In an unpredictable world, preparedness has become a central tenet for individuals and families alike. One manifestation of this preparedness ethos is the well-packed “go bag”—a portable collection of essential items ready for immediate use in various situations. Over time, distinct types of go bags have evolved to suit different scenarios, each with a specific function and set of contents. This article unpacks five key go bag types: the Wake Up, Shit’s Happening (WUSH) Bag, Every Day Carry (EDC), Get Home Bag, Bug Out Bag (BOB), and I’m Never Coming Home (INCH) Bag. By understanding their purpose and appropriate contents, you can build a comprehensive readiness plan tailored to your needs. 1. Wake Up, Shit’s Happening (WUSH) Bag Purpose: The WUSH bag is designed for immediate, unexpected emergencies—those moments when you wake to sirens, alarms, or chaos and have seconds to act. It is a minimalist, grab-and-go solution, focusing on survival essentials for the first few minutes or hours after a crisis begins. While many people’s normal lives don’t require having this in place for every day application at their primary domicile, I recommend this to always be in place when traveling away from home. Make-up: The WUSH bag’s defining feature is speed and simplicity. It is often a small bag or pouch—compact enough to be kept at your bedside, under your bed, or hanging on a doorknob. The contents are intentionally limited, aimed at helping you escape imminent danger and reach your next safety checkpoint. · Identification and Documents: Photocopies or waterproofed originals of IDs, emergency contacts, medical info, etc. · Keys: Car, and any critical access keys, possibly on a breakaway lanyard. · Cash/Card: Small denomination local currency for immediate needs (payphones, transport, food). · Flashlight: Preferably super bright, or a headlamp for hands-free use. · Potentially with Basic Clothing: A sturdy pair of shoes, socks, weather-appropriate outerwear, and hat.

When you go for a wilderness outing or extended business trip overseas, how do you ensure you have all the essential gear? But not too much gear? During my time in the military training a team of 7-12 service members for 5 days at a time in the PNW forests during all seasons of the year, and while having to maintain multiple kilometers of travel per day, I've had countless opportunities to test what gear to bring for myself and others. Of course to a degree, I had to carry what the service ordered me to, but then as much as possible as well as now, I try to abide by the Principles of Packing. They entail 5 Basic Survival Needs/ PACE / MLCOA - MDCOA. Let's break it down, 5 Basic Survival Needs are 1. Communications (electronic/non-electronic) 2. Health (mental/physical) 3. Personal Protection (enemies/elements) 4. Sustenance (food/water) 5. Travel (foot mobile/mechanized) This is a rough prioritization, the situation will dictate what you want to stack heavy for your personal situation. This is dependent on at a minimum, the biome, environmental conditions, your duration, distance expected to travel and you skill level. As a reminder I always prefer to go "Skills heavy - Tools light" because skills weigh nothing, and can be adapted to the situation. Applying this to a 5 day business trip to an austere environment, you'll want to ensure you have the skills and the tools to adequately handle the situation. Perhaps you're core essentials look like this 1. Communications (electronic/non-electronic) Cell with satellite capability/Garmin Inreach and battery bank 2. Health (mental/physical) Bible and first aid kit with emergency medical essentials for massive hemorrhage (TQ, Celox Rapid, Chest Seal, Gauze, etc) 3. Personal Protection (enemies/elements) Knife, tactical pen, rain jacket and soft shell with smart wool cap. 4. Sustenance (food/water) Trail mix, jerky, Grayel filtration bottle, steel mug, lighter, micro camp stove and fuel bottle 5. Travel (foot mobile/mechanized) Garmin watch, button compass, map, cash in local currency and USD

Hey guys, I'm working on an article for Offgrid Magazine. Wanted to share it with you first. Tell me your thoughts. "Sole Survival" The Grey Man's Guide to Tactical Footwear Preparation Why Escape Shoes? I personally spend more time on this part of my operational gear for a few reasons. One being that historically speaking, a hostage’s shoes are rarely taken, in fact if the hostage takers care anything about the health of the captive, the shoes are traditionally the last clothing item taken from them. Jumpsuits come in 1 size fits most, but shoes do not. Additionally, although shoes may be inspected and even taken, they will likely be overlooked and left for the initial capture. (When an initial hasty search, may be conducted, depending on how experienced and thorough the captors are) And last but not least, in the many times that I’ve participated in hostage prevention training, I can almost always get to my shoes, whether my hands are bound front or back. There are of course exceptions, but due to a combined mobility of legs and arms, I can usually reach them if I need to. Operationally Effective First escape shoes should blend into your environment. Are you attending a business conference or black-tie dinner? Your shoes need to match. Are you going to the front lines of a combat zone? Then don’t take your running shoes. Just like any part of your clothing line, your shoes should fit the part and not stand out while providing maximum mobility and support, and oh yeah, they should be stinking comfortable as well. With this in mind, you might need to outfit several different pairs of shoes/boots to match your most likely circumstances and activity. But it starts with having the appropriate footwear to match the situation. Enhanced Laces Next, I prefer any shoe with laces as opposed to one without for this reason. Laces themselves can serve as the most expedient and effective friction saw to cut though restraints. Of course not all laces are created alike, especially for the purposes of sawing through flex cuffs or synthetic rope. Almost any off the shelf shoe lace falls apart before cutting through plastic based restraints, and most boot laces aren’t much better.

Here's an older video explaining the overview and wavetop ideas of the Situational Awareness training listed in the classroom. Which do you guys prefer? What sticks out for you?

This section is for any soft or hard skills that relate to the "Grey Man's" skillsets. Topics of interest include situational awareness hacks, international safety tips and lock picking etc.