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This is the first of many old blog articles I’ll be updating now that I’ve migrated my “interwebs” from wordpress to Shopify. This will be quick, as my vehicle preparation is about to get a major overhaul. When it does, it will get a full blog article and video on it. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t spread the word on “The Can”, as it exists now…

In Cascadia Fallen: Tahoma’s Hammer, Phil pulls a 50-cal ammo can out of his truck as part of his gear after the mega-quake throws him to the side of road like a tin-can. The can augmented his Get Home kit by containing the food, medicine, and HAM radio.

We really do carry these in our cars, and I’m about to add a couple of more. The volume in these after the radio, meds and a family comms plan is really just a couple of dehydrated meals and some protein bars that don’t take aging and heat well, at all. I may opt for some used larger ammo cans, but I have plenty of 50-cal available, so I’ll start with those. Now that I don’t work for DOD, my wife and I travel to town for errands (together in one car) a lot more; and we go camping or to Idaho a little more often now. So, I want to increase the volume of stored food and water.

The cans are literally mice proof. I once had an awesome Sandpiper of California rolling duffle destroyed by mice in search of MREs and protein bars out in my garage. The entire bag reeked of urine, so it was a loss, even though I was willing to live with the holes. The off-the-shelf products and airing it out did nothing to make it better. I had to wear stinky battle kit to trainings and get that urine smell replaced with sweat-equity. Keeping rodents out of our rigs is a must. 

Now, ammo cans themselves aren’t perfect faraday cages, but they’re a good start. The rubber gasket is key in keeping them water-tight, but they also act to allow electrical energy to pass into the can. If its primary purpose is for EMP protection, replace that gasket with tightly packed steel wool. In our vehicles, it is more general purpose, so I leave the gasket in. I augment the EMP readiness by keeping the radio in an anti-static bag and a conductive grid bag.

Thanks for taking two out of your busy day to read this. Remember: our Duty is to be Ready.