The "Five B's" of Logistics

It is easy for a nation state to plan for the logistics of the future, logistics and economics are topics at the war college. Dedicated smart professionals study this, and the nation state has more resources than you can imagine. How can a citizen soldier prepare for an uncertain future? This uncertain future can include economic collapse, local disaster or an asymmetric war against an oppressive regime.

We do this by balancing our efforts, we do this by thinking of the “five B’s.” I first heard of the “three B’s” (the first three on my list) before I was in the army in books about Vietnam- the resupply consisted of the three B’s. That stuff that keeps an army fighting. It has been expanded in prepper circles to include things for the family, to protect us from natural disaster, and as a last resort, to fight. I am going to explain them here with my own thoughts.

I. Beans

Even in the worst conflict, you will be eating more than you will be shooting. Food (and water) should be you first concern. Can you feed your family? Can you feed yourself? If your friends are caught without can you feed them? (I’m not talking about the idiots that always figured they would be able to mooch off of you if the zombie apocalypse ever actually happened.)

Food is not nearly as sexy as a ton of tactical gear, but it is the more important prep. Start small and expand to what you can accommodate. A person in a small apartment will have different food and water logistics than a person with a ten acre hobby farm. Both of them are important.

If you haven’t thought about this I suggest you start small and continuously work on your food preps until you get to a level where you think you are comfortable. We live in a day and age where the vast majority of people are utterly dependent on being able to go to the store 24/7 and I guarantee the most deadly place to be in a world without law and order will be in front of your local Walmart. Make sure you don’t have to be there. The guys that control food control the world.

Your food preps have to look at the long term logistics of whatever may come.

There is a WHOLE lot of stuff on this throughout the net- I would suggest you look through some articles and read some online forums. Join a forum that seems friendly to you. Ask questions so you get information specific to your needs.

II. Bullets

I’m talking about all the stuff needed to protect you and your family. There is a steep curve here, with the dude that has a baseball bat in the corner to the guy that could equip a fire team out of his closet. Most of us lie somewhere in between. My advice is that you plan to expand, don’t collect guns but think about what you need. Get to a happy point and then think about spares. Know how to use your equipment and know how to work on it. Store ammo so that it is logistically ready to go- you’re fighting people in the streets? If your trusted friend down the street needs a few hundred rounds of ammo you should have the extra stuff ready to go, per-packaged with desiccant in the box. If all your buddies are using Glocks, don’t be the obstinate guy that buys a CZ because “you don’t want a plastic gun.”

Don’t forget the stuff besides guns and ammo. I’ve seen dudes with several two grand ARs and not even a chest rig that they could carry reloads in to the car. Don’t just think about ammo for your guns, think about the other expendables. A smoke grenade or flair used correctly could save your life.

III. Batteries

Batteries are only a part of this, we're talking about power.  We depend on power, and planning for power without infrastructure is daunting. If you live in a cold environment (I don’t) this is even worse. How will you prepare all the food you have put away? You should make it a habit to have all your critical stuff use the same type of power, and provide backups to that. Every now and then this type of stuff bites the best of us on the ass. I used to keep a supply of batteries for the house, until I noticed that they end up getting used up in the remotes and toys. I have to keep a secret stash now. I need a good solar recharger! I keep enough gas stored to fill the car, I have enough camping fuel to last months. If you don’t have an out building storing flammables going to be hard, do NOT store them in your garage or house. 

IV. Band Aids

In a world without infrastructure there will be darn few hospitals open. Doctors will be spread thin and low on supplies. You need to stock up on the everyday meds, prescriptions you might need and other stuff. I’m not just talking about the trauma stuff, anyone who has ever run to the Walmart at 2AM for Children’s Motrin knows what I am talking about. Though, if shooting is involved the trauma stuff is VERY important. You need multiple pressure dressings, tourniquets and the stuff to treat serious injury in follow on care. We are going to write more on this later. It is important that you get training, read books etc. on how this stuff works. 

V. Bullion

I can remember a picture in a middle school text book that compared the assets of the North and South at the opening of the American Civil War. One of the categories was gold reserves. Money makes the world go around, and stockpiling things that have an intrinsic value will give people like us power at some point. I will say that it is important that you take care of the first things in this list before you start buying silver and gold coins. But with all things there is a balance.  A second case of ammo is useless if you're walking and a $20 silver coin might be the difference between heading to the refugee camp or walking away. You also need to research the market before you invest your hard earned money. The various types of crypto currency also deserve investigation.