When 911 Can’t Come: Combat Medic Patrick Thibeault on Survival, Preparedness & Staying Calm Under Pressure

What happens when the power goes out, the roads are blocked, and 911 can’t get to you?

For Patrick Thibeault, preparedness isn’t a theory. It was forged in places where hesitation, poor training, and bad decisions could cost lives.

In this episode of The MisFitNation, Rich LaMonica sits down with Patrick — retired U.S. Army combat veteran, former combat medic, paratrooper and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment flight medic, ICU registered nurse, Family Nurse Practitioner, author, survivalist, and creator of the Total Preparedness Program.

Patrick served during Desert Storm and Afghanistan, treated casualties under extreme conditions, and later carried those lessons into civilian medicine.

Today, he teaches ordinary people how to become more capable when the systems they normally rely on suddenly aren’t available.

And one message runs through this entire conversation:

Buying emergency gear is not the same thing as being prepared.

Patrick explains why skills, repetition, mindset, and knowing your limitations matter far more than filling a closet with survival equipment.

You’ll hear why he believes one of the most important medical skills a family can learn is how to properly use a tourniquet, what belongs in a realistic trauma kit, why people need to actually practice with their equipment, and how staying calm can dramatically change the outcome of a high-pressure situation.

Patrick also shares a powerful reminder that even experienced preppers get caught off guard.

When severe storms hit his area, his solar backup failed, his generator developed a broken fuel line, his sump pump stopped working, and his basement flooded.

Instead of hiding the failure, Patrick uses it as a lesson:

You cannot prepare for everything — but you can learn from every failure.

In this episode:

The emergency medical skill Patrick believes every family should know

Why you should own two tourniquets — one for emergencies and one for training

What belongs in a practical trauma and medical kit

Why skills matter more than expensive survival gear

Staying calm when everyone around you is panicking

Preparing when EMS or hospitals may be hours away

Why children should learn age-appropriate emergency skills

Ham radio, GMRS, CB radio, and backup communication

Land navigation and survival training

Why the “lone wolf” approach to preparedness can fail

Building a network of people with complementary skills

Food storage, gardening, freeze-drying, and long-term self-reliance

Preparing for children, older adults, and family members with medical needs

What combat taught Patrick about pressure, resilience, and decision-making

His transition from an elite military environment to McDonald’s, CNA work, nursing, and becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner

How veterans can rebuild identity and purpose after military service

Why teaching preparedness has helped Patrick reclaim part of what combat took from him

One of the most revealing moments comes when Patrick describes what combat can do to a person:

It can take part of your soul.

For Patrick, teaching others has become one way of putting some of that back.

That turns this episode into something larger than a conversation about prepping.

It’s about service, resilience, humility, competence, community, and becoming the person others can depend on when life goes sideways.

Whether you're a veteran, parent, first responder, healthcare professional, prepper, survivalist, or simply want your family to be more prepared for the unexpected, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about what being “ready” actually means.

Learn More About Patrick Thibeault

Total Preparedness Program:

https://tpp.suburbanprepper.com/

Patrick's Total Preparedness Program covers hundreds of lessons involving medical readiness, emergency planning, survival skills, communication, land navigation, food preparedness, gardening, city survival, self-reliance, and more.

Search Suburban Prepper on YouTube for Patrick's additional preparedness content.

A Question to Consider

If the power went out tonight and emergency services couldn't reach your family for several hours…

Would you have the skills to handle what happens next?

Follow The MisFitNation for more conversations with veterans, leaders, survivors, entrepreneurs, authors, and people who have turned adversity into purpose.

Be humble. Stay hungry. Keep hustling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices