Many years ago a friend asked what it meant to be a survivalist. At the time I was reading Jerry Ahern’s novel series ‘The Survivalist’ and in one of the book the main character John Thomas Rourke was explaining what a survivalist was to his new sidekick Paul Rubenstein. What he explained I boiled down to this.
The Survivalist Creed:
I will survive so that I can help my family to survive,
My family will survive so that we can help our friends to survive,
Our friends will survive so that we can help our community to survive,
Our community will survive so that we can help our country to survive.
That in a nutshell explains what a true survivalist is all about. Surviving to help others do the same. This is one of the reasons I have worked for many years for free in setting up preparedness fairs, setting up the C.E.R.T. program in my city of Martinez, worked with the Boy Scouts, and now working with The Asset Center. That is to get people prepared to survive.
It is the reason I went to work for DHS and for the last ten years been the Emergency Management Coordinator there. I helped Bank of America’s data center in Concord get ready for Y2K. I was the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for my church for twelve years, and I’m still helping out.
This coming Spring I will again be a Special Guest Speaker for the Shelley Ready | 2019 Emergency Preparedness Fair, in Shelley Idaho. Last year they had over 4,000 attendees.
So check your local area for a preparedness fair and go to it. Getting prepared is the best thing you can do for and with your family. Be that above average american and get prepared.
Gil Patton, Emergency Management Coordinator, Executive Coordination Center Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security – RETIRED
The ASSET Center 