It sounds like pre-industrial revolution skills mixed with modern shade-tree handyman skills, wilderness first aid, etc may become marketable asset. How to hand sew and tailor shoe repair, medicinal plants, electronics repair, soap making, teaching, entertainment, basic machine repair (bicycles, appliances), etc. There will also be a thriving black market in makeshift and smuggled weapons, smuggled medicines, and forged documents, but surviving long enough in that industry to retire may be problematic.

It goes without saying that being able to bug-out on short notice (as in the first thump of a mortar) is going to be valuable.

I don't particularly worry about an HEMP. Its the next 5-10 minutes afterwards. There will be many folks who haven't been killed out right, but will be badly burned and blinded and suffering from multiple bone fractures without any means to kill themselves.

The same thing was said right up until WWII broke out.
-Blast

Regarding bugging out, where would we, members of this forum, go? Right now, can anyone name a place to go in the event of a war?

Fortunately my mom keeps her ear to the ground so that, if given the word, my family will know where to go.

Jeanette Isabelle

I'll be staying away from New York City.

Jeanette Isabelle

I am not telling!

You do know of a specific place you and your family can go in the event of WW III?

Jeanette Isabelle

Take a left off the B940 on the road from Crail in the darkest Kingdom of Fife.

This discussion seems a little abstract. If we use WW2 as a reference, we see that there were different kinds of areas: the battle zone, the occupied zone, the not-yet-invaded zone, etc. There are probably many others. Based on years of watching war movies, I'd say your prep for each zone is different. Where do you expect to be?

If you're in a battle zone, then you should probably run. You'll forget about your huge stash of food, fuel, etc. if you want to live. The Syrian refugees would be your model. Grab some money, jewelry, passport, cellphone, and go. Use social media to find out where you should go, how you can get there, where you can stay on the way, etc.

If you're in an occupied zone or a not-yet-invaded zone, Blast's advice would apply more probably. I'm not sure what one should do to prepare for being occupied by enemy forces. Maybe we can look at France, Poland, China, etc. for examples. Get ready to lose your liberty.

Being in a not-yet-invaded zone is great, and much of your life can continue as before -- though with reduced material comfort, food scarcity, etc. But your government might just go nuts with suspicion and imprison entire families without due process. I don't see any preparation that would have helped Americans of Japanese or German descent during WW2, or for that matter the Indians who lived on the outskirts of Alaska. One family gave their farm to their neighbors before they were dragged off to the concentration camp, and the neighbors were decent enough to work the land and give the farm back after the war was over. But this sort of stuff falls under "true challenges of human character" rather than emergency preparation techniques.

These are just some ideas off the top of my head.

Just to be clear on the historical record, almost all Americans by birth, naturalized Americans and resident aliens of Japanese descent were all rounded up from the west coast (but, oddly, not Hawaii) and interred in quite austere and miserable concentration camps. The US Supreme Court allowed it under the Executive's war powers. There was no consideration given to any evidence of an individual Japanese-American's loyalty or risk of disloyalty. It was enough just to be of Japanese ancestry. In contrast, German-Americans were not rounded up, but were evaluated or monitored based on their perceived individual loyalty or lack thereof.

There was never any evidence of Japanese-American spies or saboteurs operating on the west coast. But they did catch German Americans landed as saboteurs by U-boat on our east coast, and of course there was the large pro-Nazi American Bund organization and even the Nazi-funded "Silver Shirts" operating in America right up until Pearl Harbor. Many young Japanese-Americans, including recruits drawn directly from the camps, served with great distinction fighting in Europe.

Today, most experts see this as a result of war hysteria heavily, very heavily, tinged with racism, and a deeply shameful episode in American history. Decades later, there was an official apology and some reparations, but these were far less than the financial value of the homes, farms, businesses and other property Japanese-Americans lost as a result of internment.