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A New Lens Through Which To View Preparedness

Nordic nations prepare their citizens for war.

There have always been events on the horizon which have caused people to be concerned with their future due to ongoing tensions or turning points. Fears of nuclear war (Cuban Missile Crisis, Cold War), economic collapse (various market crashes), Y2K (existential predictions), COVID/SARS/H1N1/Swine/Monkey-pox/Ebola and now the renewed real threat of war amongst Super-Powers and their proxies around the world.

As tensions continue to escalate on various fronts (Middle East, Ukraine, China, etc.) some nations are reaching back into their Cold War preparedness archives and resurrecting their approaches to very real threats and moving towards preparing their citizens for war. Countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Finland, which have historically been wary of Russian aggression, have begun to issue their citizens updated Preparedness and Civil Defence literature.

You can read articles about how this is being rolled out across these and other Nordic nations HERE (I’ve also linked several articles). The underlying goal of these pamphlets and their supporting information campaigns by the various governments is to begin to develop a preparedness mindset in their populace while shoring up essential supplies to ensure a level of resilience across their country to lessen the impact of a possible attack. If a country (such as Russia) were to attach, say, Finland, it would almost certainly involve the compromise of key infrastructure and supply, impacting electricity, communications, fuel, food supply and transportation, all in an effort to soften resistance against an invading force. Indeed, there are sections in the pamphlets speaking to how the citizenry must resist invading adversaries and support the defence of the nation – and doing so begins with their own preparedness and self-sufficiency as supplies may be in short supply. It is now their DUTY to be prepared and self-reliant so that they may form a more resilient front against the enemy. This is a significant step-up in direction towards civil defence than has been the norm in past years of wonton sabre-rattling.

The same applies to us here in North America. More and more, I am reading reports of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure by hostile actors. Thankfully, much of the impact of these attacks has been mitigated by the fact that the damage is localized and that many of the systems have not been inter-connected. It also helps that some of the protection and recovery measures have been effective. That said, knowing that these threats exist and what their potential impacts could be should be a call to action for people everywhere to take steps, however small, to increase their level of resilience to the unforeseen which may impact their daily lives.

Hence, why we preach and teach preparedness – not just as a “thing to do”, but rather as a way of being. Being prepared, coupled with a positive and proactive mindset, makes coping with adversity far more manageable. It is this which these Nordic nations are trying to instil across their social psyches in an effort to strengthen the resolve of their citizens in the face of potential threat.

You, too, can do this. Though if you’re not wanting to prepare for war, you can prepare for the impact a winter storm, or a power outage might have on you, and possibly your business. Taking pointed steps to build resilience is an investment in yourself and need not be a futile pursuit.

Oftentimes, people don’t know where to start. We suggest you join us for a class, read our books and take steps to implement the concepts discussed. I have linked the pamphlets below. You can also pick up copies of our books HERE and sign up for an upcoming class HERE. Whatever you do, learn, anticipate, execute. No one in a crisis ever regretted preparing for it.

Stay safe & #staycrafty

Politico.EU article: https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-issues-pamphlet-warning-citizens-what-to-do-in-case-of-war/

In case of crisis or war<https://rib.msb.se/filer/pdf/30874.pdf>

Preparing for incidents and crises – Suomi.fi<https://www.suomi.fi/guides/preparedness>

Råd om egenberedskap<https://www.sikkerhverdag.no/globalassets/din-beredskap/brosjyrer-alle-sprak/dsb-egenberedskap-engelsk-web.pdf>

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Covert Entry – Law Enforcement Restricted

The other week, True North Tradecraft, along with Eclectic Survival Systems, had the distinct honour of delivering a robust covert (non-destructive) entry class to Emergency Response Team (ERT) members of RCMP “H” Division and the Halifax Police Service.

This group of professionals spent two days with us, learning everything from next-level physical security to hands-on entry methodologies using the latest gear.

We even made a slight nuisance of ourselves when practicing (all approved, of course).

All in all, a fantastic time with much learned by all.

If your Unit or Team would like to learn these skills, contact us at info@truenorthtradecraft.ca for a quote.

Stay safe & Stay Crafty out there!

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National Women’s Show – Toronto

We are exhibiting at the National Women’s Show in Toronto Nov 8-9-10 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (South Building).

We will be at Booth # 907 (Approximately bottom-centre. See floor plan below).

We will be talking about personal safety & security, disaster preparedness and empowerment through resilience. There will be exclusive show specials, book signing, demos and releasing upcoming training opportunities.

Get your tickets HERE, stop by and say hello!

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Epoch Times Article

We were interviewed in a recent article about preparedness by The Epoch Times.

Though clearly not all of my discussions were included in the final article, I would add that the message I want to convey to everyone is one of cultivating resiliency – through building mindset, knowledge, skill, supplies and community.

Keep things reasonable, keep things focused and know that while you can’t be prepared for EVERYTHING, you CAN be largely prepared for ANYTHING. Being prepared is not some crazy thing (it’s not about preparing for a zombie apocalypse), but rather to build a level of self-reliance to weather tough times (such as bad weather or unforeseen circumstances) when regular resources are facing compromise or interruption.

Here is the link to the article directly: https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/canadas-preppers-are-ready-for-anything-in-uncertain-times-5749780 – You can also read it below.

Want to start your own preparations? Click HERE and check out or books.

Stay safe & #staycrafty!

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CTV’s ‘The Social’ – Aug 16, 2024

I had the privilege of being invited to be a guest on CTV’s The Social on August 16th, 2024 to discuss Personal Security.

You can watch the episode HERE – my segment is second-last HERE.

We discussed a few points with hosts Melissa Grelo and Andrea Bain about keeping safe, including:

Situational Awareness
Safety Tips for when entering a new, unfamiliar space
Personal Security tips
Violence management tips
and more…

Here is the segment, in isolation: https://youtu.be/ocUO7HN44yA

Being safe and being aware is an active process – one of using your senses to collect information about your environment for evaluation and action, not to spin fear. This can be taught, and once practiced, can work in the back of your mind and alert you to when you need to pay specific attention.

***BONUS: When you’re travelling, don’t trust your hotel safe. Hotels generally buy in bulk from the safe supplier and are all coded the same when they arrive at the hotel for installation. As per the manufacturer, the “master administrator code” is the same for all those safes. Rarely, if ever, are all the default and administrator codes changed (as this process involves reprogramming each individual safe manually and therefore is very time-consuming and expensive to accomplish) and therefore a quick google search for the owner’s manual of the specific safe make and model will often yield that user manual with the administrator code. (I learned this trick from our good friends at Covert Instruments & The Lock Picking Lawyer) I do this as a matter of course when I travel just to see. Almost always, it’s still the default code. I just change the code for myself and then return it to the original setting when I check out. Why is this important? Because almost all the staff will know the default code and even more than that, anyone reaching for the manual as I just described can open your safe, even with your own code on it. Use alternate methods to hide your valuables. Stay safe & #staycrafty!***

A really great opportunity to share some knowledge with the energetic live studio audience and hosts.

Thank you to everyone (hosts, and behind-the-scenes crew) who made it possible.

Want to learn more about these topics? Grab yourself copies of my Books (either on our web store or via Amazon, worldwide, in paperback, e-book and audiobook formats) and come attend one of our classes.

Parties mentioned in our segment:
Delta 2 Alpha
Forward Slash Toronto
4tac5

Special thanks to Ace from @delta2alphadesign, the Renee from @forwardslashtoronto, Karl from @4tac5 and Rob from @covertinstruments

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New Amazon Storefront – True North Tradecraft

The True North Tradecraft Amazon Storefront

Check out the new True North Tradecraft storefront where you can see a wide variety of products which are chosen to fill-out your preparedness needs.

Main Storefront Link: https://amzn.to/40MmHLQ

List link (Books): https://amzn.to/3X2ITyc

List Link (Tools): https://amzn.to/40wsPaC

List Link (Cooking): https://amzn.to/3HXhucw

List Link (Fire): https://amzn.to/3jDIxAa

List Link (Water): https://amzn.to/3Y44w2t

List Link (Shelter): https://amzn.to/40zasSv

List Link (Power & Lighting): https://amzn.to/3jB7nAP

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Negative Space – The AUDIO BOOK!

We are pleased to announce that that due to popular demand, our book, Negative Space: A Guide To Personal Security, is now available as an audio book on Audible and iTunes.

After receiving many messages and emails asking for an audio book version, we took the leap and had the audio book produced to make it even more accessible. It is available as a download from us directly, through Amazon/Audible and iTunes as well (links below).

Buy Direct from us HERE!

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/3ubAj7W

Amazon US: https://a.co/d/3n1B2jH

Stay Safe and #staycrafty!