Thinking through how you'd protect your family in a war situation

[readytogo79]

Sorry this is not a nice conversation and is not meant to trigger anyone but its a bit weird to have this chat with people at school pick up or similar, so I'm wondering how others are thinking about this. I'll caveat this by saying I'm not "hysterical" (an insult I've seen flying about on here today), or dramatic, and not a conspiracy theorist or anything. I'm a professional academic, pretty moderate left, pretty pragmatic I like to think. I follow politics very closely and it's been a few weeks since I said to my husband that I think there is a case to be made that the US is no longer our ally and that we (the UK & Europe / Allies) should be preparing for the prospect of them being an adversary. I'm now pretty convinced of that.

In practice what could this mean? Article 5 and therefore NATO is looking likely to be rendered meaningless, - so an emboldened Russia invading Moldova, Lithuania, Finland... then Europe having to step up without the US, and potentially - worst case scenario but much more likely than 6 months ago - nuclear war.

I live in central London (zone 2) which my husband and child. I've been trying not to imagine this worst case scenario but given Russia are already attacking us with cyber attacks, undermining our democracy and of course the Skripol attacks etc, it's certainly a possibility one has to think about. If it started to look likely I've been thinking about what we'd do, how we could act fast and where we could go. It's a truly horrible thought and not something I ever thought I'd have to consider. But I've only got one child, and my husband and they are all I have in the world and I can already feel my protectiveness kicking in.

Even though London is our home I'd plan to leave and go somewhere in the UK less of a target. The Lake District, Snowdonia or the Highlands perhaps. I don't know how we would manage to do this but I just feel so strongly I'd want to protect my child and my family unit.

In all seriousness, has anyone thought through a scenario where we are at war, and what you would do to protect your family?

I would go back to my home country if attacked and see how I could help (had a defence training at high school just like all of the people my age in the country I come from and had a fairly patriotic upbringing). My husband would take our kids to SE Asia where he comes from - hopefully they would be safe there. Or to Spain (probably it wouldn't be attacked). Honestly, I think we should bring back obligatory military service in EU/UK. We live in dangerous times.

I like a mile away from Air Command, so presume it would be a likely target. Nowhere else for us to go so we would stay here and take what happens.

We emigrated to Spain, I feel marginally safer here and would want my mum and siblings to come here from London. I sort of feel like having British passports might help us avoid Spanish conscription if needed too. DH could end up doing non front line war work due to his specialism. I don’t know how helpful I could be. Perhaps working with english speaking refugees.

Honestly, I think we should bring back obligatory military service in EU/UK.

We tried that before and had a bunch of young people who idn't want to be there being babysat by a bunch of professional soldiers who didn't want them there. We aren't Switzerland or Sweden, our culture doesn't support conscription. It would be far better use of the time and money to train the professional soldiers more.

Stop watching the news and get on with your life.

No point worrying about nuclear war if you are in London, chances of survival are super slim

for other scenarios. There is information about having emergency bags packed

If there was a nuclear strike you'd do better to travel to where they were. Surviving for a period would be torture.
But it's not going to happen.

It's extremely unlikely to happen but my nuclear war plan is to get everyone in the car and drive to the nearest city and hope a bomb lands on our heads.

Everyone I know (of all generations and ages!) is talking about this too! I have no clue what we would do.

Winchester sounds good though 🍻

This I think. Certainly don't want to survive a nuclear attack on our country but obviously really hope it wouldn't come to that. I fear for the young men in our family re conscription though.

I would probably move to Ireland, but not sure that would be any safer. Or Greece

I 100% want to die in the first flash. And all my loved ones. Consequently, no preparation required.

Have no public shelters in my town (there's ones in apartment buildings and I assume some workplaces and in the schools but none the general public can just go to), I have a basement but that's not much use. Too far out of town to hear the siren either.

I expect a lot of people will be having the same idea to try and move to the countryside so it will soon fill up. The worry I have is 70 million of us and food security particularly bearing in mind the attack on farming and covering arable land with solar panels. Apparently we have as a country about three days before things get hairy. We are too built up as a country for people to live off the land (eg fish, rabbits etc). So we won't last long.

We've got guns as I think things would go pear-shaped pretty quickly if the food ran out. I'd be defending my property and my children as anyone would so I would stock up on cartridges. I've read The Road..

I think young people would want to defend their home and family so I think people would fight for the country. It would certainly solve the immigration issue though although all those fighting age young men crossing the channel might be good to conscript.

F*ck this is a depressing thread.

FGS, get a grip! I’m assuming these replies are mainly from bots…

My advice. Eat a snickers.

Yes you'll be nice and high on the list when the cannibals come out. (Unless they had a nut allergy I suppose?)

@Thoughtsonstuff oh dear!

Just joking. I'm a bot remember

Instead of making far fetched escape plans I wish people would lean into prevention.

One of the most likely forms of warfare is information and digital warfare aimed at destabilising societies and eroding trust, community cohesion. In many ways it’s already here in the form of social media and influence operations persuading people not to trust once trusted institutions and science like the NHS, the BBC, vaccines; narratives promoting scapegoating and inciting violence.

We still have time to fight back against this and frankly it’s only regular people who have the power to resist it. A top down counter attack doesn’t work (because governments are trying already and not succeeding)

Same, I pretty near a major RAF base, so guess we will be one of the first targets.

I understand where you’re coming from and it is absolutely true that these things need attention, especially raising children and in education there is a lot to be said for critical thinking, social cohesion, faith in certain systems etc.

But it’s not like that will prevent stuff from escalating when the Orange Idiot&co are going on the way they are. Propaganda was there in other world wars so long before social media influences, and power in the wrong hands will create division no matter how much sense of community and stability there is.

In an ideal world the things you mentioned are enough but we have already seen a massive breakdown in societal values and cohesion (where I am at least) when the cause was a virus instead of the ramblings of a president/country/political group. So I think it’s natural to worry and make escape plans, far fetched as they may seem, when you consider the possible consequences of the major shifts that are happening now.

Same problem here. Those who live far out can’t hear the siren. A bit of a problem.

You know the bit in disaster movies when the heroes make their way through gridlocked roads full of dead people that were trapped in their vehicles?

No point in deciding to head for Scotland. There's a whole country in between that'll be full of others trying to do the same.

And isn't our nuclear deterrent based at Faslane anyway. Let's face it. A titchy country like ours will only need about 3 big bombs on London, Birmingham and Glasgow and we are all wiped out. I was thinking of gaffer taping the cracks in the windows to guard against nuclear fallout but I don't think I realistically need to bother.

We've got the mobile phone alert now.