The Kit Control Methodology is an adaptation of the popular line gear theory used in the military and was developed by Stealth Co LLC to address survival and defense in the private sector context. The methodology classifies different levels of kit based on context and level of sustainment. The term “kit” is used to clarify its control of a grouping of items, not the individual items themselves as sometimes individual items can be classified across multiple levels of the methodology. The term “control” defines the purpose of the methodology to act as a mechanism for adjusting the operation of the aforementioned survival and defensive kits.
The main purpose of the Kit Control Methodology is to provide a way to set up and organize various equipment to be accessible, targeted, and efficiently deployed throughout the many contexts of private sector survival and defense. The implementation of the methodology also highly emphasizes the idea of containerization, highly popularized by technologies such as Docker in the software industry. This concept adopts the idea of containerizing or grouping together dependencies of the same context into highly portable and single purpose packages which can be deployed, replaced, and transported quickly and easily. Having the right equipment at the right time can make all the difference and this methodology’s goal is to provide guidance on acquiring and organizing that equipment.
This article will help summarize the Kit Control Methodology to help establish a basic understanding of the underlying principles.
Level 1 Kit
For all intents and purposes Level 1 Kit could be defined as EDC (Every Day Carry). This kit is designed to stay on or near your person for every-day unplanned scenarios. This is the most basic level of preparedness and can be the most consequential as it addresses scenarios that have the possibility of happening every day. These every-day scenarios include things like violent crime, vehicle breakdowns, physical injuries, and becoming lost or stuck in remote locations. Level 1 Kit is not meant to provide solutions to larger societal collapse scenarios. Level 1 assumes there is still an amount of societal order functioning with access to basic services and a high level of trust.
Baseline Level 1 items that should always be carried on your person, in your pockets or on your belt, would be items such as a pocket knife, concealed handgun, keys, financial resources (money, credit cards), communication devices (cell phone, GPS), digital resources (encrypted flash drive), and potentially some small first aid items or a multi-tool.
Other Level 1 Kit is usually kept in a small man-portable container such as a 20L backpack which can be kept inside your every-day vehicle, or if on foot, can be carried with you. This kit could include items such as ready-to-eat food, fire starters, medical supplies, basic shelter, water proof clothing, lightweight armor or chest rig, and a compact rifle or PDW.
Level 1 Kit can be improved upon by implementing encryption and other obfuscation techniques. While usually not necessary in a high trust society, enabling these technologies by default for Level 1 can harden your total vulnerability factor when the transition to higher level scenarios happens.
Level 2 Kit
Level 2 Kit is designed for planned, mission-specific scenarios that are short term (1-3 days) and are mostly man-portable. It can be used in either a normal functioning society or a low trust society depending on the scenario. These scenarios could include things like a planned 3-day hike or a multi-day strategic movement in a low trust society. Level 2 Kit can usually be easily removed when not engaging in the mission and generally offers quick access to items needed for the mission.
Level 2 Kit can include items such as fully featured plate carriers with extra magazines and higher powered communication devices, medium sized backpacks with ready-to-eat food, extra medical supplies, shelter, hydration gear, ammunition, and high powered weapons.
There are multiple specialized ways to improve upon Level 2 Kit such as with night time combat and movement capability, obfuscation, and winter combat and movement.
Level 3 Kit
Level 3 Kit is designed to add longer sustainment to Level 2 Kit through the use of larger containers to store higher quantities of supplies or more robust equipment. It can increase the effectiveness of Level 2 Kit to multiple days or weeks of operation and can usually be man-portable.
Level 3 Kit could include large rucksacks with more robust options for shelter, sleeping, and traversing, larger supplies of food, water, and ammunition.
Level 4 Kit
Level 4 Kit is designed for bulk storage and includes large containers which are usually stored in dedicated structures or spaces and transported with vehicles. Level 4 Kit can add an indefinite amount of time to sustainment.
Level 4 Kit can include bulk sustainment items such as food, water, ammunition, and other consumable resources.
Summary
Adopting this methodology can help strengthen the development of your survival and defense strategy and ensure you have the right equipment accessible in any situation.