Into The Storm

As everyone anticipates the arrival of Hurricane Irma, I really wanted to take the time to look around me. I noticed some critical things to note, some good and some not so good. As it stands right now Hurricane Irma has started her war path as a Category 5 Hurricane obliterating the Caribbean. Millions of people left without power, homes demolished, no form of communication to the outside world, businesses destroyed, flash flooding, the list goes on and on as the situation develops!

As a native of South Florida, I lived through one of the most devastating hurricanes in the history of South Florida. The memories as a kid are still vivid, like it happened yesterday. The devastation was a weight that hit Floridian's to the core. This hurricane was known as Hurricane Andrew.

One of the things I learned as a child who live through Hurricane Andrew was, PREPARE FOR THE WORST! It was very surprising to see lots of people not taking Hurricane Irma seriously by not taking immediate action. With a storm of this magnitude, you can't afford to mess around. Plywood should already be mounted, water should already be stacked in your homes, gas cans should already be filled...this last minute hustle is a huge burden to the ones who have taken the storm seriously! Besides that, all the materials previously mentioned, I can make certain, your procrastination will leave you empty handed with the song Dust In The Wind playing in the background, hurt and staring at the empty shelves in the grocery store while tumble weeds roll on by. If you have not taken action, you must prepare to evacuate before it's too late. The aftermath will be the most difficult for you and your loved ones to live through.

Prepping for this hurricane has been a very trying time for me over the past few days, personally getting myself, loved ones, and also helping my neighbors get prepared. Not only has it been rough but also a huge learning experience for me. One of the important things to remember that will get you through this stressful time is, you have to be organized. Make a list of things to do daily so you can remember the small things. Trust me the small things add up. It is Murphy's law and it's the snowball effect that will take you out of the fight if you are not careful. So pay close attention to the small details. Your list will help you reach your goals and increase your survivability.

At the moment before the storm, you should begin getting your supplies and placing them in a central location. This will give you quick access to anything you may need. Remember! When you lose electricity, things will be hard to find in the dark. Feeling around in the dark in your closet for your trusty flashlight would not be the way to go.

The next concern is your Everyday Carry Gear/emergency items. Time is of the essence, so you have to be efficient. You can't have your gear failing on you when you need it the most. This stressful moment is not the time to test out your new flashlights or toolkits. This should be done before a looming disaster is at your doorstep to make certain your items will be dependable. Most Importantly your gear must be fined tuned to your specific needs and your mission for the day. Try not to forget important pieces to your gear because chances are, during the chaotic episode I can assure you this is when you will need it the most.

The things that were my companion through the days and very dark night were my...

Cobra MicroTalk walkie talkies
Leatherman Wingman
Spec-ops BDU Belt
LAPG cargo pants
Northface shoes
Sharpie Marker [black and red]
Thrunite TN12 Flashlight
Glock 19 /w Trijicon HD nights sights
Fox 599 Karambit
Sig 556 Patrol rifle /w Fenix TK15 flashlight mounted

I want to go over some of the items I listed above. Also, tell you why these tools were such a big help to me. Hopefully this will help spark the thought in you to get a few of these tools and including them in your everyday carry system.

To get started, you should ALWAYS have a good multi-tool! I can't stress this enough. Having a multi-tools is like having Inspector Gadget by your side. Having one of these awesome tool made me very efficient prepping for the hurricane. It aided me in taking things apart, cutting wires, opening packages, cutting rope, and etc.

Next, having walkie talkies on hand helped my team of friends be more efficient. As an example, being able to split up in separate cars and communicate quickly while driving spotting available gas at gas stations and changing directions quickly gave us a huge advantage. As opposed to having to unlock your phone, select your contact wait for the phone to connect and start ringing, and finally someone picking up! Talk about inefficienct! Or, My buddy and I working around loud machinery like a "Cherry Picker" helping the operator maneuver around some tricky areas it came in real handy. I can't stress this point enough, having the ability to work on the ground level while my buddy works on the 2nd level and communicate for a tool to be brought up or a tool to be lowered was worth its weight in gold! Remember cellphone communications after the storm maybe down so having a pair of walkie talkies will definitely come in handy.

Having a good quality rigid belt will help your day go smooth if you are carrying concealed. A sturdy belt will hold your pants up, and hold your concealed carry firmly to your hip. Searching the term tactical belt will bring you great companies like 5.11, Blackhawk, and tru spec just to name a few.

Flashlights! Flashlights in a time of darkness will do wonders for your morale. But do you know what's better than a flashlight? A flashlight that can take you to hell and back 3 times without needing new batteries. The Thrunite TN12 is one of those flashlights! with 6 settings 1100 lumens on the highest [turbo] setting lasting 1.5 hours and 0.4 lumens the lowest setting [firefly] lasting a whopping 74 days! This will always be by my side. The hands free capabilities i a great feature to have with any flashlight doubling as a headlamp. I think this should be a main selling point for you. Reason being you will have access to both hands. Working in low light situations using tools like hammer drills, putting up plywood, using a chainsaw, or even a tape measure having both hand is necessary. as a backup flashlight the very lightweight Streamlight Microsteam was the chosen one. Unmasking a whopping 45 Lumens (420 candles) beam out of a tiny frame. it is equiped withan S clip for hands free usage as well. I will definitely do an in-depth review on these two amazing flashlights and many more.

Sharpies proved to be an invaluable tool when prepping for Hurricane Irma. With lots of chaos around you, it will be hard to concentrate to 100% of you ability or remember the small things like measurements. So, the ability to write them down would definitely be to your advantage. With sharpies you have the ability to write on many different types of surfaces.They are very versatile in that respect and semi permanent.Remember! resources will be scarce and you won't have the luxury of going to the store and getting more material

A reliable firearm with ammunition is very important. A rifle, pistol, or both will do. Just make sure you can trust it to get you through hell and back. While working but being in a constant state of observation and awareness I noticed individual looking for a moment of opportunity too take what wasn't theirs. People were also being overly aggressive. It's safe to say people who never followed the rules when society was in normal mode, won't follow the rules when there is a state of emergency. They will lie, loot, rob, kill, and steal to get what they want.

THE EDC CONCEPT [PART 1]

THE EDC CONCEPT [PART 2]

If you have time to prepare , these are the last minute preps you should be focused on having to make your life easier in this stressful time:

walkie talkies
Rechargeable batteries
extra gas cans filled
clothing [cargo pants, performance t-shirt, tactical belt, outdoors shoes]
firearm w/ammunition
snacks (quick source of energy on the go)
camera (documenting experiences accurately)
bottled water (hydration)
weather radio

Now for the aftermath, the aftermath for me, is the most difficult part of the state of emergency. Loss of electricity, clean water, food, lots of property damage, Without Rule of Law (WROL), is a possibility, would be happening after the storm. With loss of electricity, you are at nature's mercy. No central air to cool you down and the count down for your refrigerated and frozen items to go bad has started. It is a possibility that the water municipal plant will stop functioning and contaminated water could flow through your faucet. With all those concerns set aside, WROL tops the list. WROL happens when government stops functioning, order is not restore and citizens start looting, armed robbery, murder, engage in physical violence, and many other things violating citizen's rights

WROL explained by Nutnfancy

People Looting In South Fl. After Hurricane Irma

MIAMI DADE POLICE DEPT. VLOG IRMA LANDFALL

GREAT VLOG BY MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAPTURING THE EVENTS AFTER IRMA AND GREAT WORK AND SACRIFICE KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY SAFE

In the above video you can see people started looting before the storm completely passed. Believe me when I tell you, you will need a firearm in this type of situation. Don't just have one but learn how to use it.

Thank you for taking this time to share this experience with me. It was an eye opening experience. Lessons were definitely learned going in and coming out of this!

Let's continue on our journey to being professional Everyday Carriers. Stay tuned for the next video.

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