Your window to prepare, even with the basics, is closing. For those tracking the indicators that an event is increasingly likely, you know that it is now undeniable that something is brewing. It has now reached the point to where national governments are now overtly telling civilians to make preparations, however basic. As part of my career in the US intelligence community, one of things I supported was Counterintelligence threats to Continuity of Government (COG) and Continuity of Operations (COOP). Something i can say for absolute certain is that once governments signal that their citizens need to prepare, those preparations have already been conducted for national leadership. Governments plan for two course of action; bug in and bug out. Bug in involves hunkering down where they are. They lock down the facility. No one in and no one out. Bug out involves the relocation to a secure location that is away from potential threats, which includes hungry people. They lock down. No one in. No one out. It would be wise for you to assess your current situation and decide the appropriate course of action for yourself and family. What has been happening over the past several years is that the affluent have been making their own preparations for crisis, including efforts to secure survivable locations away from major population centers, storing food, water, and the means to defend those locations. The most recent loud signals are likely our last real warning. Governments from Eastern Europe to the UK are now telling people to have the basics on hand to weather a bad situation. Notably, this is on the back drop, for those that remember, when "prepping" was aligned with anti-government extremism under the Obama administration. What you will notice over the next several weeks is the expanding time period that governments call for people to prepare. In Europe, its currently between 3 days and a week. However, the US just sent the loudest signal concerning how significant the situation is; military bases must be self-sufficient for 90 days. The gravity of this can't be understated. The calls for preparedness will escalate in their time frames. 3 days will turn into a week. A week will turn in to a few weeks. A few weeks into a couple months. What Americans should know is that you will be on your own. FEMA does not have the resources to help people in a time of need during an event at national scale. You local authorities don't either. For those in major cities, you should know that almost two decades ago now the Asymmetric Warfare Group, in collaboration with the US military, conducted a study on the process that major population centers descend into chaos, anchored on the current "just in time" supply chain. In 3 days, a major city is out of food in the major stores. Looting starts, first whats left on shelves, then people start taking from one another. Suburbia is then the next harvest location. People organize and target food distribution warehouses. Then people head out into the country where people are prepared and things get ugly. My recommendation for people is to not focus on the "what", the catalyst for crisis. Focus on being prepared and prepare quietly. Those who fail to prepare will target those who they know are. This includes your own family members. You, at some point, will hear, "well if something happens, I'll just come to your house", stated as a joke. But this is not a joke. You have now become someone's backup plan. Don't allow this. Right now, you need to shift your mental paradigm. Randomize when you go to the store. Avoid dark hours. Slow down how many times Amazon deliveries show up at your house. And start to think about how to feign poverty. Affluence/comfort has a signature that is easy to spot and smell. You can't prepare forever. Even governments don't do that. What you need to do is prepare to weather the storm. As the saying in the military goes, "KISS"; Keep It Simple, Stupid. Water, rice, protein, canned foods. Then think basic medicines for colds, flu, and infections. Then think protection and communications. You don't need thousands of dollars, you just need to be smart. I've recommended this before, but I will say it again. Go watch two movies; "The Day After" and "Threads". This is not to scare you. This is so you can notice the indicators leading up to crisis. They are quiet at first. Governments say everything is fine. Then they say have basic preparations. Then they say have more because help wont be coming immediately. Most people will brush it off and just say it will pass. We are now at the part of both movies where governments are telling people to prepare and some degree of panic is setting in. This will get worse. You must identify your phase line for action. Assuming, in any way, that crisis will hit and the government will show up to rescue you is a mistake. Turn that fear you are feeling into focused action. For those that are prepared, keep preparing and be quiet. For those that are unprepared, start now and be quiet. For everyone, hang in there. Its going to get rough. 🥃