a national protocol? well as far as i know, a new one is about to fielded. There will be a set of 3 congresses to be hold about decontamination and other protocols early next year.

And diffrences there are, lots of them. But i'm not going to tell you more about it. They weren't public exercises.

in the future im considering upgrading to a larger backpack. anyone have any suggestions(that are reasonably priced,like under $100) i know sounds crazy. and i need a good survival knife for my medium BOB,any suggestions?

Gracias <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

About the knive question:

low buget: Mora,Frost

high quality: RSK m3

purchaes the following

1000 rounds of ammo (on sale at walmart)
12 cans of soup (chunky <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)
6 uncle benns ready to eat rice
1 gallon of bleach
1 case of water

ordered online
surefie L2 lumamax flashlight (Ilove flashlights)
1 case of batteries

every week i set a budget for purchases not alot $20 or so
i try to save the same amount each week to put twards a large purchase such as the surefire or some other piece of gear. this way its not to much of an expense and slow but sure i build up our stores of supplies.

anyone heard of the jetboil stove thing? it looked sweet, but i didnt get it cause id rather hear how it performs/

btw thanks jim for the suggestions on the knife ill look into it
anyone know anything about it or have experience about the jetboil stove thingy <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />?

I have used the jetboil and it works very well.
used it to heat one of then uncle bens rice bags on a hike, in about 2 minn my rice was ready to eat

I've got a JetBoil and it works great. The one drawback is the Piezo igniter. Reviews on it say it's 50/50 as to whether it will work or not. I've found that to be the case. I just use a lighter, match or whatever. I feel it's still a great setup even with that inherent problem. 2 cups of water to full boil in 2 minutes. Get the pot support and stabilizer for more versatility.

Regarding the JetBoil Piezo: just bend its wire down a bit, and make sure you turn on the gas slowly (it's harder to light if it's full blast, especially as you go up in elevation).

This week: reorganized my car and work kits as I'm now covering 700 miles a week (ugh!) on a new commute. Added some additional emergency clothing, knife, flashlight and personal care items to one bag; moved my PSK, FAK and some tools between some bags; added a mask, gloves, prybar and a few other odds and ends to the office bag (for earthquake/fire evacuation). Added an extra 2.5 gal. container of diesel fuel to the trunk (diesel engine on my vehicle). Next week I'll probably add some additional emergency water to the passenger compartment and trunk.

Always thinking and adjusting...

Thank you for this great subject.

This week I havent added anything to my preps but I started planning for my "retreat" . By the way, it is not a log cabin type. Its actually a guest room in the family house about a 100 mile away.

There is a BOB already in that room ( as I said before: I believe in the CACHE concept, or pre-positioned kits) . But I am planning to add more goodies and prepare the room for longer stays. That includes a TV, tea/coffee maker and a few other items that would allow longer stays more bearable in case of emergency or disaster.

Although I can use the family existing kitchen and other facilities, but I want to plan for possible long sleepless nights without disturbing others in the house.

I still remember one night that my family and I dropped in unexpectedly and had to sleep in that room for the night. I had to go around town at midnight to find and buy five blankets. It was raining and cold and wasnt fun.

ummmm
if it counts, I have bought for my youngest boy ( 10 yo ) a small (keychain) multitool and a memory-stick-sized kit of mini screwdrivers to add to his go-anywhere-bag ..