Hey all, DrGonzo here from Seattle, WA. I've been interested in preparedness from a pretty early age, starting with a long stint in the Boy Scouts. I worked all the way up to Eagle Scout, and it set the framework for how I look at the world. After a few years of college, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a 0612 Field Wireman and served with Field Artillery Unit in Iraq. I've since been running a small satellite phone distribution and billing company in Seattle, all while trying to set up a new home, with a new fiance, and a finishing up my bachelor's degree.
I've been active on the Zombie Squad boards for the last couple of years, and they have been instrumental in opening my eyes to the preparedness community, which led me to Jack and his podcast. Personal preparedness and disaster survival has gone beyond a hobby or paranoid activity for me, I'm actually considering going into the Emergency Management field as a career. No, I don't want to work for FEMA!
I enjoy the outdoors, skiing, shooting (mostly long guns, but I don't hunt), exploring the local music scene, reading and films. One of the most fun activities I've been involved in is the formation of a local Zombie Squad chapter,
ZSC-005. We've generated quite a bit of local interest, and we've been hosting meetings and events for the past few months. It's amazing how many different types of people you meet who are interested in becoming more self-sufficient, be it the most hardcore 2nd Amendment defender, to the most die hard environmentalist. The preparedness and disaster survival communities deal with issues that affect every person, not just supporters of a particular party, religion, or dogma.
This is one of the main reasons that I enjoy Jack's podcasts so much, he's not a right winger or a left winger, or any of those labels we've been taught to apply to every person in America. His point of view into what's really important in our country has made me take a harder look at my beliefs, and my view on how this country operates. While I may not agree on every single point he makes regarding politics or our economy (it is, as he says, "one man's opinion"), he presents his opinions in such a way that you really have to take a hard look at what we're being spoon fed by our "betters".
Any Pacific Northwesters out there, shoot me a PM, we'll grab a beer and gripe about the world!