Have a Plan

This has always been in my mind. Have a plan. No matter what - when there is something to be done - have a plan. This doesn't keep me from spending the day doing nothing (great plan!) every once in a while but otherwise - gotta have a plan.

What kind of a plan am I talking about? A plan to survive. After seeing that Katrina did to the gulf states and how unprepared the local authorities were in Lousiana I decided to review my plan.

Where I live I don't have to worry about hurricanes. We just get tornadoes. And blizzards. Ice storms. Except for tornados we generally have warning and can prepare. Tornados can take a house and then you have to survive. And execute your plan.

Ours was relativly simple. When storms are severe we grab our go bags and double check that we have sufficent cash, clothes, and medication (Medication is critical) and place the bags in our storm shelter. If things get bad we join the bags in the shelter and ride out the storm. If we lose the house and manage to survive we have family and friends that are close by who homes would more than likely not be affected and we'd crash there for a couple of days till insurance kicked in and we got into a hotel. Life would suck for a while but we'd move on.

Ice and snow are a little different. They can strike with little notice so the winter plan involves plenty of bottled water, fire wood, and canned goods. We can easily got 5-7 days without leaving the house.

What does this have to do with Katrina? Plenty if one allows the mind to wander. We're not far from Chicago or O'Hare airport. Either one would be a likely target for a terror attack involving a WMD (dirty bomb, poison gas, etc). This is what my plan needs to address.

While we are upwind are far as prevailing winds go in relation to O'Hare and Chicago every once in a while we get wind from the East - which would be the perfect time to attack for maximum effect. What would we do? Even if we weren't directly affected we'd have to move. Quickly.

The storm go bags would be tossed in the van. The back seat would come out. Still room for the 4 of us and lots of room for storage. Two tents, sleeping bags, a cookstove, pots and pans, and fuel could be in the van in 5 minutes. My daypack and it's attached cutlery go in. The wifes pack with her special things come along as well. The kids each have a pack they can put a few special things in to take along. Bottled water, canned and boxed food go as well. Dog food and a leash for Buffy. All of this is ok if things stay stable where ever we would end up.

What if they don't? Well my Glock 17, Ruger Mark II, Ruger 10/22, and H&R 865 are part of the pack. Sufficent ammo for both calibers is usually in the house. This is fine for close protection and small game. What about larger game? Or human problems at a distance?

I've always wanted a AR15 but the price tag is just too much for me right now. The .223 is in the lite side for de-animation. The M1 or M14 in .308 are awesome (love the SOCOM rifle) but the price is jut too painful right now. AK-47 clones are interesting but scream bad guy. This leads to, it seems to me, the SKS. Available for under $200.00 and a good caliber. Designed as a battle rifle and it doesn't scream 'terrorist'. Thing1 is handy with a rifle so this would be good for him as well. A carbine in 9mm to match the Glock seems like a possibility as well. The Kel-Tec is around $300.00 and would make it easy for the wife to put up a defense if necessary and not have to worry about recoil.

Thing1 and I have talked about tactics a bit. Not enough. Never practiced them either. Gotta find time for that. And bring the wife into this way of thinking. She's not quite there yet.

What am I missing? Outside of the SKS and Kel-Tec. Flashlights. Radio. Batteries. Those would be handy. Sure-Fire or Mag-Lite. Maybe both? Should I take the laptop and digital camera? Water purification? How much ammo? Is three calibers too much? Too little?

What I really need is ideas. I'm sure my fellow CofC writers will put forth their own plans for me to read. I can't wait.