Family Security (Post 100!)

On a personal note, this is my 100th post. I’ve appreciated your interest and your participation in this little project. This blog gives me an outlet for a few things I enjoy, writing and guns. Thank you for our first 8 months! Burn

I read a lot about preparedness. Almost as much as I read about guns! Preparedness has been something that I’ve grown up with. I had food storage under my bed as a kid. We had a garden every year. I was exposed to weapons at an early age. There were other things that made me who I am today. Some say I’m paranoid. There’s a well known saying in security, “It's not paranoia if it keeps you alive!” So having been exposed to preparation ( I was a prepper before prepping was cool!) and having a background in weapons I naturally think that security should be part of your preparedness plan. In fact, I feel so strongly about this I would venture to say that if you neglected to include security in your plan that you may as well not plan at all. After seeing what others teach and what is out there on the internet, I would say there are very few addressing security. I myself taught a series of classes in my ward on 72 hour kits. My last class was going to be on security. I was asked to not give this fireside after I told what would be included. I was told it would upset too many people. I protested and said if I didn’t include this class then the rest was really for nothing. It was insisted so I moved to other subjects.

If you’ve read much of what I’ve written on here you would know that I prioritize security pretty high. If you neglect security, you may lose everything else you have prepared. I don’t advocate killing anyone who asks for help, just to be careful about how you deal with those you do not know. There are many predators out there. Some who were not a predator during rule of law, become something they would not otherwise become. Especially those who have a family and are not prepared at all. These are things no one wants to think about, leave alone be faced with. If you go to any lengths to protect your family during rule of law, then you should be able to go to any length to protect them during a real crisis.

I think it’s high time we stop being politically correct and discuss the realities of security during a crisis. I’m not talking about killing someone who is hungry and wants your food, but I am talking about protecting my family if someone gets out of hand with their need.
You should at least talk about this with your spouse and possibly your kids. I want my kids to be kind, and service minded. I want them to help their fellowman. But I also want them to be safe and to not be taken advantage of. They have been exposed to weapons and self defense training. What we all need to learn is how to determine to turn someone away or if they are not what they seem. During without rule of law, every man I will suspect. Some women I will suspect. Children I will regard with caution. Have you ever heard of “probing the target?” This is where an enemy will test the security, strength, and resolve of their target. In doing this, they mean to find out what measures and procedures are used to check someone trying to get into a stronghold. This means that you must hold back. If someone comes to your gate or door, you show very little in determining the business that person has being near your perimeter. If the attacker is trained in tactics, this probe might get stronger each time it is employed. Do not show your hand in this though you may be tempted. The Viet Kong used to rattle the wire and make a lot of noise. Also, you must be wary of an attempt to attack from another direction when attention is turned to the front.
Why would you prepare so much in the area of preparedness and then skip defense? It makes no sense.
Part of your family preparedness security plan should include an extreme situation plan. I don’t know if we’ll ever need fighting positions on our property but I want them to be there if needed.
I’ve said it before and I am sure I’ll say it again, every family should have a security plan. (FAMSEC) If you do not, prayerfully consider it.
You might include:

Home security
A “safe room”
Property security (everything but the home)
Family code
Personal defense
Extreme measure security
Portable security (bug out)

I will go through what I think each of these should be at a minimum in another post.

The safety and security of your family should be a top priority. I would say to follow my training acronym ASWiFFS. Air, Shelter, Water, Food, Fire, Security in ensuring your family is prepared. The first five a fairly easy to be working on but do not neglect the sixth. It is more important than gold and silver. Remember, this isn’t about whether you will or won’t share your stores with others—although sharing should always be YOUR choice, not mandated by the threat of violence from another, this is about you protecting your life, your virtue, and your safety in the midst of chaos that will inevitably ensue after a economic collapse, major disaster, or an attack on our citizenry. This is the extreme security I mention above.
I guess I’ve danced around it long enough. I’m not trying to be PC really, I just don’t always think being blunt is the best course of action. In this case, I take exception and I hope I don’t step on anyone’s toes. I will try not to rant.
I believe there are lots of sheep in the church. Don’t take that in a bad way. Sheep are good, productive citizens. As a sheepdog, I love the sheep and would never do them harm. The problem with the sheep is they live in denial. It only takes a peek at crime statistics to know that we live in dangerous times. To stay safe, we must be security minded. To keep our family safe, we must be security minded. I’m not talking about extremes, even though some think what I advocate ARE extremes! I do not think being careful and prepared are extremes.
We just went on a trip out of town. I have what I call a “vacation security checklist”. It’s just a list that I’ve made and changed throughout the years to remind myself to do certain things before we leave. Locking up ladders, putting timers on lights, these sort of things. When we travel I carry a gun, but for redundancy’s sake, I carry a tac pen, a knife, and a stun gun. The pen and knife I always carry. They are part of my every day carry. Usually my gun is also with me. I took the stun gun just for choices. I don’t always want a lethal solution. Some would say this is extreme. I’ve only used a weapon once to defend myself. I did not have to press the trigger thankfully. I’ve never used the other weapons and hope to never have to use any weapon ever again. But rather than be a sheep, I would believe that bad things happen to good people, and prepare for the worst. I am not saying you have to be me. On the contrary, I want you to look at your unique situation and individual personalities in your family and come up with a plan. Most people, LDS members or not, have no plan.
In the next series of posts I will outline ideas for you and your family to pull from to develop your own individual family security plan.
Stay tuned

Semper Paratus
Burn