AR Mag Pouch FaceOff: No One Size Fits All.

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Considering the vast number of Veterans in the United States, and the manifold uses of America's Rifle, the evolution of AR-15 style mag pouches has followed both a linear and circular path. Linnear, in the effort to become lighter, with better retention, and bearing a lower profile, while Circular, in that we've seen the reintroduction of common elements rise, fall, and return to vogue multiple times. Take a look at Vietnam-era double mag pouches, and you'll see a distant relative of the gear many who volunteered for the GWOT saw issued in both Basic Training, and later in their units. Now, long gone are the days where, when looking for an AR mag pouch, the list of options were restricted to a few brands.

Instead, we now benefit from such a variety of options that there is no one perfect AR magazine pouch to fit all applications. Observing the wisdom of those who came before us, and applying a healthy serving of modern materials and manufacturing, choosing the ideal AR mag pouch begins and ends with the end-user in mind. As individuals, we are freed from the constraints of a behemoth organization like a country's military, and so get to work back and forth between what we see, use, and know.

AR Mag Pouch Styles

We must start by asking the question: where will the magazine pouch be mounted? In the last 20 years, we have seen the military trends move M4 mags from the belt to overstuffed plate carriers. Eventually, in the attitude of exploring the forbidden territory, mags belt-mounted mag pouches have trickled back through the ranks.

ar mag pouches layout

Above: Years of trial and error have narrowed down the options, but not produced an ultimate winner. 

Outside of the military, the belt is still the most common place to carry AR mags, whether from 3-gun competitors, to law enforcement, and the range-goers in between. Some mags are limited to one style of mounting, such as the Safariland Mag caddies so commonly seen at competitions, while others are blessed and cursed by the proliferation of Molle gear, with options for both plate carrier or belt mounting.

HSGI Tacos

Colors: Black, Coyote Brown, LE Blue, Multicam, Multicam Black, OD Green, Wolf Gray, Woodland Camo
Mounting Options: Molle, Belt Loops
MSRP: $36
URL: www.highspeedgear.com

ar mag pouch HSGI taco

Where were these when I was in the military? Those dabbling in open-top AR mag pouch concepts cannot go far without finding an HSGI in the wild. In stark contrast to the de rigueur of the 2010's when most issued gear had flap tops typically secured with velcro, it felt cutting edge to sport a 3-by shingle with the bungied tabs holding your mags in. But High Speed Gear pushed the envelope even further and infused their mag pouches with shock cord to give them the retention needed to keep it together in a sticky situation, while adding rigidity through plastics.

Having mounted them to a plate carrier in 2015, they have never left it, as the go-to for non-airborne operations. HSGI Taco's come with adjustable retention, and can accommodate multiple types of magazines. Although generally styled as an AR mag pouch, they can also securely carry AK-style mags. They're notoriously difficult to mount on molle, but that translates into a firm connection between pouch and carrier, as they don't wobble once secured.

ar mag pouch HSGI taco

Those familiar with bounding know that the constant application of “I'm up, he see's me, I'm down” takes a toll on the edges of AR mag pouches, all the more so in gritty environments. Mountainous environments can chew through the fabric of an AR mag pouch in months. HSGI Tacos, however, are made to last, and have held up surprisingly well over the years. This is in part due to how they are constructed. There's no question that they are worth the price they demand, and thankfully it isn't all that high.

Drawing from an HSGI taco on a belt feels adds to the already natural feel of drawing from open-top style AR mag pouches, but has the added advantage of how the shock cord and side walls flex. On a plate carrier, it's easy to slide one's fingers behind the mag and both pull upwards and push forward while drawing. This allows for whatever admin gear stowed on a plate carrier in the space above the mags can sit closer than other magpouch types.

ar mag pouch HSGI taco

Above: Utilizing a mash-up of parts from First-Spear, Crye Precision, and some DIY cutting and pasting has resulted in a one-of-a-kind plate carrier. Everything else is used as designed. 

The disadvantages of HSGI Tacos is the same as any other open-top style AR mag pouch: retention. It isn't that they don't have adequate retention for the aggression of a gunfight in the mountains, rather, in very specific situations, like jumping out of planes, they might not be the best simply because the only thing keeping the mags stowed is pressure. A shock cord tab can be added, but is cumbersome on any but the taller HSGI tacos.

 

Esstac Kywi

Colors: Multicam Original, Black, Arid, and Tropic, Coyote, OD Green, Ranger Green, Woodland Marshall, Desert Marshall, Wolf Gray, Woodland (M81) Camo, Kryptec Highlander. Kryptec Typhoon, Tan 449, Black.
Mounting Options: Molle, Belt Loops
MSRP: $23
URL: www.esstac.com

esstac kywi ar mag pouch

It's tough to say whether Esstac Kywi's are a newcomer on the field, or a long-standing key player in the array of AR mag pouches. Their design is freakishly simple, and just as uncomfortably efficient. Coming in different heights, sizes if you must, there's at least some room for the user to select between the speed of a short pouch and the security of a taller one.

At its heart, the Esstac Kywi looks like a cordura sleeve stuffed with a kydex shell that velcros in place. When empty, the kydex holds the mouth open making them easy to re-stow a half-expended magazine. When carrying an AR mag, the kydex mainains a securing pressure, while the body holds tightly to either a belt or plate carrier.

esstac kywi ar mag pouch

A serious contender for those who consider carrying 40 round P-Mags on their belt for that little added ammunition capacity. Esstac Kywi's hold the magazine tight and close to the body, avoiding the cluttering feeling of wider belts. as an AR Mag Pouch, their virtues extend beyond what they do in the field, as Esstac Kywi's are surprisingly affordable, with options for additional molle to be stitched on outward facing side.

Like the HSGI Tacos, they suffer from the same setbacks as other open-top AR mag pouches. While Esstac has plate carrier options, Kywi's feel more at home on a belt line. The option to have two pistol pouches strung together with an AR pouch shows that Esstac is attuned to the common placement of their pouches. The ability to mix and match the various Esstac Kywis give it a somewhat customized feel, and aside from the tactical fashion of the day, means the person seriously considering carrying Esstac gear into a dangerous situation can make choices for their specific application.

esstac kywi ar mag pouch

When inserting an AR mag into a Kywi, there's almost a sense of it clicking-in as the kydex retention does its job. At the same time, the flare of the kydex also feels like it pushes the magazine out once it has come out so far. We're interested in seeing what they look like after years of use, but with how little they cost, and how easy it is to replace the sleeve or shell, we cannot imagine it being a problem. It's okay if gear wears out, but we don't like to see it break.

BLADE-TECH Signature AR Mag Pouch

Colors: Black, although there have been other colors in the past.
Mounting Options: Molle, and Tek Lok
MSRP: $35
URL: www.blade-tech.com

ar mag pouch HSGI taco

Above Left: G-Code Softshell Scorpion, Right: Blade-Tech AR Mag Pouch

The Blade-Tech Signature AR Mag Pouch has survived for decades, both as a staple option, and as individual units continue to see use deployment after deployment, for years. One of the few AR mag pouches that has seen its fair share of use in both the competition world and the tactical side of firearms, the BladeTech Signature has an adjustable retention system. Part of the ruggedness of the pouch comes from its construction of injection-molded plastic, and part by the hardware style of mounting it uses.

Those choosing to depend on Blade-Tech AR mag pouches pay attention: make sure you have threadlocker available. Part of the versatility of Blade-Techs comes from their attachment method. While some belts do allow for direct attachment, this is rare. Instead, whether using Blade-Tech-specific Molle attachments, or Tek Loks, the AR Mag Caddie bolts to either with Chicago screws. This way, the AR mag pouch can be attached for a vertical, horizontal, or angled carry.

Two pressure-based retention screws can be adjusted without taking the pouch off, but in order to get at the inside, and re-tighten the mounting hardware, the whole assembly needs to be either taken apart or removed form the belt or plate carrier. So, those should receive a threadlocker treatment, as they can and have worked themselves loose for many an embarrassing if not dangerous situation.

Ideal as a belt AR Mag Pouch, the width of the hard plastic takes up too much real estate on the front of a plate carrier. but in contrast with cloth-based mag pouches, these are certainly buy-once-cry-once options, lasting for decades with minimal maintenance. On top of that, their price is comparable to other AR mag pouches, and so the thing that sets them apart is the philosophy of use. Having the option to adjust retention is perhaps more valuable to competition shooters, but within the tactical sphere, the virtue has its place.

Outside of orthodox carry methods, the hard shell of the Blade-Tech signature AR mag pouch also makes it easier to attach to things like car doors, or other experimental locations. While you never know when you might need that refrigerator mag, they particularly have value in vehicle-mounted situations, be it land, sea, or air.

G-Code Softshell Scorpions

Colors: Black/Black, Green/Black, Green/Green, Green/Tan, Tan/Tan, Grey/Grey
Mounting Options: Molle, Belt Loops RTI Hanger, G-Code proprietary systems.
MSRP: $22.50
URL: tacticalholsters.com

g-code softshell scorpion ar mag pouch

Similar in concept to HSGI Tacos, the G-Code Softshell Scorpions differentiate themselves in material and mounting features. the simplicity of Tacos works to their favor when dealing with traditional mounting methods, but G-Code Softshell Scorpions reflect a more adaptable take on securing the AR mag pouch to a belt or plate carrier. Similar to the Blade-Tech Signature AR Mag Pouch, Scorpions attach via screws, but with the female threading embedded in the carrier itself. With less hardware to lose, they attach firmly to either belts or plate carriers, and tease at other options.

The rubbery substance of the main body of the pouch adds to what retention is provided by the shock cord pressure. Partly adjustable, Scorpions hold tightly to their contents, but struggle a little with longer, taller mags. The weight of a fully-loaded 40-round P-Mag can, if given the right momentum, unseat itself. This is due to the thin, bendable side-walls that can be flexed when both drawing and stowing a mag.

g-code softshell scorpion ar mag pouch

This limited and directional flexibility gives the Scorpions one of their biggest advantages: they are fast to draw from, especially in adverse and strange positions. By grabbing the base of the magazine and rolling the mag out of the carrier, it defeats the retention by flexing the side walls. Styled as a combat/le/military style pouch, G-Code Scorpions can have their place in competitions, as well, and cross over the genres with points in favor of both practices.

g-code softshell scorpion ar mag pouch

One of the few AR mag pouches that can accommodate both AR-15, and AR-10 mags (or FN SCAR for that matter), G-Code Softshell Scorpions aren't a one-size-fits-all option, but damn near it. Being able to change one's loadout for, say a PRS match one day, and a duty patrol the next does have its perks, so long as the user pays attention to what's in the pouch. Ideal for a speed mag for those who like to mix and match their kit for a specific outcome, these Ar Mag Pouches are going to stick around for a while.

Condor M4/M16 Open Top Mag Pouch

Colors: Multicam, Black, Coyote Brown, OD Green, Scorpion OCP
Mounting Options: Molle
MSRP: $20-$3oish
URL: www.condoroutdoor.com

ar mag pouch open top

There was a time when the bungee-secured open top mag pouch would have made the front page of a tactical version of Vogue, and although that time has long passed, the concept remains relevant as it has become a staple for a long list of pouch makers. A move towards lighter weight and lower profile from flapped designs, these open top mag pouches are often looked at as the best of both worlds. The open top allows for faster access and the bungee can be left in place or pre-staged to the side aide this process. At the same time, simply replace the shock cord and tab for a more secure hold.

Although less likely to be seen on a belt, AR mag pouches of this type grace plate carriers and chest rigs around the world, and depending on the maker, accept multiple mag types. While often stigmatized as the go-to mag pouch for keyboard commandos who continue to stack mag after mag so far out that they could barely enter a doorway, much less go prone, the long-standing qualities have remained valued by those who use them professionally.

ar mag pouch open top

Magazine pouches of this type are often issued items for those in the right circles, and with that comes the advantage of a supply line. However, for those looking to deploy with these pouches, it is recommended to bring a second one along, especially if using aluminum magazines as a backup. The frequent grind between a mag's feed lips and coarse dirt or gravel chews through the fabric, exposing and ultimately freeing the mag to drop from the bottom. Fortunately, for those who choose to go this route with their own purchases, they're considerably affordable and having a spare triple shingle costs the same as some single pouches.

Flap-type AR Mag Pouches

Colors: If you can imagine it, someone probably makes it
Mounting Options: Typically Molle, Velcro, or some combination of both.
MSRP: Cheap to Bougie

ar mag pouch

Characteristically both disdained and loved at the same time, these represent the standard issue of both conventional and elite units across the military, and the sheer variety of manufacturers making these types of pouches attests the livelihood of the concept. Simplistic to a fault, typically a velcro flap secures the contents, where on older models, a snap, button, or even toggle was used to keep it closed.

For years, advanced warfighters have made use of the gear they were issued, and although flap-type pouches certainly come across as the gear of yesteryear, this shouldn't universally seen as the case.

ar mag pouch double

The virtues of these types of magazine pouches come with their own drawbacks, some of which are esoteric. Securing magazines with velcro means having one more piece of gear that can make noise when operating at night. The sound of velcro is so distinct that it can be recognized from hundreds of yards away.

When choosing an AR mag carrier of this type, look for certain features: double-layered or heavier-duty nylon material is preferred to thinner construction, and having a drainage hole for any fluid is almost a must, even in arid environments. Where there's plenty of examples of knock-off half-baked examples flooding the cheapest branches of the market, options like Blue Force Gear's Triple M4 Mag Pouch and First Spear's M4 Single Pouches continue to chug on.

ar mag pouch double

The trend has long moved away from double-stacked mag pouches, and in conjunction with bungee secured open-top AR mag pouches, flap-enclosed ones most often offend modern sensibilities by continuing to turn otherwise fit looking people into extra-wide caricatures. Is there a place for double-stacked pouches? Probably, can we think of one as a distinct advantage over other options? Airborne operations and the like.

Topping Off

Returning to the earlier sentiment, as often as it is repeated, we still hold to the conviction that it is the end user's responsibility to choose which options work best for their application. Definitively so, there is no one AR mag pouch choice that will excel in all environments and events, and when the stakes are as high as life or a major match, there is no blame beyond one's self. Choosing the right AR mag pouch can often resemble sifting through holsters, where one works for a while but eventually is ousted by a rival, changed with wardrobe, replaced by something more suitable for the environment or application.

Thankfully we are the heirs and beneficiaries of decades of experience, training, and conflict, resulting in the cream rising to the top when it comes to AR mag pouches.

More on Chest Rigs, Body Armor, and Tactical Gear

Viktos Operatus XP Jeans Review: A Kick in the Pants

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The world we live in seems to be crumbling around us these days. I want a pair of jeans that allows me to carry everything I need to deal with unforeseen events, without advertising my preparedness to every passerby. I need to wear these jeans for work and chores. They need to be functional. They need to last. They need to perform. Too tall an order? Nah. I spent the last 45 days wearing the Viktos Operatus XP jeans. For me, finding a set of durable work jeans was like Ahab hunting his white whale. It haunted me. I tried other brands of tactical jeans to no avail. They were made of paper-thin denim that decayed into tissue paper from the constant wear-and-tear of a large man doing ill-advised things in them.

Levi’s or Wranglers are fine, but don’t come with the extras some of us want and need in a do-everything jean. Some heavy-duty jeans, like those by Carhartt, are great if it’s 30 degrees outside. They won’t wear out, but you’ll be sweating balls in them until you dehydrate in anything but winter conditions. What I needed was a bit of a hybrid — something durable enough to survive the stresses placed upon it, yet light enough to wear in the summertime when I should be wearing shorts but can’t.

viktos operatus xp

Above: The Operatus XP jeans are available in blue denim and black denim, aka “Nightfjall” if you prefer.

I also needed real pockets that you can, like, actually put stuff in. Too many jeans out there implement pockets as a design aesthetic rather than a functional feature. Pockets become decorative iPhone holders with gaudy stitching and — Odin help me — pocket flaps. I feel dirty even writing it. People who do stuff need pockets that hold stuff. Ever have a grenade and no place to put it? I know I’m not the only one.

viktos jeans blue

How about belt loops that don’t shear off when I run a rigid nylon inner-belt through them? Durable zipper? Gusseted crotch? Yep. I need the things that make jeans more than a fashion statement. Jeans are a tool for me, just like my knife, my phone, or my pistol. They have to work when called on and make my job easier.

Enter the Operatus. No, it’s not a part of your anatomy or a poorly titled James Bond film. It’s the one jean I’ve found so far that meets or exceeds all of the above requirements. Let’s examine Operatus’ DNA and find out if these jeans might be a good fit for you, too.

Survival Traits

Some of us work for a living and can’t afford seven $100 pairs of jeans for every day of the week. Some of us also don’t like doing laundry and end up wearing our pants until they don’t need us inside them to stand up. I end up running my pants to an early death because I’m either too cheap or too busy. So, I need quality, and I need durability.

The Operatus uses a stretch denim blend that I’ve punished lately by wearing them daily without rotating them. I built a shed in them over the summer, which, in retrospect, makes little sense, but I did it. I also installed a lightbar on my wife’s truck wearing them. I thought for sure I’d scuff up the knees as I knelt on the driveway to route the switch wiring through the firewall, but Operatus held up. Viktos’ Attackposture fit also allowed me to squat and contort as needed, whether I was kitted up with rifle and armor running some drills or digging under my wife’s dashboard to figure out where the hell I was routing my wires.

viktos operatus xp jeans fly

Above: Details include a bidirectional zipper, gusseted crotch, and Viktos’ typical-style accents.

I kept Sharpies and pocket levels in the mag pockets as easily as I did mags. There are four extra pockets like this embedded in the Operatus chassis in addition to the traditional five-pocket jean design. If you’re running extended pistol mags like me, they’ll poke out a bit, but not enough to draw anyone’s attention. Standard mags will sink into the pocket, but that also has merit for concealment and you can just slide your finger up your leg until the bottom of the mag pokes up over the pocket opening for grasping.

viktos operatus xp crotch

You can also run AR mags, or a combination square, in several of these pockets. What I really like about this configuration is it allows me to drop some of the bulky Kydex mag holders, should I choose to. I was running two AR mags, two pistol mags, a flashlight, and a knife all in the pants pockets.

viktos jeans pocket

What really appeals to me here is the jeans are multi-purpose. They’re very low-vis and appear as everyday jeans, save for some subtle detailing like the Viktos sword and shield logo. This allows me to go into the big-box store without looking like a gun nerd. When I get home from the store, I can just as easily load my pockets with tools as weapons and ammo. So, whatever my mission profile is for that day: Honey-do or SHTF, Operatus has me covered.

I’ll break down my testdrive into some relevant categories.

Fit

I got the 36×36. The waist is fair and true to size with a little breathing room for gaining and losing pounds depending on what I’m doing for PT. The length is perhaps a bit longer than I’m used to, but their site mentions their sizes running a size larger than standard. As mentioned earlier, Viktos is calling the fit of this pant Attackposture.

The design here has the rear of the jean riding higher on your lower back. Plumber’s crack is thus eliminated. Sorry, plumbers. Intent here seems to be preventing the waist from riding down when squatting, kneeling, or otherwise getting your tactical on. For those of us wearing holsters and kit, if the waist doesn’t shift our gear doesn’t shift with it. It’s reminiscent of the fit you get with a Crye Precision combat pant, but in a jean.

viktos operatus xp

Part of this proprietary crotch-tech also comes with a looser overall fit. No skinny jeans here. By design, the freer fit allows for less restriction while doing actual work versus holding up the bar at your favorite watering hole. The gusset is well-placed and tacked with heavy-duty stitching. If there’s one thing that gives me the ass about my ass is when the gusset fails from being weak, thin, or ill-placed. So far, that doesn’t seem to be a problem here.

Finally, the denim has a little stretch to it. I’ve worn tactical jeans before that did the same thing. There apparently seems to be an inverse relationship between stretch and strength. The more flex it has, the thinner it is and sooner it will wear out. I hate that. Fortunately, Viktos seems to choose strength over stretch here, so high-fives are authorized.

Function

Now that it fits, it has to work. I mentioned the pockets. I love the pockets. There are nine of them in these suckers if I’m counting right. Standard five-pocket design, plus four built-in mag pouches. It’s great. I immediately stopped carrying my Kydex pistol mag holder and just rocked my 9mm mags in the provided pockets. Using the AR mag pockets will impede your movements some, but if we’re loading 5.56 into our pants, we’re probably going to be OK with the trade-off.

viktos jeans

Above: The pockets on the Operatus XP aren’t obnoxious, but provide substantial load carriage.

Notably, for those who have trouble employing the old trouser snake while wearing a gun-belt, Operatus features a dual-fly zipper. That’s right, Rangers. When trying to release the Kraken, forget hunting for that zipper way up under your gun belt or front dump pouch. The garage door on these jeans goes down and up. Just reach for the other slider at the bottom of the fly and pull up to hydrate the earth.

Durability

Forty-five days and counting. So far, so good. I haven’t noticed any premature wear thus far — and believe me, I’ve been looking. When my last pair of so-called “tactical jeans” started to wear into Kleenex at the seat, I couldn’t friggin’ believe it. Now I have premature pant failure disorder, or PPFD, and am constantly checking them to see if they’ve let me down. Nothing to report yet.

The stitching and hardware are premium; solid riveting throughout and no sign of thread-fray. They look to be as well-constructed as can be for a relatively lightweight pant. Again, if it’s the dead of winter, you can rock those heavy construction pants where the denim is like an inch thick, but if there’s no snow, I’m wearing the Operatus.

Comfort

Pfft. Whatever. Let’s pretend comfort matters to someone. Not me, of course. Way too hard for that. What I wanted was Viktos to line the inside of my pants with 220-grit sandpaper, but they wouldn’t do it. Oh, OK, guys. You’ll come around. In the meantime, yeah, the jeans are “comfortable.”

Gripes

The one thing I didn’t like was the angle of the opening of the hip pockets. I found when carrying my pistol in an outside-the-waistband holster and my pocket knife at the same time, the holster prevented me from accessing my knife. Partly, this is on me because I like to carry at the 2:45-ish
position when running OWB holsters. Carrying a full-size Glock 17 with light pretty much occludes access to the right-side hip pocket where I’d normally clip my knife. The geometry forced me to move the knife to the pistol mag pocket on that side, which isn’t a deal-breaker, but I’d rather not do it.

viktos jeans operatus xp

I think the easy fix would be to simply lower the attachment point where the pocket meets the outside seam of the pant. This would allow more clearance to run a pocket knife or light in that go-to position of our jeans while still maintaining its cover as a run-of-the-mill pant.

Verdict

Easy. Get these. I plan to endurance test these things even more over the coming months. If they hold up to what I throw at them, I’ll be buying several more pairs. If they don’t hold up long-term, I’ll report back and let everyone know what I experienced, and my hunt will go on.

In the meantime, if you’re like me and want to be ready without looking ready, these might just be the jeans you’ve been looking for.

[Editor's Note: Photos by Georgeonna Ward and Viktos.]

Viktos Operatus XP Jean

Colors: Dark Blue Wash, Blue Denim, Nightfall
MSRP: $99 – $119
URL: www.viktos.com

More Gear on OFFGRID

Press Release: Premier Body Armor’s New STRATIS Level IV Plates

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We've started spending more time with Body Armor and plate carriers here on OFFGRID in the last months, and if you look at the numbers, that has been reflected by the country as a whole over the last year. Although it can be a daunting subject to breach into from the outside, sometimes that is by design. At the same time, the bar is being raised across the country with what is available, and what is owned. In time to address the demand, Premier Body Armor has just announced their new Level IV plates, and here is the full Press Release:

GASTONIA, N.C. – March 1, 2021 – Premier Body Armor is proud to announce availability of its new STRATIS level IV plates. These new composite/polyethylene plates are multi-hit capable and are the ideal for those looking for maximum protection from an exceptionally thin and light plate.

“The new STRATIS Level IV plates are rated to stop multiple hits from the most aggressive small arms ammunition, including M855 and .30-06 AP,” said Frank Stewart, President of Premier Body Armor. “We solve the two most common issues with traditional Level IV plates with this product. Traditional Level IV plates are heavy and fragile. We've utilized a tiled composite strike face that isolates trauma to the plate, thus allowing the plate to be drop-resistant and multi-hit capable. We lighten the overall weight of the plate by several pounds by using the latest Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene technology as the ballistic core of the armor. As with all of our armor solutions, the STRATIS Level IV plate is 100% made in the U.S.A.”

premeir body armor stratis level iv body armor cover

The STRAITS Level IV plates are special threat tested against these calibers at a distance of 15 meters:

  • 7.62×39 123gr PS Ball (MSC)
  • 7.62×51 147gr FMJ (M80) – up to 2850 ft/s
  • 5.56×45 55gr (M193) up to 3150ft/s
  • 5.56x45mm 62 grain steel core (M855)
  • 5.56x45mm M855 A1
  • 7.62x63mm M2 AP (.30-06)

These 10” x 12” single curve ESPAI cut plates meet the NIJ 0101.06 Level IV ballistic standard. STRAIS plates come with a 10-year warranty. The 5.3-pound plates are just .9” thick and finished with a Polyurea outer covering for abrasion and moisture resistance.

Learn more about Premier Body Armor and their complete line of armor at Premierbodyarmor.com.

Media contact: David Higginbotham, Murray Road Agency 
E-Mail: David.higginbotham@murrayroadagency.com

About Premier Body Armor

Premier Body Armor was founded in 2013 with the goal of protecting and empowering Law Enforcement and law-abiding citizens with innovative armor solutions, Made in the USA. Built on the backbone of over 20 years of armoring experience for customers such as the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), the United States Marine Corps (USMC), PBA is innovating and changing the way body armor is both perceived and utilized. Bulletproof backpack inserts, ultra-discreet vests, and more have made body armor more practical for daily use than ever before. With partnerships across industries, powerful community engagement, and top-notch customer service, Premier Body Armor is one of the top body armor manufacturers in the USA.

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Strength in Numbers

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I once heard a very interesting, if not somewhat grim, outlook on interpersonal conflict from a soldier I served with. Roughly remembered, it goes something like this: “All things being equal, tactical advantage goes to he who cares the least about what he cares about the most.”

I imagine this has to be the mindset of some social predators. The idea that not having loved ones in your life, or being so self-absorbed that you’re willing to cast them aside on a whim to serve your own desires and impulses, could be perceived as a type of “advantage” or “freedom” to act against others.

I’d like to think that most of you reading this can see past the shallow logic of such a mindset and have hit paydirt by understanding the long-term survival benefits of embracing a family/tribe lifestyle. Every person you fold into your survival family (whether they be blood relatives or not) is a potential opportunity to complement your own knowledge, skillsets, strengths, and abilities. As RECOIL OFFGRID alumni Ed Calderon says, “Take the time to invest in people.”

While many of us see ourselves as protectors of our immediate family unit, I’d also posit the idea that the best way to fulfill that role is by teaching every capable member of your group to protect themselves. I recently had a discussion with my significant other that led to this nugget of truth: One of the greatest acts of love we can show our family is to enable them to be more self-sufficient and … frankly … more dangerous to those who might see them as marks.

I say all that to say this: Do not fall into the trap of seeing your family, household, or circle-of-loved-ones as a liability, or as a weakness to be exploited by someone who lacks those relationships in their own life. See them for their full potential, not just as good people who enrich your existence, but as allies, assets, or teammates to rely on in these uncertain times. To that end, we dedicated this issue to promoting skills and knowledge specifically relevant to the protection of family and household. From Forrest Cooper’s real-time article on the “Porch Vikings” of post-George Floyd Minneapolis and Patrick McCarthy’s recap of this year’s virtual Protector’s Symposium, to Jason Squires’ overview of “Good Samaritan” laws and the next part in Neal Olshan’s series on Criminal Profiling, we wanted to provide a coffee table book for everyone in your network that touches on some valuable lessons for group-based survival. We also included articles on covert escape tools, armor carriers, and gun belts to help you and your tribe make informed decisions on how to outfit yourselves to squeeze every advantage from your gear.

Regardless of whether your survival network is your family, coworkers, or bowling league buddies, make sure you stock up on the gear and, more importantly, the knowledge to be ready for whatever the future may hold. If you invest in your people, they’ll likely prove to be your biggest strength, making the tough times a little softer and a little safer.

[Editor's Note: This first appeared in OFFGRID #42.]

What If a Winter Road Trip Leaves You Stranded and Injured?

Written by

Illustrations by Cassandra Dale

“Hey, we should climb up to someplace high before it gets dark. Maybe the phones will work up on a ridge or something.” Even before you shoot your friend a look that says dumbest plan ever, he looks down at your damaged knee and says “Oh, right. Never mind.” After a few minutes pass, the snowfall seems to increase and another awful plan gets proposed: “You know, if we could stand by the roadside long enough, some hot girls would probably pick us up, especially with you looking like a broken-legged puppy and all.”

The snow was still falling. The light was fading fast. The car was completely off the road and there was no sign of anyone else in the area. Worst of all, your buddy didn’t have his head in the game. Dan was a cheerful guy and a good friend, but right now you just wish he’d shut the hell up. It’s time to come up with a real plan, you figured. Then the first shiver hit your body. Your thoughts darkened. Maybe it’s already too late for a real plan.

OFFGRID17-Aftermath-01.psd

Cold is one of humanity’s oldest and most relentless foes. Even by itself, the frigid air can rob our bodies of the heat we need to stay functional (and alive). If you add wind and moisture into the mix, hypothermia (the dangerous chilling of the body’s core temperature) can occur in no time. Of course, anyone with enough sense to come in out of the rain will try to go indoors to warm up when the weather gets glacial. But what happens when there’s no place to warm up?

In this edition of What If?, we pose the question: What if you’re stranded in winter? As our ancestors discovered, there’s more than one way to survive in the cold, so RECOIL OFFGRID asked three survival writers for their own spin on a winter survival story.

For this installment, we have Ryan Lee Price, a freelance journalist and outdoors enthusiast who has also contributed to the SHTF column in our sister publication, RECOIL. We also have Erik Lund, a longtime contributor who’s also a federal law enforcement agent with a bevy of tactical and survival experience.

And for the final frosty tale, ROG asked me to carve a story out of the snow as well. I’ve been teaching people how to survive the cold (and many other challenges) for the past 20 years. I’ve also written multiple New York Times-bestselling survival manuals from my experience. And it’s an honor and a privilege to be able to share my stories in the What If? feature. So grab your mittens and some hot cocoa, because the temperature is about to plummet.

The Scenario

Situation Type
Stranded in winter

Your Crew
You and your college roommate, Dan (both early 20s)

Location
Superior National Forest, Minnesota

Season
Winter (December)

Weather
Cloudy, 17 to 30 degrees F

The Setup: Originally from Arizona, you’ve always wanted to ride a dogsled since wearing out a VHS copy of White Fang as a kid. Because you’re staying in your dorm at the University of Minnesota Duluth during the holiday break, you ask your roommate, Dan, if he wants to join you on a spontaneous road trip. Suffering from cabin fever, he happily agrees.

You set up the dogsled tour and assorted activities while he preps his older Acura TL for the three-hour drive to the dogsled winter resort in Grand Marais. You give him a list of supplies and rations to pack into a vehicle emergency kit. “No worries,” Dan says, claiming he’s a veteran of winter driving, having grown up in Dayton, Ohio.

Two days later, you hit the road and find it to be a mild ride for the first two hours or so. Constant snowfall, but nothing crazy. While on Gunflint Trail, just 45 minutes from your destination, Dan hits a patch of black ice and the car spins out of control. It hits the snow embankment, launching off the road and tumbling into some trees.

OFFGRID17-Landscape-04.psd

The Complication: You wake up minutes (hours?) later to an unconscious Dan and snow in every direction. Did you land in a mound of snow or has the snowfall covered your vehicle? Or maybe the car’s upside down? Quickly rousing Dan, you’re relieved to find him otherwise functional with only a cut on his head and some bruises memorializing his injuries..

The shock gives way to pain. You grimace as you look at your knee. It doesn’t look mangled, but it’s definitely not working. You’re not sure if it’s a sprain or worse. You tell Dan to grab the emergency bag; the first-aid kit should help. “I forgot it back home,” he says, looking like he just crapped the bed. “It” and all the other survival supplies. Bad just got worse.

The New Plan: Stranded in the middle of nowhere with snow all around (with more falling by the hour) and daylight fading fast in this northern state, you have to figure out how to get help with the following limitations:

  • Knee injury
  • Vehicle damaged by trees and stuck in snow
  • No cellphone reception or Internet connectivity
  • Time is roughly 3:30 p.m. (sunset is around 4:40 p.m.)

Federal Agent: Erik Lund’s Approach

I didn’t need to say anything; Dan knew how badly he had screwed up.

He hung his head and quietly said, “My bad. I shouldn’t have forgotten the kit.” Dan found his phone and attempted to dial 911. “I don’t have any reception. Do you?” I quickly looked around, but I didn’t see my phone anywhere in the car.

“I don’t know where it is.” We looked around the inside of the car, but couldn’t find it.

The pain in my knee refocused my attention on the immediate problem of determining the seriousness of my injury.

“My knee is pretty messed up. I don’t think I can walk, and I definitely won’t be able to make it through the snow.” Dan asked if I was bleeding or if anything else hurt. “I don’t see any or feel any blood, but I can feel my knee swelling up, and the pain is pretty intense.” Dan said he would try to get out and come around to my door.

After smacking the driver side door with his shoulder, Dan was able to squeeze out and walk around to my side. He tried several times to open the door, but the damage to my side of the car seized the door in place.

Dan walked back around and stuck his head in the car, “That door isn’t coming open, too much damage. You think you can climb over the seats and come out my side?” I squirmed a little and a lightning bolt of pain ran through my knee.

OFFGRID17-Knee-02.psd

I looked at Dan and shook my head, “I can’t move.”

A look of guilt ran across Dan’s face. He said, “I’m gonna head up to the road and check my reception. If I don’t have any signal, I’ll see if I can flag anyone down. I’ll be back for you.” I nodded my head in approval and watched him leave. I laid my head back and closed my eyes and thought, I hope someone shows up. My knee is killing me, and it’s gonna get cold real fast.

After an hour, the sun disappeared and darkness was quickly approaching. Dan finally came back. I could tell by the look on his face the news was not good.

“I walked up the road about a half mile in both directions. No luck on getting a signal, and I didn’t see a single car. My hands and feet are about frozen solid,” he said. I told Dan that I appreciated his efforts, but we needed to prepare for spending the night in the car. Dan agreed and reached into the back seat and started pulling out the heavy clothing we had packed for our adventure.

Despite being on the verge of frostbite, Dan helped to get my sweatpants and snow pants on over my injured knee. After struggling into the rest of my clothes, I finally was able to sit back, rest, and think about our options.

As I started to settle in, Dan said, “I’ll be back, I’m going to make a signal in case someone comes down the road.” He grabbed his backpack and headed back out into the cold night. I asked Dan how, but he just told me to try to keep warm and that he’d be back. Dan opened up the trunk and started digging around. Ten minutes later, I watched Dan walk off into the darkness carrying, of all things, our spare tire.

The wind had picked up and was starting to howl while the outside temperature was falling quickly, but at the moment I was surprisingly warm inside the car. All of the additional clothing provided enough insulation to maintain some warmth for my body. Dan had been gone for more than 30 minutes and, although I was hopeful that someone may have stopped to help us, I was concerned for him.

It was damn cold outside, and Dan was sure to be hypothermic by now. The feeling of helplessness was crushing, but it did take my mind off of my throbbing knee.

Abruptly, Dan stuck his head back into the car. “Give me all of the clothes you have left in your bag.”

I pushed my bag across to him and asked, “What the hell are you doing, dude?”

Dan responded, “I’m going to redeem myself and save your ass!” Before I could respond, Dan closed the door and was moving off back toward the road again. Unable to do anything to help him, I tried to maintain a positive attitude and think about how this trip turned out to be one hell of an adventure.

Dan stumbled back to the car about 20 minutes later.

Climbing into the driver seat, I noticed Dan was visibly shivering uncontrollably. “We’re going to be OK,” he said. Over the next few minutes, my roommate explained how he grabbed the spare tire, some road flares, and the spare quart of oil he kept in the trunk and went up to the road. Stacking the supplies on the side of the road, his next task was to locate some wood that was dry enough to burn.

When he located enough wood, Dan made his way back to the vehicle to collect the clothes that we weren’t using to keep warm. Working his way back up to the road with the clothes, he pulled out the brightest colors in the group and set them aside. Dan walked out into the middle of the road and started clearing the snow away from a small area as best as he could.

Next he took all the of brightest colored clothes and made an arrow on the ground pointing toward the area of the embankment where we ran off the road and our car was stranded. Dan then took the spare tire, deflated it, and rolled it out into the middle of the road.

Dan drenched all of the remaining clothes with the spare quart of oil. He then took a few of the wood logs and laid them out on the ground in the center of the road with several of the oil-soaked clothes packed in and around them. Next, my buddy laid the spare tire on the pile and stacked the remaining logs and branches on top of the tire. He stuck a few of the flares in the oil-soaked clothes and ignited the last flare, pushing it under the tire into the pile.

In a few moments everything was ablaze in a huge bonfire with thick black smoke from the burning tire rising into the night air. The signal fire and arrow would direct anyone coming down the road to our location and the tire and wood should burn for several hours. Dan intended on checking on the fire every hour through the night to keep it going.

When he was finished, I looked at my roommate in amazement and tried to express my appreciation for his ingenuity, but in the end the only words I could manage was “Thank you.”

Dan looked back and me, still shivering, and simply said, “I got this, dude.” I unzipped my jacket and reached across and grabbed his shivering hands.

I placed a hand under each of my armpits in an attempt to warm up his fingers to prevent frostbite, and we bro-hugged until his shivering subsided. Throughout the evening and into the night as I tried to stay warm, he would periodically get out of the car and tend to the fire. Some trips were quick and others would take longer as he searched for more dry wood to burn. Each time he would return shivering and frozen.

I awoke to a loud banging on the roof of the car, a blinding light piercing through the frost-covered window, and a voice yelling, “Hello!” It was past 2 in the morning when a Minnesota state trooper working the midnight shift happened upon our signal fire. It had just about died out, but following Dan’s signal arrow, the Trooper located our car down the embankment.

Thirty minutes later, a fire and rescue unit arrived. The firemen had to cut open the door to get me out of the car. They rigged up a basket and pulley system to hoist me up the embankment. Even after spending more than 10 hours in freezing temperatures, the warm cabin of the ambulance quickly raised my body temperature — unfortunately it also thawed out my knee and the pain came flooding back. I asked the medic how Dan was doing.

She said that some of his toes had frostbite but he would be all right.

While processing that bit of information, the medic added, “The trooper said that without that signal fire, he would have driven right past you guys. There’s no telling how long you may have been trapped down that embankment. It was a good thing your friend kept that fire going.” I looked back at her and smiled, “Yeah, he’s the kind of guy who would do anything for you.”

Average Joe: Ryan Lee Price’s Approach

It’s tough to piece together what happened since everything after seeing the deer dart onto the road was a blur. There were screeching tires, trees, snow, road, a jarring crash, and then blackness. I awoke with Dan’s panic-stricken face yelling at me to wake up. I don’t know how long it had been, but he was upside-down; my whole world was upside-down and all white. My leg was twisted in an awkward position under the glovebox, and it seemed like everything we were taking with us that weekend had exploded around the cabin of Dan’s Acura TL.

It was supposed to be a simple three-hour drive from the University of Minnesota Duluth to a historic resort on the Gunflint Lake near the Canadian border. After grabbing lunch at the Angry Trout Café on the banks of the snow-swept Lake Superior in Grand Marais, we left Highway 61 for Country Road 12, a slender ribbon of blacktop that winds its way north. Being used to the arid desolation of Arizona is nothing compared to the sheet whiteness of northern Minnesota in winter. Thick forests of trees butted up against the road, their branches loaded with snow.

The last thing I remembered before seeing the deer was Lullaby Creek Road on the left because I made a joke about how quiet it probably was. Then, Dan put the car into a sweeping right turn a mile or so later. The next thing I knew, the car was upside-down, surrounded by trees and half buried in the snow. The passenger windows were shattered, there were deployed airbags everywhere, and the windshield was a spider-webbed mess.

OFFGRID17-Searching-03.psd

Dan had already unbuckled his seatbelt and was sitting on the ceiling of the car in absolute shock. “You OK?” he asked.

“I think my leg is broken,” I winced. “Help me down.” Dan unbuckled my seatbelt, and I very ungracefully crumpled onto the ceiling of the car with a crushing pain in my leg.

“We need to get out of here.” Dan crawled around me and shimmied himself out of the window, sinking into the snow. I was able to pull myself out of the window with Dan’s help, but not without excruciating pain. Both of us, in the now fading light of the late afternoon sun, were speckled with various cuts and scrapes; a few of them could use bandaging.

“First order of business, let’s find that emergency kit you packed and get some of these wounds cleaned up,” I suggested. “Is it in the trunk?”

“Um,” Dan started. “About that ….”

Somewhere between expecting a bang but hearing a click, and hearing a bang but expecting a click, the worst sound you’ll hear is your roommate saying, “I left the supplies at home.” It was as if someone just punched me in the nuts. I fumed. It had emergency food, water, matches, signaling devices … everything we might need for a situation exactly like this.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Dan defended. “I’ll just hike up to the road and flag down a car. We’re, what, 50 yards from the road?”

“When’s the last time we passed a car on this road?” I asked.

Dan didn’t need to answer that because we both knew. It was never. Since leaving the café at Grand Marais two hours before, we hadn’t passed a single car.

We were stranded and, with night quickly approaching, likely stranded until morning — so we needed to get our gear together while we could still see it. Dan pulled the carpets out of the car, and we used those to sit on to avoid sinking into the snow. Since the whole point of the trip was to go dog sledding at the resort, we had plenty of winter clothes and likely wouldn’t freeze to death, but my immediate problem was my leg. It was already getting cold and would be quite a painful struggle to tug on snow pants over it. Plus, it needed to be splinted so I would stop involuntarily moving it.

Luckily, Dan and I are both avid magazine readers, so there were a couple of old issues of RECOIL OFFGRID in the back of the car. Their large format and thick pages were perfect for a leg split. Dan wrapped a couple of issues around my knee and tied them tight with shoelaces from my extra pair of boots. It would hold. Now onto other problems.

Dan and I didn’t expect we would be here for more than the night, but we agreed that his trekking up to the road and waiting for someone to come along while leaving me and my leg by the car wasn’t a good idea. At least, not at night. The news during the winter is littered with stories of people dying in the snow mere feet from their cars — plus, we weren’t sure how much snow would dump on us during the night.

Surprisingly enough, being stuck in the snow is similar to being stuck in the ocean or the desert. You’re surrounded by water that you can’t drink like in the ocean, and you’re in a place that’s just as dry as the desert.

Rummaging in his car, Dan found a metal coffee thermos and a mug. We packed those with as much snow as we could, and Dan placed them in the upturned engine compartment. It was still warm and might melt some of the snow into water. Until then, we only had two 16-ounce bottles of water to drink. That is, until they’d freeze.

Darkness was coming fast. We had two choices, neither too pleasant: Either build a makeshift shelter in the snow or hunker down in an upside-down car for the night. We decided on the car. When the temperature dropped below freezing again that night, at least we’d have some shelter. The trick would be to keep the side of the car clear of fresh falling snow so it wouldn’t entomb us during the night.

There was no cell signal at all, and the roadside assistance feature on Dan’s Acura wasn’t functioning. The hazards were blinking, casting an eerie orange pall over the snow. The horn worked too, but we figured we’d save that for tomorrow if we needed it.

We decided against a fire for the moment. With little effort, gasoline could be harvested from the car to help get a blaze going. Additionally, we had plenty of things to burn during the night — canvas shoes, extra clothes, suitcases, sports equipment — for one reason or another, Dan had a few ping-pong balls, which are made from nitrocellulose, a very flammable material.

Since it looked as though we’d be spending the night, we shored up the damaged windows with the suitcases and spread out over the ceiling all of the extra clothes, snow suits, floor mats, and whatever else we could find that would insulate us from the snow below. Since I couldn’t move very far, Dan shoveled as much snow as he could up against the three other sides of the car. Snow is an excellent insulator, and by creating an improvised igloo around the car with snowdrift, it would hopefully help retain heat inside the car.

Sure, it was going to be cold, but with the two of us well-dressed for dog sledding, we would be fine. My leg was now swollen and I was in considerable pain, but it would only be for a night.
At sunrise, Dan would venture up to the road and flag down someone. Perhaps because we didn’t show up at the resort as planned, concern would be raised for our whereabouts. Time would only tell, and as the temperature continually dropped, Dan and I huddled close together to conserve body heat.

Damn it — we left the thermos and mug of snow in the engine bay. It’ll be frozen by morning for sure.

Survival Expert: Tim MacWelch’s Approach

“You forgot the emergency kit!?! Are you kidding me!” I shouted. I looked my friend square in the face, “Look, Dan, people die in situations like this.”

Dan laughed and scoffed, “Die! That’s stupid! Only stupid people die from getting cold. Do I look dumb to you or something?” I shook my head as if to say “no,” but I really wanted to say something else. I pulled out my phone and tried to call 911, but there was no service. When Dan saw me trying to make a call, he followed my example, but had no better luck. Great, I thought, this is just what we need.

Trying to rally my falling morale, I suggested that we see what stuff we had to work with. Dan jumped at the idea and began pulling the luggage and everything else from the tumbled vehicle. We had clothing and outerwear, a bit of food and water, our electronics, and not much else. There was no first-aid gear, no matches to make a fire, no sleeping bags or bedding.

We decided (after much debate and many wild ideas), that we should stay put and build a fire. This could keep us warm and signal our distress to any passing drivers. Dan wanted to walk down the snow-covered road, but he finally agreed to stay after I reminded him again that I couldn’t walk and that he didn’t really want to drag me through the cold.

If my mood had been poor before we formed our fire-building plan, it was truly sour after we went through our supplies a second time to confirm that there were no matches or lighters. Dan’s car was new enough that it didn’t even have ashtrays or a cigarette lighter. Good God, I thought, are we going to die because neither of us smoke?

As I pondered this, I started shivering. This reminded me to put on all the clothing and outerwear that I had. It also reminded me of something from school. My biology professor’s voice jumped into my head and began droning on about our body’s tools for survival. “Shivering is a physiological response to the body’s temperature dropping.” As a pre-med student, I had a slightly better clue to the vulnerability of the human body than business student Dan did, and much more so than most of my classmates who often espoused invulnerability. I definitely understood our peril better than Dan. But what I didn’t understand was how we were going to make a fire in the snow.

No lighter, no matches, no way to light the fire we desperately needed. We took shelter in the car and tried to figure out a way to signal any passing car. We tried to start the car, to run it for heat. The engine wouldn’t even turn over. Dan collected a few sticks from the surrounding brush and used a strip of cloth to create a tripod right on the edge of the road. From this stick “tipi” he hung a red shirt, but as I watched through the cracked car window, the snow quickly stuck to the cloth and soon obscured it from view.

When he returned to the car, Dan talked briefly again about walking through the snow to find help, but even he began to realize just how dangerous that idea would be. It could be a death sentence to leave the car in this kind of weather, so we decided to focus on the fire. Dan dismantled his vape device in hopes that there would be some ignition source inside. As he worked, he grumbled about the irony of the situation.

“You know, if I were still smoking cigarettes, we’d have a way to make fire,” he said.

Comments like that didn’t help us at all, and I swore that the throbbing in my knee increased after hearing Dan’s thoughtless comment. The vape smoker held no way to make a fire that we could discover, so I started thinking about other options. We had two phones and a flashlight. And we needed light to signal for help.

We decided to hang the flashlight from the tripod instead of the red shirt, and this was a solid improvement. We had no idea of the runtime the batteries would provide, but a flashlight twisting from a string was a better signal than we had before. We never actually saw the sun set due to the heavy cloud cover and snow, but by 5 p.m. it was truly dark.

I couldn’t escape the feeling that we would die if we didn’t get a fire, and once Dan returned from setting up the flashlight as a roadside beacon, I asked him to help me hobble to the hood of the car. Dan hit the hood latch, but the crumpled hood wouldn’t rise. We took turns prying with Dan’s small knife and still had no luck opening the engine compartment.

Finally, after beating on the hood while Dan worked the latch, I pried open the hood and surveyed the engine. There were plenty of flammable fluids in a car, and electricity to make sparks. But Dan didn’t even have jumper cables to help our situation.

I swore that if we lived through this, I’d have very different rules about the supplies for winter travel from then onward. If we made it, I thought.

As my hope was growing thin, Dan stepped up for once with a good idea at a good time. He grabbed a cotton sock from his luggage and began to scrape it with my knife. I held my phone aloft for light, and he produced a small fuzz ball of cotton fiber. Then wiggling the battery cable loose, he touched it to the post repeatedly over the fuzz ball until a spark finally lit the cotton.

The fuzz burned bright for a few seconds and then it was gone, but it was proof of concept! I asked him with amazement where he learned such a trick. He said it was called a “prison match” and he learned it from the Survivorman TV show. I looked at Dan with a whole new appreciation. Maybe we had a chance after all. Realizing that we were onto something, Dan dipped a piece of the cotton sock in some steering fluid (the easiest reservoir to reach), and I scraped a monstrous ball of fuzz from one of the socks. After several minutes of work, the battery cable stark ignited the fuzz ball, which in turn lit the oil-soaked sock fabric. Unbelievably, we had created a flame!

Dan fed pages of the car owner’s manual to the oily sock that was quickly melting down into the snow by the side of the car. I scraped the ground to make a clear patch, and told Dan to hurry as he grabbed sticks and twigs to feed our new fire. But then I realized our mistake. We needed the fire up by the road, not down in the ditch with our car. I grabbed another sock, soaked it in steering fluid and wrapped it around a stick. I told Dan I would nurse the fire by the car if he built one by the roadside.

In the darkness, the white snow reflected our firelight and gave us a surprising amount of light to see. I hopped back and forth collecting sticks, and Dan did a fine job kindling a blaze on the roadside. I knew it would be a constant battle to feed two fires, but we needed both for heat and light. With his fire burning bright, Dan returned to the car to build up my fire.

How our fortunes had changed. Just a few hours ago, I had felt that Dan would be the death of us both. But he turned out to be the hero after all.

We sat in the car, doors open to receive the heat of our fire. We dozed a bit through the night. We also ate our food and drank our water. Dan awoke each time the fire ran low and brought in more wood to feed the blaze. The snow deepened as the hours passed, and Dan let the roadside fire go out so that he could focus on the fire that was keeping us warm. It was getting light again and the snowfall had finally stopped when Dan returned to the roadside with several burning sticks to rebuild our signal fire.

The morning was bitterly cold, and our movement was sluggish, but he helped me work my way up to the roadside to warm myself by the new fire. There we sat, perched on our luggage in a sea of white, hunkered by the only color in sight — the beautiful orange fire.

And as luck would have it, it wasn’t too long before we both heard a strange sound like a dull roar. It got louder, and to our elation, we saw a snowplow coming toward us on the twisting road. Dan started jumping and shouting, but the driver was already flashing his lights when he saw two figures by a fire on the edge of the road. The best sound I’ve ever heard was the squeak of the air brakes as the driver stopped beside us.

Conclusion

It’s been said that fortune favors the bold, but in my experience fortune favors the prepared. And there’s no better time to be prepared than in the winter. Survival is hard enough when the weather is nice and the temperatures are within the Goldilocks zone (not too hot or too cold). When the temperature drops, your odds of survival naturally drop with it.

In frigid conditions, staying warm becomes harder. Lighting fires becomes harder. Your water filter can freeze up, and you can easily lose your gear in fresh powdery snow. With all these factors (and many more) stacked against you, it’s critical for you to travel through the winter landscape with the supplies that will keep you alive and the skills to use them.

Keep a well-stocked survival kit in every vehicle you own. This could be a bin or duffel bag loaded with shelter items like coats, space blankets, and sleeping bags. It should also contain water and non-perishable food. Use store-bought bottled water, since the bottles are able to expand without bursting. Bring first-aid supplies, lighting devices, and a way to charge your mobile phone too. In addition, bring back-up signaling equipment in case your phone has no signal and bring plenty of fire-starting equipment. Fire has preserved human life in cold climates for millennia, and there’s no reason to skip it now.

Finally, before we go — if you have a vehicle in your survival scenario, stay there! The statistics are clear. People who stay with a car get rescued. People who wander off into the snow usually die. Stay with the vehicle!

Meet Our Panel

Tim MacWelch

Tim MacWelch has been a survival instructor for more than 20 years, training people from all walks of life, including members from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the State Department, DOD, and DOJ personnel. He’s a frequent public speaker for preparedness groups and events. He’s also the author of three New York Times-bestselling survival books, and the new Ultimate Bushcraft Survival Manual. When he’s not teaching survival or writing about it, MacWelch lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his family in Virginia. Check out his wide range of hands-on training courses that are open to the public at www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com.

Erik Lund

Erik Lund has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience - with much of that time spent as an instructor of frearms, defensive tactics, and use of force. He served as a Virginia State Trooper before accepting a position as a federal agent. Lund is also a senior instructor at Mike Seeklander’s Shooting-Performance LLC, a tactical training company. As a champion competitive shooter, he’s earned several regional, state, and national three-gun titles and is ranked as a grandmaster by the United States Practical Shooting Association.

Ryan Lee Price

Ryan Lee Price is a freelance journalist who specializes in outdoor adventuring, emergency preparedness, and the automotive industry. He has contributed to the “SHTF” survival column for our sister publication RECOIL Magazine and is a longtime hiking and camping enthusiast. He currently resides in Corona, California, with his wife Kara and their two children.

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Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

Make Fitness Happen

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I’ve taken a few firearms training classes over the years and loved every single one of them. A common theme that I was often told was, “you’re a good shooter but you just need to get in better shape.” We often hear that gunfights last only seconds and think that no matter what shape we’re in, we could last that long. That is, until you do the training and realize that maybe you’re not in as good of shape as you think you are.

As I’ve gone through classes (e.g. shooting and moving, vehicle classes, hand-to-hand combat classes, etc.), I realize that I’m not the only one who could use some help on improving fitness. A comprehensive plan should include mindset, diet, exercise, and rest. You need to make fitness happen. There’s no easy way to do it, so suck it up, buttercup!

Mindset

It doesn’t matter what your level of fitness is — without a proper mindset and realistic goals, you will not achieve your fullest potential. If your goal is to lose weight, a reasonable goal is to take the weight loss in 10 percent increments of your current body weight. If your goal is to lose body fat/gain muscle, get a body fat analyzer to track your progress. If you’re “just trying to feel better,” I believe you aren’t being specific enough and are destined to fail. I once lost 50 pounds busting my hump to feel better. Despite being successful in that weight loss goal, I still felt miserable. Why? My mindset wasn’t focused on “proper” diet and rest. I gained it back and started over. My goal was shortsighted, and I lacked vision.

I remembered a book I read in college called Peak Performance: Mental Training Techniques of the World’s Greatest Athletes by Charles A. Garfield and Hal Zina Bennett. I realized I was going through the motions and not visualizing my goals. This was a critical piece that was missing, and once I added it back, I found success. In order to visualize effectively, it helps to have a measurable metric. Such metrics can be percent body fat, waist circumference, and total body weight, to name a few. These should be checked at the beginning of your exercise program and every six weeks. Write everything you do down: diet, calories, macronutrients, exercise, etc., as this holds you accountable to yourself. This can provide valuable feedback toward your progress and improve your chance of success.

Another part of the success and mindset is attitude. This year, I decided to do something I sucked at and turn it into a positive. Since the number-one thing on the list was running, I went all in. In preparing for a half marathon, I was coached by many of my running friends that not every run will be a good one. I challenged myself to find a bit of good in every run. Some days I didn’t go far, but my blood sugars stayed steady. Other days my blood sugars tanked, and I had to walk for distance. Maybe on one run I had trouble with hip pain, but I focused on technique to make it through the run. I always tried to stay positive with every run. With each outing, I improved. By staying positive, I found that my motivation remained high … even when my friends were yelling, “Run Forrest, RUN!”

Diet

Many people think about a diet as a four-letter word. How do you choose which diet is right for you? There are all kinds of recommendations; however, I like to keep it simple. First, use an app like myfitnesspal (www.myfitnesspal.com) to track calories and nutrients. I find that people who track their progress on an app tend to maintain their dietary goals for a longer duration. The key to using any form of diet tracker is to be completely honest with how much you’re eating. Measure everything out.

fitness food diet stock image

Above: Fruits and vegetables are important, but don’t forget herbs and spices to aid in recovery. 

When I counseled patients on a “medically supervised weight loss program,” I first had them record what they ate for one week without any direction from me. I found that 90 percent of the people who came in the following week had obvious issues with their diets. Most of these patients thought they were doing right by eating what they were eating. We would discuss some simple changes, whether it was total calories or macronutrient composition. I’d set goals, or benchmarks, for them to attain. I’d then see them back in three weeks and check on their progress. I’d challenge them to lose half to 1 pound a week. Often in the early weeks I’d see 5 to 10 pounds of weight lost, depending on how bad the diet was initially.

If I thought they were overindulging on calories, I’d take their first week’s data and cut 250 to 500 calories a day. For the average person, it takes 3,500 calories cut to equate to one pound of weight loss. If the patient came back three weeks later and had not lost weight, it was often due to underreporting of food consumed. If the patient already had a reasonable calorie intake after that first week, we’d focus on macronutrient composition. I know there are a lot of different views on what this should be; however, I’d look at their first week’s data as a guide.

Invariably, people would either be heavy on carbs or heavy on fats. We would adjust these to more reasonable levels and discuss foods that would be better substitutes to meet their goals. To reduce carbohydrates, I’d encourage them to avoid processed foods and eat as many vegetables as they could. They were encouraged to eat fruit every day. I’d often direct people to www.allrecipes.com to help them with ideas on using vegetables in meals.

To boost protein, I suggest that people try to get 1.5 mg/kg of body weight a day. Personally, I have to supplement with protein powder to reach that mark. Having a good amount of protein will help with muscle gain as well as recovery after workouts. I’d also try to adjust the amount of protein, as well as calorie consumption, based on activity of the day. Remember that too much protein can be harmful to the kidneys. You might periodically check in with your physician to have a blood test or urine test to ensure that all is good there.

Fats are an important part of our diet and should not be eliminated altogether. In college, I got a wacky idea to cut my fat consumption to less than 10 percent of my total calories. Guess what happened? I got massively depressed. As I was reading about dieting and nutrition, I came across a passage that described how important fat is in our diet. I went to the store to buy some Skippy and felt better in a few days! My depression was caused by not having enough fat in my diet. Now, I aim for 20 percent of caloric intake from fat as part of my macronutrient goal.

Exercise

If diet is a four-letter word, exercise is twice as foul, right? But it doesn’t have to be. This goes back to having the right mindset. I think about exercise in three different contexts and believe the weight of each in your routine varies depending on your level of fitness. First, think about the importance of stretching. Not only does it help to get the circulation flowing to the muscles, it can reduce the chance of injury even when we push our bodies physically.

fitness personal trainer stock image

As we age, flexibility is also important for joint mobility and can help ease the pain from arthritis. Whether you choose to do basic stretching, yoga, or some iteration of these is up to your preference. I like a stretching program by Scott Sonnon that he calls Intuflow. YouTube has multiple videos from Scott, and others, that are helpful. Diamond Dallas Page has his version of yoga that includes isometrics in the movements. Check out his program at www.ddpyoga.com. He has an excellent app if you sign up for his program.

The second aspect of exercise should involve cardiovascular fitness. I love the saying that you can’t walk a mile without taking the first step. For some patients, I’d literally recommend that they walk 20 feet, several times a day. You would be amazed at the lack of fitness some people have that requires them to start at this level. If they can do it, so can you. Start a walking program. Once you can walk for time, say 30 minutes, then increase the speed and walk for distance within that time.

Continue to increase your goals every week. When you decide to start running, try walking for one minute then running for one minute. Again, pace is up to you, but try to work up the time, say 15 cycles of the walk one/run one. Maybe every week or two, increase the amount of time you run (e.g. 2/1, 3/1, 4/2, etc.). Of course, you can also try cycling, rowing, or anything else that increases heart rate. Your goal should be a target heart rate of 85 percent of your predicted maximum (220 minus age, then multiply by 0.85 to get your target heart rate). With fitness watches, such as the Garmin Fenix 6X Pro, you can collect data to guide you to improve your fitness.

fitness stock image yoga

Above: A mixture of strength training, stretching, cardiovascular and core exercises round out a good program.

The last aspect of exercise is strength training. One important part of adding muscle is that it also increases the efficiency at which you use calories. There are several different methods to incorporate strength training. You can go old school and put in your VHS tape of Pumping Iron and work out with Arnold. If you don’t have weights available, you can use bodyweight exercises and improvise weights. (Tires or 5-gallon bottles of water are just a couple of ideas.) Check out Brute Force Sandbags (www.bruteforcetraining.com), which is an excellent option as well.

Another exercise I like is using TRX suspension bands (www.trxtraining.com). I personally found TRX to be helpful with building core strength and cardio, as well as being fun. Functional strength training is another option but requires access to weights. A site that I find useful, along with their Instagram and Facebook pages, is Mouser Strength Dynamics (www.mouserpower.com). I’ve learned quite a bit from John and Hannah over the years and find them both to be excellent teachers and motivators.

In Summary

Taking the first step to becoming more fit is often the hardest part for anyone. Once you get started, the momentum will pick up steam, and you’ll be on your way to making fitness happen. It takes a good mindset, a solid plan, goals, and a combination of diet, exercise, and rest. Where people struggle is maintaining their pursuit of healthy living. This is why I encourage people to write down everything in a notebook every day. It also helps if a spouse or significant other is training with you. You’re less likely to give up on your goals that way. The last part that people struggle with is maintaining their success once their goals are reached. Your choices are to set new goals, to maintain where you are, or, like some people, reverse course and fall back into bad habits. The way I protect the latter is to set a ceiling on weight. Once that ceiling is reached, I get back on the fitness plan, so I don’t erase months of success.

Above: Omron Body Fat Analyzer

There are multiple ways to accomplish each aspect of your fitness journey; however, you have to choose what’s right for you both mentally and physically. If you have trouble developing a plan, look into a local fitness professional to help meet your needs. The websites that I’ve included are just some of the ones that I’ve found helpful. There are many more that are available if these don’t suit your needs. Good luck on your fitness goals. Your life may depend on it!

Successful Mindset

  1. Set realistic goals: If you weigh 250 pounds and want to lose 50 pounds, start with 25 (10 percent) and it isn’t so overwhelming.
  2. Keep re-evaluating your goals: If you aren’t reaching goals over seven days (e.g. losing 0.5 to 1 pound per week) then look at your diet.
  3. Rest is important: Remember, this is the restorative portion and, if neglected, you may not see the progress toward your goals.
  4. Stay positive: Place sticky notes around the house with positive sayings to keep up your motivation; set goals with a partner to encourage each other.
  5. Celebrate milestones toward your goal (e.g. 2 percent weight loss, 1 percent body fat loss, seven consecutive days of exercise).

Above: Garmin Fenix 6X Pro

Dietary Suggestions

Protein is always good with a goal of 1.5g/kg body weight. Eggs and chicken breasts are great; however, vegan options include almonds, oats, quinoa, and lentils.

Fiber is excellent for colon health with a goal of 20 to 30 grams per day. Fruits, nuts, vegetables, and grains are great sources of fiber.

Unless you’re on a potassium-restricted diet due to heart disease or kidney disease, potassium is a challenge to get enough of the daily requirement (about 4,000mg daily). Foods such as bananas, white potatoes, spinach, and salmon contain good amounts of potassium. 

About the Author

David L. Miller, DO, FACOI is an internist in private practice for 20 years. His experiences away from the office have included time as a fight doctor in regional MMA events and as a team physician for 10 years at a midmajor university in the Midwest. Currently, he serves as the lead medical instructor for the Civilian Crisis Response team based out of Indianapolis.

More on Health and Fitness from OFFGRID

Reader’s Bag Drop: Winter Survival Pack Loadouts

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Editor's Note: In Issue 34 of our magazine, we introduced the new Bag Drop column. In each edition of the column, our staff and contributors share survival pack loadouts and explain the logic behind the items they contain. No two people will carry the exact same gear or have the same needs, so Bag Drop offers some food for thought that can help you consider the gear you carry and the reasons you carry it.

We also asked you to share some of your own bag setups with us. The following is a submission from a reader named Richard Weiss, who lives in a cold part of Michigan between two of the Great Lakes. If you'd like to share your own survival pack setup, send me an email.

Here are some of my survival packs — I’ve got so many. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Up in Calumet, their record is over 30 feet of snow during the winter, and generally all over the Upper peninsula below zero is the norm in this season. Blizzards are not rare, and we drive 30 minutes to get to Walmart.

My car emergency go-bag contains the following items:

  • Mittens
  • Scarf
  • Below-zero emergency bag (like an ultra-compact sleeping bag)
  • Hand warmers
  • Cree LED flashlight
  • 4 mags for HK VP9 handgun
  • 2 boxes of 9mm ammo
  • Kershaw folding knife
  • iPhone backup battery

For long trips, I also add a gun to the pack as a backup to my carry pistol. It's a S&W Governor revolver with 2 boxes of Critical Defense .410 shells.

When hunting in the Rockies, I carry a digital camo backpack with water reservoir. It also contains the following gear.

Side compartments:

  • Headlamp
  • Cree flashlight
  • Blood tracking light
  • Various spare batteries
  • Nalgene canteen

Lower compartment:

  • First aid pack with extra Ibuprofen and aspirin
  • Small roll of toilet paper
  • Small pack of wet wipes
  • Mini bottle of anti-bacterial soap
  • Alcohol wipes
  • Waterproof matches
  • Long-flame butane lighter
  • Fire starter cubes
  • Mini roll of red duct tape

Middle compartment:

  • Leica binoculars
  • HD Thermal monocular
  • Heat packs
  • Kershaw folding knife

Deep top compartment:

  • Gutting gloves
  • Jersey cotton gloves
  • Chocolate bars and bagels
  • Bandanna
  • Coil of paracord
  • Reflective-face heavy-duty shelter tarp
  • Small roll bright orange surveying tape
  • Chill choker, reversible color
  • Chuke hat, reversible color
  • Extra mitten gloves

Cinch straps on the outside of the pack retain outerwear while hiking. I remove excess layers while walking uphill to avoid sweating. The top of the pack also has a handheld GPS w/ OnX Maps and 2 carabiners.

I wear a separate gun belt while at my hunting property here in the Yoop. This offers a means of protection from wolves and bears. It consists of:

  • .44 cal Ruger Super RedHawk
  • Rifle ammo pouch
  • Handgun ammo pouch
  • Sheath knife with gut hook
  • Rangefinder pouch

– Richard Weiss, St. Ignace, MI

Infographic: How Animals Survive the Winter

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Surviving in extremely cold weather is a serious challenge, and one that requires careful preparation. This is true for both humans and other members of the animal kingdom. While man has adapted to start fires and don layers of warm clothes, animals have developed other ways of staying alive during the cold season. By studying these adaptations, we can consider new ways to adjust our own winter survival strategies.

Infographic animal survival strategies winter weather cold shelter snow 6

The following infographic from Alan's Factory Outlet shows how animals survive the winter, with 34 individual examples. Some of these can't be imitated by humans, while others are surprisingly similar to what we already do in cold weather. Click here to download a full-size version of this infographic.

Infographic animal survival strategies winter weather cold shelter 2Infographic animal survival strategies winter weather cold shelter 3Infographic animal survival strategies winter weather cold shelter 4

So, what can we learn from these survival strategies?

  • Migrating to a warmer environment is always a good plan, assuming you can afford a summer home on the beach somewhere.
  • Adding layers of insulation is an effective way to retain body heat, so prepare additional garments and stow them for cold weather.
  • Building an improvised burrow shelter can help you escape the elements.
  • If possible, hibernate to conserve warmth — ideally indoors, next to a warm fire with a hot beverage and a good book.
  • Although you can't expand your brain like the chickadee, you can still plan and catalog your supplies to be better prepared for winter.

Byron Rodgers: Experience is the Teacher of All Things

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Estimates have put the number of new gun owners in 2020 to be somewhere over 5 million. In a time of growing threats to public safety and stigmatization of law enforcement, it’s finally dawned on many that protecting themselves and their family has never been more important. By the time you read this, the election will be over. No matter the results, increased instability will be par for the course. With the media, activist groups, and countless others fanning the flames of civil unrest, the next question becomes, who can teach you the skills to defend what’s important and the discretion to use them righteously? Guys like Byron Rodgers.

When you hear the term “executive protection” (known colloquially as EP), images might come to mind of some shredded guys with pressed suits, radio earpieces, and mirrored sunglasses following around celebrities who can afford the luxury of private security. Sure, Byron checks those boxes, but his résumé goes beyond protecting wealthy clients and teaching others who want to enter the private security industry. Author, veteran, podcast host, consultant, trainer, and creator of programs such as the Hard Skills Intensive and Protector Symposium are just some of the titles that make him as academic as he’s enthusiastic about helping everyday people help themselves.

The increased risks in our world have convinced many that being self-reliant isn’t only smart, but also imperative. Byron made it his mission to teach citizens from all walks of life how to sharpen the survival instincts that are part of everyone’s DNA. Think of him as part motivational speaker and part Roman general. We spent some time getting to know what motivated Byron to turn the skills he’s honed during his executive protection career into programs accessible to the average citizen.

RECOIL OFFGRID: Tell us about where you grew up.

Byron Rodgers: I was born in the Bahamas and grew up in Washington state. I spent the summers with my father in the Bahamas spearfishing, swimming, and doing all the island stuff, but I’d spend the winters with my mom in Washington, so I had a hybrid situation growing up. The Marine Corps brought me to Cali, and I opted for the infantry as an 0351. Then, from, there did my two deployments to Iraq.

In my spirit, I knew I was going to do what I ended up
doing in the executive protection industry, so I followed that inner voice. About three months before I got out of the Marines, I was working as a bouncer and was bussing tables just trying to be a good dude. This guy, Luke Agajanian, who became a buddy of mine looked over and told me to get a couple different permits, give him a call in a few weeks, and he’d show me how to make a lot more money doing what I was doing. That was the beginning of my executive protection career. Next thing you know, I was at a job interview in Beverly Hills talking to a client and away we went. 

What was your experience in the military like?

Byron Rodgers: I was in for four years. It was like juvenile hall meets Lord of the Flies [laughs]. These guys had just gotten back from the battle of Fallujah. I got really good training, and my big brothers taught me how to fight. My first combat experience was very surreal. We were launching the invasion of Haditha, and we were out there at 3 a.m. It was pitch black, and I remember I was staring at the city and the power to the whole city just shut off. As we got ready to invade, an Army unit flew past us trying to get into the city first. We tried to tell them not to cross because there was a mine field. They went by us in a Bradley and got blown up. I remember hearing this explosion and hearing these guys and the rounds cook off. I was thinking, this doesn’t even look real. I heard this voice inside me say, you don’t really know what real is yet, son. [Laughs]

I was thinking, just grab yourself by the balls as we shot APOBS up into the city, which are linear explosive charges that shoot out on a rocket in a straight line and blow a trench in front of you. After that, the tanks trailed in that trench, and we ran in behind the tanks and invaded the city. We were going house to house to the sounds of women screaming, babies crying, and rock bands playing on big PSYOPS speakers. It was unlike anything else I’ve experienced. I got hit by a number of different IEDs, shot at by snipers, and it was a good taste of war. I got rocked a few times real good and had like an out-of-body experience and thought I was dead. 

What got you interested in executive protection?

Byron Rodgers: Upon exiting the Marine Corps, I was at a crossroads thinking about what I was going to do. I knew I was trained to hold a gun for someone, so I wondered what my options were. I could contract overseas or be a cop. Those were the only two things I knew of. There was this scary period of life where like I had to make a decision, which is why, with my school, I try to make it as easy as possible to get into the industry because I want to pay that forward. Honestly, it was really the grace of God. After working as a bouncer at a bar for three months I got picked up and put on one of the most frequently traveling details in the U.S. I was 21 years old at the time.

byron rodgers body armor

above: In this game you’ve always got to be ready, so Byron keeps all of his gear in the vehicle just in case he gets called to something he needs to move to on a moment’s notice.

When did you start your own company?

Byron Rodgers: During my first year, I was on the road a whole bunch. We were gone two to three weeks a month, and I needed a normal life. So, after doing that for seven years, living on private jets and stuff, I grounded myself with that client to only work for them when they were in California. I began working for about five local California companies. We call that “chasing the pager.” I was doing domestic security contracting where job offers would come and I’d sign myself up for the ones I liked. After doing that long enough to realize that I didn’t want to work for someone for the rest of my life and until I had enough of the right types of relationships and thoroughly understood the industry, I launched my company in 2017. Some professionals try to jump too quickly into having their own company, but personally it took me about nine years in order to do it effectively. Admittedly it was my second attempt, so I understand where they’re coming from.

What services do you and your company provide?

Byron Rodgers: We provide manpower and armed guard services for anything from various facilities all the way up to executive protection operations. We also do things such as penetration testing and have a pretty strong ability to get things done as far as cyber security and things on the tech side of the fence as well.

Do you work primarily with businesses, individuals, or both?

Byron Rodgers: Individuals, high-net-worth families, and churches/faith-based organizations for the most part, but it’s a mixture as well. We also have some businesses that hire us for guard services, which are more corporate. It’d be against the industry standard to name the names of my clients, but I can say I’ve worked the 2016 Presidential Inauguration, been in over 60 countries, and worked with every demographic that the industry has to offer. Everything from celebrities, politicians, royal families, A-list actors and singers, professional athletes, and even the transportation of valuable cargo all over the U.S. and internationally. I continued doing this for seven years straight, but now I still travel but I have more control over it.

byron rodgers truck

above: It’s important to make sure your skills and your gear are ready to work the full spectrum of the private security industry, because every call, gig, and mission is very different.

What are the main things your clients look for?

Byron Rodgers: It may sound a little counterintuitive, but professionalism and brand equity. For example, does the security product that we’re rendering add to their brand equity or subtract from it? Externally, as people are on the outside looking in, I notice the clients are very concerned with the look and feel, and the way they want to relate to the world. I find that to be one of the most anchoring principles when it comes to staying in a relationship with clients. The other thing is that I’m very relationship-centric. I’m focused on creating a long-term relationship with the client. As they change, I can change. Those things have really paid off.

Can you tell us about any close calls you’ve had?

Byron Rodgers: In the Dominican Republic, we had an issue where fake police were trying to pull us over. Fortunately, my local guys recognized it and stopped it from happening. They rammed the cop cars and pushed us around the barricade that they had set up for us. In that country, kidnapping is very common. Families even have kidnapping funds set aside.

Another time, we had a situation in the Congo where I found myself in a room full of local money. Piles of money, all over the floor, there were black bags full of it we were dealing with. We were trying to organize my client’s move and that cash. He was in another room. Our police escort was supposed to be guarding this place for us. There were no blinds on the windows, just these torn curtains. Our escort was looking at us in this room counting the money, and I was thinking, this is not good. The cops were staring at us, and people started gathering around the room.

We evacuated the client, but ended up leaving most of the money there. We had to do what we call “manning the rails,” fight everyone off the car, and get to the airport where the security was basically 14-year-olds with AK-47s. We rolled up to the FBO (flight base operations) and about every 30 minutes the FBO was coming up with new charges. Like, “Hey, you need to pay us the $250 airport tax.” And then 20 to 30 minutes later, there’d be another, like we needed to pay $250 for some other BS they’d make up. The pilot told them we weren’t paying any more money, they told us we couldn’t take off, and we were getting the flight handler on the phone.

This went back and forth for a while, and the pilot just said to buckle up because we were taking off. We just left, and they were on the radio yelling at the pilot and threatening to shoot him down and then he yelled back at them that they didn’t have an air force [laughs]. Boom, we were gone. That was definitely a situation where I was wondering what was going to happen. From the moment we realized there was trouble starting, getting to the car, fighting through the crowd, navigating to the airport, dealing with the airport, it was a wild ride for sure.

Above: Understanding the micro and macro components of running venue security is foundational, but make no mistake, you’ll need much more than just security skills in order to navigate these sophisticated social environments.

Has the executive protection landscape changed much from when you first started?

Byron Rodgers: Quite a bit actually. When I first got started, it was like you don’t get in unless you know someone. It was ultra-secretive and very tight-lipped. Things have changed exponentially because there’s been a ridiculous amount of growth because of things taking place in American culture. There’s more danger, there’s riots, human-threat scenarios with active shooters, so America is seeing more of a need for higher levels of security. Simultaneously there’s a war that’s been launched on law enforcement. With corporate America, you’re seeing a lot more companies bring a security element or department in-house. So, there are a lot more job opportunities where you can get full packages with stock options and make six figures. It’s a legit career field.

When I got in it you just happened to be that 1 percent like the Special Forces, NFL, or major leagues. There was no healthcare, no nothing. You did the job, got paid, that was it. You were an employee with a weird classification. Now, it’s so much more robust. There are huge companies that’ll hire you that do just executive protection and will find you work. When I started, you had to find your own clients. Networking can be done digitally as well now, and it’s a huge force multiplier for finding opportunities and getting inbound.

What do you think the keys to being successful in this industry are?

Byron Rodgers: Social dynamics, emotional intelligence, and the ability to plan/logistical intelligence. You need the social intelligence in order to navigate the environment you’re in, such as the client’s world. You have to navigate the “royal court,” which are the relationships around the client. You also have to navigate team life, the house staff, and the business owner or person who hired you. Handling any of those relationships incorrectly can be devastating — this is one of my favorite subjects to teach and one of the primary reasons I believe I’ve been successful. I’ve never been the biggest, baddest, or the best, but I’ve always been relationship-centric and have gone through pains to rigorously maintain humility to the best of my ability.

As far as growing your brand and achieving career success, managing relationships with other professionals is your number-one tool for attracting opportunity. Hard skills may save lives, but soft skills will keep you in the game. Understand the power of cooperation — it’s the key to unlocking a powerful team, not only in this game, but in life I believe. Every member must come from a place of selflessness putting the team over one individual because it makes all of you stronger. One really good guy by himself is actually a very weak target. We see this in nature — it’s the survival of the pack that’s actually the strongest and not necessarily survival of the fittest. Competence, trust, selflessness, and initiative are values that I believe make an amazing team, but like many things in life, these steps are simple to understand, but difficult to implement among multiple personalities.

 

Above: Flying in private jets and staying at seven-diamond hotels is part of the job test, but so is managing your ego. A good agent knows to never let the client lifestyle become his own identity.

What do you think the most misunderstood parts of this profession are?

Byron Rodgers: We get a lot of really high-power dudes in this industry who think it’s going to be about combatives and tough-guy stuff. It’s really about social dynamics, customer service, and facilitating trips and movements in the safest manner possible. It’s extremely preventative. A lot of guys find it boring or insulting, like, “Hey, I’m not your coffee getter. Or, “I don’t carry bags.” Maybe in the State Department that works, but in the private sector you’ll just get fired, and they’ll find a guy who can carry bags and protect them.

If you’re with a high-power client with a lot of weight to throw around who has their own private jets, you might start to think you’re the man, but it’s not really any running and gunning. There are always the flavor-of-the-month guys who think they’re the most gangster EP agents ever and gonna change the world, but then they run out there and fall on their sword very quickly.

Byron’s EDC

  • SureFire EDCL1-T flashlight
  • Telescopic keychain keeper
  • Shockwave Bluetooth headset
  • Ridge carbon-fiber wallet
  • FOX Knives carbon-fiber folding karambit
  • Memento Mori challenge coin
  • Apple battery pack case
  • CZ P10 Hybrid (with black ACE bandage wrap to improve grip and protect clothing from wear and tear)
  • Holosun 507C V2
  • Shield Arms magazine extensions SureFire XC1 weapon light
  • McKinaTec holster
  • Soft universal magazine pouch
  • Persol El Profesor Sergio LCPD sunglasses
  • Grayman & Company box — I keep lots of tactical gear inside it on a daily basis (it’s actually the box they send your suits in every time)

Do clients often have expectations of you that don’t align with what you need to do to protect them?

Byron Rodgers: Clients frequently hinge in the realm of ridiculous and unrealistic, but possible for a billionaire. That’s another thing that causes a lot of stress and cognitive dissonance  — some guys are like, “Who do these people think they are? Do they think I just have this in my back pocket? Like we can just make this happen; they can just change their minds, and we can just ruin all of our planning?” They get wrapped around the axle and lose perspective.

You’ve got to remember, we’re dealing with billionaires who can have almost anything they want, whenever they want. If you can’t deliver, even though they change their mind at the last minute, in their world there’s something wrong with you and they can replace you by tomorrow. So, you get inoculated when you’ve been in this game for a while to dealing with the whims of turning water into wine, spinning straw into gold, and doing a number of things that are not executive protection-centric. It’s stuff like walking the dog, putting the car seats in the car, or looking for certain types of foods at 1:30 a.m. To the client, when they want something, they might think that you’re there for that and they just tell you to go do it. If you’re there in a secure position, or you’re the only one, you find yourself having to make certain choices, moves, and plays sometimes.

You might be in a jet where the client is like, “Hey, let’s go to the Canary Islands real quick!” They’re excited. Well, you’ve got to be excited too even though you didn’t do any planning. You know that if there’s no place to stay, or the travel department can’t get this thing linked up quickly enough because you guys are landing in an hour, it’s going to be your fault by the time you hit the ground if this stuff isn’t done and the client can’t show up to a nice rental car and ride off to the hotel on par with their standards. You’re dealing with a fast-paced game, and you really separate the plan makers from everyone else. Those people who know how to flow with the client, not be stressed out, and field all these requests are the ones who succeed. We call it The Truman Show sometimes [laughs].

Where can people get formal training and education if they want to work in executive protection?

Byron Rodgers: There are many schools out there, but I believe my course is the most effective tool to educate and get someone into the field of executive protection right now that I know of. You can learn from the comfort of your own home; you don’t have to stop working. I’ll teach you executive protection, but also branding, marketing, how to do your résumé, etiquette, social dynamics, and professionalism relative to the industry. And then I teach skills like how to do walking formation, vehicle-mounted operations, how to work in venues, hotels, site-based operations, how to work on private jets, etc.

I take students through the executive protection curriculum after all the things I didn’t see at most other schools. Beyond that, they become part of the League of Executive Protection Specialists, which is my group of graduates who I do weekly Zoom meetings with that I coach, so you basically have an executive protection consultant for the rest of your career. We have a group who shares opportunities and are hiring each other, so it’s a very positive place that’s helped a lot of people.

 

Above: “I’m not the biggest, baddest, or the best … I’m just a man willing to fail in front of you while trying to make a contribution to the industry I love. And if I succeed, it’ll be by God’s grace.”

If people are looking to hire someone for executive protection, how would you recommend they vet those individuals to make sure they’re legit?

BR: That’s very difficult because you might not know what to look for. If you don’t have the eye to recognize those types, it’s tough. I’ve run across so many clients that are relieved to have a competent team of professionals with them because they’ve had so many unprofessional people work with them in the past. When it comes to vetting people, there are a lot of imposters out there with a good song and dance who can make things look really pretty. I’d say talk to previous clients or employees — that’d be a good way to find out what they’re really all about.

byron rodgers in a field

Above: To those at the top of the game, the art of protection is more than just a job, it requires a lifestyle. How else will you become skilled enough to wield the tools, to be physically able, to download all of the techniques, principles, and intellectual software required to be successful in this game? The best in the business win by the things they choose to do when they aren’t at work.

Tell us a bit about Protector Nation and Protector Symposium.

Byron Rodgers: The Protector Symposium series is giving birth to the Protector Nation. I see all the changes taking place in American culture and how you can get stuck in the middle of a riot, pulled out of your car, and beat to death. There could be an active shooter scenario in your corporate building or church this month. I see these incidents and tectonic plates in American culture changing. The goal with both of those brands is to help good people, regardless of occupation, to become more willing, capable, and prepared to deal with evil. It’s also about helping good people become more dangerous. I’m with Jordan Peterson’s school of thought insofar that a good man isn’t just a nice, sweet man. A good man is a very dangerous man who has it under control, has great discretion, and can be the backbone of a nation, his society, and family because he’s strong — that’s what I want to foster in the world. I want good people to be able to defend themselves. I want bad guys to think twice and be afraid of good people.

Protector Symposium events are going to take place throughout the year where we bring in trainers you can learn from. We have them speak on their techniques, but we’re also going to get into actual hand-to-hand, on-ground training that’ll increase your protection IQ in one event. That’s what the Protector Symposium is all about. The Protector Nation is the nation of people in the world who are naturally protectors. They are here to maintain order on our planet and bring on-scene accountability.

It’s not for tire kickers who just want to have fun. It’s for serious adults who want to learn skills as long-form education. It’ll almost be like an online university for protectors  — you can get a Level 1 certification for completing stuff online, Level 2 for going to training with certain instructors, and every month there’ll be an information drop from a specific subject-matter expert on a protection skill that we think will make you more willing, capable, and prepared to bring on-scene accountability in your environment. I look forward to rolling this thing out and having various chapters and organizing it into a body of people who can serve the community as needed in the future.

Byron Rodgers in a car

Above: You must be able to flow with your team and client while keeping the stress low and making it look like you planned for the client to shuffle the deck all along.

Do you feel self-defense is stigmatized in the United States?

Byron Rodgers: It does bring a little bit of a stigma. I’m not sure this is accurate in terms of what other people have experienced, but when someone says “self-defense” I’m picturing like a mom in her workout class with some sweats and a rape whistle and there’s an instructor who’s like, we’re gonna learn self-defense today blowing the whistle and doing some kicks. I think true self-defense is so terribly important. I commend those who go out and study it, but am really scared for them being able to find good information and good trainers with things that’ll help them in real life. Protector Symposium and Protector Nation use trainers that’ve been there, done that, and have credentials with real-world experience to back it up.

BR Stadium

Above: “I’ve lost more friends to suicide since we’ve been out of the Marine Corps then we lost in combat because we’re still in combat — it’s just that some of us have stopped fighting. I wrote this book to help warriors find their new fight and deliberately create their new lives after they have served. Once you’ve walked through fire, little else can touch you as long as you never forget what the fire felt like.”

Given what’s happened in 2020, what security threats do you expect to increase that the average citizen should learn to protect themselves against?

Byron Rodgers: I think we’ll see more civil unrest just because it was dealt with so passively, and was even subversively validated in my opinion. I think we’ll see more looting and behavior like this. That’s something everyone should be prepared to deal with. If you’re in your car driving somewhere, you come upon people blocking the road, you’re boxed in, they might say they stand for equality, but are about to jump you because you’re the wrong color or have the wrong bumper sticker on your car. You could find yourself in an ambush situation very quickly with a high degree of danger because we all know groupthink is an issue.

The other thing I’d really warn people about is social media and the way that predators in regard to human trafficking and kidnapping are using social media. A lot of civilians are oblivious on how to behave and how not to make themselves an attractive target on social media. It’s like a candy shop. With my podcast, every single one of the people I interview who have anything to do with kidnapping or human trafficking will tell you that your biggest vulnerability is your social media, even if you think you’re a ghost and the most off-grid social media guy out there, well guess what? Someone came over for a barbecue and they’re posting pictures of your house, you, your kids, and inadvertently geo-tagging it. Now anyone who wants to find you and yours, or wants to steal your gun while you’re at work that may have been posted, can get up in your business.    

Byron Rodgers Bio

Hometown: Orange, CA
Family status: Married
Childhood idol: Julius Caesar
Recommended reading list:

  • As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
  • 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
  • The 50th Law by Robert Greene
  • The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
  • Laws of Success: 12 Laws That Turn Dream Into Reality by Les Brown
  • Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
  • Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson
  • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Favorite movie: Inception
Beer or wine? Vodka, but if I had to choose, wine.
Boxing or MMA? MMA
Favorite quote: “In the end, all that matters is what you can achieve.”
Military experience: Just a grunt turned private security professional.
Describe yourself in three words: Perspective, Driven, Fluid

URL: www.byronrodgers.com

Byron Rodgers Meaning after the military

Byron Rodger's book is available HERE on Amazon for $19.99. Your purchase helps OFFGRID.

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The Viral Truth

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The United States has seen its share of tragedy in the 21st century and since then, the nation that we call “home” has changed dramatically. Public health officials have been cautioning Americans since 2001 that a horrific pandemic has been lurking at our doorsteps to infect every world citizen. In fact, public health agencies around the world gave dire warnings about the horrors of H1N1, Ebola, SARS, and MERS, all of which were deadly in their own right, but failed to cause the level of death purported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The fact of the matter is world citizens lucked out with those disease outbreaks. But that was then…

Once again, the landscape of our world has witnessed historical changes unseen since the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which was responsible for anywhere between 50- to 100-million deaths. Ironically, even though the Covid-19 pandemic is different than the Spanish Influenza, one does not have to dig deep to understand that many of the societal struggles we face with today’s pandemic are very similar to those witnessed during the 1918 outbreak. Modern society is larger, faster, and more prone to accepting conflicting information today than it ever has in the history of mankind. Since the inception of social and mainstream media, most world-residents remain in a constant state of confusion as to what constitutes fact over fiction.

To help alleviate some of that confusion, RECOIL OFFGRID Magazine has brought together a few experts to examine the lines between fact and fiction surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Amesh Adalja is an expert in infectious diseases and emergency medicine from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. He’s joined by Dr. Eric Dietz, director of the Purdue University Military Research Institute and Jeff Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Domestic Preparedness at Columbia University. Finally, Dr. Tim Frazier, faculty director of the Emergency Disaster Management program at Georgetown University, will combine his extensive field expertise to aid in the article’s search for answers with Dr. Robert Quigley, senior vice president and regional medical director of International SOS. All panelists will share their in-depth knowledge to help answer the question we are all asking: Is the truth about Covid-19 still out there?

“It’s always a good thing to re-evaluate where we’re going, and we should demand that of our elected officials and health professionals who are charged to keep us safe.”

— Eric Dietz

About Our Panelists

ahmesh Adalja covid profile panelistAHMESH ADALJA

Dr. Adalja is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. His work is focused on emerging infectious disease, pandemic preparedness, and biosecurity. Dr. Adalja has served on U.S. government panels tasked with developing guidelines for the treatment of plague, botulism, and anthrax in mass casualty settings and for the system of care for infectious disease emergencies.

eric dietz covid profile panelistERIC DIETZ

Dr. Dietz’s research interests include optimization of emergency response, homeland security and defense, energy security, and engaging veterans in higher education. As a director of the Purdue Military Research Institute, Dr. Dietz organizes faculty to involve current and former military in Purdue research with focus on defense and security projects to increase Purdue’s involvement in national defense.

tim frazier covid profile panelistTIM FRAZIER

Dr. Tim G Frazier is a full professor and the faculty director of the Emergency and Disaster Management program at Georgetown University. Dr. Frazier’s research focuses on developing science that serves to impact decision-making in local communities through stakeholder engagement.

robert quigley covid profile panelistROBERT QUIGLEY

Robert L. Quigley, M.D., D.Phil., Professor of Surgery, Senior Vice President and Global Medical Director, Corporate Health Solutions, International SOS Assistance & MedAire, Americas Region, is responsible for leading the delivery of high-quality medical assistance, healthcare management and medical transportation services. He’s the executive chairman of the International Corporate Health Leadership Council as well as the chairman of the Council for U.S. and Canadian Quality Healthcare Abroad.

RECOIL OFFGRID: What statistics are used to gauge the severity of a disease outbreak?

Amesh Adalja: There are a lot of statistics out there, and it depends on what your purpose is when looking at statistics and finding what is useful to you. When examining the spread of disease, the number of cases is one aspect to look at, but that has to be adjusted for how much testing is going on. There are places that are increasing and decreasing their levels of testing, so you have to look is the percent of positivity. In other words, how hard is it to find a new case, which is an important number to look at because it’s an indicator of what the community spread is. It’s important to keep in mind that patient deaths are a lagging indicator, so you’ll likely not see an immediate rise in deaths if you see an outbreak spiraling out of control. That’s also another marker to look at for the severity of the virus.

Eric Dietz: One thing to keep in mind is that all statistics are very different. The spread rate might be very high, but we may not care as much if the disease is not lethal. If the lethality is high, however, we’re going to have a significant concern. There are a variety of factors involved in determining statistics such as how fast it spreads, its lethality, and severity of the symptoms. Each one has its own quirks, especially as they relate to Covid-19 and new data emerges.

Tim Frazier: What’s critical at this point are looking at infection rates, the number of new cases from a day-to-day perspective to track the spread, and to track mitigation measures.

Robert Quigley: Metrics such as number of deaths, number of cases, rate of new cases all can certainly be valuable in gauging the severity of COVID-19 in any one jurisdiction. However, they are far from complete, and methodologies in interpretation can vary from region to region. The denominator (i.e. the total number of cases) can only be determined by testing. That said, the combination of limited testing resources and asymptomatic vectors (unknown to public health statisticians) makes calculation of the denominator next to impossible, so at any one time we only see a fraction of the actual cases, which would not permit accurate reporting on the rate of new cases.

Are Masks Worth the Work?

The reality of the pandemic is that a lot is not fully known about the exact benefit of potential safety measures. Ventilation, air filtration, masks, and social distancing all have a positive effect in limiting the spread of the virus. There is a lot of modeling, retrospectively, to understand the value of each of these measures. When you’re dealing with an infectious disease, you are dealing with a variety of factors such as transmission through shedding, through vapor droplets, and so on. It’s important to understand that wearing a mask is not to protect me from you, but it’s worn to protect you from me. The precise value of masks is not known, but they are an important tool in the toolbox to lessoning the spread of the virus.

What source numbers are used to compile patient data for Covid-19?

AA: Most data is being collected by local and state health departments, and they are providing essential situational awareness. The data is vital to hospitals when they decide upon whether various elective procedures can fit within their capabilities, all of which are stressed due to the pandemic. It’s also important to note that all data is not iron-clad. There will be fluctuations in the data that are contingent upon several factors, which is normal in this field. Collected data, however, still gives an over-all view of the viral activity within our communities.

ED: I also look at peer-reviewed journals where other scientists have examined many issues surrounding Covid-19, develop their own analytical data, and then share that data with the community.

RQ: The public health authorities, such as the CDC and Johns Hopkins, responsible for collecting/interpreting/sharing data have COVID-19 dashboards, situation reports, and daily data tables accessible on their websites. Their data sources include all of these as well as regional ICU admissions, recovered patient numbers, local/national lab results, as well as data developed from morgues and funeral homes.

TF: The number of new cases is reported by medical facilities to local health departments, so health departments have the cases needed to compile a list of statistics to report to State Health Departments. For example, if someone has it and they don’t go to the hospital, then it won’t get reported. In all likelihood, the cases of Covid-19 in the Nation are under-reported and surpass the data we actually have on record.

COVID-19 vs. Seasonal Influenza

The key two differences between COVID-19 and influenza are the transmissibility of COVID-19, as well as its fatality rate. We’ve seen other Coronaviruses such as MERS, which has a high fatality rate but is not very transmissible. Flu is highly transmissible but does not have the fatality rate that COVID-19 exhibits. The ability to spread easily and kill a higher proportion of people are what separates COVID-19 from other common viruses and make it a deadly pandemic today.

cdc covid charts

What, if any, mechanisms are in place to prevent false or inaccurate reporting?

AA: Health departments should try to remove duplicates if someone had more than one test, or different types of tests, that came back positive. That should only be counted as one positive case and not two. We see this in cases where someone will be tested for the virus to be discharged from a nursing home, and then tested again to see if they are cleared to move back into the same institution. When you look at deaths, there is an adjudication process in which health departments will see if a death was caused by Covid-19 or was it incidental to Covid.

ED: The duplication of reporting is something that many of us are frustrated with right now. There does not seem to be a quality control part of the program that really understands how many in the nation are really sick. All that we know now is the number of positive cases that are in a geographic location, but we also know that same positive individual may have been tested several times. Each positive person might be contributing an amount of positive tests back into the pool of data which allows some to claim that there is much more disease than there might be. We need to get a handle on quality control before we progress with this pandemic or prepare for the next one that might put us in a more difficult position.

“There are a lot of slanted pieces of information out there, as well as “arm-chair epidemiologists” who are attempting to re-define data and reconceive notions.”

— Amesh Adalja

RQ: Laboratories, by no fault of their own, can only report results as they are generated. The false positive/negative rates are simply a reflection of the efficacy of their tools. Unfortunately, the testing tools are not standardized, so different labs will be expected to have different accuracy rates in reporting. Whether testing for antigen (SARS-Cov-2) or antibody (IgG), no test is 100% accurate. Tests need to be performed on a large number of samples and validated multiple times in order to get an estimate on specificity/sensitivity. Finally, because this virus is novel, more research is still required in order to define quantitative thresholds for accuracy in the short and long term.

TF: I would say that there is a level of inaccuracy on reporting and under-reporting. There is probably a range of error that we don’t know very well. There are deaths that are getting reported as Covid-related that aren’t Covid-related. I think that the challenge is to understand what the error margin is and being okay with a certain percentage of error margin in the reporting and under-reporting of cases.

Pandemic Battle: Covid-19 versus 1918 Spanish Flu

There are echoes to the politics of 1918, such as the opposition to wearing masks. There are also stories of communities coming together to figure out how to beat both diseases. There is also a longer shelf life to the political science than there is to the health science when exploring the social aspects of both pandemics. However, during the 1918 outbreak, there were not nearly as many advances in the health industry, and it was based on old-school epidemiology which hasn’t changed much today.

It’s also worth mentioning that even in absence of game-changing therapeutics, there’ve been improvements in how we treat people with Covid-19. The transfer of information is tremendously quicker than it was in 1918, which makes data and peer-review dispersal among healthcare organizations that much quicker. The research and response measures are moving faster than they feel. Pandemics, much like the 1918 Spanish Flu, just take a long time to get through.

How does timing come into play when we study data? How soon is too soon for data to be considered valid?

AA: You must remember that when you see a daily case count from a county health department, that those are not the cases that occurred the day before. There are often going to be lag times in reporting, so you’re never seeing a snapshot of cases that occurred during that particular day. Usually those numbers reflect positive-test cases from a week prior. It’s not a highly precise number, and that’s not an attempt to fault anyone. It only reflects the nature of the data reporting process, especially during a novel virus outbreak. The data is collected not for data’s sake, but to gain a sense of the issue so we can institute the public health actions needed on an individual and community-wide basis.

ED: The issue we have surrounds the type of data we want and how do we want it characterized? We must figure out how we’re going to analyze data before we ever collect it. This is one of those cases in which the data methodology needs to be carefully thought through. It’s an ongoing problem that plagues every disaster that we’re faced in America, and we’re going to have to ask ourselves how we’ll distribute an eventual vaccine based on the data we’re receiving during this pandemic.

TF: Within a matter of days, the data finds where it needs to go and probably anything more than a week old is out-of-date at this point.

RQ: Timing is critical when interpreting scientific data. For example, testing infected individuals too early can produce false negative results. Reviewing epidemiologic and demographic data when the denominator is too low could produce an exaggerated “R naught” (viral reproduction rate) as well as an exaggerated mortality rate. The question isn’t “how soon is too soon,” but rather “when do we have a statistically significant sample size from which to draw a conclusion?”

Is it Time to Ease Up?

More than half of Americans carry chronic conditions and we have an aging population that carry more than one chronic condition. Anytime those are present, you are at a higher risk for exacerbating those conditions with illness. Even if that was a smaller part of the population, we’re still seeing huge numbers of deaths that don’t need to happen. As a civil society, we have a responsibility to protect each other. If you go out to overly crowded locations, you’re potentially bringing the virus home to someone and introducing it to another environment.  One of the reasons that the playbook from the SARS outbreak in 2003 isn’t working is because the virus is spreading before people are symptomatic or don’t show symptoms at all.  We may not be sick but are shedding the virus, and the elderly person behind us in the grocery store could die from it.   There are a lot of people out there who say that this pandemic is not so bad, but all you have to do is look to the refrigerated trucks to store dead bodies in when the morgues in New York City were overwhelmed with bodies.

What are some ways that the average person can distinguish accurate facts from misleading facts that are slanted one way or another?

AA: For the average person, it’s very hard to determine what is valid and not valid. People should stick to websites that have been validated to receive their information, such as the CDC or state health department, with the caveat knowing that those numbers will fluctuate depending on the type of data collected and when that data was collected. Regardless, it will be very hard for the general public or someone who does not have a background in this field to distinguish the accuracy of the information out there. There are a lot of slanted pieces of information out there, as well as “armchair epidemiologists” who are attempting to redefine data and reconceive notions.

ED: It’s a frustration that all of us have right now with the mainstream media who practice an overly politicized system of reporting in our nation. I think that any institution that’s relaying contradictory information to the public has a duty to let the public know, with a little more clarity, as to why we’re taking some of these measures during the pandemic. Since there are numerous information sources available to the public, it’s important for us to find those sources that are cited and verified so we can gather information that is trustworthy and consistent with our values. We also need to reevaluate our actions and that we’re doing things that are effective, and not because someone is trying to socially or politically pressure us into doing something that makes doesn’t make sense.

RQ: Scientific reporting and politics are incongruent. The reporting of clinical or scientific data should always be done in an apolitical forum to avoid any misrepresentation of the facts. Unfortunately, many search engines used today are not apolitical. The closest source of untarnished data may be the actual peer-reviewed literature.

TF: I would hate to say that this has been over-sensationalized, but I may steer clear from publications such as blogs and newspapers. The most accurate sources of information will be available from the CDC, which is very good at what they do, and they are going to give you the most reliable information that you will need. Local health departments will also give information that is specific to that particular county, so someone looking to track the spread of Covid-19 would do better to follow the information from those sources.

The Long-term Effects of Covid-19 Mandates

Right now, we have a generation with key developmental milestones. Even if there is a vaccine, it’s not going to be effective enough to quickly undo the precautions set in place right now. There is also some long-term trauma that Americans have faced, be that a loss of a job, isolation, emotional and physical grief that exacerbates mental health issues, and delays in developmental milestones for children that could follow them their entire lives. These are all things that we don’t fully understand the long-term impacts yet.

Even with the Covid-19 stimulus bills, we are racking up an enormous amount of National debt while climate change still occurs, and natural disasters are increasing. Wherever the pandemic goes, the trajectory of natural disasters is only going to increase, and the resources that we need to mitigate disaster in vulnerable areas is being depleted right now. All of these put a lot of pressure on the future.

There is also a silver lining here if we look for it. We’re better at remote work than we ever have been before because everyone is getting better at technology. We have to be. In that way, this pandemic is really accelerating aspects of our civil society and economy. This trajectory has been established, and I don’t think that we are going to go back to the way it was before Innovation is always hard to predict but is prevalent during times of necessity when solutions are needed. Covid-19 is no exception to that.

Are patients who have died for reasons other than Covid-19 still tested for Covid-19, and if so, why?

AA: There is some misinformation of what happens when you fill out a death certificate. A Covid-19 death, for example, can be complicated by things like diabetes or hypertension, so all three will appear as a cause of death on the death certificate. Medical practitioners are just trying to give as much a comprehensive picture of the cause of death as possible, so we list all co-morbidities on death certificates to gain a realistic idea of how someone died. It’s a frustrating conversation that we’ve been having with others because it detracts from the real work that should be done. Valuable time and resources are being spent to focus on conspiracy theories that are completely false. I would argue that when someone makes these types of claims, they should examine the excess deaths in cities that have been hit hard and compare it to one year ago. After comparing that data, it becomes very hard to argue that Covid-19 is not a deadly disease.

ED: We’ve gotten a lot better in understanding how this disease works, but there are still instances in which Covid-19 is attributed to deaths that shouldn’t be. I would understand testing for deaths in a nursing home to better understand how Covid-19 entered the facility. Nursing homes are a very dangerous place to allow the virus to enter, which are also prone to influenza-related deaths. As we go into flu season, I can see a greater need for testing to distinguish Covid-related deaths from flu-related deaths, but there still needs to be some checks and balances to ensure that deaths un-related to Covid-19 are not attributed to the pandemic.

RQ: This could happen for multiple reasons. There are times when pre-morbid testing results revealed a false negative. Also, antibody data can provide more demographic data for the public health authorities used for activities such as contact tracing. There have also been instances when the death occurred at home, and the deceased have not been tested in any healthcare facility

TF: There could be some who are tested for fear of that patient’s relation to a population mass for the sake of contract tracing, but I feel that those cases may be on a more limited scale than those who were suspected to die from Covid-19.

Can we contract Covid-19 twice?

The short answer is that we don’t know. The long answer is mixed with a little bit of speculation and a little bit of information. There have been tests on tens of thousands of those who have recovered from Covid-19 who are not showing any signs of resurgence, so that is very reassuring. The bigger question is how long will the immunity to Covid-19 last? Covid may be like influenza, which replicates in a very messy way, so it tends to mutate, or “drift.” Therefore, we need a seasonal flu vaccine every year. So the question will be if people infected with Covid-19 will have a wavering immunity in which the virus weakens and they can get sick with it again, or will it shift so that they can get infected with a natural mutation of the virus? No one yet knows the answer to that, but the medical assumption is that even with a vaccine, people will still need a yearly booster shot.

Where do we go from here?

AA: We have normally lived in a world where we didn’t have to think about infectious diseases, but now we’re going to have to start looking at life a bit differently when we walk out of the door. Every activity that we do is going to have some sense of risk, whether that be contracting the virus or spreading it to someone else. It doesn’t mean that we stay at home forever, but rather be mindful of our activities and taking simple measures of protection. It will take some adjustment, but we have the tools to live safely and now it’s time to exercise those tools.

RQ: Getting beyond the pandemic will require herd immunity either from an effective vaccine or infection of the global community resulting in an R-naught value less than 1. In the meantime, mitigation efforts will require compliance by all, which include social distancing, mask wearing, and universal precautions such as proper handwashing.

TF: What we see in our field today is that everyone is their own emergency manager. They take pieces of information from a variety of sources, and they assemble that information to make their own decision. This makes it challenging because we are not always getting the most accurate information, and we don’t weigh the information from those sources.  There is a lack of understanding of how this disease works, and simple things like washing your hands, not touching your face, staying away from crowds, and wearing a mask would really mitigate the spread of this disease.

ED: This is great time to remind everyone to thoroughly wash their hands and stay home if they’re sick. There is so much that we can do on a common daily basis that would turn out better if we just simply did those things. Our Nation is designed by intention to be safe and free, but our freedom is part of our safety. We’re free to get away from things that we don’t feel safe with, and we don’t want the government to tell us to certain things. At the same time, we must be able to make some of these decisions for ourselves. It’s always a good thing to reevaluate where we’re going, and we should demand that of our elected officials and health professionals who are charged to keep us safe. Our safety should not be something that we sacrifice for our freedom. Those two must go hand-in-hand.

rethinking readiness cover

JEFF SCHLEGELMILCH

Jeff Schlegelmilch is a research scholar and the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. His areas of expertise include public health preparedness, community resilience and the integration of private and public sector capabilities, and has recently published his book, Rethinking Readiness: A Brief Guide to Twenty-First-Century Megadisasters.

jeff sch

Fearing the Unknown

There is a Chinese proverb which states that “nothing is to be feared, only understood.” Modern medicine has advanced rapidly in the past one hundred years and is on the brink of medical breakthroughs that teeter on the edge of miraculous. Diseases, however, continue to strike fear into our hearts as we struggle to understand them. History has proven that societal and political landscapes have been altered by disease outbreaks, and we are reminded of our humanity by the historical scars they leave behind, granting us lessons that we struggle to remember.

“What we see in our field today is that everyone is their own emergency manager. They take pieces of information from a variety of sources, and they assemble that information to make their own decision.”

— Tim Frazier  

The Covid-19 pandemic will go down in history not only for its impact on our health and well-being, but maybe more so for its revelation of the deficiencies in our societal arenas. No individual’s health should be fodder for political gain, nor mixed within the spectrum of confusion sowed by those seeking gain from disaster. The health of the Nation does not play well as a social chess piece, but should be held in the highest of esteem as we navigate through the both the physical and civil treacheries of the Covid-19 pandemic. The fog of war created by the pandemic underscores that fear of the disease should be balanced by a healthy understanding of the threads that hold our great nation together…our humanity.

About the Author

MARK LINDERMAN – MSM, CEM, CEDP, CCPH

Mark Linderman is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and 20-year veteran of public health. He instructs disaster preparedness courses for seven universities, including Indiana University’s Fairbanks School of Public Health and teaches Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication courses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mark is considered a subject matter expert in the field of disaster-based communication and is a widely received public speaker and advocate for disaster preparedness. He channels his passion through his own blogsite, Disaster Initiatives, where he regularly interviews world-renowned survivalists, authors, academics, and government officials.

www.disasterinitiatives.com

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