by Mark Bunch/President Royal Gorge Gun Club/Chairman Fremont County NRA
For a couple of decades or so, I worked in pretty much all aspects of senior healthcare including Hospice, home health, physical rehabilitation and long-term care. It was both rewarding and tragic, depending on the circumstances of those I have helped. The one consistent theme that has always jumped out at me regardless of what field I have been in was how terrifying the loss of control is for patients as they struggle to understand and accept their new circumstances.
In any SHTF situation whether it be terrorist inspired, military invasion, civil war or mother nature off the chain, things you have always taken for granted are going to change drastically, including your ability to be in control of your situation. One of my favorite quotes of all time was said by Winston Churchill during World War II. “Hindsight is always 100% accurate, just nowhere near as valuable as being 100% accurate with 1% of your foresight.”
Death and Taxes are your only two constants everything else is up for grabs. Having a survival mindset is the key to being able to survive any and all situations that could befall you if things suddenly change in a bad way. You will have to be flexible and open to accepting the certainty of change. Some of us know this concept as adapt and overcome. The world we live in just doesn’t care whether we are in it or not so you better plan accordingly. I believe this is what Churchill was getting at with his quote and now is the time to start thinking about scenarios that could befall you and your family where you might need to escape and evade something or someone.
Thinking outside the box of containment

Escape and evasion is a very daunting task especially if someone or some group has focused their efforts in finding and capturing you. The Benghazi situation comes to mind as everyone in our embassy fell under attack on September 11th, 2012. Being in a foreign country always complicates things. You probably will not be able to count on getting any help from anyone, and in some cases, not even your own country, especially if the Democrats are in power in the Whitehouse. Sadly, we haven’t had a good Patriotic Democratic President who loved his country since JFK and that was almost 60 years ago !!! This is probably the scariest and riskiest situation to find yourself in however there are some steps you can take to give yourself even the tiniest of an edge.

Learn all you can about your destination before you get there. Do you know the language and the customs of the local
culture? How far are you away from sources of water, what is the climate like and what kind of poisonous insects, snakes, spiders are there?  Do you have any medical condition that you will need to bring medication for?
Having a few key items with you will greatly increase your chances of escaping and evading capture or death. If you are unable to travel abroad with some of these items, make sure you find them locally ASAP just in case you may need them at some point. Something you can cut with, a knife, box cutter or multi-plier with tools and knife are invaluable. I always try to have a small flashlight, compass, small frameless pack and a pair of good sturdy boots suitable for hiking and running in. Proper clothing will also be very important and if you are in a middle-eastern country don’t wear your Hawaiian print tourist shirt, the goal is to blend in.
If you are staying in a hotel, make sure you know where all the exits are at and how to get out quickly. Typically most invading forces are going to act like law enforcement personnel do, they will form a
perimeter around you and try to squeeze you in. It is critical to get outside the perimeter of containment as quickly as you possibly can. From the start of a situation, you realistically have somewhere between five and 15 minutes to escape the containment net or fall prey to whatever is going to transpire next. In my humble opinion,
traveling outside the USA or its territories these days is not worth the hassle or the danger to yourself and family.
If you are vigilant and pay attention to anything out of the ordinary, you may be able to anticipate a bad situation and get outside of the perimeter of immediate danger thus buying yourself valuable time as you plan your escape. Make sure you have cash and local currency on you as well. Another thing to keep in mind before getting into a car like a taxi, make sure the door handles and windows work prior to shutting the door. I have read horror stories about women being trapped in cars and taken somewhere and either assaulted, robbed murdered or worse.
Domestic Escape and Evasion Scenarios
One of the things over the past year or so that has been steadily increasing in scope is wide scale civil unrest. I am sure everyone reading this can remember the destruction and madness that has been occurring all over our country this past year, including in several Colorado towns. Can you imagine living somewhere like Portland, Oregon, that is completely out of control with the inmates running the asylum, LOL!
Our political left Democrat leaders are intent on ginning up as much racial divide and hate as they possibly can for their own political agendas, one of which is disarming law abiding citizens like you and me. For those of you who actually believe that the police are going to show up and save you or your property when something
really bad kicks off are in for a rude awakening.
Depending on who is after you and what situation you are trying to evade and escape from your chances can range from slim to pretty good. If you happen to have the good fortune to be anywhere close to home you can grab a few things before you head out. A good plan is to have a pack ready to go with a couple knives, multi plier tool, hand gun and extra ammo, compass, first aid kit, hygiene kit, water purifier, fire starter,poncho, matches, flashlight, change of clothes etc… Keep your pack as light as you can while covering all the basics. My bug out pack weighs 33 pounds and it is borderline on weight in my opinion.

If I could figure out how to get it down to 25 pounds and still cover everything I have planned on I would feel better about it. I also always keep my car full of gas and another loaded pack in case I have to flee during the course of my work day and
unable to get home.
Once you have decided on a pack and have it loaded, you need to train with it. Put it on, make sure you know how to get it property adjusted and then take it on occasional walks around the neighborhood or river walk. Not only is that great exercise for you, it also gets you comfortable with supporting the extra weight while walking on uneven terrain. Should something like this ever occur you will thank me for taking the time to walk with your emergency pack on your person. The new trend of AR Pistols/PDW weapons allow you to carry and conceal a great self -defense weapon in your pack or under your coat in cooler weather. No, I am not instructing readers to take their AR Pistol/PDW down to the river walk or anything, simply making the point that this class of weapons are a great choice if our society as we know it ever crumbles and you are having to walk out through unabridged rioting and looting mobs.
Another great choice for your pack is the new Sig Sauer P365 in 9mm. Holding 13 rounds of 9mm in a very concealable firearm is a great relief to have on your person while you are trying to figure out somewhere safe to go.
For those Sentinel readers who used to watch the old Nat Geo show “Doomsday Preppers”, one of those episodes chronicled three different preppers who all lived and worked in Manhattan. All three had detailed plans on how they were going to get out of the city in case another 911 style attack ever occurred and paralyzed the city again.
All three teamed up with local survival/prepper instructors to test their plans out. Not a one of them were perfect plans but all learned some valuable lessons along the way, which undoubtedly helped them to focus in on the things they needed to work on to get out safely should anything ever happen again. The key to being successful at anything is practicing it prior to having to do it.
Kidnapped or POW
God forbid you are ever captured and held prisoner but if you are there are some things you can keep in mind that can assist your survival and escape. Your best chance to escape is going to be in the first few hours of your captivity. You will most likely still be close to an area that you are familiar with and you are in the best shape physically that you are likely going to be in during your period of captivity.
Oftentimes the initial search you are given when you are captured is only a cursory one and you may still have some valuable tools on you that were missed. I make it a habit to carry items in various pockets and in my boot as well just in case I may need them. A handcuff key, small knife etc. will help you immensely under this type of circumstance.
Your restraints will likely be less secure initially while your captors try to get organized and settled in. Once they get organized or get you back on their own turf your situation gets worse as you will likely be put into a secure room.
Pay attention to everything in your environment, what do you hear, what do you smell, can you look out a window or door. How many different voices do you hear, are any of them female or from a child? You will need to study your surroundings and see what if anything can be used as a weapon.
Typically these circumstances, while terrifying initially, seem to devolve into a routine of mundane daily activities. Not to downplay the real possibility of being tortured if you end up being a POW, there will still be mundane routine activities. Keep your mind sharp and absorb everything around you and bide your time.
Guards in these situations are usually not particularly bright or plugged in and they are bored to tears having to babysit you and whoever else you may be held with. This is your chance and if you are with your spouse and or children, it may be a little more challenging to escape but keep in mind your captors must be vigilant 24 hours per day and you need only a few minutes to escape. Time and human nature are on your side.
Keeping your survival mindset will also benefit you as you learn everything you possibly can about your environment and your captors. Resist the urge to be combative or mouthy with your captors. Don’t argue or threaten them, or make defiant
gestures or eye contact and yes, that would be extremely difficult for me as well as I don’t make a very good victim either.
You will need to be patient, observant and 100% accurate with your 1% of foresight. Make sure you eat everything you are given and remain hydrated as best you can. If possible, try to exercise both physically and mentally. Go over your circumstances and your plan. It is important to keep in mind that your primary plan will likely need to be modified on the fly.
Nothing ever goes just like you plan it, not even a family barbecue let alone an escape from captivity. Your chance to escape will occur and you will need to call on everything you have learned, practiced and thought about previously. It is wise for readers to spend some time thinking about all the scenarios that could befall you and your family, prior to being caught up in a situation that you will need to escape and evade. Your families and your own survival will depend on you being 100% accurate with your 1% of foresight.
(Author Mark Bunch owns and operates a gun, pawn shop and gun club and 1 mile plus shooting range with his business partner John Hudson in Cañon City, Colorado. He is an NRA certified firearms instructor in numerous weapons platforms and a competitive high power rifle shooter. John and Mark are also class 3 firearms dealers, specializing in all makes of suppressors and extremely hard to come by firearms.)