The military trains its troops with one method – repetitive drills. Muscle memory is where its at!

Its super important that when a SHTF scenario happens, you and your family is ready to react – at least until things settle down.

Here are your goals:

• Get to safety as quick as possible
• Make sure you have everything you need to sustain life – fire, shelter, food, and water

Your family is probably going to think you’re a little weird for asking them to have a bug out drill – but someday, it might just save their lives.  That said, here are a couple bug out drills to practice with just you or the entire family.

Bug Out Drill #1: Evacuation

This scenario is not as likely as other bug out scenarios, but here’s one to practice your speed and coordination in a stressful situation.

Imagine you get a knock on your door – its the fire department, EMTs, police, or whoever.  They give you 5 minutes to pack what you need and move out.

Time you and your family – anything you can carry after 5:00 minutes will be taken, all else left. Take your family out to eat and discuss the items they brought. Get your family thinking about the essentials of your bug out.

Bug Out Drill #2: Bug Out Weekend

Bugging out can be fun – plan with your wife to bug out, but if you have kids, don’t mention it to them until 5 or 10 minutes before you leave. Give your children 5 minutes notice that you’ll be spending the weekend camping, hiking, or whatever your budget can afford. That will really give you an idea of how well your bug out bag is prepared.

Bug Out Drill #3: TEOTWAWKI Weekend – Bug-IN Weekend

Plan a bug in weekend – a weekend where you shut off the power and water to your house and spend the entire weekend with the power out and the water off. This will also give you a good idea of how you would cope in a grid-down scenario.

Before you have a TEOTWAWKI weekend, make sure you have a security plan, a plan for food and water, and a simple schedule of activities to keep your family having fun.

If you are not bugging out alone, then everyone in your family/party will need to have an idea of what they need to bring in the event SHTF and you need to bug out. A bug out bag packed with all of your survival gear prepared for each person is a must for any person preparing for TEOTWAWKI.

Keep your bug out bag in an accessible location that is personalized for each individual. This is important because men and woman may have different needs as would a child or adult. Consider packing a change of clothing as well as shoes, a bottle of water, high energy snacks, first aid supplies and toiletries. You should also consider medicine, cash, candles, matches, a cell phone charger and extra battery and a thermal blanket.

These items should be placed somewhere convenient and someplace easily accessible. Everyone in the family should know where to find these items and what it is they are responsible for. The goal is to have this accomplished in under five minutes, essentially a grab and go.

Practice the Bug Out Drill

The military trains by repetition and so should you. Practice this drill every so often and time yourself to see how quickly you can respond to a scenario where you need to move you and your loved ones fast. You will also be able to determine the most ideal locations for your backpacks as well as the space you have in your vehicle.