Core Training
Lesson 6 of 25
Commo 1.1
Commo, or communications, is an essential part of everyday life. We live in a constantly connected world where information and people are only a couple of seconds away. The cell phone has changed the face of communications from a house phone to these little devices that fit in our pockets and we take everywhere.
Communications as a basic need serves the purpose of informing us about what is going on and connecting us to members of our group/family. Primitively there weren't any forms of electronic communication. Information was delivered in person. People had to go to see somebody else to ask questions or discuss issues.
Lets look at the everyday situation first and how we can be better prepared. Knowing how important our communication devices are to our daily lives we can do a few small things to ensure that we can keep them running longer. The battery is the weakest link that we have control over with our phones. Having the ability to charge your phone when away from home is important. You may have had good luck with your phone lasting all day and haven't had to get a car charger yet. Perhaps you have a wall charger at work and can charge your phone there as well. But what happens if you get stranded in your vehicle and your phone runs out of battery.
(Did you know that a car battery that is too dead to start your car still can be used to charge your phone?)
The car charger should be in every vehicle that you have. At a price of less than $10 each it is low cost peace of mind. Inside your core bag you should carry a usb cord for your phone, a wall adapter for that cord and an external battery charging device.
The external charging device is a low weight addition to your core bag that will increase you communication ability if you are on foot and away from your vehicle.
If we change scenarios to a longer lasting emergency, communication takes on a whole new meaning. We are no longer talking about getting a text out about picking up a gallon of milk on the way home or downloading a cute kitten video. We are now back to needing to know what is going on and if people are safe. In an immediate crisis your phone will be all that you have but might not work well or at all with the cell frequencies taken over by emergency services and thousands of people trying to use them at once. If you and your family have already established a rally point then you can make a plan to meet there or back at home in an emergency.
When the emergency is large enough that it shuts the power off for a few days you will likely have no cell reception as the cell towers require power to operate. Radio communications and television will be all you have left. The problem with these forms of communications is that you can listen and watch but you can't send anything out. Eventually, if the crisis continues beyond a week then even tv and radio may go off the air or your ability to generate electricity might be gone. The average american doesn't have a communication plan beyond this because they haven't needed it yet.
In a worse case scenario when the world is in crisis and society is falling apart communications will be critical for many reasons.
- Connecting with family members to ensure their safety
- Receiving information from government and emergency service of the state of the situation
- As a warning device of potential dangers (rioting, looting or severe weather)
- Community information
The last thing you want to happen is to be stuck in the dark not knowing what is going on in an emergency. Plan ahead to keep yourself connected.
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