Readiness

How to protect your family from an Active Shooter — A Navy SEAL sniper weighs in

Editor’s note: This piece was originally published last year, but because of the unfortunate events of recent weeks, this issue has weighed heavily on my mind as a father, husband, and person that prides myself on being prepared for a bad situation. We’re not a massive media conglomerate, we’re a small group of guys that have a great deal in common with our readers: a passion for preparation, a desire to provide for and protect our families, and looming concerns about what we can do to keep our kids safe in the worst of situations. So, if you find yourself wondering why I’ve chosen to republish this piece now, I can answer that question simply: because I found myself looking it up last night… and if it helps me brush up, maybe it’ll help you too.

If you love your family and friends then you need to share this with them, it could save their lives.

My kids are visiting me in New York for the summer, they spend most their time with their mom on the west coast. On our first day in the city I briefed them on what to do if we encountered an active shooter, or a terrible situation like what happened in Paris, or more recently in Orlando.

Regardless of your position on gun rights and Muslims in America, the one thing we should all agree on, is that we live in a dangerous world, more so since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Mass shootings continue to rise, as does the threat of terrorism at home and abroad in Europe. If you visit a crowded metropolis your risk increases, especially in a city like New York.

So here I was, having a serious talk again with my little ones (we’ve had this talk before unfortunately), about what to do, and what our plan is going to be, if God forbid, some gun wielding lunatic or Islamic terrorist opens fire in the subway or Times Square.

How to protect your family with an Active Shooter. A Navy SEAL sniper gives you a life saving plan — My daughter and I at Grand Central Station, NYC. She knows what to do in an emergency. Author’s personal photo, all rights reserved.

As a former military guy and a SEAL, I’m a big fan of the KISS (Keep, It, Simple, Stupid) rule when it comes to planning. The important thing is to have a plan. When shots ring out in a crowd it is not the time or place to come up with a plan, it’s too late, and that’s how people get killed. They freeze, close their eyes, or try and conceal themselves behind something that doesn’t stop bullets, I’ll get to that next.

So first thing to do is develop a simple plan for what to do in a public place, or an additional one if the kids are in school or somewhere by themselves. Everyone should know the plan in advance and who the chain of command is (Dad, mom, uncle Wayne, big brother, and so on).

Have a plan, period. Simpler the better.

A framework for a plan

Establish a leader who makes the decisions in an emergency. Everyone knows to follow the leader (Dad, mom, etc.)
Run like hell. It’s extremely hard to hit a moving target, snipers train hours to do this with skill. For someone nervous, or who’s an amateur, it will be very hard to hit a moving target, especially under stressful conditions. You need to create as much distance as possible between you and the shooter. The effective range of most handguns is 25 meters, and an assault style rifle is around 5-600M.
Hide only as a last resort, and with the idea that you will eventually need to move (there’s exceptions of course, this is up to the leader to decide). If it’s a single shooter, listen for lulls in fire, this could indicate a weapon jamming or the shooter is reloading. Either one creates an opportunity to run and distance yourself from the shooter and escape with your life.
There could also be a scenario where you are forced to fight your way out of a situation. If this is the case then use cover if possible. Cover actually stops bullets and is stuff like concrete, large planter beds and brick. I saw many people mistaking concealment (hiding behind tables, glass and curtains) for cover in Paris and they got shot, they died because concealment doesn’t stop a bullet, cover does.
Have a communications plan (who is going to call or contact who. Police officer, a parent, etc.) and a rally point in case people are separated or by themselves. A rally point should be simple, Grand Central Station, Entrance of the Empire State Building, a friends home, etc.

3 Tips

Subscribe to The NEWSREP, or join a tactical gear club, if not ours here, then another one run by experts. Joining a community or club like this is not that expensive (how much is your family worth?) and gives you access to a community of experts that provide value Q&A.
Purchase a ballistic insert for your backpack, your kids backpack, mom’s purse, or suitcase, you get the idea. NIJ protection level II as a minimum. There are plenty of places to buy this from with a quick Google search, don’t buy used on online unless you really know your stuff. Consult with your local shooting range if need be.
Have an EDC (Every, Day, Carry) medical kit. It should consist of a tourniquet, two super absorbent large gauze pads, and medical tape at a minimum.

My hope is that this helps better prepare families who are, rightfully scared, and concerned about the increased trend in mass shootings in America, and Europe.

Afghanistan 2002, forward deployed as a sniper with SEAL Team 3. Author’s personal collection, all rights reserved.

Feature image courtesy of Steven L. Shepard, Presidio of Monterey Public Affairs

Here’s everything you need to prepare for the next hurricane

The U.S. Army has been playing an active role in the preparation, rescue, and recovery efforts following natural disasters like hurricanes for years. Now, with large storms seemingly battering our nation’s coasts more frequently than ever, they, as well as a number of other federal agencies, have begun releasing information aimed at helping ensure you’re as prepared as you can be for the next major storm.

This guidance, prepared by James Dean, the contingency planner with the Fort Stewart Directorate of Plans, Mobilization and Security at Fort Stewart, Georgia, has three simple tips that he believes will help ensure your safety, as well as the safety of your loved ones.

“Have a plan to evacuate; have a kit to support your family and pets for three days and stay informed,” Dean offered as advice before reminding all service members and civilians alike that September is National Preparedness Month and that it pays to be proactive, particularly for those living on the East coast.

“Most of the year, we’re in hurricane season — from May through November,” Dean said. “This is the height of the hurricane season. Most hurricanes happen in the Atlantic August and September.”

In the Army release, Daryl Lusk, safety specialist with the Fort Stewart Safety Office, also chimed in with his own advice, which he says he’s gained through a combination of real life experience and the training he’s received working for the Army. His recommendations were sourced from FEMA’s hurricane training:

create an emergency supply kit
ensure vehicles are fueled up and serviceable
store loose items around the house such as hoses and grills
follow local directions from the local authorities.

Military personnel are also reminded to maintain open lines of communication with their chain of command, in order to ensure overall force accountability. For civilians, that serves as good advice as well, but include family, rather than formal command structure, in your notifications.

Other advice offered by the Army’s specialists included unplugging appliances before evacuating your homes, bring a minimum of three days’ worth of any prescribed medications with you, and, of course, “Take your pets with you,” Lusk said.

If you find yourself evacuating with pets, be sure to bring a pet carrier or crate, as some shelters will not permit entrance to pets without one.

Ready.gov is a government-funded national public service campaign that offers advice on how best to prepare for different situations. Much of their advice parallels that of the Army’s release, but they offer a bit more detail into what you should maintain in your hurricane kit. Per their website, a basic disaster kit should always include the following:

Water – one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
Food – at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
Flashlight
First aid kit
Extra batteries
Whistle to signal for help
Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
Manual can opener for food
Local maps
Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery

You can get many of these items and much more delivered right to your door with a subscription to the Crate Club.

While you can consider that list to be the bare necessities, Ready.gov does go on to include another list of things you should be sure to have in your home as you prepare for the possibility of extended power outages, flooding, or having to remain in place as you wait for rescue:

Prescription medications
Non-prescription medications such as pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacids or laxatives
Glasses and contact lens solution
Infant formula, bottles, diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream
Pet food and extra water for your pet
Cash or traveler’s checks
Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records saved electronically or in a waterproof, portable container
Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person
Complete change of clothing appropriate for your climate and sturdy shoes
Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper to disinfect water
Fire extinguisher
Matches in a waterproof container
Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
Mess kits, paper cups, plates, paper towels and plastic utensils
Paper and pencil
Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Be sure to keep your storm preparation kits in a readily accessible place in your home, and if you are preparing for the possibility that you may need to evacuate, assemble a three-day “go bag” using these lists as your guide – or one of these articles written by experts in doing exactly that.

Do you have everything you need to prepare for the worst? If not, check out CrateClub.us to shop for gear in the AirDrop store, or sign up for their crate service to get hand picked gear delivered to your door each month!

Image courtesy of the NOAA

Get your wings to go: Surveillance footage shows KFC exploding

When it comes to being prepared, a lot of us always have two competing voices in our heads: one that’s constantly warning us about impending danger, and another that’s constantly dismissing those dangers as the products of our own paranoia. This threat-assessment schizophrenia is a product of our environment, of course — the United States is an overwhelming safe place to live, and as a result, we’re fortunate enough not to live our own worst case scenarios on a day to day basis.

Over time, we grow to listen to the dismissive part of our brain as it tells us not to sweat packing that med-kit for a trip to the park, not to throw an extra pair of socks in your bag for a short hike, and not to worry about the aggressive guy at the bar that keeps giving you the side eye. It all worked out fine last time; it’s sure to work out fine again.

But then the KFC down the street frieken explodes, like this one in Eden, North Carolina this week.

So far there have been no reported injuries or deaths tied to this incident, but it serves as a great reminder that despite our safe environment, bad things can still happen. While it’s possible that this explosion occurred as a result of some nefarious act, it’s also possible that it was nothing more than a good old fashioned accident — in either case, if you and your family were nearby when it went up and someone you loved got hurt, you’d be glad you had that IFAK in your trunk.

Being prepared isn’t about being paranoid, it’s just about taking small steps in advance to make things easier if ever the worst were to occur. Keep what you might need nearby, trust your gut, and don’t let complacency win out.

And maybe avoid KFCs after dark for a while… just until they figure out what happened to this one.

Feature image captured from included YouTube video

Crate Club: Preparation Is Key

On August 2015, a man opened fire on a Thalys train on its way from Amsterdam to Paris before his assault rifle jammed and he was subdued by passengers. Several men, including active U.S. Soldiers and Airmen, were responsible for saving the passengers from the assailant. The event was later depicted in the film 15:17 to Paris and the hero passengers were presented the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France.

We will never know when the next terrorist attack, public shooting, or natural disaster will occur, but we can be prepared for it by always keeping a high level of readiness. Even if you don’t have extensive military or tactical training, you can prepare yourself with the right protective and/or rescue gear.

What are you currently doing to prepare yourself for the unexpected?

The Crate Club is a great start to expanding your loadout gear, everyday carry gear, and even home defense gear.

These events are a serious threat to our security and our families. There is no substitute for the right gear. We take our gear selection seriously, and we hope you do too.

Learn More & Sign Up

Crate Club: A lesson to all about staring at your cell phone

On October 31, 2017, an Islamist terrorist drove a rented pickup truck into cyclists and runners for about one mile of the Hudson River Park’s bike path in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The vehicle ramming attack killed eight people and injured eleven others. After crashing the truck into a school bus, the driver exited, apparently wielding two guns (later found to be a paintball gun and a pellet gun). He was shot in the abdomen by a policeman and arrested.

How often have you been walking in a city street looking into your phone or distracted? How prepared do you feel for unforeseen events or even a terrorist attack like this one in NYC?

We take our gear seriously at the Crate Club, and if you’d like to learn more about products like this you can sign up to get tactical and survival gear that’s hand-picked by Special Ops veterans and industry experts, delivered to your door monthly.

Learn More & Sign Up

*Featured photo courtesy of Pixabay

Tactical Tailor Active Shooter Bag

The Tactical Tailor Active shooter bag and I have been having quite a bit of fun. I’m lucky enough to own a bit of property and have my own personal range. That means I really got to take it out and use it as necessary. Before we get to the shooting review let’s take a quick look at the bag itself. My first look went a little into this so check that out here.

The Tactical Tailor Active Shooter Bag is very well-built, I said that in my first look, but after a few weeks of use it’s still strong and dependable. I stored 8 loaded 30 rounds magazines in it for a short period of time and found the strap used to hold the gear was well made and extremely comfortable. A nice thick pad keeps the strap from digging in, and it genuinely reminds me of my M240 sling from Afghanistan. I said before I don’t think I need 8 magazines and I stand by that, but I wanted to test the strap for comfort and the bag itself for weight resistance. The bag held up perfectly fine, it didn’t even stress it.

The Dad Car

The Dad car also didn’t harm it, where one day or another the bag was hit with chips, juice, soda, it’s been kicked, stepped on, dropped, tossed between seats and god knows what else has happened to the poor thing. Even so, nothing has frayed or torn even slightly. The plastic buckles are still perfectly fine, as are the zippers.

The Tactical Tailor Active Shooter Bag Review

Inside the elastic bands are extremely strong and haven’t lost any elasticity after heavy use. Both AR and AK magazines fit the loops. The AK 30 rounders are a bit long, and while the bag will still zip up there is a noticeable difference and some bulkiness. AR magazines are a perfect fit as expected.

The massive amount of MOLLE on the outside allows lots of customization options, but I never found adding anything necessary. The bag itself was big enough for the necessities. Anything more and I’d probably go with a backpack over a messenger bag anyway.

One of my complaints is that I wish the mouth of the bag opened a little wider. If the zipper went down an additional inch on each side the bag would be easier to use. As it stands it’s perfectly usable. The main problem I ran into was drawing pistol magazines. The magazine pouches are located on the far sides of the pouch, and were difficult to draw in a rush.

On the Range

Going hot with this thing was a literal blast. Eventually, I found the perfect method to arrange magazines in the bag. I staggered 4 magazines, and in between, I placed a tourniquet. The pictures show it better than I can explain it.

The main flap has two pouches and in those I placed a couple of packs of combat gauze, a headlamp, and a simple, but effective knife. I’d imagine the Gerber StrongArm will fit perfectly with its MOLLE attachment system.

With 8 magazines in the bag, it felt kind of clumsy, and my fat fingers had issues grabbing one magazine quickly and surely. Once I staggered the magazines I found it a lot faster and easier to rapidly draw the magazines and reload. When staggered with tourniquets I had zero issues gripping either magazines or the tourniquets.

The flap can be secured in the open position via buckles and kept out-of-the-way. The strap is pretty big and you get lots of room for adjustment, and proper adjustment is key. Once you get it adjusted properly it feels more natural when reaching for an extra mag without taking your eyes off the target.

AR magazines are easy overall to draw because they are smoother. AK magazines are longer and find the hands easier, but the lug on the back tends to catch the elastic band. A little jiggle frees it.

Keep Shooting

Overall the bag is extremely well made and very easy to use. I’m a big fan of being covert and carrying certain pieces of gear covertly and this bag is certainly a welcome companion to my trunk AR, which is a rifle I made from the cheapest 80 lower I could find. I don’t feel it’s limited to civilian applications either. A police officer and his duty rifle would be well suited for this bag. If he or she was responding and needed the rifle they’d have a complete kit immediately at hand. Lastly, when I served in the Marines we carried one ‘boom’ bag per squad. The boom bag contained extra batteries, ammo, grenades, a water purifier, zip cuffs, a kit to detect explosive residue, and other mission-specific gear. This could certainly fill the role of boom bag. The Tactical Tailor Active Shooter bag is an excellent addition to any Loadout. It might not be perfect but it’s an excellent idea.