REAL

 A REAL Break-Down – What good is a plan if it is not practiced, coordinated, and the necessary equipment and supplies are not available?  It is certainly not a plan which will enable confident and competent implementation at the moment of truth – a truth which will reveal your failure or success measured in the level of suffering for your family. As flood waters seep through the threshold, the lights have gone dim, or your family is deep in the woods it is the wrong time to realize the I should have could have done this or that revelations.

A really valuable tool I acquired with the 3^rd Ranger Battalion and used throughout my career was the Troop-Leading Procedures (TLP’s) – a mnemonic process leaders used to plan and prepare for patrols. I have dedicated an entire section to this process and provided a tailored process for the FERPS toolbox…the Family Emergency Leadership Procedures (FELP’s).