“Bugging out” (BO) is a term many more are becoming familiar with as our country becomes more divided. I think of the scripture “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation” (Matthew 12:25). There’s just no way that two different polarized ideologies can cohabit with one another. People will either “hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). More and more seem to waking up to the very real possibility that we may lose our freedom. Personally, I think with the coup d’etat of last election (2020), without a divine intervention, war and destruction are inevitable.
Within the last year we’ve witnessed Marxist backed groups destroy and burn our cities, governors and mayors condone these actions, outright lies used by elected federal officials who want to impeach a former president, illegal lockdowns, small businesses go belly up, natural disasters that have harmed millions, and just the overall feeling an unwelcome new “normal” is here.
Many more are taking “prepping” seriously. When once preppers were considered border line psychotic, now main stream citizenry is moving in that direction.
H.A.N.D.S. Group: Home And Neighbor Disaster Support Group (also called Bugging In)
I once got caught in a winter storm without heat for almost a week. One can learn a few things from that. Fortunately I had plenty of food and a way to cook, candles and lanterns, blankets and sleeping bags, but what I didn’t have was a secondary source of heating that wasn’t connected to the grid. If there’s any place in the world where we should be prepared for “bumps in the road,” it should be the homestead.
What we call being prepared today was a way of life in history. The propaganda machine in recent decades has made preparing for anything longer than seventy-two hours a mockery. Not being able to sustain your life in your own home for extended periods is foolish. Why do you have a home? Just to sleep in? Don’t be a fool. Home should be a place of safety, protection and comfort.
Along with being prepared as a family, there’s always the neighbors. “Neighbor” in this case being used widely: church friends, work friends, etc. Neighbors can be a plus or a minus. Can they be trusted? Do you know them? Are their beliefs similar to your own? Are they druggies or criminals? What kind of neighborhood do you live in? Will there be mutual support in case of a disaster?
A HANDS group (home and neighbor disaster support group) is probably the best way to get through a disaster. In the case of my winter adventure, someone I knew had a vehicle that could get through the snow. If needed, we could have vacated our home and found a warmer place.
Bug Out Vehicle (BOV)
There are times, though, that we may have to abandon home. Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, riots, volcanos, or like the time of my afore mentioned winter adventure to name a few reasons. I know someone whose ex-wife had to abandon her home because rioters went through her neighborhood. I know a man who had less than twenty minutes to abandon his home because of a forest fire. Danger comes often unexpectedly and suddenly.
If you do have to leave your home behind, however temporary, your vehicle will probably be your first line of escape. What do you want to take with you? The same necessities in your primary place of security (your home), only you’ll take less than can be stored in your house. Think camping on steroids. If you’ve pre-planned, pre-packed, and pre-staged the necessities you can bug out quickly if need be. You may also have time and room to grab the niceties.
Bug Out Bag (BOB)
If for some reason your can’t take your vehicle, then you’ll be on foot. Why would you not take your vehicle? Maybe it needs repairs. Maybe you’re out of fuel and there’s a fuel shortage. Maybe someone stole it. Maybe another family member is borrowing it. Maybe you’re snowed in or some other natural disaster happened. Maybe you’re suddenly being overran by aggressors and can’t get to your vehicle. Maybe during your bug out from the homestead you have to abandon your vehicle.
If this is the case, where you have no vehicle, then you’ll need some sort of bag for necessities. What goes in your bag? The same things that go in your vehicle: only a whole lot less, and very little if any niceties. Your physical condition will determine how much you can carry. How much you carry will determine how fast and how far you can travel to escape the danger. Your environment will determine the order of importance of the equipment that you carry.
Things are a changin’
In the United States, as a people group, we’ve become accustomed to a stable, prosperous, and safe homeland. Recently, over the last year in particular, the norm has changed for many. Many have become aware how fragile the infrastructure can be. Taking steps to mitigate disaster’s consequences, man made or natural, is only logical. It is better to have some preps and not need them, than to have no preps and need them. It’s also better to have some preps ready for a rapid deployment, than have to bug out with no preparation at all.
A Journal of Edification and Exhortation 