Where is Your Stuff?

When we teach classes on self defense or preparedness, guys frequently show us photos of their mountains of food, guns, and ammo.  It’s frequently a room stocked with cartons of food, stacks of ammo, and a safe full of guns.  They then proudly say “I’ve been prepping, I’m ready”.  I burst their bubble by asking what will happen if they are at work when an event happens.  Invariably, they say they’ll make their way home, with no real consideration having been given as to how they are really going to get home, then I open their eyes with this one: What if you can’t get home?

Another scenario that destroys this “stockpile” mentality is a recent news story from the COVID-19 lockdown.  A man in New York had the FBI arrive and seize thousands of masks he had LAWFULLY PURCHASED and was selling at inflated prices, using the Defense Production Act as their justification.  The DPA allows the federal government to seize any item that they deem you have more than they think you should.  When I share this story, people say”Yeah, but they arrested him”, assuming that there was some criminality in his ownership.  When you read the case filings, there wasn’t.  He was arrested for lying the FBI and denying his ownership, not for anything criminal in his purchases.

In this article, we’re going to discuss two pieces of tactical wisdom related to your own supplies:

1. Dispersal
2. Secrecy

As we do so, we’re going to consult my favorite Tactical Field Manual, the Bible.

“Give portions to 7, yes to 8,

For you do not know what disaster

May come upon the land”

Ecclesiates 11:2

While most people apply this wisdom to investing, it is equally appropriate in your investments as far as gear and supplies.

In a true Without Rule of Law situation (WROL), both the government and other people will be adversarial to your ownership of supplies.  If all your eggs are in one basket, so to speak, one confrontation can lead to you losing everything you have.

Spread out your supplies and gear; don’t keep them centralized in one location.

As an example, I have gear at my house, some stored in my vehicle, some in a wooded area in a public park stash within walking distance of the house, some in my office, and some at the cabin in the woods, several hours away.

In this way, I’ll be able to survive if some portion of the supplies are seized under the DPA or taken by bad actors.

Let’s just discuss food in this example.

1. At the house, I have one closet with a couple of boxes of non-perishable, camping type food.  
2. At the office, I have a drawer with several packages of freeze-dried and canned food stored.  
3. The car has my emergency bag with 2 days worth of survival food and my backpack with 72 hours worth of food.  It’s important to note that I can retrieve this food, even if the vehicle can’t be driven from the location.  
4. In a deep cache in a wooded trail park near the house, I have additional long-term storage food buried.  
5. At the cabin, I have both food stored inside the garage, and in a cache in the woods nearby.

As you can tell, no matter what the circumstances are, I’ll have access to survival rations at least for a time.  You can apply this same strategy to every type of supply or gear you need (I have).

Now, let’s talk secrecy:

“Those who guard their lips, preserve their lives,

But those who speak rashly will come to ruin”

Proverbs 13:3

As I scroll social media, I’m shocked at the information people put out there, and people into preparedness are no different.

I see guys posting their chest rig, plate carriers, and guns, which is really just a shopping advertisement for criminals to come and steal.

I see posts of guys showing off their “stash room” full of food and ammo.

What keeps the average person from stealing from others?  Some say morality, some say fear of prosecution.  It’s neither.  It’s a LACK OF URGENT NEED.  People will make very different decisions when they and their family are on the verge of starvation than they would in good times with money coming in and food readily available.

We are approaching such a crisis in America right now.

If you’ve told everyone in your neighborhood how “prepared” you are, what will stop them from banding together to take your things?  I don’t care how much ammo you have, if a mob knows you have things and they want them, they’ll get them.

Best selling author Ivan Throne (darktriadman.com) states it best in his book “The Nine Laws”, when he says “Concealment is the Second Law”.  To survive, don’t let the world know what you have or what your plans are.

If no one knows you have food, they won’t come looking for it.  This applies to discussions on social media, around the water cooler, and in your neighborhood.  Operations Security is a vital and often overlooked aspect of preparations.  

Many people are tempted to brag and “out-prep” each other.  It’s better to keep quiet and quietly amass your supplies and disperse them.

In a WROL event, don’t flaunt what you have.  When the rest of the neighborhood has been living on canned beans, don’t grill steaks outside.  

If the government hands out water and food, ACCEPT IT so as not to stand out to either the government or your neighbors.  The only exception to this is if they require registration or “vaccination”/“health checks” to receive aid.  Never submit to those controls.  Another caution in this area is that you should never enter a secured perimeter to receive emergency government aid….that perimeter isn’t really to keep people out.

In conclusion, spread out your supplies to diverse locations so that it can’t all be taken or destroyed at one time, and don’t share information publicly about your preparations/stockpiles.

Be safe, and be READY.