Training is more important than talking

Practice what you Preach

  I have been doing a lot of networking these days with other groups and learning about what they believe will be important should the system collapse or if there were a disaster large enough to cripple the supportive infrastructure. I have found that many people have good plans, they talk a good line, but most have never put in any time on the field. 

  Every day, the Captains of SWORD and I are working to bring actual training events to our members. Thus far these have all been free of charge and have covered things like basic hunting, fishing, camping, alternative cooking, wild edibles, and have even reached up to official classroom events and 3 day courses in things like Disaster Management, triage, search and rescue, etc...

  We firmly believe that for a group to function with any fluidity, they need to train as a group too. Everyone needs to be on the same page relatively speaking. In life, people usually just develop skill sets in areas where they have aptitude. Some people make better Nurses than Welders, Some can grow a field of corn, some can turn a wrench... such is the way of things. Fortunately, some skills can be taught in basic form so that everyone can learn to get by or to help with endeavors outside their main skill set. In a survival situation, your hunters should be able to pull security and perform field expedient trauma care, A farmer should be able to change a fan belt and install a water heater and your Medical personnel should know How to fire a weapon and coax a row of corn from the earth.

  This doesn't even scratch the surface of tactical or rescue training. If a tornado blows through your Survival Compound, EVERY SINGLE PERSON should be able to automatically fall into place to mitigate and/or respond to the damages and possible injuries that may follow.

  The main purpose of having a team is to train together so that everyone is practiced and competent at their roles and can function with confidence under duress. Anyone that has been at the scene of a major accident can attest that, though they may have had the skills that would have helped the victims, they lacked the wherewithal to simply step into action and help those in need. Even just being in a restaurant when someone starts choking leaves most people in a stunned state of panic, unable to do anything constructive to help the gasping victim with so much as a slap on the back or a Heimlich squeeze.

  Another problem is that many new preppers read a lot of books and may know how to do things In Theory but not in practice. If you have never put a seed in the dirt, how would you grow your own food? If you have never held a firearm, how could you be certain you could defend yourself against a hostile home invader? Also, many preppers invest in cool toys and expensive gear that they believe will give them an edge in a disastrous event, but they leave it in their bug out bag or in the trunk of their car where they ultimately either forget about it or it gets damaged or lost.

  In the end, it all comes down to your personal skill level. Not who owns the most military style guns, or who has the most long term food storage. Food eventually runs out, guns are useless if you don't have experience or ammunition. In the long run, a minimally supplied skilled person has a better chance to survive than a well supplied person with no skills. A skilled group with a decent stockpile can be a force of positive reconstruction after a catastrophic event.

Don't just talk, DO!

and teach your Kids TOO!