Recently I did a collaboration with JJ of Reality Survival and Che of Prepper Logic. We came up with a topic to each do our own video on, without knowing what the others were going to say. This topic was ‘Top ten group rules for after SHTF’.

This is my list:

1. Stay Armed
   Everyone in the group is required to be armed at all times. There is no excuse to not have a weapon within arms reach at all times. If not a rifle, at least a sidearm. If a unique situation arises where somebody has to do something that really doesn’t allow them to carry a weapon, then another group member will stay with them to pull guard duty and watch their back.
2. No waste
   In any post-disaster scenario resource scarcity is a major concern. You can no longer just go to the store and buy what you need. Thus everything must be used to the fullest. Even items that may seem completely worthless have SOME sort of residual value, and that should be extracted. Food scraps can be fed to animals, composted, or used to bait traps, etc. Nothing gets thrown away or discarded.
3. Maintain hygiene
   Any health issue could present major problems post SHTF, and decent hygiene and sanitation can prevent many ailments. Furthermore, with people living in close proximity, perhaps even sharing clothing or beds, keeping oneself from being a filthy animal is just being a decent roommate, and improves morale.
4. Maintain fitness
   Even more so than in normal times, fitness and physical capabilities can be the difference between life or death after SHTF. Stronger people are more useful and harder to kill. Period.
5. Nobody goes outside the wire alone
   There are far too many risks to justify going alone outside the groups immediate area of control. The buddy team should be the SMALLEST unit that is ever fielded, and larger groups should be fielded whenever possible.
6. Everybody learns every job
   All the work being done in such a community would be critically important, and thus everybody needs to reach a basic level of competency in every job that is being done by the group, and master at least a few of them.
7. No drama!
   Speaks for itself. In a small, tight-knit group living in close proximity in stressful times, any sort of interpersonal drama has to be squashed post haste to avoid major problems or even group fracturing or in-fighting.
8. Decision making hierarchy
   There is nothing wrong with considering the desires of everyone in the group when making SOME decisions, and even taking votes, but there HAS to be an official leadership hierarchy for exigent circumstances or when agreements can’t be reached.
9. Share information
   Intel and knowledge about what is going on, issues or concerns somebody has, things that have been seen or discovered, etc. all need to be shared so that the group can deal with issues before they become bigger problems.
10. Listen to Sabaton
    Sabaton will turn you in a glorious soldier of the apocalypse and fill you with the courage of ancient warriors and kings. Everybody needs to listen to at least 30 minutes a day.

    You can watch my video on my list HERE.