I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say most of us have a love-hate relationship with modern communication. We’ve never had more tools to connect, but somehow, we’ve never felt more isolated. It’s ironic, right? Texts, DMs, group chats, public posts — it’s all supposed to bring us closer. But, somewhere along the way, a lot of us forgot how to actually talk to each other.
That’s what this issue attempts to tackle. Not just radios, not just apps, not just emergency signals or digital workarounds — we’re digging into what it really means to communicate, both on the airwaves and face-to-face. Because being able to clearly say what you mean and understand what someone else is trying to tell you might be the most important skill any of us can develop. It doesn’t matter if you’re stuck in the woods with a busted ankle, caught in a crowd during a crisis, or just trying to keep your community from falling apart at the seams, your words matter.
During my early Army days, I learned that lesson the hard way. Shout-out to anyone who’s had the pleasure of training at the Disney Barracks in Fort Knox. Our drill sergeant had a real poetic way of hammering in life lessons. One of his greatest hits? Group punishment. Every time someone screwed up, the whole platoon dropped for push-ups. And we weren’t just doing them in silence. On the way down we had to yell, “Attention to detail!” On the way up? “Teamwork is the key!” Over and over again until the words were burned into our brains — and our triceps. It wasn’t just about discipline or pain tolerance. He was teaching us that if we couldn’t get the little things right and couldn’t talk to each other effectively, we were useless as a team. That lesson still sticks.
Inside this issue, we cover the full spectrum of communication, starting with radios that bounce signals off the ionosphere, courtesy of our friends at Wyoming Survival. Then, we bring it all the way back to eye contact and posture with Craig Caudill’s breakdown of human behavior and how to read the room. Mark Linderman speaks directly to community leaders, sharing tips on how to deliver life-saving information when every second counts. And Dr. David Miller gives an honest look at what it’s like to be on the receiving end of public panic, with practical advice on how everyday folks can make an emergency responder’s job easier. Of course, we’ve also packed in plenty of gear worth shouting about and featured a few off-grid destinations where you can finally put your phone on airplane mode without an ounce of guilt.
So, yeah, communication might seem like a soft skill, but it’s got teeth. It builds trust. It smooths over conflict before it turns into something worse. It helps teams function, families stay close, and complete strangers save each other’s lives. If there’s one thing we can all commit to improving this year, I’d say this is it. Let’s get better at saying what we mean, hearing what others are saying, and meeting somewhere in the middle before the signal gets lost.
Read More From Issue 69
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Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.