Tactical Equipment and Preparedness

Equipment for a Soldier, or for the Self Reliant?

    If you spend any time on survivalist or preparedness forums on the internet or prepper themed YouTube channels, you may have seen a marked increased interest in tactical equipment. Tactical equipment, tactical shooting... the word "tactical" has been attached to just about everything out there. I can think of a few different reasons, such as video games, combat simulation sports, and maybe most importantly, America's longest period of modern warfare. There are a lot more people these days that have had an exposure to tactical equipment, and brought that interest home.

There is nothing inherently wrong with any of that. Tactical gear sells. Like anything else, sexy sells. In the preparedness world, it is no different. It is hard to sell your point with a video about canning equipment, or freeze dried food. It is much easier to sell the newest "sexy" tactical equipment, rifle, or flashlight.  Again, there is nothing really wrong with that, it just creates a lot of noise to cut through, especially for a new prepper.

The picture above contains a ballistic plate carrier, Kevlar helmet, and "war belt," along with a combat load out of magazines for the carbine and handgun. To many, it looks like equipment only a warfighter in a combat zone would need. To others, it looks like a part of their preparedness equipment. Where do you fall in that spectrum?

Let's try to cut through the hype, and get to an understanding of how tactical equipment fits in to the whole picture of preparedness.

    How "Tactical" gear fits in with Preparedness

    Emergency preparedness is about needs. It is about taking care of those needs in situations that are highly abnormal. We need shelter, food, and water among other things. We also need to be able to protect those things, along with our very lives, and the lives of our loved ones. This is generally when we start talking about firearms. Most preppers have a place for firearms in their priorities. They are tools that fit a few specific preparedness tasks, such as hunting, and self defense. I am not going to get deep into firearms in this post, simply because there is too much to talk about, but if firearms are a part of your preparedness plan, you need to think about the support equipment they require as well. Tactical gear is a part of that support equipment. If you carry a handgun, you need a holster. If you carry a rifle, you need a sling. You will also need a way to carry magazines for those individual firearms.

What do you need?

   There is a TON of information on tactical gear out there. If you type "tactical gear" in to your web browser, you can spend days reading about and looking at different gear. You will see what other people have, get some reviews, and you may be convinced to part with some of your hard earned money on some heavy duty nylon something or other.

    Stop. As it is said, "Mission dictates gear." Tactical gear is no different than any other gear you buy for your personal preparedness. You must think about your needs first. What situation/disaster/emergency are you preparing for? If you are simply interested in preparing for limited scope natural disasters, do you need a chest rig or tactical vest? All the most high speed MOLLE gear in the world will do you little good in a tornado.

   Not everyone is planning for the same thing. Some people are planning for full Black Situations (see the Dragoon Disaster Scale), in which the need to protect your life, loved ones, and property could become a much more serious need. In this situation, you may be forced to displace from your home or bug out due to circumstances out of your control. If the S is Hing The F, and the unprepared are willing to take your life-sustaining supplies, will your every day carry equipment be enough to defend yourself? The time may come when a pistol may not be enough, and the fighting rifle or shotgun will need to be deployed. Then, either system must be fed, and that is how we get back around to chest rigs or tactical vests.

 Engage in some strategic thought, before you do any tactical buying. Think of your big picture, what you are trying to accomplish, and what gear you actually need to do that job. Then you can spend your money on quality gear.