“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
– Gen. George S. Patton
You’ve probably seen videos or read articles on creating the perfect bugout or get-home bag. The idea behind both is to provide you with the basic needs of life until you can reach a safe haven. I have a bugout bag in my home becauseI live in a region of the country which is often pounded by hurricanes, so every May, I make sure the supplies inside it are ready to go in case my family needs to leave in a hurry.
The problem with most bugout bags and get-home bags, though, is that they assume you’ll have a few moments to collect your gear before you have to leave. While that may be true in the case of some natural disasters like hurricanes, it may not be true when it comes to man-made disasters like civil unrest. In those cases, what you have within arm’s reach will be what you use to deal with the problem and keep you going for the foreseeable future.
As an example, look at the freeway takeovers and other protests from a few years ago. You’re trapped in traffic. You have stopped cars all around you so you can’t move and suddenly, a car in front of you goes up in flames as a molotov cocktail is tossed in a window.
You have to leave your car and get away and you have to do it right now. No popping the trunk to grab your get-home bag. Just like a defensive encounter on the streets. The gear you have near you is the gear you’ll use to maintain your safety for maybe the next 24 hours.
Game on.
That’s why I have a “Forget Everything And Run” or FEAR bag with me in the cabin of my vehicle and not shoved into the trunk somewhere. The bag I’ve chosen (a Sentinel cross-body bag from Elite Survival Systems) looks like every other cross-body bag out there, but it has a large rear compartment that’s perfect for an iPad Mini…or a small raincoat…or a micro-compact pistol.
I take two things into consideration when it comes to what gear I have in a get-home or bugout bag: where I am, and what my priorities are.
This bag in particular will almost certainly be used exclusively in an urban/suburban environment, so my need for a fishing kit and makeshift shelter is pretty low. However, I do need to take the outdoor survival rule of threes into account when choosing my gear.
You can last:
- Three minutes without oxygen
- Three hours without shelter
- Three days without water
- Three weeks without food
That “three minutes without oxygen” includes things like being trapped in a car under water or traumatic blood loss, which is why I have a resqme window breaker tool in this bag as well as a tourniquet and other medical gear.
Urban and suburban areas are by definition built-up areas with plenty of buildings, so finding a haven from inclement weather isn’t on the top of my list, although I did add in enough cash for a night in a decent hotel so I can keep the “roughing it” part to a bare minimum.
Three days without water is another worry that’s not on the top of my list, for two reasons. The first is, this kit is designed to last 24 hours, not 72 hours. The second is, I’m in the city so plastic water bottles are everywhere. I’ve added a small water bottle holder that I can attach to my belt in case I need to bring hydration with me, but again, this kit isn’t for extended use in the great outdoors. Rather, it’s to get me to a place of relative safety and keep me there for one day until things settle down.
The other items in the kit reflect that. I have a battery to charge my phone and smartwatch, as well as the cords to connect everything together if there’s power. There’s a folding doorstop to help keep the room I’m in safe from unwanted intruders and a small Swiss Army knife serves as a multi-tool. I have a tactical flashlight and a spare battery for my pistol optic, but I usually don’t carry a firearm or ammunition in this bag. Those sorts of things are on my person instead.
I’ve had to spend a night sleeping in my car because a sudden change in the weather made further travel impossible and this kit is designed to help out in that kind of unfortunate situation…or keep me running if I get bumped from my flight and have to sleep in an airport somewhere (once I pull out all the naughty bits that TSA doesn’t like).
Preparing for a violent defensive encounter is a good thing, and more people really should do it. But we also need to keep in mind that there’s more than one way our normal daily routines can be thrown into chaos. Prepare accordingly.