Prep Goals for 2014?

What are your prep goals for 2014? Let's share and encourage each other to keep prepping and learning!

Medical

I'd like to get more medical training. Currently I have certification in Wilderness First Responder & Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED. Depending on my budget, time, etc., I'm considering an EMT class, the PRN Med "Medical Responses on Hostile Environments" class, and/or a class on gunshot wounds. (I've done a one-hour trauma class, but I'd like to do more.)

Now, does anyone know about the PRN Med class? The PRN Med curriculum seems to cover a lot for a weekend course. Some people on the M4Carbine forum expressed skepticism about the instructors and the contents of the course. I'd like to know what you think. I'm wondering whether there would be some overlap between the EMT and this course.

Communication

I still don't have my HAM license. I really need to get around to it!

Wilderness Survival

As some of you may recall, I found a survival instructor locally. He offers some short weekend classes, and I'll get a better sense how far I can go with him.

I'd also like to get more outdoor time, but let's see if my job lets me (yeah, right).

*And* if I have extra time after that (yeah, right), I'd like to do a search and rescue class. My state has some sort of certification requirement for volunteers.

Defensive

I've gone through "basic" and "advance" firearm courses. I'd like to do moving through structures and tactics. Fortunately, my life is safe enough that all this stuff is really just a very remote "just in case." It's looking more like a hobby than anything else.

I think I'm getting close to the point when I'll replace my original ACR PLB.

I need to wire a generator connection (transfer switch) in my house. I've got the generator, but not the connection. Not trying to power continuously - mostly just need to be able to power water and septic system pumps - so the amounts of fuel needed are relatively small.

One of the goals would be to reduce the amount of things and instead of focus on quality both in equipment and training. Basically the less is more approach.

Also do more fun things. Preparedness is great, but you still can´t decide when you die. So make most out of it.

Bingley... if you are looking for a good shooting hobby, check out the USPSA pistol and 3 gun competition locally....it's been a great 30 year hobby...3 gun will quickly sort out your equipment, and improve your gun handling skills...

Medical: I'd love to take the WFR course. It's very doubtful that I'll get this done in 2014. Given how long the class is they'd have to offer it locally on evenings and/or weekends for me to consider it any time soon.

Communication: Gotta get my HF shack working, and preferably also mobile 2M rigs for both cars. We have HTs in each car now, which is better than nothing.

Wilderness survival: I could swing a bushcraft class if I could turn it into a fun camping trip for the family. I'll check into that.

Defensive: I spend more time, effort and money here than preparedness would dictate -- I have too much fun with this hobby to cut back . I've stepped up my pistol instruction side business and as a consequence I've been able to sign up for a two-day tactics class from a higher-level instructor. There's a second class in 2014 that I'd like to take; let's hope I can fill some more of my classes and be able to pay for it that way. I'd love to find time and money to resume martial arts training.

At home: I'm in pretty good shape here. In my mind, short-term emergencies are three days or less, medium term run from three days to two or so weeks, and long term is anything longer than that. We're well prepared for short and medium term emergencies and I've made a conscious decision to not spend a lot of effort on TEOTWAWKI scenarios.

Transportation: Both of our vehicles are older but very reliable. If things change financially I'd like to get back into a 4x4, but that's probably 2015 or 2016 for me.

Gear maintenance: I'm a fanatic; I have a designated Battery Charging Day every month, I unpack and repack our BOBs three or four times a year, and all of our FAKs are kept filled with expiring meds replaced. The cars are both maintained religiously -- if there's one prep that I think a lot of people miss that shouldn't, that's it. I'm a little behind on sharpening my EDC knife and that's it.

Body maintenance: Last year I ran my first two half-Marathons and a number of shorter races. Our winter running group is about to start again; my goals for 2014 are to improve my half-Marathon times rather than to run longer races.

Planning: I've got pre-planned actions for given scenarios but I haven't written them down well enough for my wife and daughters to execute them in my absence. This is probably the number one area that I could make a significant improvement in our preps, by putting together more written plans and checklists to make things easier if I'm not home. I'm taking next week off from work; this can be my little project for then.

Medical: I did the Wilderness First Aid course this year and while I'd love to take the WFR course, like Chaos indicated, it's too long and not local. If the opportunity happened, yeah I'd really like to take that course. I'll keep my FAK's up to date and maybe imrove them a bit. When bad things happen you won't have enough 4x4's.

Gear: The sleeping bag thread has me looking at a down bag. Otherwise, I have lots of gear.

Move: I'm seriously considering Bugging Out from SOCAL. If things went wrong SOCAL is not really a good place to be trying to bug-out from. Better to bug-out way early. More later if this happens.

Medical - Have taken several introductory First Aid classes, very basic level stuff, so would like to try to take more First Aid training. As a plus this ties in with my involvement in the Boy Scouts too.

Shelter - DS and I have new hammocks, we'd like to try some hammock camping this spring and summer

Fire - Just made my first batch of char cloth last night, amazingly easy to make, wish I had tried it sooner (will definitely make more soon as this batch was used up in a fire-starting materials gift bag for the scouts and scouters in the troop), working on perfecting 3 techniques of matchless/lighterless fire starting so when the time comes we will be ready to teach that part of the wilderness survival merit badge

Water - still need to get a good water filter, and plan to set up grey water collection barrels this summer

Signaling - need to practice with the signal mirrors

Communication - very weak in this area, need to start looking into this more, for starters need a PLB or something comparable in case of an emergency in the wilderness, also need to look into the ham radios for long distance emergency communications, and i'd really like an NOAA weather radio that has battery, crank and solar power options

Wilderness Survival - got the gear, got the knowledge, time for some testing in relatively controlled settings; really excited about this after taking a BSA course on matchless fire starting, and seeing how easy it was to start a fire with a flint, steel and charcloth (with a bird's nest of fluffed up twine)

Defensive - another weak area, plan to take a CCW class and hopefully take a bit of training as well

Gear - got lots of good stuff and extras, now it's just tweaking and filling in the gaps as mentioned above, gear for keeping up with the Boy Scout adventures is taking priority

Other - Need to step up the home preps, tried getting DW involved, but to no avail, so gonna have to see to it myself I guess, maybe get DS more involved so he will feel less anxious about excessive rains and flooding in our area

Sounds like a great reason to buy that STI 1911 in 9mm! I know competition improves mechanics, but I feel like the gaping hole for me is tactics. I don't know how to move through a house, go up/down stairs (can you even survive that?), get through doors, etc.

I poked around some more on PRNMED, & found two people on a survivalist forum who have done the course. One loved it. The other was unimpressed, saying EMT training would be better. I'm thinking that if I'm going to do EMT, I probably won't do PRNMED's course. Also, looking at their curriculum, they really do seem to squeeze a lot into the weekend. I spent quite some time practicing improvising splints in the WFR course, and I got better as a result of all that practice. I'm guessing you can't make the course shorter without losing something.

True. But unless you get into a door-kicking role with the military or a law enforcement organization, much of what you need to know is gun handling and effective use of cover. This is not to discourage you (or any other law abiding gun owner) from taking tactics classes. I do.

Interesting.

I have never heard of PRNMED so I googled it. I looked at their curriculum and application. My impression, based on that, is that they seem to cram a lot of rather advanced stuff into a short course. That might be OK for students coming in with previous background such as WFR or EMT. But they don't seem to have any prerequisites, and I'm a bit skeptical they could do a good job of covering all that advanced material with students who are coming in cold.

Having done both WFR and EMT basic, my opinion is that if I could only do one, it would be WFR. EMT covers a lot of stuff related to ambulance work that won't be so useful if you aren't working in that setting. One thing you might get in EMT is a bit more emphasis on medical issues like cardiac, COPD, acute abdomen, etc. WFR covers that stuff as well, but tends to focus more on trauma. EMT tends to assume you have all the toys available and will rapidly transport to an ER, but doesn't much cover working in an austere or improvised environment, or a long term care setting. At least that was my experience. Like I said, I think most folks on this forum would find WFR more suited to their needs.

One thing to check into is your states licensing/certification regulations for EMT. In Alaska, anyone can be certified as an EMT-1 (same as EMT-B in most states). You cannot be certified in Alaska at higher levels (EMT-2, EMT-3, Paramedic) unless you are working in a service (ambulance, VFD, etc) with a supervising physician. In some states I believe you must be part of an official service even to be an EMT-B. WFR is not an officilly recognized certification by the State of Alaska. This is changing somewhat, however. I have been able to count my WFR recert course as CE for my EMT-1 recert. That brings up another point. You might want to ask the PRNMED folks how they handle refresher training. Medical skills are perishable. To keep my WFR and EMT-1 cards current, I have to do recerts every couple of years. I think even WFA now has recert requirements to keep current.

I am pretty well set in most areas. I'm not a great prepper, but better than the average citizen. I have all kinds of survival gear, stored water and food, firearms with training and experience out the wazoo, etc.

The one area where I really need to concentrate is my physical condition. I am overweight and not in great physical shape. I get along just fine and have no limitations in daily life, but lets face it, running a marathon would be out of the question for me currently. Luckily I have zero medical conditions, but just being too fat is a big liability in any kind of survival situation. Buying a bigger sleeping bag in 2014 is not the solution...

AKSAR, WFA is good for 2 years -- wildfirstaid.shtml

I'm pretty good on supplies, guns, and stuff. I do want to get in shape to complete Goruck Heavy by the end of the year.

Conditioning seems to be the pre-eminent item on my list. With the gold and silver market down, I desperately want to increase my poke.

Ammo is good, I will want to improve my take on fishing and hunting so I can start filling all those empty jars in my garage. That's all about access and timing, so will have to network with the locals more.

Will have to help the youngest daughter find work up here so she can relocate in a year as we planned. Hopefully tptb will begrudge us the time.

Otherwise just biding my time here, waiting for the big rock to fall out of the sky, or the ground to open up, or the sun to spit a loogie at us, or the Chinese to finally get fed up with the Fed and trash the dollar.

Something's gotta happen soon. I would hate to think I wasted all this training and resources just to have life go on as usual. All this stuff I have now won't last forever, and I ain't getting any younger.

I know quite a few people who train in self-defense, armed or unarmed, but I don't know anyone who thinks that if they don't end up in a home invasion situation fighting three violent criminals, then their training was wasted. Likewise, I have health insurance, but I don't want opportunities to use it. There is value in being safe than sorry, even if no emergency ever comes your way.



I'm guessing the same could be said of a lot of survival-related skills, and this is a tough fact to face. Many people aren't EMT/SAR/etc., and we do our course, forgetting most things we've learned after a few months. To maintain the skill level just for the short-term emergencies that I prepare for, is a lot of time commitment. I just don't have the time. I'd imagine the situation must be even more drastic for long-term preppers, which I am not. So in truth, I must regard my prepping as a kind of hobby that could come in handy.

Simplify and organize (better).

Pete

Bingley, If you repeat a course several times on a yearly basis, the information gets wedged into your brain. Extreme example; I was employed by a hospital in Georgia for 17 years. On a yearly basis, I was required to sit through a training program covering fire response, patient safety, hazardous materials, etc. After 10 or so years, I found I could sleep through the films and ace the post-test.

Agreed. Is there any reason I need to train and practice trying to reliably make 1 MOA shots at 300 to 500 yards? Learning how to estimate and correct for ballistic drop and wind? I don't hunt. But this is a skill I am trying to learn/maintain, even though I will probably never, ever, use it. I wouldn't want to have to use it. It would take a complete breakdown of society and laws, and I'd have to be under seige in a bunkered down position. That's only gonna happen in a post-apocalyptic world, and it's even a remote chance under those circumstances. But still I practice it, and I don't feel my training is wasted one little bit. Plus, it's fun!

Plus, it's fun!

I agree totally, and I'll bet that is true for many of us. What more do you need?

My prep goals are pretty basic this year:


BASECAMP

Restock the pantry and deep freeze.

Store more drinking water.

Continue to eliminate debt.

Improve energy efficiency of the house. We're in the midst of an ice storm right now, and it's highlighting some weaknesses.

Continue teaching bacpacboy self-reliance skills.

Maintain and improve all family BOBs, day and vehicle kits. (i.e. All my kits have gone on a diet this year, except the new baby's BOB, but my vehicle BOB disappeared with I went on maternity leave, but my daily commute resumes in a few weeks.)


OUTDOOR TIME

Make personal outdoor time when I go back to work full-time in January. I plan to take my day hike kit and have lunch on one of the local trails at least a few times a week.

Take the bacpackids out for a serious hike at least monthly, along with regular shorter walks.

Take bacpacboy camping at least once a season.

Take bacpacbaby camping for the first time!

Take my son and nephew on a couple of survival weekends.

Make bacpacboy's dream come true by building and sleeping in an improvised shelter we make from natural materials.


PERSONAL

Improve my cardio and abdominal strength.

Recertify in 1st Aid and CPR.

Continue to improve brushcraft skills. (I'm currently working on my Intermediate BushClass certification through Bushcraft USA)

Find a new job with better compensation and benefits.

Continue to experiment with and improve my camp cooking. YUM!

Make fire by friction!

Recreate an office BIB (Bug-in Bag)

Keep working on identifying wild edibles in my area, including taking a walk with a pro!

Can you tell me more about this process? I looked at the site, and I thought it was just a discussion forum. (I might even have asked the forum about learning bushcraft in my area!)

Bingley - looking at your original post. well balanced approach. that's a good idea. many people tend to obsessively focus on one area of preparations. it is smarter to spread energy in different directions, as you are doing. good luck! Pete

"I have a designated Battery Charging Day every month"

that's a good idea. hits one of those "sore spots" for me. i was out in the wilderness last summer, grabbed my DSLR camera, and to my chagrin I found that the battery had died. no photo's. and no way to get a replacement camera battery in the middle of nowhere. the camera on my phone saved me partially, but it's not the same.

Monthly Battery Day - I will get it on my list.

cheers, Pete

"I don't know how to move through a house, go up/down stairs (can you even survive that?), get through doors, etc. "

i am just going thru old posts on this thread and answering a few points.
in reference to your statement - it would take a LOT of training to do this well. there are tactical teams for law enforcement that focus on just these areas. so ... a lot of time, energy, money would be required.

a more practical approach for most people is to set up a defensive system in your own home. you know the exact layout of your house. intruders do not generally know this. you can decide where is the best place to defend against attackers - if they did make it into your dwelling. you don't need to force them from your home. you just need to make an emergency call and withdraw to a designated Safe Area. work out the firing angles for that defensive zone. install some concealed cameras to give you views (outside and inside) your house. install extra protection in your Safe Area if you want to do this.

this is a more practical and efficient approach. it does not require you to expose yourself to danger ... not as much anyway.

BTW, there are ways of holding a pistol when going through doors and openings. you could learn this in one lesson. but you should learn it.

Pete

Health

• Actually finish that 100 pushups program
  
• Improve physical endurance
  
• improve eating habits

Communication

• Install rig in car
  
• Improve Morse code skills
• Build portable antenna for the low bands

Defensive / hunting

• hone reloading skills
  
• have at least two training sessions for rifle per month
  
• have a weekly training session for pistol shooting
  
• Improve results with muzzle loaders

Energy

• Build a take down Savonius rotor with generator and PCB for charging batteries
  
• Adapt solar panel for portable use

I think this list is achievable. I really want to resist the temptation to put too much on it.

For the tactics it is important to have a clear goal. For civilians that might be "survive unharmed", when defending your home you might wish to add "no blue fire incidents". This would demand tactics which differ significantly from the tactics of a law enforcement assault team with the goal of arresting the bad guys.

Did I mention a new back-up heating system for our house? Yeah. That's moving up the priority list!

Sure thing, Bing!

I joined last year and I'm loving it!

It's a self-paced, peer-instructed and reviewed process. There are on-line tutorials, including videos, and each level (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced) has a series of requirements, centered around bushcraft skills, with each level building on the previous one. There is also a list of elective projects, some of which need to be completed for each level. Additionally, there are required outings to practice your skills, including required overnights.

Essentially, you watch videos about various essential skills, then practice, and then show your successful results to your peers, who will either give you the thumbs up, or make you re-do it. Everyone shares the stories, photos and videos with the group, so we all learn together.

You get a certificate at the end, but I'm just in it to learn.

Restoring my physical conditioning is item number 1! I've suffered through surgery and months of physical therapy after a car wreck. I hope I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Getting back to my previous condition is important to me.

Completing my home battery backup system is number 2. I only have a few more things to do to finalize the system.

Continue to improve with my various shooting sports. Hope I can return to trap soon (pending PT and surgeon's approval of course).

Rotate food stocks! I've got some food that needs to be brought into the pantry and new moved into storage.

Learn as many new skills as possible. I'm in a Meetup that gets together and we practice skills and teach each other what we know.

Physical conditioning should be on everyone's list -- without it many survival situations are much more demanding. In 2002 I bought myself a lifetime membership to a local gym and have been a regular since. The older you get the tougher it is to get back in shape and at a time when it is even more important.

The first 6 months back in the gym was tough for me because I was continually comparing myself to a much younger me. I'm stronger now that in 2002 but nowhere near my conditioning while on active duty. Still, it's a goal ...

some good ways for physical conditioning ...

1. walk a lot of miles. walking is still one of the finest exercises ever invented. surprisingly few people do it. to increase calorie demands, walk quickly (Power Walking), put on a light backpack with 10-20 pounds, or walk up steep hills.

2. swimming .. also excellent. a lot of people reject this because they are not good swimmers. but you can put on some swim fins and use a floatation aid - you will still burn a lot of energy if you do laps. swimming is great to avoid injuries and recover from the.

3. elliptical machines. ive always found these machines to be particularly good for burning calories while avoiding injuries from repetitive impacts.

cheers, Pete

My next goal: figure out all the stuff you can do with this new Suunto Ambit 2 GPS watch the wife got me for Christmas. Loving this thing so far.

Lose 15 pounds or 2" off my gut, whichever comes first. I'm doing yoga and fat-burning exercises on the treadmill three times a week but I fear that isn't enough. :-(
-Blast

"Lose 15 pounds or 2" off my gut"

with you on that one, Blast-man.
I've really gotta' shed some weight. I am going to make a very serious effort to get 20 pounds off, starting in Jan.

Pete

Weight training builds muscle, muscle burns fat. Combining cardio (walking = approx 100 calories per mile IIRC) and weight training is the way to go IMO, but I'm just a layman at this, no fitness/health expert.

From what I've read, Roman Centurions typically ate only dinner and therefore went all day on their stored energy. Typically, I eat breakfast so my work-outs burn energy I just ate. I'm thinking on that Centurion lifestyle as a possible way to drop some pounds.

As an infantryman and in Special Forces, we often ate in such a way due to the inability to carry enough rations for the entire mission. One meal a day is typical on many missions. I do not recommend it as a diet plan. You are training your body to store up calories more rapidly, as fat, for those times when you have no food. Yes you will lose weight, at least in the short term, but it does damage to the body. A healthy diet with everything in moderation, along with exercise, is the only healthy way to lose weight. Burn more than you take in, and eat a healthy, balanced diet.

oatmeal for breakfast.....

Montenero - well balanced advice.
Part of the trick in our society is to maintain more control over the food content in our meals. A lot of prepared meals, even simple salads, contain surprisingly high numbers of calories. Restaurants just cannot help themselves from piling extra additives into the menu..

Pete

My goal for 2014 is to actuate the phrase "One of these days we've got to get organized." I've got too much stuff that I can't find quickly enough to be of any real value in an emergency. This would please my darling DW, as well.