It may be argued that having a bug-out plan is as critical, if not more vital, than having a bug out bag. After all, one can survive an imminent threat with or without a survival kit if they have a concrete plan.
However, anticipating tricky situations can be quite difficult to plan for. For all your cautious theorizing and estimating, one cannot be a hundred percent certain of what’s going to happen to us and our surroundings ー all the more reason for you to plan for maximum survival preparedness.
Even if you currently have a contingency plan in mind, it really is a good idea to look through all of it again to see how you can alter, adjust, or strengthen it for different situations. Including the following in your bug-out plan will equip you with a solid starting point to survive nearly any crisis, regardless of your level of expertise or experience:
- Planning
- Bug-out bag
- Survival and self-defense gear
- Escape plan
- Communications
Below is a guide on how to put these aspects together in your personal bug-out preparation, focusing on contact and communication.
Bug-out Planning 101
As a response to a catastrophe or a crisis in your city, the first thing you must ask yourself is if it is essential to evacuate in the first place. On the one hand, you are accustomed with the area surrounding your residence and have all of your stocks and provisions in place.
At the same time, staying at home could be too risky for you, therefore you’ll have to accept those chances. If a tornado is approaching, or if your home is in the way of a wildfire or an angry crowd, you will have no choice but to evacuate.
But where should you start with your bug-out plan?
Establishing an initial contact point
A bug out strategy with a destination offers you something to aim for while you go. This will have a huge psychological benefit in your survival situation. Even under the best of circumstances, surviving is incredibly difficult, and having a positive mindset may make all the difference in terms of success.
If you have friends and family that work in a big metropolitan area, you should choose an initial point of contact in that city to gather during a crisis. One may establish a universal rule that should communications get disrupted, everyone is set to gather at a specific location. Be mindful that your contact point is not a common place like groceries, churches, police and fire departments.
Different kinds of locations, such as a second home, a relative’s residence, or a designated campground, also allow for the storage of survival supplies both at the destination and on the way there. This will enhance your chances of surviving and reduce the quantity you have to carry, in addition to providing you a morale boost.
The contact point should be far from the common road and have some structural soundness to it. This first point of contact should ideally be a group member’s urban residence near the borders of the city closest to your bug out site. Choose a spot on the premises where you may leave notes or instructions for one another.
Determining the waypoints
Your party’s first “waypoint” may be the second place you visit while bugging out. This may be a secondary gathering point as well as a location for people to write messages for each other. If your party does not arrive at the same time at the first contact point, this second location might be another opportunity to meet up.
Include both the party’s workday and weekend schedules in the bug-out plan. When the SHTF, the party may be in various parts of the same city, or perhaps in other areas, and unable to communicate. This very real scenario emphasizes the importance of what you carry in each member’s bug-out bag.
One should also consider to determine if anyone should wait for stragglers in this area and for how long as part of your pre-planning. Specify the “waypoints” for your major route as well as any other paths.
The trick is to plan ahead of time and know where you’re going. If you don’t have a certain location in mind and must bug out, you’ll have to prepare for that scenario. At the very least, you may make an arrangement to visit a campsite, state park, or national park. Make a list of two or three locations and explore them long in advance.
Bug-out communications plan
When SHTF, telecommunications will be overloaded and collapse or be destroyed by the catastrophic event itself, regardless of whatever calamity you can think of. Every bug-out plan must include a variety of low-tech modes of communication so that the family or mutual aid group may communicate with one another.
During an apocalyptic crisis, handheld radios and HAM radios might become one of the most modern and practical forms of communication. Even while bugging out, these devices should be securely secured in a Faraday Cage in case the apocalyptic scenario involves a solar flare or EMP that may damage any delicate electrical devices.
The party should remember a list of emergency frequencies while learning how to operate the equipment properly. The frequency list should also be printed, laminated, and kept by anyone who has a radio, with an extra copy stored in a fireproof box with other essential papers.
Making your mark
Without a doubt, you’re not going to recall all the specifics of any strategy when under pressure. However, listing your plan down on paper might provide a hostile individual with all the information they need to locate your bug-out location (BOL) and assess your party’s capabilities. A map containing your assembly and communication spots, as well as your BOL and several routes, might save the day, but it must be safe.
One may consider using UV light ink to map out BOL and routes, and to make all kinds of routes and notes on a regular map. When the wetness on the surface dries, UV markers leave no trace of the marker strokes. The user can see marked routes, detailed notes, cache sites, as well as many other information courtesy to the usage of a UV squeeze light.
Leaving notes and messages
If you can’t stay at a rally site for a long time, you’ll need to let your group know that you survived this long and are moving onwards to the next BOL. It also is a good idea to put up indicators along the party’s route. This message must be put up in a unique location, and should also be shown in a manner that is incomprehensible to strangers and cannot be pulled down or destroyed by the environment.
Low-tech methods of communication that only party members understand are also crucial to the bugout strategy. Creating signs or colors that convey a basic message allows the party to leave each other warnings and instructions. Non-verbal communication can be done using spray paint, permanent markers, colorful bandanas, or rope.
Key points to remember
Developing a bug-out plan that focuses on contact and communication is a crucial part of your overall survival strategy. Using these pointers to create a basic, efficient disaster preparation plan can ensure that you and your loved ones are prepared to survive if tragedy strikes.