Prepper Acronyms and Definitions

I was having a conversation with a friend recently.  She has, unbeknownst to me, been reading some of my articles on “Normal People Preparing for TEOTWAWKI.”  She said she read through the whole article waiting for me to tell her what the acronym TEOTWAWKI meant, and……well…..I didn’t.  So that got me thinking that there are a lot of acronyms that we throw around regularly that we think that most people know, and some of the people, well, they don’t.  So today, I want to clear up some of the acronym confusion.

#10  – Read as “Number 10”

This is the size of a can.  So on blogs that talk about food storage – like this one – sometimes, you’ll see #10 in reference to a can size.  A #10 can holds about a gallon. Personally, when we make chili, I use a #10 tomato sauce, 3 – 30oz pinto beans, 1/3 C taco seasoning, 1/3 C chili powder.

BOB – Bug Out Bag

This refers to a Bug Out Bag.  But what’s a Bug Out Bag?  A bug out bag is a container – usually a backpack that contains the right items to take care of you for up to 3 days.  Want to read up on BOBs?  You can check out these articles here, here, here, here, here, and here.

BOL – Bug Out Location 

This refers to the place to which you are going to bug out.  So when you encounter a situation like a riot, a tornado, a fire or other things, you will need to leave.  You need a place that you are going to go do.  Want to read more on Bug Out Locations?  Check out these articles here and here.

BOV – Bug Out Vehicle

There are people who believe that if you have to Bug Out that you need to have a vehicle specifically designed in which to Bug Out.  There are people who don’t believe you have to have this, but it would greatly help your situation.  Want to read more on Bug Out Vehicles?  You can find an article here.

CME – Coronal Mass Ejection

According to Lexico.com a Coronal Mass Ejection is “an event in which a large cloud of energetic and highly magnetized plasma erupts from the solar corona into space, causing radio and magnetic disturbances on the earth.  You can find out more about CME’s here.

EDC – Everyday Carry

Everyday carry really just comes down to what do you carry with you as you go about your “everyday” life.  As we go about our days, we encounter lots of different situations where different types of preparedness in helpful.  This past weekend, my husband and I took some time away together – without kids – and while it was glorious, my husband had a bad bout of allergies.  But I keep EDC items with me, and one of the things that I have on hand is antihistamines.  Having those on hand helps so much – especially since my husband and some of my kids have allergies.  Having those in my EDC was HUGE in keeping our weekend wonderful!  Want to read more about EDC?  You can find it here and here.

EMP – Electromagnetic Pulse

An electromagnetic pulse is “an intense burst of electromagnetic (EM) energy caused by an abrupt, rapid acceleration of charged particles.”  So in layman’s terms, electromagnetic energy isn’t harmful in itself.  Where it becomes detrimental is that it will destroy anything that has electrical components.  So, your phone?  If we’re hit with an EMP, it will go kaput.  Your microwave?  Nope, it’s gone.  Your TV?  Won’t work.  Even your toaster won’t work.  Want to read more about EMP’s?  Check out this article here.

FIFO – First In First Out 

People struggle to rotate their canned goods.  And if you aren’t sure what I mean by rotating your canned goods, you want to use the canned goods that you purchased first before you use canned goods that you purchased more recently.  This way your food should stay good longer.  When you want to rotate your canned goods, using a FIFO is a great way to do it.  You put cans in the top and they roll all the way down. Even grocery stores have started using them for their soup cans.  Our Aldo uses them for their spices.   So the can you that you put in the top first will be the can that comes out of the bottom first.  Hence First in – First Out.

There are a couple of different types of FIFO organizers.  Amazon has a couple of ones that work.  Of the ones that I found, this one is by far the best.  There are also larger FIFOs like I purchased from Thrive Life.   When we moved into our current home, we purchased two of these, and they have been immensely helpful.

GHB – Get Home Bag

Get Home Bag refers to a bag that you keep in your car in case you get stranded at work or out away from home.  You pack it with items that will help you get home.

GOOD – Get Out Of Dodge

When things get out of hand and people talk about bugging out, another term that they will somehow use the phrase “Get out of dodge.”   Personally, the difference between Bugging out and GOOD is that you bug out when you have a short-term problem like your house getting hit by a tornado or running from a wildfire.  GOOD is what you do when you’ve tried to bug in, but something bad has happened during TEOTWAWKI.  That’s when you GOOD.

MRE – Meals Ready to Eat

These are single-serving meals that the military has packaged.  They come with everything that you need to eat them (minus the water that you may need to reconstitute them) including an MRE heater and silverware.  MRE’s come in a variety of types.  I’ve found chili with beans, barbeque, beef taco, chicken chunks, spaghetti with meatballs, chicken with egg noodles and vegetables, and so many more.  They are portable and easy to heat.  They make the perfect meal for if you are going to GOOD or backpacking.

NBC – Nuclear, Biological, Chemical

Yeah, not talking about the broadcasting network here.  The acronym NBC usually refers to types of filters.  When I was first introduced to Atlas Survival Shelters, they talked about the fact that their air filtration system was an NBC system.  It could filter out nuclear particulate, biological weapons, or chemical weapons.

OPSEC – Operational Security 

My first introduction to the acronym OPSEC was the first episode of The Walking Dead (I watch it using VidAngel).  One of the main characters Carol is married to a narcissistic man named Ed.  Carol wanted to help a family that was trying to evacuate from Atlanta.  She wanted to give them some MRE’s or other food to help them, and Ed berated her and told her that she wasn’t observing OPSEC (Operational Security).

Since then, I’ve seen the phrase used many places, but none of them is more apropos than when it is used in reference to what we post online.  Are you going out of town?  Don’t post it to Facebook.  You don’t want anyone local to know that you’re going out to town.  They might take advantage of it, and you don’t need a break-in when you’re gone.

Are you giving a “Big Screen TV” to your spouse for Christmas?  Don’t let them post about it online.  Do you really want to let people know that you’ve got an expensive TV in your living room?  The same goes for computers and other electronics.  Most importantly though, don’t let people know how stocked your basement is – if it is.  You don’t want people showing up during TEOTWAWKI and wanting to take your stuff because you let everyone know what you had.

SHTF – Sh*t Hit The Fan

SHTF is usually seen in reference to something longer short-term, but not as long as TEOTWAWKI, and it usually means that normal life is no longer happening.  You have to take precautions that you might not have had to take before.  You don’t have access to normal conveniences like electricity, grocery stores, and pharmacies.  But there is the chance of those things returning.  What causes a SHTF scenario?  It may be a regional or civil war, or it may be a nuclear detonation.  It could be an epidemic.  But if you’re living through SHTF, there is always a decent chance that the world could return to normal.

TEOTWAWKI – The End Of The World As We Know It

If, however, you’re living in TEOTWAWKI, there is very little to no chance that the world will return to “normal.”   You could be living in a post EMP world.  If you’ve never read the One Second After – a series of three books, I highly recommend them!  They truly were living in TEOTWAWKI.  An EMP had taken out the power to the eastern seaboard (and possibly beyond).  They had to learn to live without medicine, electricity, and other conveniences.  They also had to figure out how to deal with life when they had to live without…….

WROL – Without Rule Of Law 

Have you ever watched a western?  People get hijacked and have their items stolen while traveling from town to town.  Or most have heard tales of cowboys and Indians.  That was a time when everyone did what they wanted to do.  No one enforced laws in the vast majority of the country.  People lived WROL.  That is what people believe it will be like if we ever experience TEOTWAWKI.

Other terms that aren’t acronyms, but that you may hear bandied about in the preparedness community.

Cache

A cache is a hidden stash of supplies that you can count on if your main body of supplies gets raided.

72-Hour Kit

a 72-hour kit is a kit that you put together to get you through the first 72 hours of any emergency.  Having a 72-hour kit will get you through almost everything you can imagine.  This is meant for use in your home and should include items like 1-2 flashlights, headlamp, candles, matches, 72 hours worth of food and water, paper plates/bowls, plastic silverware, extra batteries.  If you think that you’re going to need to leave, then you’ll want a BOB, not a 72-hour kit.

Faraday Cage

A Faraday cage is something into which you can put some electrical gadgets to protect them from an EMP.  If you use a Faraday cage, your equipment should still work after an EMP.  Faraday Cages are simple to create.  Next week, we’ll cover how to make a Faraday cage.

What About You?

What other acronyms or prepper terms are you unsure of?  Seasoned preppers, are there any others that you would have included?  I’d love to hear!  Share with us below so that we can all be better prepared.

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