Collapse of the United States: Day 1 – What do you do?

1. Lock and load.
2. Take inventory of supplies.
3. Start filling sand bags.
4. Hunker down.

reply to post by JBpage76


Mkay, granted.....if thats the case than for sure you and I are on the same wagon as i as well have had formal instruction over the years.

And as another poster put it, I would definatly start with a stiff bottle of whiskey whilst practicing with my wrist rocket.

Personally i can't wait for the start to unfold.....its like waiting for christmas.

reply to post by JBpage76


Stockpile, Food, Water, Medical Supplies, ETC..Combine with others and make a plan..Find a location near a water source in Mountains..Plan Routes to location..Buy plastic sheets and duck tape to carry in car and have at home..use to protect yourself in Biological War or Nuclear War...CLOROX, Gloves, Masks etc...Penicillian and old Antibotics will be needed...In the eye of the storm- stay still

I cant afford to take my own advise, but I know what to do. I have had a gut instinct to get off the East Coast since 2003.

In my opinion, now is the time to move! Safe places- Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming

I keep my gas tank in my jeep full at all times..I have started buying bottled water and peanut butter..you can live off of peanut butter if you have to..I have about 3 day supply so-far

Form a group consisting of about fifty to a hundred people. Try and organize like groups to establish a living area with water, and natural defense against wild life.

In light of not having people near you or significantly smaller numbers, one should be careful who to trust when negotiating with reduced force.

If large numbers are available, and 3-4 groups of people numbering anywhere from 50-100 are formed, a perimeter of living area, secured survivability, then they can begin like organizing efforts elsewhere. Perhaps a splinter group could be formed to forge ahead and establish similar base camps, perhaps retake or re-populate abandoned cities some years down the road.

If this is a total collapse then rebuilding should be considered, and a new government ratified immediately. If a transitional shift then simply wait it out and respond to the new government until proper elections can be cast nationwide, if ever again.

States looking for independence should take this opportunity to form sub nations and give it a shot. In the end state government will fill the role of federal government. If a federal government is not established then a yearly rotation of the capitol should be considered so as to preserve the union.

There is allot to do in a situation like that. It all depends on the specifics, but basically , survive, live long and prosper. How you do that depends on what you can offer eachother.

look for strength in numbers. Establish hierarchy to society immediately so as to not plunge into barbarism, and establish communications nationwide for coordinated effort. Re-establish government ASAP.

Based on the what you said about not knowing the exact situation, just realizing that everything has fallen apart, I would...

1. Get my family together and explain to them that things are going to be different from now on.
2. Double check that my bug-out gear was rounded up and complete.
3. Pack extra essentials (ramen, water, extra clothes [for all seasons], and some memorabilia [photos, journals, etc]
4. Lock and Load
5. Get to the place that I have planned on disappearing to when SHTF
6. Protect and provide for my family to the best of my ability.

Cool Post!!!

IM going fishing. And to set out my traps and snares.

Next stop--that little old summit on the highway near by me, needs to be closed. We dont need California moving North anytime soon.

From what I gather from certain posts on here, the thing most would do is try to figure out what is going on to better understand what really needs to be done. Every time there has been a power outage around us it seems like everyone emerges from their houses to talk to one another to see who knows what.

My guess is the same thing would happen. It would take people about a day just to figure out what is going on. Then as rumor or truth spreads people will act accordingly. Well sane people anyway. There will always be those who instigate more trouble than needed.

Day two would be more getting things in order, meaning planned out store raids day and night.

Day three the ones done partying will wake up and start looking for what they missed out on.

Day four word all over has spread and small communities have already been developed and established a security plan and food and water plan.

From there it is really any ones guess.

I have food, water, oil lamp, and oil. I would barricade myself in and if anyone messed with me BAM shot gun to the face! After a few days I may go out and see what I could do to help after people accept the situation.

Collapse of the United States: Day 1 – What do you do?

Wee myself.

Then, um. . . . . .. . . . dunno. Depends, I guess.



(aww c'mon! This has to be the most honest answer on the thread! )

My neighbor seems to be into some sort of ham radio (he has a gigantic antenna thing on his vehicle). I think I'd walk over and ask him if he's heard anything about what's going on. Other than that, maybe it's naive but I'd wait... I live in military base housing, so I would image that PMO would be making rounds at some point, that's what they did during the hurricanes and power outages. Most of my preps are just that, prepped. Not much I could do I guess. I have a 5 year old, so I probably wouldn't want to venture out unless I couldn't find out what's going on, or if things became dangerous in my neighborhood.

So I was laying in bed reading this thread on my tab when I randomly looked down at my clock and it was 11:11pm... I wakeup this morning and power is out.. I really hope this isn't day 1...oh and to top it off earlier in the evening I was reading about indigo adults and I share 95% of the traits..11:11 weird

Originally posted by AtcGod
reply to post by yourmaker

 

I would be the one to go put my uniform on and prepare to protect the rest of the population from folks like you.

And there are alot of us, and we have some pretty nifty toys.

Well for one, I will be sorry to see you go for such stupidity and I will probably say to myself, "He should have done more reading on ATS".

Let me tell you something.... people in uniform will be at the front of the line of people who will die in a SHTF scenario. I dont care how many "toys" you have.. your toys also make you a potential target. So let us put this silly bravado aside. Whatever fantasy you have in your head won't happen the way you think it will. A more likely scenario is those "neighbors" your protecting from others just may turn on you themselves.

As far as the OP.. it's a bit vague. The list of things that would knock out power on day one is a rather short list. What would I do? Simple. Not panic. Talk to my neighbors. Grab a shortwave radio (which runs on batteries which I am stocked up on) and I will get more information.

reply to post by JBpage76


Wake up and go to work, just like any other day ... I don't think its gonna be as bad as everyone seems to think. In case it actually is, I will still go to work, sitting on 1000 acres is a small self sufficient "city" with all the utilities one needs, surrounded by fence and barbed wire. Pretty big place a city within a city ...

I don't think I could accurately comment on exactly what I'd do. A lot of the things that have been said in this thread are pretty run of the mill. So EVERYONE will be doing close to the same thing. I have a couple places close by that I can hold up in for some time while I make it out of this population center to my BOL.

When I was new to the idea of prepping I went out and bought some crazy stuff "to be ready" when the SHTF. After reading quite a bit about how military and other civilians will react to a prepper walking down the street in full fatigues, AR-15/AK, tac vest etc they will most likely regard you as a threat. The military garb is only useful when we establish perimeters and guards etc. Until then it's a better idea to dress a little more rugged than usual maybe and keep any firearms concealed until needed.

For everyone that is saying I'd probably go out and talk to my neighbors when it happens. Make sure you're doing that now. Become good acquaintances or maybe even friends with them. They might be of the same mindset to prepare for "something" hitting the fan. As long as you have a plan and talk to them about things you will be able to prepare them for this as well. The worst situation you will be able to imagine yourself in is, you've prepared for this but became a hermit in the process and never speak to your neighbors. When the SHTF you finally go out and talk to neighbors, realizing that no one has planned for this all eyes are on you and you will do suspicious things to keep them from knowing you're prepared for something. Just wait and see what happens when they figure it out...

A community that plans together, survives together.

Originally posted by JBpage76
Imagine, if you will, kissing you kids goodnight, letting the dogs in, locking the doors and crawling into bed with your better half after making sure the alarm clock is set for the next day, then drifting off to sleep.

You awake from your slumber to find your alarm didn’t go off, seems the power is out and its eerily quiet outside except the faint sound of sirens, possibly from a fire truck? Ambulance? Who knows, so you walk outside to find that the “SHTF” scenario has just become reality... whatever scenario first comes to mind.

Its officially DAY ONE of the collapse of the United States. What do you do?


***My main focus is to see what peoples first response to a situation they don’t know much about would be. Panic, focus, assist or lead ect… to get ideas that maybe I havent considered and learn from others****

edit on 28-5-2012 by JBpage76 because: More Detail ***

edit on 28-5-2012 by JBpage76 because: (no reason given)

Day 1:

I laugh hysterically because no one ever really saw it coming...including those who were hoping it would happen and even planned for it.

Day 2: I wake up laughing some more because at this point, reality has set in for some people. No one is coming to save them, and they'll actually have to SURVIVE for once in their lives.

Day 3: I ride my bike over to my parents home and we all hang out and laugh hysterically, because the world thought that the US would last forever with non-stop extended wars, sending jobs overseas, and staring blankly into their iphones.

Day 4: I wake up and LAUGH SOME MORE, because at this point, those who never saw this coming, are freaking out because their iphones are no longer working and the proverbial S. is HTF all around them.

Day5: I get some extra rest just to balance out those who aren't...

Originally posted by StupidShouldHurt
1. Lock and load.
2. Take inventory of supplies.
3. Start filling sand bags.
4. Hunker down.

Hunker down WHERE?

And do what? Having a gun will more than likely ensure that you're killed anyway...

You'll see...

"Collapse of the United States: Day 1 – What do you do?"

Celebrate?

Oh that never coming back SHTF.

We get the advanced folks together and go over the real deal. If they are going to leave with their families they need to be out on days 3-5. Before the lesser element has a chance to pull together and start raiding on days 5-7.

If they dont stay (cars still running) then I prep my rig and go with them. I cant see staying and trying to hold ground with a couple hundred people that cant even do CPR or dont know they cant drink the water once the auto chlorination has no power. Without some sort of control and knowledgeable leadership, sanitation and sanitary food practices...... disease will wipe out this tiny colony in less than 30 days.

When you get your SHTF sandwich you need to peek under the bread and know what you got handed. Then plan with what you know.

reply to post by JBpage76


First obtain data on whats going on from various sources if possible to make a better plan of the next move needed to be taken.

reply to post by JBpage76


Make a list of needs and compare to what I have; then begin doing what humans have been doing for tens of thousands of years, "gathering" supplies.

I'd start making the rounds of neighbors and try and get a meeting together to share resources and form a community that works well together towards the mutual interest of survival. We don't instinctively form tribes for no reason; it makes survival more sure and far easier.

It won't happen this way however. Our infrastructure will slowly fail and likely a total failure would never just happen one morning.

Replacing law enforcement and the courts would be among the first dangers. You would have to defend against roaming gangs no longer kept in check by our system of laws and law enforcement. You would have to put some kind of system in place to protect against anarchy and thugs.