Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. REALITY CHECK II COUNSEL, WISdOM, GUIdANCE ANd TEACHING. CLINT SMITH ecent events in the world again show the susceptibility of people to the whims of others. This is especially evident when they rely on other people to defend them — who often won’t or can’t protect them — and more importantly, putting themselves in positions they can’t defend. All of you know — and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled — police are not in place to protect you individually, but are in place to protect society at large. Most slow people still haven’t figured that out, whining, “Well I called the police, but they didn’t come right away.” Duh. R Bug Out Plan As Connor says, “The police are only minutes away when seconds count,” so you just might have to deal with your problem for some time, on your own, before the cops come. The World Trade Center should show most people the planet is not safe — whatever that means — even the United States. Although we “small town people clinging to our guns and religion” are made fun of, I’d rather be in Southern Oregon then in downtown Chicago. I’ll take my place over any big city because I know which is more dangerous, but not everybody can or wants to live in the woods. When I travel, I go with a different mindset and a different plan than most others. When I get on a plane, I sit down, fasten the seat belt and I read the safety/emergency card. I’ve had people look at me weird and ask if I thought I was going to survive the crash. I usually say, “Probably not, but if I do I’m going to know where the hell to go to get out of this thing — will you?” The BoP And A BoB ll the tactical guys I know have “BoBs” or Bug-out-Bags. It’s up to you what you want in your bag. Where you are, what your job is and whom you’re bugging out from is different than me. I’ve got the BoB-thing and understand it, as I think most of you do. More st lea BOP plans: Have at important to you and your p cra the if nd some plan in mi family is a “BoP” or Buge sur ke hits the fan. And ma out-Plan. You can apply s ow kn ed olv inv everyone this BoP anywhere from what it is. Iran, like in the sand, to Iraan, Texas. Simply, it’s to develop plans to vacate wherever you are now — in the next 30 seconds — and be able to do it whenever you need to. It’s not all that different than the “what if” game you should be playing with your coworkers. The only difference is it’s being applied to your private life. As an example, Heidi and I go to the Red Robin restaurant at The Mill in Bend, Oregon. We go in, sit down and before anything else, decide what door we’re going out if something goes wrong — first choice, second choice — you get the point. We already know who’s carrying what gun and where it is. We already know we’ll meet at the truck in the parking lot if we get separated. See the plan forming? If anything goes wrong we get up and we leave — now. What qualifies as going wrong? There’s unusual yelling, something is thrown, a gun shot, a knife is drawn — I don’t mean on, to or directed to or towards us — I mean anywhere in the restaurant. Period. But what about the Luby’s massacre in Killeen, Texas, or the McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro, California? Yup, they’re proof we don’t live in a lily-white world — and the need for BoP’s. 58 A Maxpedition: Maxpedition’s Doppelduffel is a great “Bug-out-Bag” if you need one. His Publisher-Immenseness Huntington lived out of one for ten days in Africa not long ago. I f I go to town, I go prepared to defend myself — key words —defend myself. No chip on my shoulder, no attitude, no road rage. I just go to town, do my business and then go back to my world. Do you and your family want to live life this way? Do you need to? I don’t know the answer for you or the scores of victims from Luby’s or McDonald’s, or more recently the more than 150 people in Mumbai — they don’t have the option of a do-over. For many things in life, important things, you only get one chance. You need to consider how you might do them if you ever have to. When Heidi and I got married we made a deal — I would go anywhere with her on vacation she wanted to go so long as I could eventually walk home if I had to. I’m quite the adventurer, huh. We’ve traveled a few places in the world, but I like America best. I’m always amused when people say, “Well I was in Rio de Janeiro and got mugged and my Rolex was taken at gun point.” Hmmm … let me think on this: Rio, Rolex, Robbery — makes sense to me. So if you travel the world today, even to peaceful India or somewhere like that, you might be in harm’s way. I’m Outta Here * WWW.AMERICANCOPMAGAZINE.COM • JULY/AUGUST 2009