We had our quarterly contingency planning program today. Only about 15 people came, which is fine for January, really. The Consular rep chatted about the services they offer from powers of attorney to passports. The RSO rep talked about house alarms and drills and calling Post One when something looks off. MED got swamped and didn't make it, but they would have talked about medications and med files. CLO gets to talk about Go-Bags and Shelter-in-Place bags.
Exhibit 1 - my shelter-in-place bag for my office.
Top Row: 2 packages of wet wipes, 2 boxes of high protein granola bars, liter of water, travel mug with 2 instant coffee packs inside, bag of glow sticks
Middle Row: Bag of necessities, bag of bandages/Germacin/tylenol/toilet paper, heat blanket, duct tape
Front row: External power source, 2 large permanent markers
Attached to bag: Light wrap as a blanket, small pillow
What's not shown in my bag are the clothes I keep in my "gym" bag (in quotes because I have yet to actually go to the gym this year). A 72-hour bag doesn't need to be filled to the gills because many of the things, like the "gym" clothes, are often in the office anyway. We have a mini fridge in the office, so we have extra water already. I keep a drawer full of snacks so I don't need a ton in the bag. You get the idea.
There are plenty of things you can add, of course. Everything depends on your personal needs. If you wear contacts, keep some contact fluids. If you take prescription drugs, keep extras (and remember to rotate it so the stuff in the bag doesn't expire). If it's winter, pack an extra sweater (actually, the clothes you keep should always be layered so that you don't need to adjust too much with the seasons) . If it's monsoon season, keep a poncho and umbrella. A towel is always a good idea.
My bag was a little different than Ian's. He has MREs and a food supplement. Instead of glow sticks he has a wind-up flashlight. Instead of a cobbled first aid pack he has a purchased pre-made pack. There's a bottle of water, as well as a pack of water purifying tablets should the water go bad. He has a blanket and an inflatable pillow with a pillowcase (and a comfy couch in his office).
There's no perfect bag and ours is always up for improvement and new tools for preparedness. But for now, I feel a little better if we ever got locked down at work.
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