I was re-reading "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes -- and Why and I saw a mention of DC CERT that I'd forgotten about. The author said she "signed up online to participate and never got a response." Yep, par for the course.Then I read "Answering 911: Life in the Hot Seat," by a 911 operator/dispatcher in Minnesota. After a raid on a meth lab, a guy led officers on a foot chase, running through 3 houses, then taking an old man hostage. It wasn't known whether he had a gun. The operators were going crazy trying to keep up with the calls and dispatching for that -- plus a separate incident with an armed perp; a cop who hasn't answered calls and might be hurt or dead; and a choking baby.
"There was no way to remember it all and no way to type it. Her backup guy was busy paging the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)..."
Wait, what? Police/fire/EMS dispatch was calling them? Heck, my CERT doesn't get paged for anything, even though we're officially under Fire & Rescue. Then again, the only bulletproof thing I own is a military PASGT Kevlar helmet (which is quite good -- if you get hit on the top half of your head). I think I've got some Kevlar gloves too, but I don't think it's the bullet-resistant kind.
I fill up my walk-in closet with equipment and supplies, and I'm still not prepared!!
I wonder if they sell tanks on eBay.
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Update: None on eBay -- right now -- but I could get a Russian T–55 elsewhere for a mere $85K. An armored personnel carrier (APC) runs less than half that.But to really be prepared, I'd need something amphibious. Hey, here's a working Russian BRDM2 APC for only $13,700! It's in Hungary, but I can just sail it back here. I mean, it's amphibious, right? I have a boating license, so I'm good to go!
