With the growing threat of war coming to America, the U.K., and Israel, learn survival strategies now so that day doesn’t take you by surprise. Even if you live in an area not known for military threats, you can still be at risk.
July 2020 Update: Given the news that’s come out about the Russians putting bounties up for the killing of American soldiers in Afghanistan, tensions are higher than anytime in recent memory between the US and Russia. The current administration is unlikely to act on this issue, particularly given the pandemic and the looming economic crisis, but this may not stay true if a new administration takes over In January of next year.
Tensions are also elevated between the US and China. China has taken a number of aggressive steps while the world is distracted by COVID – they have made moves along their border with India, on the Taiwan issue, and in Hong Kong.
While outright war remains unlikely at the moment, it is undeniable that geopolitically, the world is at its tensest point since probably September 11th 2011.
January 2020 Update: With the recent killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, tensions are at a fever pitch with Iran. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, we can all agree that war is more likely today than it was prior to his death. Do you know what to do to prepare for war? Learn more by reading on…
Are you ready for a major war? Expect economic collapse. Expect martial law. Expect a breakdown of society and mass food shortages.
When Wars Begin, First Strikes Happen Unexpectedly …
How many readers here remember the surprise attack of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941? What if a second Pearl Harbor takes place one day unexpectedly? What if one day the sky is filled with foreign fighter planes screaming overhead as one missile after another rains down across your region, state, or even hometown in a first strike attack?
Across the sky it would be a scene of “world war” magnitude as down below business districts, government buildings, and military bases are obliterated by one strike after another.
The White House … destroyed.
The Statue of Liberty … in ruins.
Los Angeles and New York City … both cities now smoking, charred craters.
If America Is Attacked…
There is always the chance that American citizens will find themselves not prepared for life under a government that was no longer standing.
But Who Would Attack America?
We have Democrats and Republicans. Liberals and Conservatives. Those who think the U.S. is unbeatable. Those who know better… What is the truth? Should the U.S. fear it’s enemies? Mention Russia and China to the average person — considered threats by the Pentagon during the Cold War days — and still considered threats today — and you might hear someone say: “Why would China attack the U.S.? They need us to buy their imports.”
Or …
“Why would Russia attack the U.S.? Russia’s military is weak. The U.S. is unbeatable.”
But are these true statements? Start digging into the facts and neither statement has merit. Russia has a lot more capabilities than we give them credit for, including access to an incredibly large stockpile of nuclear weapons and the distribution network to get a number of “suitcase nukes” into the U.S., if Russia wanted to.
Also worth mentioning: Russia and China have been steadily building their military capabilities, and at the same time have been in growing alliances, from economic trade and joint military exercises, to also doing business with U.S. enemies like Iran and North Korea.
2020 Update: After the recent relegations about the Russians putting bounties on US soldiers, tensions are high between Russia and the US. China is also acting aggressively on a number of fronts, and tensions between the United States and China are also elevated at the moment.
CNN: US isn’t looking to start a war with Iran, but are prepared to finish one
Washington Post: Iran a more dangerous foe than ever
CBS News: Iranian military at heightened state of readiness
(Here are some older articles pre-update that suggest that war is always more likely than we’ve been conditioned to think it is)
Irish Times: Russians offer North Korea a new alliance
Wall Street Journal: China-Iran Trade Surge Vexes U.S.
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XINHUANET: Russia, China, deepen ties, conduct joint military drills
China Post: China and Russia spying on U.S. at Cold War levels
Some of these articles go back a few years, others have been recently added as tensions have escalated with Iran. The point of all this … to show that the U.S. has a lot to be concerned about when Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are all meeting behind closed doors. This is double true with the current situation after the killing of Soleimani.
Two of these countries (both Iran and North Korea) have threatened publicly to destroy the United States, North Korea saying specifically it would destroy the U.S. with “precision nuclear strikes.”
Whether you believe these threats are real — or they’re just propaganda — I believe there is just cause to be ready for war to one day soon come to the U.S. and it’s likely to involve nukes — and a lot of Americans dying.
How to Prepare For War: (It May One Day Save Your Life)
1. Start With the Basics
Before we get into what you’re going to want to do to prepare for war, first you’ll want to prepare for survival. War has a lot of consequences, but one of the first and foremost is that it will likely create a scarcity of resources. For example, in WW2 even areas that weren’t bombed or under attack went through rationing of food. Depending on how severe an attack is, the level of scarcity might be greater or smaller, but the basic idea is that the very first thing you’ll want to do is ensure you have access to shelter, water, and food (in that order of priority as dictated by the survival rule of three).
Shelter doesn’t just mean having a roof over your head. In survival terms, shelter means two things – 1. protection from the elements and 2. temperature regulation. As long as you’re not living in a major target (NYC, LA, Washington DC and so forth), your town or city is unlikely to be under threat of direct attack (which means your home won’t suffer damage). What could happen is that your region loses power due to cyber attack or attacks on the grid. That means you want to have a backup plan for temperature regulation.
If you have a fireplace, then stock up on wood and fire supplies. Additionally, an easy way to make sure that you always have a basic level of ability to regulate temperature is through survival blankets, which are made of a special material designed by NASA for astronauts. This material reflects your body heat back at you. We’ve got an article on the best survival blankets, and we’ve included our top choice below.
SoS Recommended Survival Blanket
If you do live in a major metropolitan area that could be the target of attacks, then you’ll want to have a get home bag and bug out bag ready to go (you really should have these anyways, but particularly if you anticipate a disaster occurring near you).
If an attack happens, grab your bag and get to somewhere safe, whether that means hunkering down at home or finding a safe place to bug out to. Both types of preparedness bags will have the equipment needed for shelters to protect you from the elements (like tarps, paracord, etc).
As a general rule, if you want to be prepared for disaster, it’s also a good idea to have a survival stockpile in place. This is doubly true if you anticipate that war will break out. The US getting involved in a full scale war with a rival nation is a true SHTF situation. The continental US has essentially never come under attack by a foreign nation in the modern era, which is why so many people are totally unprepared for such a scenario.
If you want to be one of the few who’s well prepared for war, building up a decent stockpile should be one of your top priorities. Essentially, you need a plan where you get out of dodge (bug out bag), and you need a plan where you stay put and ride it out (stockpile). A survival stockpile will help you ride out shortages of essential resources and any rationing that might arise as a consequence of war.
If you’d like to start putting together a survival stockpile but you don’t know where to start, watch this video. It will give you a step by step plan for stockpiling food, water, meds, tools, and gear. If you follow the advice in the video, you’ll even learn ways to save thousands of dollars while building out your stockpile. We go over the basics in the rest of this article, but this video goes in depth and gives you survival stockpiling plan that you can use even if you’re starting from square one.
Learn how to start a survival stockpile the smart way and prepare for possibility of war
The next thing we want to discuss is water. Have a supply of drinkable water on hand – in a war, you have no way of knowing which essential services might suddenly be gone. Perhaps one day you wake up and there’s no longer running water available.
There’s no need to do anything fancy with this – buying bottled water in bulk isn’t that expensive and the shelf life is good. If you buy a few of these large packs of bottled water, you should be adequately prepared for a water shortage.
You should also plan for a scenario where your supply runs out and you need to find new water sources. The easiest long term plan to have with regards to drinking water is to buy water filters. There are ways to learn to do this with minimal equipment, but in a life or death situation there’s no need to be figuring out how to filter your own water. Learning those skills is important, but proper preparation is more important. We recommend Sawyer for survival water filters.
Finally, there’s food to worry about. If you don’t already have a decent food stockpile, make sure to check out our guide to the best survival foods to stockpile. Alternatively, go with one of the meal kit options which are decent choices (typically with 25-30 year shelf lives). With these meal kits you’re paying more per calorie but they’ve come with variety, they taste reasonably good, are easy to prepare and have very long shelf lives. When it comes to survival food kits we recommend the Mountain House Classic Bucket.
The first 72 hours after a disaster are the most critical for survival. Enter your email below to get a checklist of essential items you need in your 72 hour emergency get home bag…
With shelter, water, and food covered, you’ve covered your bases and have gotten the basic survival needs taken care of. You’re prepared at a basic level for some of the disaster scenarios that could happen with the US in a state of war.
2. Be Prepared For Martial Law
What does it mean to be prepared for martial law? It means that you need to be ready for U.S. government forces to make a local grab for power where communities across the region are told to lock down in homes or even possibly “FEMA camps”. FEMA camps may first appear outside areas that have suffered mass casualties, damaged or destroyed homes, and destroyed or leveled buildings.
Since any forward attack on the U.S. homeland is likely to follow a pre-emptive attack on the electrical grid (we’ve heard too many times how fragile the power grid is in recent years), expect an immediate disruption in transportation systems critical to food supplies. This means that under martial law we can expect government rationing, where long lines form for basic food needs, stretching several blocks or longer.
Cyberattacks
3. Be Prepared For Cyberattacks on the Grid and Defense Systems
The Chinese and Russian military have been accused many times of cyberattacks and intrusions on top level computer systems at multiple levels of U.S. defenses. With the existing tensions with Iran, we’ve personally heard from experts in the field that the most likely form of retaliation in the short term is via cyberattack on the electrical grid. An attack on the electrical grid is an indirect way to cause thousands of deaths without physically attacking (due to things like lack of heating, logistical issues with lifesaving medicine, and so forth). This will hit those who are unprepared particularly hard (one of the many reasons why prepping is so important). They may also attack US defense systems – taken offline, we could expect this to hamper U.S. defenses and communications in ways that could give the upper hand to an attacking nation.
This idea of the electrical grid coming under attack is one reason why so many preppers and survivalists are interested in solar powered portable generators. Fuel generators work fine for smaller scale disasters – the power goes out, you use a fuel generator to cover. But what if fuel isn’t widely available? These solar generators aren’t all that powerful and if the grid is shut down for an extended period you’ll need to seriously ration your electricity use, but it’s better than the alternative, which is no access to power at all.
We recommend the combination of the Jackery Portable Power Station 500 and their compatible Solar Panels. There are definitely cheaper ways to set up access to solar power for emergency/survival purposes, but if your goal is to have something that’s very straightforward and will be ready for a war that could begin at any moment, then we recommend this combo of products from Jackery. They’re pretty much plug and play, and will give you access to electricity in an emergency situation.
What About “Mutual Assured Destruction” From The Cold War?
4. Be Prepared For A Compromise Of America’s Nuclear Missile Silos
With so many stocks of nuclear weapons held by the world’s superpowers (the U.S., Russia, and China), America’s policy of “mutual assured destruction” was in place to tell our enemies that “if you nuke us, we will nuke you.” The 1983 movie War Games showed how a computer hacker could accidentally start a world-wide nuclear war simply by triggering one country to fire off it’s nukes. Thankfully this was just a movie — if something like this had actually happened we would now be 30 years into a post apocalypse and the earth only beginning to recover from a world wide nuclear war that would have annihilated much of humanity back in 1983 – 1985.
So what about “mutual assured destruction” being a deterrent today? Well, it is still in place, and it is still a deterrent. Here’s a frightening fact for people to consider: If we are attacked with nukes by an outside nation, that would mean that they had probably circumvented (hacked) our computer systems at such a level that the attacking nation(s) somehow shut down communications or electrical power to the ICBM’s (nuclear missile silos) while also in some second scheme pinpointed the location of each of the U.S.’s nuclear submarines, and then dealt with those subs in some manner.
With our nuclear defenses thoroughly compromised, “mutual assured destruction” would be a null issue.
There’s no real way to ‘prepare’ for a nuclear war. If you’re caught in the large blast zone, you’re going to die. The only way to really prepare for a nuclear attack is to assume that you’ve survived the initial blast. In this situation, you’re still in danger from radiation poisoning, which is a slow and painful way to die.
To alleviate the risk of radiation poisoning, make sure you have a supply of radiation pills. Even with radiation pills, you’re likely to suffer from radiation poisoning unless you have a bunker.
Obviously, for the vast majority of people, building a proper nuclear bunker is a step too far. We understand completely. If you do want to explore building a bunker that has a chance of helping you survive both a nuclear bomb and the subsequent radioactive fallout, you might consider these bunker blueprints.
Regions Near The Coast: Attacks From The Air And Ocean
5. Things Are Not What They Seem
Successful first wave attacks at different times of history have arrived sometimes disguised as something else (such as a real life “Trojan Horse” from ancient Greek writings) or simply have been a complete surprise (the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941). What avenues could a “Trojan Horse” strike the U.S. and disguise first wave attacks? Consider:
Cargo Ships that are carrying surface to air missiles, helicopters, tanks, and even troops.
Cruise Lines that are also carrying weapons, missiles, and troops.
Commercial jets flying in to the U.S. from overseas (the plot from the first “Red Dawn” from the early 1980s where a first wave attack was launched by Russia and allies and disguised as inbound commercial jets).
Orbiting Satellites carrying small (or large) nuclear tipped missiles that could withstand entry through the atmosphere and be fired on U.S. cities.
Which brings us to:
State And Civil Government: Attacks From Forces Already In The U.S
6. They Were Already Here
If you’re going to set up a new government once the first government falls, why obliterate standing and operational government buildings when you can simply take them? We don’t know to what extent existing governmental systems (including the presidency and congress not to mention state and local governments) are already compromised. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to see a first wave attack including highly trained foreign special forces soldiers and foreign spies planted here for that purpose.
The international spy game is alive and well and every country has it’s own form of CIA, MI6, and KGB (now called the FSB), and it may not be that difficult to plant foreign agents at various levels of government and even within the U.S. military.
UK GUARDIAN: FSB: Vladimir Putin’s immensely powerful modern-day KGB
My bet is that any scheme for an attack and takeover of the U.S. will include widespread distribution of foreign agents within U.S. borders, which has probably already taken place. And the more years that pass, the more likely these agents can get deeply entrenched into U.S. life, government, and military. Finally, many of these foreign agents may be currently turning real U.S. citizens into “double agents” (by lies, money, or by coercion) who turn on their homeland to support a new government and new rule of law.
Being Prepared For A Missile Strike
7. Duck And Cover — And Put On Protective Chemical Gear
In the Middle East, Israel has been under a constant state of threat from missile strikes and public bombings courtesy of hate-filled Islamic attackers. Because of this, schools, government, and numerous businesses across Israel and public marketplaces have access to bomb shelters. Unfortunately, the population at large across the U.S. does not have access to bomb shelters nor have they taken part in any bombing drills.
Supplies For Nuclear And Chemical Emergencies
We can’t simply get under our desks to survive a bombing — this isn’t an earthquake. It’s a missile strike — and that missile may be outfitted with a chemical weapon. We need something better than an earthquake drill in place. Or some of our kids are likely to die from chemical attack. For now, preparation comes down to us. Useful items for wartime include a personal radiation detector for detecting if you’ve been exposed to radiation or if an area has.
Recommended elsewhere on the site, are chemical protective masks rated for chemical emergencies and the aforementioned potassium iodide pills (which reduce the chances of several types of cancer if taken within a short time of radiation exposure). When it comes to chemical protective masks, these are standard in places like Israel and we can bet a number of people are well versed on what to do in the event of a sudden attack.
Like Israel, American Schools Need War Drills
Shouldn’t schools and colleges that are located in major cities have some kind of drill in place for a chemical weapon attack? Many of our students are sitting ducks and they’re not going to know what hit them.
Russia Builds Military Alliance With Iran And Iran Vows To Wipe Israel Off The Map
You see, at some point, and it may be soon, death is coming for a lot of people.
New York Time’s bestselling author Joel Rosenberg produced a 1-hour documentary (now on DVD) titled, Epicenter – Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future. Here Rosenberg lays out in specific detail how the recent military alliance between Russia and Iran and the rise of Radical Islam should be a terrifying signal to the world that “last days” events from the Bible are about to unfold. Iran’s vow to “wipe Israel off the map” is a second terrifying signal.
Not sure what to believe? Spend a few minutes listening to Joel Rosenberg lay this out for you in specific detail:
Rosenberg takes readers on a journey through prophecy and current events… You won’t want to miss Joel’s exclusive interviews with Israeli, Palestinian, and Russian leaders (including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) along with previously classified CIA and White House documents… With growing interest in prophecy, this documentary will answer questions such as “Are we living in the last days?”
But who is even listening? Actually a lot of people are in tune with the times the world is living in. But a lot more people are not. And, according to the Bible, that is why the most terrible time that has ever occurred at any point in history is coming to the world at some point in future days, warnings that were written about 2,000 years ago by the Apostle John. Whether or not you are a believer, we can all agree that the world feels less stable and more chaotic today than it has in several decades, perhaps since the end of the cold war.
Those days look like they are here now.
Missiles Are Falling From The Sky – What To Do
8. Evacuate To The Countryside Or Take Cover In A Bomb Shelter.
If you have the option, like a lot of people in Israel have today, head immediately for a bomb shelter.
Several cities around the U.S. and U.K. may have a bomb shelter from the Cold War days where city officials could flee to in the event of an impending attack. It’s hard to know which ones are available to the public though — and what their policies are for letting just anyone have access to it.
Even though that bomb shelter may be nearby, it’s possible that in the chaos of the day, you may never actually get inside. What if the bomb shelter had filled to capacity and someone had simply locked the door to anyone else?
A number of people from the prepping community have built bomb shelters, with several being built during the Cold War days.
If a bomb shelter isn’t available, the other option is to high tail it for an open area away (or out to the countryside) and get away from any important buildings, large bridges, or tunnels.
Each of these are possible locations for missile strikes — especially large bridges and tunnel systems. A great way to cause havoc for a few million people who live in places like New York and San Francisco is to immediately take out large bridges and tunnels, effectively trapping hundreds of thousands of people inside an isolated area, and cutting off evacuation routes.
Chemical weapons detonated within an isolated area could wipe out tens of thousands, like a Nazi gas chamber exterminating Jews in World War 2.
Building A Bomb Shelter To Protect From Nuclear Fallout
Building a bomb shelter for surviving a nuclear attack (and chemical weapons) is an option, and it can be done relatively inexpensively. But do you even need to build a bomb shelter? That really depends on your proximity to where a nuke or nukes may strike.
If you feel safe because you live a hundred miles from the nearest major city or military base (possible targets for a nuke), be sure to check the direction of prevailing winds in your region. The wind can carry nuclear fallout and so for the first few days (when nuclear fallout is heaviest) you may not be that safe — not unless you take steps to secure your home from nuclear fallout.
Avoid Stopped Traffic Fleeing From Warzones
9. Have Detailed Road Maps — Because Evacuation May Bring Traffic To A Halt
When it comes to maps, Delorme makes a detailed map for every state. Use one of these maps to locate routes out of any and every city in your state. Also locate distant small towns, state parks, military bases, nature preserves, and little-used roads and highways.
An important point to consider: the majority of the population in your region probably doesn’t realize that numerous alternative routes via county roads and or gravel roads and or forest service roads (which are typically found outside of large cities in the countryside) even exist.
… And you don’t have to wait for a regional war to break out to benefit from a detailed state map. Today, if you face periods of heavy traffic, use one of these maps to find side roads offering easy alternative routes around stopped traffic due to accidents or simply heavy rush hour.
Finally, go out on a weekend with one of these detailed Delorme maps and in your spare time follow some of these alternative routes. You can be familiar with any number of evacuation routes — just in case.
Being able to evacuate can be a life-saving survival tool. Realize that if you live in a major city, and there is a catastrophic event like a nuclear weapon detonated anywhere within a hundred miles, your entire region may be racing to escape on the only roads they know — the interstate freeways and highways.
If you get caught in that mess, don’t expect to get very far.
Another reason for buying a detailed state map? If the grid goes down, there’s a good chance your mobile device will not work for much longer, if at all. So don’t count on the latest GPS saving the day.
You’re going to want a few good maps on hand.
Trail Maps
Once you have a good road map like Delorme, from there you’ll need one or more “trail maps” (search for “trail atlas” or “recreation map”) for your specific region that includes topographic features depicting lakes, foothills, mountains, forest, meadows, and more where you can fish and hunt and simply survive — for those who are capable.
Life After Grid Down
10. Prepping For Long Term Survival
The electrical grid goes down. For good. You need a power source. Like portable solar panels. You need food and water and critical emergency supplies … And you need to put serious thought into weapons for hunting and self defense.
You also need a survival plan with a number of specific objectives. You see, once the grid goes down, you may only have weeks … or just days … or just minutes before enemy planes thunder overhead and a terrifying scene from the movie Red Dawn plays out in the sky.
Teens and college students scrambling out of schools, running for their cars and trucks parked outside.
Teachers, administrators and city officials gunned down and local citizens who did not escape penned up in concentration camps with several facing execution at the hands of their captors.
The Invasion Of The U.S. Had Begun
11. Don’t Wait Too Long To Evacuate — Or It May Be Too Late
Did you make it out in time? Did your kids make it out in time?
Not trying to scare anyone here but these are some serious questions to consider — if the U.S. is truly on the brink of a major war that most of the U.S. probably doesn’t expect anytime soon. Maybe it’s time for the U.S. to wake up and realize that we may truly be on the brink of war — a war of Biblical proportions.
It’s also a good time to start praying — even if it’s the first time in your life.
Faith in God is going to be the only way out.
Our Top Posts About Man Made Disasters
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Bombings Are Coming: How to Survive a Bomb at a Public Event
How to Survive a Chemical or Biological Attack
How to Survive a Mall Shooting, Mall Massacre Terror Attack
Bio Terror – How to Survive a Biological Terrorist Attack informational
How to Survive a School Shooting: FIGHTING BACK
Terrorist Hijacking – How to Survive a Hijacked Airline
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Why You Can Trust Us
Secrets of Survival has been around since 2002 (almost 20 years) and our survival knowledge is the real deal. We were writing and discussing survival and prepping before people even knew what the word “prepping” meant. We also preceded the trendiness of survival media nowadays… for example, we were arround before Bear Grylls filmed his first episode of Man vs Wild.Our contributors and writers over the years have included survival experts of all stripes – including a Green Beret Special Forces Medic, a former Navy SEAL, a leading survival instructor who’s been featured on National Geographic and PBS. Every article is either written or reviewed by someone who is an expert in either survivalism, prepping, or homesteading (or all three) and our goal is to be as practical and educational as possible.
While some of our writers and contributors use pseudonyms in order to protect their privacy (never a bad idea in these times where out of control surveillance is a growing problem), you can trust that everybody who gets to write for us has been vetted for their knowledge and passion when it comes to survival.
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Most people in the USA go through life…lottie da…..lottie da. Capitalism keeps them preoccupied with the many gadgets for sale. As our government and corporate leaders dismantle the Constitution over the almighty dollar and contribute to the ever increasing rate of inequality!
Some good ideas n points. In America we’re totally unprepared and an army that comes prepared can readily take over merely by attrition I’m afraid.
I wish our government would take the initiative to prepare us for such senarios. God in heaven help us.
Such wonderful information. I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to share all this valuable information with us. I have been prepping since 2008 & will continue to do so until the day I die. Trusting in God to lead me in all I do.
God bless you and everyone in this planet. Thank you for sharing this information. It means all the difference.
So, I’m 28 and I wouldn’t be able to see 30 or 40 because God set up that the world should end at some arbitrary point in the midst of my lifetime?
I’m so upset about this.