Since the 2020 panic, MREs have been hard to find for a good price. It would appear that MRE prices are not going to come back down any time soon. When I used to buy MREs prior to 2020, I paid $55 for a case of standard MREs in Alaska. Now, you will be paying at least three times that. Lets face it, the days of $4 MREs are gone and now it is a question of availability and cost effectiveness. If you can even get MREs, they are going to cost about $20 per meal and another chunk of change to have them shipped. However, there is another option by a company called MRE STAR out of Sarasota, Florida. In this article, I am going to review a single meal that I found in a local store that is common here in Arkansas, but MRE STAR also makes other types of meals like this 24 hour ration sold on mremountain.com.

​Have you ever looked at the training you are conducting and tried to wargame (imagine) how it would help or hurt you? Have you looked at all the possible scenarios you could find yourself in during an economic collapse? How about a simple natural disaster that delays or prevents Law Enforcement and emergency services from responding? I am willing to bet that a lot of my readers have thought very little about the realistic, or even the extreme situations they could find themselves in when things truly get bad. But, the definition of bad can be quite subjective, and everyone will define it differently. Someone living in downtown LA may define bad differently than a resident of a Midwestern suburban neighborhood. Keep that in mind throughout this article.

In my opinion, the average Joe should think about increasing their level of preparedness. Up here in Alaska, preparedness is just a way of life. For the gold miner that goes into the wild to seek their small fortune, they must stockpile months of food, fuel and other supplies for the time they will be on their own. The rural folks such as myself must use summer as a time to prepare land, home, and animals for the next 6 months of winter. This means stocking up on supplies like candles, batteries, water, and food that is shelf-stable and easy to make in the event of not having power. In Alaska, prepping is not a four-letter word but rather a healthy way of life that promotes independence and peace of mind. I believe the average Joe and Jane everywhere else would benefit from such lessons.

With the whole world being unstable, it is easy for people to feel a need to prepare for things to get bad. We are facing rising gas prices, soaring interest rates, a new made up variant of Covid, and an ongoing war in Ukraine. This is all evidence of an upcoming recession that could really hurt our country. It is easy to understand why people are getting concerned about the future. However, there is much more to being prepared than just storing gas, ammo, and MREs. I would say it is time to make realistic priorities based on history. Since most people live in or near a city, I figured I would talk about security in the suburbs.

When prepping, food is an important subject to cover. We always want to get a food that is easy to store, easy to prepare, inexpensive, and something that has good variety. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find a good quality, shelf stable, cheap food product. That combination is not going to be found in a store since those qualities are a bit contradictory. To get all these qualities, you would typically have to spend the time to make and prep your own food. I am not here to recommend any particular food to you for prepping, but rather inform you about what to look for in your food. What you eat and drink will definitely determine your health and well-being, so I highly advise paying attention to your health as a general guideline.

​I admit that I am a bit addicted to analyzing gear and brainstorming every bit of it. Is it enough? Is it too much? Will it get used often? I think this has something to do with my history as a grunt in the Marine Corps or being a Boy Scout. You always wanted to go with the bare minimum on your person so you could be fast when you needed to be, but you had plenty in your pack if things got bad or drawn out past the expected time window. I think the same philosophy should be applied to the zombie apocalypse, and then some. Mobility is survivability, and faster is always the goal. 

​In a zombie apocalypse, there is a certain set of things that are highly needed in order to make survival much easier and manageable. In this article I am going to analyze each item and talk about how they can help you in day-to-day life, or even in a pinch. Most of it is obvious, but some things might not have entered your mind unless you were thinking a bit more unconventionally.

In arctic regions like those found here in Alaska, it is important to know how to survive in the winter. There are plenty of people who have perished due to not knowing how to use the land or not knowing what it takes to survive in the frigid cold of the arctic. One of the most important things you need to know is how to build a fire with what the land provides. Fortunately, the land is filled with flammable foliage, hence the high dangers of wildfires all year. I am not going to waste time talking about rubbing sticks together or using a flint and steel since others are more into teaching that type of skill. I would rather talk about the specific bits needed to get your fire going and keep it going. I suggest learning HOW to build a fire before learning how to use caveman tech to START one.

It is fairly common for you to hear people talk about having cases of MREs in a tone that is on the border of bragging. Some people feel that military rations are so high-tech and perfect for those wanting to survive. Most of this is due to the variety and the fact that you can get alot of calories with little work. However, there is alot more to MREs than just a bit of variety in high caloric foods.

There has been a request for me to look at some tactics for SHTF or WROL scenarios. I will get into that subject, but first I want to talk about the gear one might wanna get prepped with first. Once you understand and get your gear squared away, I think you will end up with a greater understanding of the tactics you will be employing in these hard times. This is mostly catered towards those who will be acting as the security element of a group or neighborhood in these crappy times.

When a prepper is selecting a food for long term storage and preparation, they typically look to the military for inspiration. They see the military storing MRE's and other shelf stable food items in warehouses for years at a time. The problem is that copying the military in this manner and thinking the MRE's are good for long term sustenance is a dangerous mindset.

Before we start, let me first say that I am not a doctor, or a medical professional. The subject I am going to discuss is based off my own research, and my own experiences. If you are going to make any change in your diet, I recommend consulting with your doctor, as I have to make sure that your body can handle such a diet as the one your are considering. Now, let us begin.

We see people form in huge lines for ammo at the big box gun stores before elections. The fear that our 2nd Amendment is yet again under siege always drives people to make an investment in guns and ammo. But are we going about this all wrong? When should we really be preparing and building up our stocks?