2020 Civil Unrest Get Home Bag
Throughout the US during 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic we now have to deal with civil unrest, riots and looting taking pace all over our country and in our towns. What would you do if you had to evacuate from your vehicle due to a bunch of protestors blocking the highway damaging vehicles or if you are downtown and civil unrest breaks out and blocks your only way out of the area? First, you need to try and get your vehicle to a safe place if you can, lock it and leave it and think about ways to Escape and evade the rioters. If you can, evacuate your vehicle and head to safe grounds where ever that might be. Your auto insurance will hopefully cover your damage from the rioters. Second, on your way out of the vehicle grab your Civil Unrest / Get Home Bag. Try your best to get out unnoticed. If you can blend in and escape the area as soon as possible. Your best option at that time is to become the Gray Man and blend in and get to safety without anyone noticing what you are doing or drawing attention to yourself. Basically when you get the chance sneak off and find your own place of safety. Cell phone towers could be down but that should not stop you from trying to call for help. In the case of Seattle, the Police stated publically they would not come, so make sure you have a list of contacts that might come get you in an emergency. If you are planning a trip out of town, plan in advance and know your routes and be prepared to take an alternative route if you have to. The most important thing is to not get into an confrontation with anyone as the mob mentality will side with them the rioters and they will gang up on you. Do your best to be the Gray Man (change into a dark shirt, and pants if possible, put on a dark non descript cap, not one with a saying or symbol on it – this may help you “blend in” with the crowd and it will make it less likely for someone to point you out). Read More about Gray Man on our website blogs. I am not trying to scare you just make you aware times are changing and will continue to change. It is your responsibility to be as prepared as possible. If you are the head of the household, it is your responsibility to take care of your spouse and kids and make your Get Home Bag is set and you help them create smaller versions for themselves. Here are some essentials you could put in a nondescript, dark bag such as a back pack as your Get Home Bag. Keep in mind people you will need to tailor you gear for Urban Escape compared to Rural Escape and Evade areas but some basics still apply. Items Include:
Cell phone charger / battery backup, more than one would be preferred.
Knife – I personally would have more than one knife for personal protection as well as you might need it for other things and having a good quality pocket knife is essential. Even a Swiss Army Knife is Great and they are small. Weapon – me personally I would have a pistol of some kind and a small amount of ammo.
MACE or Pepper Spray
Emergency Sleeping bag, no matter what time of year this can be essential and save your life. You can actually get these as small as the palm of your hand. I am a big fan of the LIFE BIVY (Orange or Green; I like the Green better, less noticeable in the civil unrest situation)
Fire Starter – I am not talking about a BIC Lighter but a real way to start a fire that will not run out of fuel or fuel to leak out. If you want to keep a BIC or other brand it is ok, but make sure you have three other means to start a fire. I personally am a huge fan of: Ferro Rod, Black Beards Fire starter (I actually love this stuff- See our video on this product), Quick Fire, Fire Plugs. Minimum of three ways to start a fire! Flashlight – Good Quality i.e. stream lights are great and have been around 50+ years, extra batteries. Head Lamps are great too and allow you to have your hands free.
Water bottle and Water Filter – you can now get water from a variety of water sources including creeks, drainage run off. Seal Cock Key – This is vital in an urban situation. This would allow you to turn the water on from any industrial building even if the building has the water spigot removed. Check out this video. Multi Tool – (Quality Counts) Gerber or Leatherman are the top brands Small Pry Bar – Just in case you have to break in a place to hide for your own safety. Duct Tape – Small roll Metro Bus / Subway Card / Cash Protein Bars / MRE Meal or Tuna foiled Seal meals. (great protein), freeze dried is also a great option. I lived on the Cahaba River for 5 days on Freeze Dried Foods and traveled 50 miles in 5 days and it was sufficient to keep my strength and health up. Small First Aid Kit – make sure it has a tourniquet that you know how to use: Cat, Soft T Wide, SWAT T Tourniquet.
Rope: 50’ of 550 Paracord would be great to have to make a make-shift shelter if you had too. You can also get Fire Cord which has cordage inside to aid in starting a fire. You can also use the fire cord for zipper pulls on your bag! Gloves – Good Leather pair Hand Sanitizer /Wet Wipes / Emergency TP
Bandana / Face Mask – You never know what will be floating around in the air from the rioters and looters and even a bandana could help. N95 would be best, but having something to protect your face and breathing is most important. Socks & Hard Sole Shoes. You can opt for tennis shoes but with rioters and looters around you have to be more careful with where you step. Hard sole shoes or boots will give you foot and ankle extra support and there is nothing like putting on a clean pair of socks after sloshing around in the rain or sweating to death in the Summer heat. Small Note Pad and Pencil – just in case you need to write down directions or key notes you do not want to forget. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine]Remember, this is for emergencies only and to be used for escape and evade in the case of Civil unrest situation. Fate Favors A Prepared Mind![endif]
