Triage thinking. And/or Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
 

All -

It was Heimdahl's thread on bugging out with kids that got me focused today.

That being said, it is damn near a universal element in all threads here.

So, first, Triage.

Here's a wiki quickie to read;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage

"Triage Thinking", to me can be defined as a method of determining

-at any point in a process - whether it be casualties in a war or

Possessions which have become casualties in a natural or unnatural disaster,

What you choose to abandon and what you choose to keep,

In order to ultimately survive.

And - by the way - this kind of reasoning is the only one I have

Discovered which is equally applicable to the Bug Out/Bug In dichotomy.

What it boils down to is this:

At one end you have the "perfect world" scenario

And at the other you have flat-out nothing.

All of us gravitate toward perfect world.

None of us like to look at flat-out nothing.

If you actually sit down and formally and methodically "ring the changes"

From one end to the other I think you will be surprised

At what you learn about yourself and your assumptions.

To be honest, you may be unpleasantly surprised, so

Be ready for that also.

I'm trying to keep this compact, so I'm not going to run

Any detailed "what if" scenarios.

That being said, I have run literally thousands for myself,

Given geographic location, demographics, climate, personal age

And health, family members near and far, neighbors, tools

And equipment, food and water supplies, etc., etc..

OK. I will give one very simple one.

For several years I spent half the week at one manufacturing plant

And half the week at another, for the company I work for.

They are about 200 miles apart. Sunday I'd drive South,

Wednesday I'd drive North.

Living as I do on the Washington Coast, winter weather can get hairy.

Highways wash out, bigass windfall fir and cedar drop across the road

Just like that, power goes out, cellphones don't work because of

The lay of the land, and so on and so forth.

I have been on the road in several winter storms when the wind and

The weather were just so strong I just had to pull over and lay by

Until it eased off.

So:

Truck was always kept full of fuel.

Basic box of mechanic's tools always in truck.

Rucksack always in truck - food, shelter, water filter, firstaid (you've
seen these lists a thousand times)

Chainsaw and fuel, and a 25' towing strap to pull downed
timber or disabled vehicles off the highway.

Shovel, rope, flares, big flashlight.

And so on and so forth.

Plus my wife always knew when I was running, the route,

And both estimated departure and arrival.

I got caught out there several times, cut my share of

Timber out of the highway, and on the worst occasion

Worried the crap out of my wife because I didn't

Show up for 30 hours past ETA and cellphone comm was out.

Anyway, my point is that I'd spent the time to run through

All the scenarios I could think of, and when they happened

I knew my decision paths.

Alright, this has gone too long already.

scyth

Re: Triage thinking. And/or Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance
 

This fits well with my historical approach.

The highest layers, things like PC and Phone can be scrapped or will likely fail first. A few days of light rain outdoors is all it takes to ruin your Cell as well as your oxford shirt. That also goes for cars, taffeta (down/synth) clothes, and lightweight or complex tools (folding shovels and saws etc)

Next comes the stuff from the 1900-1950, like electric lights, old tractors, hand pumps, shovels, hoes, wool blankets and bicycles.

Beyond that you have levels down to stone-age goods. Flint and bow, leather shoes, axes, string, pots, baskets, buckets and bags.

The good thing about this is that the number of goods decreases with the technology. A Pict might have his clothes, a knife, bronze axe, a spear or bow, and a pot. A modern bloke can hardly find room for his goods and rents a second storage unit.

Be sure not to run out of options before you run out of air.

TS