To Stand or Retreat...?

A common question I ask myself should "something" happen is..stay put or retreat. I guess to answer this question, one would have to answer what that "something" is. Where I live, in Northern Idaho, my biggest concern is fallout from Seattle, Portland or Spokane Washington. I don't necessarily mean Nuclear Fallout, fallout could be a mass exodus from those cities-west. With a major interstate running nearly through my back yard, and living approximately one full tank of gas away from Seattle, I feel this is a major concern for me to consider when debating on when to defend what is mine.

In 1982, during the Mt. St. Helen blowup, my property took a heavy hit from the ash, leading me to believe that in the unlikely event that Seattle or Portland take a major hit, that I would receive at least some fallout of the Nuclear type as well. Spokane is no longer considered a primary target since they moved the bombers out, but that by no means makes it less of a consideration on my part.

Economic collapse, all out war, chemical or biological threats, hurricanes, or floods. Each one of us has to determine the threats most likely to effect them, and the best way to handle them. To stand or retreat.

To make that decision, each of us has to look at the event that each individual feels is the most likely event to directly effect their way of life and prepare for that event first. If you live near a river that is prone to flooding, you wouldn't plan to stand by filling your basement with supplies.

A Realist should look at every concievable event and ranks them in order of "likely to happen". In Northern Idaho, I have very little concern for a tornado, but being snowed in in November is a very real concern for my family.

After ranking each event, then you have to decide what you would need to prepare to stand through that event and what you would need to retreat from that event. Weigh each option, provisions for holding out vs. a public shelter or a secondary holdout point such as an in-law down south ect.

My Credentials

So, anyone who may eventually follow this may wonder what right I have to write on anything on this subject.
My credentials are, I grew up in the mountains of Northern Idaho. Hunting and fishing were everyday occurances, not because my parents had jobs that allowed this, but because the silver mines here were shutting down and nearly everyone was unemployed. We hunted and fished to actually supplement our food instead of for pleasure. We camped in old canvas tents for most of the summer because the electricity and water were shut off at our house.
I remember a few late nights when my dad would drive up to the back door at midnight, unload a deer on the back porch, and then proceed to gut and quarter it in the bathtub of the house. As kids, we never knew the word "poaching", to us, Dad brought home meat! To get through the winters, dad raised rabbits out in the garage and mom became inventive as hell on different ways to cook it. Fried Rabbit, rabbit cassorole, bunny McNuggets and thumper kabobs.
As a teenager, I grew up under the shadow of the Cold War, and movies like Red Dawn were our anthem. My friends and I would patrol the local hills, burying caches of ammo, food, and other survival items for the day that the Reds attacked. I imagine those caches are still up there somewhere.
After graduating from High School, I had dreams of joining the Green Berets. I joined the U.S. Army and served from 1988 to 1992 as a Combat MP in a STRAF Unit.
Let me define those last two terms. "COMBAT MP" No, not the guys that you see on TV with white gloves and a billy clib in one hand walking the beaches or breaking up fights at the NCO club. Although there were times that we had that duty, Combat MP's are trained for urban combat. House to house fighting. We also did POW transport, Riot Control, and security for Major Supply Routes.
Now on to the definition of STRAF. The military defines it as "Strategic Army Forces". To us, it meant anywhere in the world in 72 hours or less. Whereever the world had trouble, my small unit of about 130 soilders was usually there in timely order to be the bastard child to whatever Battalion was being deployed there. In my 5 years, I seen Germany, Belgium, Egypt, Panama (twice), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. I just missed deployments to Honduras, Cuba, and some Caribian island nailed by Hurrican. I also helped provide security for the first President Bush Innogeration parade in Wash, DC., and fullfilled my MP duty's at Ft Belvoir, Ft. Myers and Arlington Cemetary.
Our Units Moto was "Train to be Miserable", and our West Point Honor Graduate Commander made sure we did.
Shortly after I ETD'd, (ended my tour of duty), My unit was offically named the "Dogs of War" by the President of the United States, then disbanded.
As for joining the Speical Forces....seems you have to be able to swim 100 meters or so in full gear as the Pre-test to be able to take the test. After nearly drowning several times, I was deemed to be a "1 in 7" that has no natrual boyancy. So ending my dream.
After the Military, I moved with my family back to Northern Idaho, where I have worked hard to build my family a modest home with a modest income. I still hunt and fish and have instilled that in my 3 now teenage boys.
I dont live every day like tommorow is the end of the world, but the planning has been there in the things we do and the plans we make.
There you have it. I found it is possible to be Realistic on a budget. I dont own the best that money can buy, but I would bet my life on most of the equipment I own.

Survival, Retreat, and Realism

First off, I'd like to explain the title of this....blog. I have long been an observer of the survival-retreaters "movement". They say that a glass half filled with water could also be said to be half empty. I say that a glass half full of water could keep you alive for days and the glass itself could be used as a weapon in a pinch. You don't need to buy the most expensive glass, nor do you need to make sure the water is purefied before you drink it. A realist makes due with what is at hand, and with what they can afford. Long have I read through magazines or seen online the thousand dollar rifles to defend yourselves, or the freeze dried food to store in your basement until the EOTWAWKI (End of the World as We Know It).
My hope through this blog is to share some of my personal experience through years of barely getting by, as well as my years in the military. Those that read this may have better suggestions, and I'm always open to hearing them. The theme here though is to make due with what most of us can afford and what we may actually use. I would love to have a Hk417 tucked away with a couple thousand rounds of ammo....realistically, I refuse to pay more for a rifle than I do for the car I need to drive to work everyday. I would love to have a 3 year supply of freeze dried food tucked away in my "underground shelter"....realistically, I keep food that I know my family and I will actually eat and like and I rotate it on a regular basis by actually eating it instead of watching the expiration day and throwing it out. I'll get more into these later, in the mean time, drop me an e-mail if you subscribe to this thought, I'd love to hear from a few more "Realists" out there.