The Stig
04-28-2013, 04:20 PM
Some of you may have noticed I've been rather quiet lately. Needed to step back and bit and recharge.
While on this mini-sabbatical I've realized something. Something that I wanted to share with the colony. Perhaps you'll find it thought provoking. Perhaps it will spur discussion. Perhaps it will further reinforce your opinion that I am an idiot.
Like many people, when I first started thinking about SHTF I immediately jumped into a very specific mindset. Partly this was fostered by the environment of my home-forum at the time, mostly it was based on ignorance. That mindset was nothing but BOBs, bugging out, fighting running gun battles, fighting off waves of zombies, visions of living off the land in secluded hidden locations, etc. Not knowing any better I had the best bug out bags that Condor, Cheaper Than Dirt and LA Police Gear could provide me. My firearms were a kickass Bushmaster run dry as bone with a $50 red dot. I had army surplus bayonets as "short swords". My med kit was a couple of bandaids and my footwear was the best $20 boots Walmart had to offer.
Somehow, with no training, subpar equipment, a wife & newborn baby, I was going to go all lone wolf and single handedly fight off wave after wave of attackers. It was retarded.
Over time I learned all the lessons.
I learned that cheap gear fails more quickly than quality. I learned that blasting a couple of tin cans is not the same as training with a weapon. I learned that basics like water, food and medical supplies are as critical as ammo. I learned that good training was worth every penny. I learned that proper footwear and clothing are essential no matter what the situation. I learned that bugging out, for my specific situation, isn't a very viable plan and shifted towards a shelter in place. I learned that a plan to deal with the zombie invasion doesn't mean dick if I can't handle a hurricane or forest fire. I learned that SHTF wasn't one specific type of event, but rather anything from the mundane to the catastrophic.
I slowly shifted from a "one man army" mindset to a "how can I be ready to deal with the broadest spectrum of threats possible" one. I'd like to think I matured. I went from pretending I was going to be in a RedDawn/Mad-Max remake to realistically evaluating what threats we faced and how best to deal with them.
That's part of how this website came to be.
So for the past several years The Stig's household has focused on how to deal with hurricanes, forest fires, home invasions, robberies, medical emergencies, etc. Generators were acquired, structures hardened, we moved to a much more favorable part of the country, etc. All great stuff. All skills we fully intend to keep developing.
But I've noticed something in the past six months.
I'm back to preparing to fight again.
Now, I'm sharing this with the reminder that this website does not deal with political issues or promoting militia like activities. So I have no intention of setting off those types of discussions.
Now I have the quality gear. Now I have the quality weapons. Now I have a scattering of knowledge of fighting techniques. Now I have the basics of proper clothing, food, water and medical supplies. Now I have the personal protective gear. I have the force multipliers.
Perhaps most importantly, I've set The Stig family up for success to support me with supplies and knowledge.
Please, please, please do not get me wrong. In NO WAY am I suggesting I am a lone-warrior ready to go all ninja. In NO WAY am I suggesting that I am ready to do the battle that so many veteran members of this board have actually done.
All I am saying is that I am realizing that when I started out in the "prepping lifestyle" I had fantasy mental-masturbation ideas about handling the worst survival type situations. I am realizing now, many years later, that I'm in a far better position to actually participate in the fight if push came to shove. That because I focused on the basic building blocks that I'm in a position now to perhaps actually be effective when needed (for how long is another question).
And in many ways I think those skills, limited as they are, may be called up at some point in my lifetime.
So....full circle.
While on this mini-sabbatical I've realized something. Something that I wanted to share with the colony. Perhaps you'll find it thought provoking. Perhaps it will spur discussion. Perhaps it will further reinforce your opinion that I am an idiot.
Like many people, when I first started thinking about SHTF I immediately jumped into a very specific mindset. Partly this was fostered by the environment of my home-forum at the time, mostly it was based on ignorance. That mindset was nothing but BOBs, bugging out, fighting running gun battles, fighting off waves of zombies, visions of living off the land in secluded hidden locations, etc. Not knowing any better I had the best bug out bags that Condor, Cheaper Than Dirt and LA Police Gear could provide me. My firearms were a kickass Bushmaster run dry as bone with a $50 red dot. I had army surplus bayonets as "short swords". My med kit was a couple of bandaids and my footwear was the best $20 boots Walmart had to offer.
Somehow, with no training, subpar equipment, a wife & newborn baby, I was going to go all lone wolf and single handedly fight off wave after wave of attackers. It was retarded.
Over time I learned all the lessons.
I learned that cheap gear fails more quickly than quality. I learned that blasting a couple of tin cans is not the same as training with a weapon. I learned that basics like water, food and medical supplies are as critical as ammo. I learned that good training was worth every penny. I learned that proper footwear and clothing are essential no matter what the situation. I learned that bugging out, for my specific situation, isn't a very viable plan and shifted towards a shelter in place. I learned that a plan to deal with the zombie invasion doesn't mean dick if I can't handle a hurricane or forest fire. I learned that SHTF wasn't one specific type of event, but rather anything from the mundane to the catastrophic.
I slowly shifted from a "one man army" mindset to a "how can I be ready to deal with the broadest spectrum of threats possible" one. I'd like to think I matured. I went from pretending I was going to be in a RedDawn/Mad-Max remake to realistically evaluating what threats we faced and how best to deal with them.
That's part of how this website came to be.
So for the past several years The Stig's household has focused on how to deal with hurricanes, forest fires, home invasions, robberies, medical emergencies, etc. Generators were acquired, structures hardened, we moved to a much more favorable part of the country, etc. All great stuff. All skills we fully intend to keep developing.
But I've noticed something in the past six months.
I'm back to preparing to fight again.
Now, I'm sharing this with the reminder that this website does not deal with political issues or promoting militia like activities. So I have no intention of setting off those types of discussions.
Now I have the quality gear. Now I have the quality weapons. Now I have a scattering of knowledge of fighting techniques. Now I have the basics of proper clothing, food, water and medical supplies. Now I have the personal protective gear. I have the force multipliers.
Perhaps most importantly, I've set The Stig family up for success to support me with supplies and knowledge.
Please, please, please do not get me wrong. In NO WAY am I suggesting I am a lone-warrior ready to go all ninja. In NO WAY am I suggesting that I am ready to do the battle that so many veteran members of this board have actually done.
All I am saying is that I am realizing that when I started out in the "prepping lifestyle" I had fantasy mental-masturbation ideas about handling the worst survival type situations. I am realizing now, many years later, that I'm in a far better position to actually participate in the fight if push came to shove. That because I focused on the basic building blocks that I'm in a position now to perhaps actually be effective when needed (for how long is another question).
And in many ways I think those skills, limited as they are, may be called up at some point in my lifetime.
So....full circle.