Urban E&E/ Get Home Kit

Hey, Ryan.

So I’m in an odd situation. In my profession, every day I am carrying on my person a G19, 2 reloads, soft armor, 2 flashlights, a high quality folder and a ok quality boot knife. In my car, I have a patrol rifle with 4 reloads, hard plates/carrier, shotgun, basic 1st aid, a case of MREs, a case of bottled water, and a change of clothes.

I work in a major metropolitan area in the deep South that has had BLM drama, and the farthest from my house I ever am is about 15 miles. If stranded, I can easily call help, or if comms are down, but the rule of law is still in effect,(read, the recent flooding here) I can operate from my car, or at least the uniform will be a flag to other emergency personnel that says “I’m part of the tribe. Help me, because you’d want me to do the same if positions were reversed”.

My major concern is being stranded and needing to get home if the rule of law is no longer in effect (read riots). I see needing a backpack to stuff a few MREs and some water into, as well as a 1st aid kit. I would need a change of clothes so that I wasn’t easily identified as a cop, if “cop” became a target. I would need a serious “gunshot/tourniquet” first aid kit in addition to the boo-boo type I already have. And I need a gun that would be concealable more readily.

To that end, I have a backpack in my car that has a Ruger LC 9 and a reload, a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt, as well as an old Dickies work jacket in it. I have a pair of tennis shoes, and a broke-in camo ball cap (it’s about as nondescript of a southern white boy hat as you can get).

The soft plate can be worn under a t-shirt and jacket without arising much comment. 

My folding knife (a spyderco) and a flashlight (a smallish streamlight) can both be slipped into a pocket easily.

My backpack can hold a few MREs and 3 or 4 bottles of water.

All of the clothes and backpack are faded, worn, and in subdued colors that blend in to an urban background without saying “camouflage” the pants are faded black jeans that fit loose, the t-shirt is a dark grey and blue striped oversized affair, and the backpack is a 10 year old grey Jansport.

I figure with a good “gunshot/tourniquet” 1st aid kit and $150 in small bills, I should be in as good a shape as possible to make it home, if the situation was that it’s safer to be a lone white guy walking the city rather than a stranded cop. I know it’s interesting, because when most people think “E&E” they’re evading the authorities. In my situation, I’m avoiding an anti-authority mob.

Your thoughts/input are appreciated, and feel free to make a blog post. I’m enjoying the recent content, by the way. Quality is more important than quantity, and you are nailing quality, right now.

-DL

Ryan here: First I want to note this is not a I want to to talk a little bit about the bag/ kit itself. To what you have discussed there I would consider the following:
-A city area map (the ones at any gas station) and a compass in a plastic bag.Walking is different than driving if you are going on a new (walking) route this is not the time to end up in the wrong place.
-Instead of MRE’s could you be better served with a box of granola bars or protein bars? Eating an MRE main meal on the go is a hassle. Maybe 1x MRE and the balance in more snack ish foods?
 -Spare batteries for your flashlights and maybe a work radio.
-A ‘boo boo kit’ to keep you moving. You mentioned 15 miles. I’m guessing you have not walked 15 miles (which could easily be 20+ as you would actually walk it avoiding say a big ole riot) in awhile. Some Ibuprophen, moleskin, athletic tape and band aids will go a long way to keeping you moving. Also consider a few of those peptol bismol tablets and anything else you use regularly. This stuff is also useful for normal life. Why not have this bag serve some non SHTF use?
-We could always add little stuff. I would probably include a lighter, couple of glow sticks and a wad of 550 cord. I like these add on type things so long as the total bulk of this stuff does not become overwhelming (in bulk or expense) its good to have options.
-Some capacity to transport that carbine. To me in most situations where you are using this kit for its intended purpose (vs incidentally borrowing a band aid, etc) you might want that AR, if just for use later at your planned destination. There are expensive ($200+) bags that can do this but a cheap $20 gym bag or a folding chair bag can work just fine. If nothing else provided you have a minute take CRITICAL PARTS from both long guns like say the bolts.

Also while not directly related to the topic Paul Howe did an excellent article on Active Shooter Equipment that you might want to consider. A kit set up like this should sit in every patrol cruiser. You may already have that covered but I wanted to throw this article out there. A system like this in a claymore pouch could easily be the lethal and emergency medical pieces of a larger system.

None of these ideas are particularly expensive. Stuff to consider.

The Concept:
Obviously unless you have to for work being near a riot is a bad idea. Give any protests a wide berth. I think you are going to want to use your car if at all possible. They will take a lot of abuse and still work, if just for a little while. Speed is security. I would only move on foot if you had no other option. In that situation you can do the math on whether wearing a uniform helps or hurts you. I suspect it would be preferable to be in your good ole boy camouflage.