I took my first survival course in the '70's while on active duty but that only trained me in the use of items in my kit. Typhoons in the '70's and hurricanes in the '80's got me thinking about preparedness (power outages and empty store shelves).

During all those years, kits and preparedness in general was sporadic; it wasn't until I got to California and was introduced to earthquakes (where you get zero warning) that I formalized kits rather than just stocking extra food and batteries.

Now it's multiple kits with each having its own purpose: Kits in the home, kit in the truck for daily local drives, a different kit for the truck on road trips, first aid kits inside the other kits as well as stand-alone FAK's. My flight bag is much like always, except now it has my PLB and Laser-flare as well as an FAK; however, a flight kit should be in a vest and that upgrade is imminent. I hope to get a Switlik vest soon which will become part of the truck kit and also go with me when I fly.