The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

In late May of 2006, various news outlets reported
that the Northeast Coast wasn’t “ready for hurricane season.” A Fox
News article stated that “New York City, Long Island, and the New
England coast have all been pounded by ferocious hurricanes in years
past — and as the 2006 season shapes up meteorologists are concerned
that the Northeast is ripe for a storm that could rival Katrina, at
least in terms of property damage.” We have apparently reached the peak
of the Atlantic Ocean’s cycle of hurricane activity (a cycle that takes
a “few decades,” the news articles tell us) and dire pronouncements
about what could or might occur are being fed into teleprompters faster
than the nation’s news anchors can intone them.

Media sensationalism aside, the threat of natural
disaster is always real — because earthquakes, hurricanes, severe
snowstorms, and other phenomena don’t go away simply because we’d be
terribly inconvenienced by their intrusions into our modern lifestyles.
I remember only too well the severe blackout that occurred in the
summer of 2003, when millions of people in Canada and the Northeast
United States lost power as some sort of cascading failure made its way
through the grid (a failure we in America were quick to blame on
Canada, if I recall correctly). At the time, the first thing we all
thought was that some sort of terrorist attack had taken place. I only
started to think that after I turned on the car radio and the local AM
station — running on generator power — explained just how widespread
was the outage. Then I got worried. I got more worried when I tried to reach my wife and couldn’t get a signal on my wireless phone.

Everything worked out for the best. The power outage
was a utility failure, not a terrorist attack. The wireless phone
network was overburdened with calls, not crashed by malicious action.
While our power was out for a while, it wasn’t out as long as it was
during what we in Central New York called “The Labor Day Storm,” when
it took several days to restore our electricity. It was after that
storm that I started compiling the Big Red Box of Power Outage
supplies. Still, after the Northeast blackout of 2003, I found myself
wondering what I would do and how I could plan for future natural
emergencies — and for civil unrest. Was I prepared enough?

In the course of my life I’ve watched plenty of
dramas unfold in different parts of the country — disasters like
fires, riots, and other “acts of God” and humanity that always seemed
very distant to me. For whatever reason, the lurid yellow journalism
that flowed from countless poison pens in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina affected me in ways those other disasters never did. I watched
with horror as breathless reporters regaled America with what we now
know were exaggerated and even fabricated tales of rape, looting, and
tragedy in New Orleans and elsewhere. I found myself picturing
something similar happening where I lived. How could I look my loved
ones in the eye and tell them I wasn’t ready, that I couldn’t be
bothered to do anything ahead of time?

The time to prepare for emergencies is before the fact. “Survivalism” is one facet of martialism. It is, at its core, preparedness
— taking the time to plan ahead, to stockpile necessary items, to
envision and (if necessary) to apply problem solving skills to
unforseen adverse conditions. To be a martialist, you must be a
survivalist. To be a responsible human being living in uncertain times,
you must be a survivalist. To be a survivalist, you must assemble a
survival kit.

There are countless approaches to creating a survival
kit and there are really multiple kits a given martialist might choose
to create. My survival kits are always evolving as I find new, useful
gear and replace old, obsolete, or redundant items. As I spent a few
early mornings watching Hurricane Katrina news coverage and surfing
survival sites, I formulated a plan that I followed slowly over the
course of the year that followed. I did not need a single survival kit.
I needed three.

Specifically, I needed a large kit for home —
something that would contain everything I could think of stowing for
use in future emergencies. (The home kit is, by definition, something
that does not leave the home.) I needed a bug-out kit, too, something
that could be relatively large and heavy but had to be mobile. It had
to be something I could grab while leaving the home, something I could
easily put in a vehicle and take with me. Finally, I needed a personal
survival kit, something to augment the daily carry items I already
toted. I had in my head, as I planned the kit, visions of September 11,
2001. I remembered the commuters who worked in New York city, making
their way on foot out of Manhattan with only the supplies they carried
with them to sustain them. To that end, I planned a survival shoulder
bag that would become my constant companion as I commuted to and from
(and traveled for) work.

Before we discuss the contents of the survival kits,
let us address what they do not contain: weapons. Survival weapons are
certainly important, but they are beyond the scope of these kits.
Entire books have been devoted to the topic of guns for The End Of The
World As We Know It (TEOTWAKI). Guns should be carried on your person
or stored securely in vaults or other separate locations, so we won’t
get into them here. Do not think, however, that I am dismissing them.
There’s no point in assembling survival kits of this type if you don’t
also consider weapons (as violence is frequently a side effect of
scenarios in which the veneer of civilized, modern society is torn
away). We simply won’t cover them in this article.

THE HOME KIT

The home kit is contained in a Gander Mountain duffel
bag that’s large enough to hold a human body (a small one, anyway). In
many ways it is simply a larger version of the mobile bug-out kit,
containing the same items (but more of them). For example, it contains
multiple medical kits and larger supplies of medicine (which would be
too bulky to haul around in the mobile kit). There are a few variations
in contents that should be obvious, too.

For example, the home kit contains more medical
supplies, food, and water rations because weight is not an issue. It
doesn’t contain a tent because there’s no need for a tent at home
(whereas the mobile kit does contain a small tube tent).

The home kit contains the following items:

MREs

Water rations

Food bars (survival rations)

Two 5 x 7 foot brown polyurethane tarps

New York and Pennsylvania Topographical Maps

Compass

Backpack for foraging

Bandannas

Waterproof matches

Dynamo Flashlights

Crank radio

Dynamo radio/flashlight

Light sticks

Household batteries

Gerber multiple LED light

Six 2-gallon water bags (ready for filling)

Canteen with potable aqua pouch

Potable aqua

Filter bottle

“Puck” Sharpener

Diamond sharpener rods

Prybar

Gerber multitool

Socket and driver set

Rope

Paracord

Knot card

Utility razor/li>

Commercial survival tin

Duct tape, fabric tape, electrical tape

sewing kit

Break Free CLP

Gun Brite polish

Hobo knife

Machete (Cold Steel)

Prybar

Heavy duty Velcro

Assorted nails

Various Nalgene bottles

Vinyl gloves

Face masks

Survival knife and snakebite kit

Metal cup

Stansport fold-a stove with fuel

Panchos

Survival Blankets

Eye drops

Gerber folding saw

Folding shovel

Multiple commercial first aid kits

Potassium Iodide

Sudafed

Benadryl/li>

Anti-diarrheal

Antibiotic ointment

Aspirin

Ibuprofen

Hydrogen peroxide

Isopropyl rubbing alcohol

Anti-bug sprays

Burn gel

Tick tweezers

THE BUG OUT BAG (BOB)

More important than the home kit is the mobile kit or
Bug Out Bag. The concept is one with which survivalists and like-minded
readers will be familiar. It’s a prepacked, ready-to-go bag that can
travel with the citizen as he or she flees an area that has gotten to
“hot.” When the “balloon goes up,” my Bug Out Bag is waiting for me to
grab it. No thought has to go into this, other than remembering to grab
the bag and put it in my car. (The bag could also be carried, but it is
not light enough for daily toting).

Into the bag goes everything that two people might
need to get them through everything from a minor emergency to civil
unrest and all-out societal collapse — the caveat being that the bag’s
contents are to get you where you are going, not sustain you
indefinitely in the field.

The Bug Out Bag contains the following items:

Cash
Compass
Maps
One 5 x 7 foot tarp
Tube tent
Potable Aqua
Filter canteen
Filter straw
Two 2-gallon water bags (ready to fill)
Whistle/compass/match holder
Humvee tool with LED flashlight
Portable chainsaw
Hand shovel
4-in-1 Hammer/Prybar/Gas/Water shutoff tool/li>
Carabiners
Can opener
Wire saw
Signal mirror
Umbrella
survival knife
small locking cable, lock
Fishling line and hooks/fishing kit
Light load towels
Dust masks
Gerber Multitool
Small pocketknife
Hobo knife
Camillus marlinspike knife
Gun Brite polish
Break Free CLP
Facial tissues/toilet paper
Electrical tape, duct tape
Sewing kit
Grappling hook, rope
Krazy glue
Allen wrench tool
Work gloves
Knots guide
Sling shot, spare sling, ammo
Sharpie marker
Pen
Pocket-its utiltity pouch
Panga machete (Cold Steel)
Deck of cards
Disposable Panchos
Emergency Blankets
Waterproof matches
Magnesium firestarter
Sparklite Kit
Light sticks
Butane lighter
Survival Candles
Paracord
Utility cord
US Army Survival Manual
Full travel medical kit
Supplemental first aid and burn gel
Tick tweezers
Antibiotic ointment
Anti-bug spray
Potassium iodide
Benadryl
Dramanine
Ear plugs
Eye drops
Antibacterial wipes
Snakebite kit
Small “Axe” spray
2400 calorie bar
Aqua boxes
Bandannas
Kefiyah

THE JACK SACK

The third and final component of my survival kits is
my daily carry shoulder bag. This is a Rothco Messenger Bag that I
purchased specifically because it is similar (if not identical) to the
one carried by “Jack Bauer” on the Fox series 24. I call it, affectionately, the Jack Sack.
It happens to be a really great bag, too. It is of heavy Olive Drab
canvas, made in India, largely open inside with several side pouches.
It has one large flap that closes using hook and loop strips, keeping
the contents reasonably secure but allowing easy access to the interior
of the bag.

The wide shoulder strap is absolutely necessary
because I need to be able to sling this bag and carry it with me,
possibly hands-free. My Jack Sack is also full to capacity; it cannot
hold much more or it would be too heavy to tote. As it is, a person
smaller than me would find it uncomfortable to sling this sack for any
length of time. You must tailor the contents of your daily carry bag to
suit your individual needs.

Jack sack contains these items:

A rigid plastic organizer for files, books, and papers
Personal items, memory sticks, and other odds and ends for work
My PDA, charger, and USB cable
First aid kit with snakebite kit, earplugs, etc.
Spec Ops On Board Dry Cell Organizer and Wingnut Travel Organizer
Signal mirror
Paracord
Compass/Whistle/Thermometer/Magnifier Survival Tool
Fishing kit
Sparklite kit/li>
Purifier straw
Pocket razor blade
Krazy glue
Batteries
Countycomm.com AM/FM/SW radio
Leather gloves
Space blanket
Disposable pancho
Umbrella
Pocket LED light
Kleenex
“Off” anti-bug spray
Hobo knife
Pens
River Rock LED light
Brinkmann Maxfire
Eyeglass kits
Eyeglass straps
Eyedrops
Titanium escape card
Torx and screwdriver kits
Pocket duct tape
Break Free CLP
Waterproof matches
Antbacterial wipes
PAL light as beacon
Boonie hat
Victorinox survival kit (with compass, etc.)
Moleskine notebook
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Kefiyah
Bandanna
Butane lighter
Small folding hacksaw
Victorinox multitool
Locking folding knife (selected for its flat profile)
Diamond sharpening rod in pen-cap case
Nail clippers
2AA Flashlight with LED conversion and tailcap kit
Sewing kit
Small Swiss Army Knife
Potassium Iodide tablets
Nukealert alarm
A copy of The 2 Oz. Backpacker: A Problem Solving Manual for Use in the Wilds
Maps

THE MINIMAL ON-BODY KIT

Using these three kits I am covered for a variety of
scenarios, including varying locations when emergencies are identified.
If I am home and plan to stay there through an emergency (a decision
you must never take lightly,
I have a complete kit, supplemented by the BOB kit if I need additional
items. If I must flee, I have the BOB kit, which I could supplement
with the items in my daily carry Jack Sack.

The author’s minimal on-body kit, with Leatherman tool.

If I am away from home and must get back to it, or
cannot reach home and must be sustained only by what I carry with me, I
have a reasonable number of supplies in the Jack Sack. The contents of
each of these three kits is a function of what I think I’ll need. This
means that your own kit contents will vary based on your needs, your
environment, your specific issues, etc. For example, if you take
certain medications, you must have a supply of them on hand. (I have
eyedrops in all my kits because I often suffer from dry eyes, and I
carry eyeglass repair kits because I wear glasses all the time. You
might have no need of such things.)

My BOB and my Jack Sack also contain books with
survival information in them. My home library contains extensive
materials on the topic. Don’t assume you can remember everything you’ll
need to know in a survival situation. Carry emergency information with
you as part of your arsenal of survival gear, because you never know
when you might need to deal with something that you can’t simply
accomplish off the top of your head.

There is one problem we’ve not yet addressed, at
least as these three kits apply to my own daily life. While I carry my
Jack Sack every day when I go to work, and when I take trips of any
significant distance, I don’t carry it when I’m out and about
relaxing. It’s more a work bag than anything else. What happens on the
weekends or when taking a simple hour drive to a relative’s house? The
need for a minimialist on-body kit — Minimum Accessories for Personal Preparedness
— is clear. While most of your minimum accessories can be carried on
your person and in your pockets, take the time to create a small kit
(as described here so you have the bare minimum necessary to live as a prepared martialist. The categories I recommend you cover are these:

Cash

Communications (a wireless phone) or CB radio

Light (a flashlight)

Fire (a lighter)

Water (potable aqua)

Tools (a multitool, ideally, or at least a knife)

First Aid

A Bandanna (the most useful single item you can carry)

Shelter (disposable pancho and/or emergency blanket)

Direction (a compass)

PREPARE NOW OR PAY LATER

Every survival kit is a work in progress. You will
discard outdated items and replace them with fresh supplies or updated
and improved technology. You will think of things to add that I have
not included here (or you will discard items I have included for which
you do not see a need). Personal taste and individual circumstance will
dictate much of what you choose to stockpile. What is important is that
you formulate a plan and act on it.

It took me several months of planning, organizing,
and obtainign supplies before I was satisfied with the arrangement of
my kits. You cannot afford to try and do all of this planning and
building when an emergency arises. The time to plan and to prepare is now, before anything goes wrong. Do not wait. Do not waste time.

Get started now.

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