Your Pro Citizen Newsletter 76: Your Get Home Bag; CM-7 Recon Handbook is Live!

Might be time to talk about Get Home Bags…again.

In last week’s newsletter we discussed loadouts and weights as it pertains to tactical missions and some ways you can frame the problem to come up with solutions for what not only you carry but also your community team or small unit. This week I thought it prudent to step back into the higher odds scenario of becoming stranded in a place you don’t want to be. Be it the office, the downtown area of your nearby city, or a stretch of road that has become impassable for an extended time. The overarching caveat for this discussion is it will require a deliberate decision on your part to stay or move based on the complete set of circumstances as you understand them at the time. We won’t dive into the mechanics of decision making, I just wanted to make that point crystal clear from the start. Some of this is a review from previous newsletters and the CM-4 prepper manual along with some expanded thoughts and concepts for you to consider. With an ever changing world in crisis and open warfare in the mideast again (that we the US should not be involved in…but that is my own informed opinion) the security situation here at home may or may not deteriorate in the coming weeks. Even relatively benign disruptions may cause you or your spouse and kids to leave their conveyance behind to make to safety.

Sometimes (ok, most times) the prepping and readiness community seems to be focused on gear and firearms. There will is an endless stream of keyboard opinions as to why the x brand 2 day Pineland Wetwork Pack (service disabled special operator veteran owned company of course) is better than the y brand urban assault street medic pack and vice versa. The hyper focus on material solutions makes it hard to sort the bad from the good, and the clowns from the circus. If you have a bag you like you are already ahead of the game, stick with it and let’s get down to business…the business of identifying requirements and a no kidding real world application.

Keep it real and think all the way through the problem. For a GHB you don’t need everything you can carry, it is just enough to get you home. You should plan for contingencies and bad scenarios, but don’t get too wrapped up in the “what if” use cases.

Around 68 newsletters ago we discussed requirements; how to generate valid readiness requirements and then allocate resources to meet them. The requirements process will help you navigate through the gear swamp and be efficient with your funds and your time. The Get Home Bag (GHB) requirement is no different; figure out what you need by building (thinking through) what the real requirement is. Some of these GHB sub-requirements are layered as part of a system and they will change over time and or season. Even with these environmental changes there are some big ideas and concepts we can follow to keep us on track.

The get home idea. For the gear component of the requirement, what does the bag and everything in it need to do for us? The purpose of this light bag is to carry just enough supplies and gear to keep us alive while we get home or to safety…and as quickly as possible. It is not a tactical mission ruck or an expedition travel bag. You will use your GHB contents if there are regional road closures or if your vehicle becomes disabled. Your GHB has just enough gear to get you back home or even just to spend a night at a hotel. If you are forced to abandon your vehicle and get home during a regional disaster or crisis this will not be a leisurely walk or a relaxed trip. The mission is to get home - time now. You need to move out with a purpose and get back home as quickly as possible. It will be a mix of steady run and fast walk with intermittent rest periods. Keep these requirements in mind when you select items for your GHB. It is a light (less than 20lbs) and durable backpack kept in your vehicle or in your dorm room/apartment you can carry over long distances at a slow, steady run.

Keep your plan in context and grounded firmly in reality when you source your GHB contents; we must always consider the whole set of circumstances. Also assess the situation before putting your get home travel plan into action. Account for terrain, weather, and the general situation / cause of the problem, just because you can move out on a mission does not mean you should. For example, if you are stuck in a blizzard along an interstate this is probably not the time to venture out. You are usually safer hunkering down with your vehicle along a known route versus trudging out into the snow on a cross-country land nav excursion in killer weather. But ultimately it is your decision, not mine.

Everything in context. The software part of the GHB and get home problem is the most important. Just because you have the means to do something does not equate to it being a good decision to do so. Sometimes staying put is the best course of action.

Where the GHB fits in the scheme. I highly recommend you focus your energy on the GHB first, make it a priority to get straight. We talk about odds and probabilities in The Project a good bit, apply the same thinking to your system. Think about the amount of time you are away from home, how far you normally travel (commute, errands, school etc) and the type of emergency that will probably occur. Odds are you have your vehicle most times, so other than your primary residence it is your next best means of storing contingency supplies to get you to safety. Couple this with the fact that you are more vulnerable when you are away from your home (in most cases) the need and the means to get you back to safety is a high priority.

The GHB Contents. The GHB should be well made and a common non-military design that won’t draw attention to you. Avoid camouflage patterns or tactical / military looking bags altogether but still choose muted earth colors for your bag to blend with your terrain. 20-25 liters is a good general rule for a GHB, but it may be larger to accommodate bulkier cold weather (seasonal) gear. The GHB list below is not comprehensive, it is a place to start. Always ask yourself the “why?” question for each item you add to your GHB.

Example GHB contents from the CM-4 Prepper Manual. Not perfect but it is optimal for the set of requirements it was built for.

An example (GHB):

• First Aid Items

• Lightweight shelter setup (bivy, poncho, tarp, etc) appropriate for the season

• Full water bottles (two quarts or two liters minimum)

• Water collection and filtration items

• Firearm and/or ammo*

• Food (limited, 48 hrs worth of lifeboat rations).

• Cash -$60 min with some singles

• Seasonal environmental clothing

• Navigation tools

• Headlamp and handheld light and one set of spare batteries

• Battery pack (charged) and cable

• Small fire kit

• Multi tool with locking knife blade

• Minimalist hygiene kit

• Insect protection (seasonal and METT-TC)

• Small field stove (recommend for winter only)

*if applicable/legal for you, a couple extra mags of ammo in addition to your CCW

The wire cutters in my bag may raise an eyebrow, why would you want the weight? Conditions may arise where you need to cut a fence to escape harm or use a route that keeps you safe. Not advocating breaking the law at all, but cutting a hole in a chain link to get off the path of a violent riot moving through a city would be forgiven in any sane court of law.

Reality Bites. Not just the crappy Gen X movie…reality for real in real life with real consequences (using up my 4th grade vocab for the day). The is if it is you that gets stuck on the side of the road if the interstate collapses into the river or you are at work when the cyber attack shuts the grid down odds are in your favor. However, if your teenage daughter is cutoff at her part time job or your non prepper wife is the one on the wrong side of the mountain pass you have problems. Big problems. Especially if you can’t go get them due to circumstances. Do their vehicles have what they need to survive? Do they know how to use the items and know how to make the decision about movement? Hell…do they even have the requisite items or a GHB in their vehicle at all? That is the real challenge. It is relatively easy for us (and I say us because you are reading this and have an interest in the subject). But what about those people you share a house with who don’t know a freeze dried meal from a water filter? Something to think about.

Summary. This is just a quick overview / review of terms and concepts, as always apply to your circumstances and adjust to fit your needs. Do what works for you and don’t fall victim to the internet madness. Have what works for your circumstances and your environment. The most useful item will probably be the spare battery and the cash. Seeing the Soviet paratroopers over Calument is low probability, play the odds when you build these things. If you want to call it a “go bag” and not a GHB that is fine - if it works for you then it is the right answer. If you want to add an item that makes sense, then it makes sense. Keep the concept in perspective. The get home bag is just enough to keep you alive for the trip to your destination. The concept and decisions are the important part to master first, hit the gear after your figure it out. If your intel and best guess tells you to leave your GHB in the truck and put your running shoes on, then get to running the 8 miles home. The faster the better.

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The new CM-7 is live! We released it last week on our site and this weekend on Amazon / Amazon international so all our overseas friends can get their copy now.

Thanks to all of you who made it another successful launch day for The Project, a sincere thank you from our team for all your support. The entire project is a work of passion for all of us; the authors, our print partners, and our administrative and shipping staff recognize the importance of what we do for the community. The Professional Citizen Project is a labor of love for all of us. The CM-7 created a writing obsession for me over the last few months to get it right - and get it out to the community in a form that is detailed in content but clear and concise in its delivery. I am extremely proud how this turned out. If you have the CM-2 Recon manual and the FR-2 Recon Leader’s Guide this manual will round out that set on the recon subject to give you everything you need. We also released the lower cost book bound version of the FR-2 Recon Leader’s Guide alongside the CM-7 if you need a second copy, a giveaway, or just a less expensive version we have you covered. Same info, just in a standard book paper and binding copy at a lower cost.

Personal thank you to Randall from Grunt Proof for taking time out of his training schedule to write the foreword for the 7, big huge non -gay thanks to you brother man.

For our customers who jumped on the CM-7 launch if you have a copy enroute you have my heartfelt gratitude for making this launch better than we had ever hoped for, thanks so much! - Jack