The “Two is One, One is None” Trap (Everyday Carry)

Two is one and one is none – a phrase many live by but that can eat into other capabilities if one isn’t careful.  Redundancy is critical but must be balanced against mobility, especially related to EveryDay Carry (EDC).  Let’s take a real hard look at this from an EDC perspective, given a sample list:

• Firearm
• Spare mag
• Flashlight
• Knife
• Wallet
• Keys
• Trauma (TQ, Shears, Gloves, Homeostatic dressing)
• Notebook
• Lighter
• Chapstick
• Cell Phone
• Watch

As ridiculous as this might seem, let’s take a look at that list with respect to two is one, and one is none (quite literally).

• Firearm x 2
• Spare mag x2
• Flashlight x2
• Knife x2
• Wallet x2
• Keys x2
• Trauma (TQ, Shears, Gloves, Homeostatic dressing) x2
• Notebook x2
• Lighter x2
• Chapstick x2
• Cell Phone x2
• Watch x2

Seems a bit ridiculous but when you lay it out in the literal sense it drives the point home.  Two pistols?  Really?  Two of all that stuff on one person – might as well carry a small bag around all the time or walk around like a new private in basic training with cargo pockets bulging.

The What IF Factor

Here we go, what if something something.  What if my main gun goes down and then I don’t have a backup gun? First of all, most people do not train with their primary firearm (read: many are equipped, few are capable) but in the unlikely instance one gun goes down and you don’t have a backup….I suppose it’s not a good day.  What if ________ and I don’t have a backup?  What if your vehicle breaks down on the road, should you be towing a second vehicle behind it just in case?  Sometimes things happen and that’s where the wherewithal to improvise comes into play.

One can what if scenario’s to the end of time but all that does is lead to paralysis by analysis.  Sometimes you just have to go with the best option / decision at any given time and roll with it.  As someone who has been on Battalion and Brigade level staff and planned complex operations I can tell you that while we accounted for many contingencies there was no possible way to account for every single thing.  Sometimes you just have to trust your team to make the right decision if and when that curve ball gets tossed their way.  As an Infantry Platoon leader overseas there were times when I did not have all the relevant information necessary to make a decision nor all of the required support, we went with what we had and did it with conviction.

Mobility / Probability / Reality

Back to EDC, less is definitely more…that and training with the kit you do have on your person.  While backups are nice to have they don’t necessarily have to be ON you, maybe they are within reach in your vehicle.  All of these decisions must be made with regard to your own operational environment and most likely events that could occur.  Driving to the local gas station, chances are I’m not getting into a firefight with dudes with long guns where I’m burning through mags and calling for fire / air support.  If that does happen, I guess it was a life well lived and I’ll spend my last moments wondering how an Apache appeared out of nowhere to smoke some dudes trying to rob a convenience store.

Final Thoughts

I truly don’t care what you carry, want to roll around with a gun in every pocket and 6 flashlights just in case more power to you.  I remember during my first deployment in 2003 my LT (this was when I was enlisted) told me the worst thing that ever happened to the military was the movie Blackhawk Down.  He was referencing the scenes where they left their NVG’s behind and some other stuff before hitting the target, which of course led to us carrying everything and then some.  What’s the chance of a gas attack?  Probably 0.00001%.  Better carry all your NBC gear anyways, just in case.  I can tell you that lasted about a week and then we took our chances with that stuff in a conex somewhere.

I guess I’m providing all of these military examples because having carried heavy stuff for long periods of time, one quickly starts to make decisions where things could be less heavy and that outweighs the risks of “what if.”  I’m quite sure there are boxes of M240B blanks all over Fort Benning GA that were tossed into the treeline that can attest to that.  Here in the real world I stopped carrying backups and relegated them to my truck.  To each his own, good luck out there and let me know your thoughts in the comment section.