Gray Zone Warfare
We are living in a time when information is manipulated in ways most people are unprepared or uninterested in defending against. Economic competition and conflict are blurred concepts. Asymmetrical warfare is actively targeting our military with low-cost,...
Tier Four Preparedness: Navigation
Last summer, we took a trip to the Oregon Coast. We thought it would be fun to do it old school, using a road Atlas and no GPS. I was embarrassed at how out of practice I was with what should have been the simplest of navigation. I missed signs and turns because, over...
Tier Four Preparedness: Signature Management
Signature Management involves doing everything you can to ensure others can’t find or recognize you. This includes camouflage, concealment, tactical movement, sound discipline, light discipline, thermal signature, and electronic emissions. So, if you move from...
Tier Four Preparedness: Tactical Intelligence
When I was a kid, if people wanted local news, they read the paper in the morning and watched 30 minutes of local news on week-nights. Not particularly fast by today’s standards, but it was focused on local events. Along the way came the rise of national 24-hour...
Civil Unrest
I miss bookstores. Rather, I miss the opportunity for discovery in a bookstore—that chance to find out about something you did not even know existed. Recently, I stumbled upon a real-life bookstore in Key West. In the hour I spent there, I found a short little book...
Tier Three Preparedness: Bug Out Bag
Time to revisit the Bug Out Bag. I still believe that the Version 1.0 bag we did in the beginning, is still more practical than running around looking like you plan on building a log cabin. But based on the overall plans you have put in place and how far you need to...
Gray Zone Warfare
We are living in a time when information is manipulated in ways most people are unprepared or uninterested in defending against. Economic competition and conflict are blurred concepts. Asymmetrical warfare is actively targeting our military with low-cost,...
Tier Four Preparedness: Navigation
Last summer, we took a trip to the Oregon Coast. We thought it would be fun to do it old school, using a road Atlas and no GPS. I was embarrassed at how out of practice I was with what should have been the simplest of navigation. I missed signs and turns because, over...
Tier Four Preparedness: Signature Management
Signature Management involves doing everything you can to ensure others can’t find or recognize you. This includes camouflage, concealment, tactical movement, sound discipline, light discipline, thermal signature, and electronic emissions. So, if you move from...
Tier Four Preparedness: Tactical Intelligence
When I was a kid, if people wanted local news, they read the paper in the morning and watched 30 minutes of local news on week-nights. Not particularly fast by today’s standards, but it was focused on local events. Along the way came the rise of national 24-hour...
Civil Unrest
I miss bookstores. Rather, I miss the opportunity for discovery in a bookstore—that chance to find out about something you did not even know existed. Recently, I stumbled upon a real-life bookstore in Key West. In the hour I spent there, I found a short little book...
Tier Three Preparedness: Bug Out Bag
Time to revisit the Bug Out Bag. I still believe that the Version 1.0 bag we did in the beginning, is still more practical than running around looking like you plan on building a log cabin. But based on the overall plans you have put in place and how far you need to...
Tier Three Preparedness: Evacuation (Bugging Out)
The evacuation plan was something that developed over several months. I prepared my initial evacuation plan based on the geography. There is an ocean in one direction and a nearby mountain chain on the other side, so my initial plan had two locations to the north and...
Tier Three Preparedness: Planning Process
Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency (PACE) At first glance, PACE planning may seem a little excessive. We first looked at the PACE plan in the communications section. But as we work through it, I think you will see its value. Primary—I hope that if you...
Tier Three Preparedness: Area Study
In the military sense, Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield, or the Area Study, gathers information about an area's physical, social, military, economic, and government environments before taking action. I don't suggest you follow the military model. It's...
East Palestine Ohio Train Derailment
On February 3, 2023, a train traveling through East Palestine, Ohio, derailed. About 9 pm, 38 of its 150 cars came off the tracks, and fire spread to an additional 12 cars. Twenty of the affected cars were carrying chemicals and combustible materials. The Fire...