The concept of “Bugging Out” is a popular one amongst preppers. The term BugOut refers to quickly getting out of a bad situation before it turns into a really bad and possibly life threatening situation. When threatened by a hurricane, wildfire, chemical spill, or even volcanic eruption people are forced to BugOut whether they like it or not. Many times these people are not prepared to leave their homes and subsequently end up being S-O-L. Fortunately there is a way to avoid all of that pain and suffering, but it requires diligence and initiative. If you prepare in advance by organizing your BugOut supplies so they can be quickly accessed, and rehearse your BugOut drills frequently you will be much better prepared to survive if the Sh*t Hits The Fan. Here is a list of planning considerations when preparing for your BugOut. It is assumed that you will have access to a vehicle.
Where to go?
- Preferably have a destination in mind that you can get to on one tank of gas.
- Have a backup BugOut location in mind in case it becomes impossible to get to your first location.
- Have maps which detail primary, secondary and tertiary routes to both of your BugOut locations. Do NOT count on GPS!
- Identify rest stops, gas stations, camp sites and hotels along the route.
Who will be coming?
- Make sure everyone who will be coming is involved in the planning process.
- Have a plan for pets.
Make a checklist of what you would like to take.
- Sit down and brain storm a list of everything you would like to take if you had to leave home.
- Prioritize the list, if you think you might be able to leave it behind you probably should.
- Make sure to cover all the basic necessities, life support supplies (food and water), medical supplies, personal protection, hygiene, shelter, heat source etc.
- Don’t forget copies of valuable documents, birth certificates, social security cards, ID cards, mortgage and insurance information.
- In cases where carrying actual paper becomes too cumbersome store scanned images on an external hard drive.
- Do not let yourself become emotionally attached to items. Leave the family painting, the Xbox, and rare china behind.
Pre-Position Supplies.
- Go to Home Depot or Lowes, buy a sturdy set of shelves (or build your own).
- Pre-position all of your BugOut equipment on this shelf, with the exception of guns that would probably be in the safe.
- If you have to leave, you should be able to grab everything off the shelving unit, get in the car and roll. No turning back.
- Utilize Rubbermaid tubs to make stacking/storing items on the shelves and in your vehicle easier.
- Refer to illustration below as an example shelving setup.
Have a load plan.
- Practice loading your BugOut supplies. The time to find out something will not fit as expected is during practice, not the real thing.
- Load the the items you could need access to last, so you will be able to get to them easily while traveling.
Rehearsals.
- Try to complete practice BugOut’s twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter.
- When you think you have it down, do it again.
- Be discreet about your rehearsals, no need to do them in broad daylight on a Saturday.
Misc Tips
- Do not factor in your BugOut supplies when calculating what you have on hand (your complete prepping storage solution).
- Always keep your vehicle at least 3/4 full when it comes to gasoline.
- Keep your service intervals up to date.
- Drive routes in advance, make mental notes of potential areas where traffic could become a problem.
- Often overlooked are owning a good pair of sturdy shoes/boots. When faced with bad weather the last thing you want to be doing is stomping around in the mud in running shoes.
- Have a code word established among family members that you can text or say in person over the phone, which lets everyone know that they should get back home and prepare to BugOut. This will eliminate confusion and maintain OPSEC. The code word should never be used for training, only in a real event.
- If I forgot anything please feel free to comment, thanks!
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