You may live in a suburb but that doesn’t mean you’re safe from any threat or danger. As a true blue prepper, these are the tactical skills you should arm yourself with.
Tactical Skills for Self-Defense and Survival
The prepper movement has been trying to seethe into the suburbs for a long time. In fact, there are many people who believe that the neighborhood structure of the suburbs is one of the best environments for preppers.
The suburbs have been threatened by a number of things over the last six months. Early in the year, suburbanites watched as supermarkets started to empty out. Meat cases when empty and other resources disappeared before their eyes.
Then came the riots where properties were destroyed, and people are still on edge about safety in this nation. While most protests have remained peaceful, it’s the violence that makes the 6 O’clock news.
This has terrified many Americans. So, let’s talk about tactical skills that all suburbanites should know and practice.
Pace Comms
Having more than one means of communication is vital for all Americans. If the cell towers go dead, do you have a way to get in contact with people outside of your home or community?
- Primary
- Alternate
- Contingency
- Emergency
You should have a method of communication for each of these and be sure you know how to use each one. Use those handheld HAM radios for emergency communications with your family. Take them on camping trips to get comfortable.
Battle Tracking
By gathering intel from places like local news, social media, scanners, and community resources, you can actually track chaos in your city or town.
Using a simple Google map, you can begin to mark where peaceful protests are occurring and mark areas where police have been called, damage has been done, and fires have been lit.
Before your very eyes, a landscape of chaos will begin to take shape. If the direction of that chaos is headed your way, you can then act accordingly.
Firearms Training
Firearms training is an essential skill for all Americans. We have the 2nd Amendment, and we should all take advantage of that.
Carrying a gun in these chaotic times is essential. We do not know when the threats will show up, and we must be prepared to defend our loved ones.
Training things like dry fire, range time and even just taking your weapons apart and putting them back together can make a huge difference.
De-escalation
While it might seem like knowing how to drop in to a situation and bring the pain is what tactical training is all about, there is another important aspect. You see, your ability to de-escalate a situation could be the difference between life and death.
Just because someone comes up and starts attacking you and you defend yourself doesn’t mean that you will not be charged for something. Killing someone with a firearm is something you cannot undo.
Sometimes, the best and most tactical weapon is to swallow your ego and de-escalate a situation.
Do you know how to get around your city? What if you must travel through the city to get to safety?
Understanding your city and knowing where the hotspots are is especially important. We often over glorify the importance of wilderness navigation but for people who live in the suburbs, knowing how to navigate a cityscape is much more important.
First, knowing the makeup of your city and then understanding where it’s safe and where it will not be safe is vital. Understanding how the numbered streets and avenues of your city work and where they lead are also important.
Study your city in case you are forced through that city or even trapped inside of it.
Tactical Trauma First Aid
Most people have little or no first aid training. Do you have the skills or the tools to deal with something like a gunshot wound?
In the event of civil unrest, there will be injuries to the human body. We have watched this night after night.
Being able to stop bleeding should be something you know how to do with things like pressure, Quikclot gauze, tourniquets, and plenty of dressings to change out.
Hand to Hand Combat
Let’s make this easy: Do you know how to fight? Have you been trained to fight?
Thanks to the explosion of MMA in this nation, you can really learn how to fight almost anywhere in this nation. If you put a dedicated year in at an MMA training facility, you can handle yourself in a hand to hand combat situation.
Learning how to strike through the study of Muay Thai and boxing while learning how to force the fight to the ground and submit people through things like wrestling and Jiu-jitsu will give you a serious edge on the average street bully.
We all should know how to handle ourselves when we are attacked.
Be Prepared Wherever You Live
I hope this tactical skills list is not too intimidating. You can integrate these practices into your life.
If you practice these things on an ongoing basis you will be surprised at what you become in a years’ time. Most people don’t believe they can change, they don’t have the confidence to take that on.
My warning to you is that the suburbs are not going to be the safe haven they once were. In times of chaos, you will lean on these skills not only to keep you safe but to keep you calm.
When you are prepared, you will rest easier, even as the cities are under attack.
What about you, how have you been mapping out your city lately? Let us know in the comments section!
Up Next:
- Should I Stay or Should I Go? Is It Time to Move?
- Getting The Family Back To Home Base
- Traveling Safe In Chaotic Times
