BOB can be your best friend

If you’ve been watching much television recently, and who hasn’t this winter, you’ve probably seen the public service announcement (PSA) involving the lead weather person from Channel 2 and the three borough or municipal mayors from the Mat-Su, Kenai and Anchorage. The PSA is centered on the idea that in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, you need to have a kit, a plan and knowledge of how to survive until order can be restored.

I’ve just finished reading a book titled “Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-hour Disaster Survival Kit.” The author, Creek Stewart, has spent years specializing in disaster preparedness and has consulted with various groups and government agencies all over the United States about a wide assortment of preparedness-related subjects and projects. He wrote his first survival manual at age 21 and soon began teaching survival and primitive skills courses. He currently owns Willow Haven Outdoors, a survival and preparedness training facility in central Indiana.

The book is divided into 19 chapters, taking the reader from the simple explanation of what a bug-out bag (BOB) is to what type of items should be included not only in the bag, but in your vehicle in the event you have to leave your home because of a disaster. A listing of the chapter titles will give you a sense of the material covered: “Meet BOB — the Bug Out Bag;” “The Bug Out Bag: Choosing Your Pack;” “Water & Hydration;” “Food & Food Preparation;” “Clothing;” “Shelter & Bedding;” “Fire;” “First Aid;” “Hygiene;” “Tools;” “Lighting;” “Communications;” “Protection & Self-Defense;” “Miscellaneous Supplies;” “Bugging Out with Pets;” “BOB Organization & Maintenance;” “Mental & Physical Preparedness;” “The Bug Out Plan;” and “Bug Out Resources & At-Home Exercises.”

Scattered throughout the book are short survival tips about how to do various tasks or what tool does a specific job and so forth. I found the book to be well written, informative and well illustrated with black-and-white photos showing either a specific item recommended by the author or how to do a specific task. The author discusses not only an individual BOB, but also covers how a family, including small children, elderly adults and pets need to approach disaster preparedness using auxiliary BOBs.

A list of supplies is presented with recommendations for experienced survivalist types, the average individual and those who may have never set foot off asphalt or concrete. The author stresses that the purpose of the BOB is to help you survive for at least three days. That time period is usually enough to allow some level of outside help to begin appearing in the disaster-affected area. Depending on your own training and experience, the items and amounts listed could carry you for an extra day or two beyond the 72-hour intended timeframe.

I make no claim to being a survival expert. I have a fair amount of experience living remote and in camping out in the puckerbrush. I attended (and survived) a four-day survival course presented by Alaska State Troopers during the winter when I was working for ADF&G in the Kodiak area, so I’m not a novice either. I learned a fair amount while reading the book and got several ideas about how to better use and upgrade some of the equipment I routinely haul along on remote hunting trips, etc. I think my money was well spent in buying this book.

Probably the biggest surprise I encountered was the author’s recommendation to make a firearm part of the BOB package. I would have done that anyway, but to read how a guy from Indiana perceives the realistic need for personal protection in a disaster situation was a breath of fresh air. He mentions the hurricane Katrina situation, where law enforcement officers confiscated weapons from private individuals who were then later assaulted, robbed or injured by thugs looking to take advantage of defenseless folks.

On a personal note, I survived the Miller’s Reach fire. I was armed from the time I was first allowed back into the area where my home is. Other friends told of seeing cars filled with young men cruising through their neighborhoods scouting out things during the fire. These cars suddenly disappeared when the neighbors, all bearing firearms, made themselves apparent. Disasters tend to bring out the best in some folks and the absolute worst in others. By having a firearm, you can defend your family or your possessions in the event you meet the later group of people.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.