Family Preparedness Resources
Family Readiness Resources
by Caleb Causey
February 23, 2021
Your life is your responsibility. Your family is your responsibility. Now that more folks are taking an interest in developing their family readiness or “family prep” following the recent winter storms that hit Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana; we felt obligated to share a few great places to start. What does this have to do with field or tactical medicine? Well, we feel that “medical training” does fall into the “Mindset, Education, Tools” of building a successful family readiness plan. You need to start somewhere, so here are few places to get going.
Last week a severe winter storm blanketed the state of Texas and other surrounding states with unprecedented freezing temperatures over several days. Here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) area the temperature reached down to the single digits some nights. Just so everyone up north that deals with such temperatures on a daily basis; understand that Texas’ infrastructure (house/building design, power grid, supply chains, roadways and their support, etc.) are not designed to withstand such low temps for several days. Oh, and don’t forget the size of Texas. We’re talking anywhere from hundreds of thousands to a couple million people spread out over almost 300,000 square miles (i.e. if you were to drive east to west across the state it may take you about 15 hours.) We’re Texas, we can take a hit or two; but this storm put a whoopin’ on the entire state. The end result was hundreds of thousands of people without heat, electricity, water (some still have boil notices at the time of publication), supply chains (think grocery stores and gas stations), and even some homes with structural damage due to busted frozen water pipes. I was shocked to see how many of my own friends and family members were not prepared for this winter storm. They even knew about the coming weather over a week out! It was also unsettling to see that it only took a few days without electricity, water, or shelter for some before folks started getting desperate. God bless Texas! Thankfully Texans started helping each other out and I’ve read more stories about people helping others than looting or rioting. Truth be told, I haven’t seen one report of it. It is only a matter of time when the next natural disaster, terrorist attack, or severe weather storm that jeopardizes you and your family.
Now that the storm has passed and my fellow Texans are in recovery mode; I’ve been receiving multiple inquiries regarding where to start with their family readiness plans. I’ve put together a list of resources below that provide a solid start. If you’ll do me a favor and just mention that Lone Star Medics sent ya, I’d appreciate it.
Where you take it from there is up to you. Just keep in mind that it takes three things to be successful in any endeavor; the right Mindset, Education, Tools.
(In no particular order)
1. Stop The Bleed is a no-brainer and EVERYONE on the planet should attend one of these courses. Bleeding out sucks! Especially while you’re sitting there waiting for EMS to navigate those icy roads.
https://www.stopthebleed.org/
2. American Heart Association produces amazing curriculum for CPR/AED training. Guess what the leading cause of death in America is? That’s right… Heart related disease (heart attack.)
https://cpr.heart.org/en
3. Paul Martin’s book and blog is a realistic, down-to-earth resource.
https://paultmartin.com/
4. Swift Silent Deadly always provides solid wisdom.
https://swiftsilentdeadly.com/
5. Active Response Training by Greg Ellifritz provides metric tons of information on several subjects. Greg’s Patreon page is a great investment. His latest travel book is a must read for anyone that travels domestic or international.
https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/
6. Tyr Group, LLC by John Hurth provides incredible training that is useful for groups or family prep groups. His book, “Combat Tracker” is also an amazing resource for more than just tracking.
https://tyrgroupllc.com/
7. The Prepared and their entire crew of professionals produces some of the most thorough, detailed articles for preparedness around.
https://theprepared.com/
8. Mountain Guerrilla provides amazing information on various subjects related to preparedness. Perhaps one of the most widely recognized and respected resources available. Their Patreon page is a great investment.
https://mountainguerrilla.wordpress.com/
9. Nature Reliance School by Craig Caudill is well respected in the preparedness industry and like the others mentioned above produce a lot of info.
https://naturereliance.org/
10. Ready.Gov isn’t too bad of a resource… for a government ran website.
https://www.ready.gov/
11. ITS Tactical has produced a lot of content over the past dozen years. You may even recognize a familiar face in some of the videos and articles related to medicine ;)
https://www.itstactical.com/
If this list is a little intimidating at first, I’d recommend starting with either Paul Martin’s website or The Prepared. Both will provide you an “Intro to Family Readiness” type of article that can start you on your way. Remember that creating your family readiness or family preparedness is not something that happens overnight. It is a process; that changes as much as the weather.
Mindset
Education
Tools
Drink Water,
- Caleb
