Bug Out Drills

About once a month me and my family have what we refer to as "bug out drills". We time the drills to see just how long it takes for us to assemble our gear, get ourselves dressed, and actually make it to our temporary bug out location which is a couple of mile away. The exact day is never known in advance by our children, as we want the drill to be as real as possible.

If you've never done this, you'll be amazed at the things you'll forget to grab, how long it actually takes for everyone to get dressed from a cold start, and the amount difficulty involved in carrying a fully loaded pack through the underbrush. Afterwards we have a little picnic made from our rations before heading home.

At first none of us enjoyed it, but after a few drills it became something we all began looking forward to.

That is an excellent idea! I flag and a star for you, friend!

As soon as I get my supplies up and going, I think I will do that as well.

I plan on doing a run this year on foot traveling only at night. It's 5 hours by car I hope to make it in 3 days on foot at night. But there is the possibility of arrest which is my bigest fear.

mikell

Just curious if too personal feel free not to reply. How old are your children and what is your "best time" in completing the drill. Just trying to get an idea of how long it takes a family to grab gear bug out for a couple mile trek. Thanks

My children range from 6 to 16 years old, and so far our best time has been 75 minutes from start to finish. It took us a lot longer when we first started, but after a few runs we learned to keep our gear accessible and orderly.

Not a bad time at all imagine it would take me 75mins just to convince the wife she didnt need to take her lipstick.

reply to post by drift393

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Getting dressed accounts for about 10 minutes of our time. We really need to shave that down some. In a real bug out we'd probably need to evacuate a lot quicker..

Tell your wife she can cache a makeup kit at the bug out site, and save a little time. Thanks for the reply.

[edit on 3/20/08 by LLoyd45]

Ok as I sit here thinking of how to reply to this post my 9yo is singing a song she made up. " I would rather live to a ripe old age than die in a camp"

It is so funny but what she is saying in it is soooo true.
One line----- Someones got to shut the door on them government people!

Anyway back to what I was going to say.
We have had many drills and we are getting better every time. One rule is anyone can call a drill at any time.
Sometimes someone will say the "secret code" right after the phone rings and we all jump into gear.

My parents have called before and given the code to the children while I was at work. And they follow procedure flawlessly. WOO HOO

We have started to upgrade by setting up camp when we arrive at our safe spot.

We don't have everything we want for our BOB's yet but what we do have we could follow through with our plans quite nicely for a long time.

Once a month? You are so giving your kids some stories to tell when they grow up.

I plan on staying put instead of bugging out if possible so I do power-out drills on the occasional convenient weekend. But remember when doing your bug out drills to account for multiple routes to your waypoint as some will likely be either road blocked, blocked by burning cars and bodies, or just packed with panicked people.

That's cute freedom. My littlest one really looks forward to our picnics as well. I like the idea of letting everyone select the time. Even I can get caught of gaurd then.

APC, I hope one day they can all sit around the family table and tell stories to their own kids about how paranoid and crazy Grandpa used to be.

We have different routes mapped out for our practice location, but our original destination was a much more remote location. I found out recently it was no longer a viable option, so we're back to the drawing board.

We have few possibilitie in mind, but I need to recon them more closely before choosing. One site is really cool, and I'm almost certain it hasn't seen any people for years aside from myself. Wish me luck!



[edit on 3/20/08 by LLoyd45]

Great post!

The warning signs are there for everyone to see but few prepare.

This is great exercise for anyone for any situation or disaster, whether natural or man made.

Are there any books or other literature you an recommend to the readers?

reply to post by MrMicrophone

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Some of my favorites include:


Non Fiction

• U.S Army Rangers handbook
• The Boyscout's Handbook
• The Miltary Book Club's Survival Handbook,
• The Miltary Book Club's Emergency Medical Procedures Handbook.
  

These books are all extremely easy to read and comprehend, full of information pertaining to basic survival skills like shelter construction, firemaking, water procurement, navigation, etc., and best of all their inexpensive and easily obtained. These are just a few suggestions, and there's probably a dozen others that I can't think of at the moment that others may recommend as well.

You might also want to find a book on edible plants in your possible bug out location.



[edit on 3/21/08 by LLoyd45]