to avoid using it with situational awareness.

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