Tactical Walking Tips for Bugging out on Foot

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: This post is another entry in the Prepper Writing Contest from Raider. Raider offers this article I believe as a companion piece to my recent article on SHTF Route Planning. In this piece he offers great advice and tips for security considerations if you are faced with the reality of bugging out on foot. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

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BEFORE SETTING OFF

• Try on your Rucksack and Jacket, Jump up and down on the spot, if your kit rattles or bangs re-pack rucksack until its silent.
• Ensure shiny items like watches, ear rings, earphones, belt buckles are covered up or taped over.
• Make sure your specs and shades are the dull, matte colored frames, not the shiny ones.
• Do NOT take hand luggage; you must keep both hands free for climbing, roping, using tools etc
• Keep your EDC essentials on your person not in your rucksack (Knife, Compass, Lighter, Flashlight, Multi Tool, Bandana, Hats, Gloves, Watch, and Shades etc) should you have to abandon your rucksack.
• Daytime departure, take a look out the windows from well within the room moving to the right of the room to look left down the street, and vice versa. Do not stand in the window and silhouette yourself. Ensure as best possible departure will go unnoticed.
• Night time departure, extinguish all lights and fires before looking out of the windows, move slowly at night as human eyes detect movement more than detail in the dark. Ensure as best possible departure will go unnoticed.
• Turn off cell phones, pagers etc before leaving.
• Use simple hand signals to relay information to other family members, raised arm means stop, raised arm and a crouching stance means stop and take cover, arm extended to left means move towards the left, arm extended to right means move to right. Keep the signals few in number and very simple.

READY TO GO

• Turn out lights if it is dark, open door or window PARTIALLY and LISTEN for threats.
• Send out one person to scan the immediate area for concealed threats.
• If the area is good to go the rest of group to follow, silently and at least 3 to 4 ft apart (6 to 8 feet if tactical situation demands more defensive stance)

WALKING

• Walk where possible in the shadows, look up for hazards in surrounding buildings, Look down to avoid items that may make noise like twigs, gravel or broken glass.
• Pause frequently to listen, you generally will identify more threats by sound than vision, breaking glass, raised voices, gun shots, vehicle engines, running feet, barking dogs etc
• Watch what nature does, if you see a flock of birds, or a rabbit, or deer for example suddenly take flight that tells you something has frightened it, and it may NOT have been your party.
  

  Solomark Night Vision Monocular

• Look left and right SLOWLY in a steady scanning motion, Human eyes detect motion more than shapes when its dark and you have more detector rods and cones in the sides of your eyes than you do at the back. Scanning side to side as you walk you will detect MOVEMENT before shape.
• The last man in the group needs to keep stopping and quietly observing the rear to check if you are being followed.
• Avoid using flashlights to navigate with, rely on your own night vision, Human eyes take 35 minutes to adapt to the dark but only seconds to lose night vision if a fool turns on a flashlight. Not to mention the risk of advertising your position to the whole area if you do use a flashlight.
• Where possible avoid public places and spaces where cops, troops or thugs may gather, try and stay in the shadows.
• Avoid districts where scavengers may good looking for food, loot etc
• When passing through hilly neighborhoods never walk along hilltops or ridge lines, stay under the ridge line and don’t silhouette yourself.
• If faced with an obstacle such as a hedgerow or wall try always to go round or under it, not over the top or through a gate because again you are just exposing your position.
• In the short term most highway and rail bridges are really places to avoid, both official check points and predators WILL target them. Look for alternatives.

RESTING & EATING

• Light no cooking fires to be lit during the day unless you can guarantee you won’t create any smoke
• When cooking at night, position the cooker in a hollow or hole so it does not give off light giving away your position, Beware of the odor of cooking food also giving away your position.
• If in a group ONE PERSON COOKS, the others spread out and keep watch for approaching scavengers, Silence is golden as you will hear them approaching long before you see them.
• You need to remember the cook will probably lose his night vision so if you have to bug out someone will need to help him until his eyes adjust.
• Ideally eat in shifts, half eating half keeping watch, pack away camp cooker etc BEFORE eating in case you have to bug out in a hurry.
• Take every scrap of rubbish with you or bury it, fill in your cooking hole / fire pit, leave no clue to your passing through.

SLEEPING

We all need rest and the young and elderly need more rest than healthy adults, you all must sleep when possible. Human biorhythms run in two hour cycles, so to get the full benefit of sleep people need to be fully asleep in two hour sections. This really means in a stressed situation after a day of bugging out each member will need three hours in his sleeping bag, and hour to wind down / de-stress and two hours’ sleep. So whilst at least one person stands watch, the others should rest in three hour sections. All gear must remain packed in rucksacks and boots etc kept close to hand in case you have to make a swift and stealthy exit from your campsite.

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