About
Practical preparedness, taught by someone who's lived it.
Carolina Preparedness is led by Forrest Garvin — a veteran, author, and full-time preparedness instructor who has spent more than a decade running this school and over 25 years teaching families how to be ready without fear or theatrics.
Lead instructor & founder
Forrest Garvin
Forrest Garvin is widely known as "The Prepper's Prepper" — a builder, educator, and steady hand in the preparedness community for more than 25 years. He has led Carolina Preparedness (formerly Carolina Survival & Preparedness Academy) in the Charlotte, North Carolina area for over ten years, teaching thousands of everyday people the practical skills they need to protect their families and stay calm when things get hard.
Background
A former U.S. Air Force NCO with the 317th Airlift Wing and JSOC SOLL II out of Pope Air Force Base, Forrest transitioned from military service into senior technology roles with the Strategic Technology Group at NationsBank and Bank of America. He went on to build and lead more than a dozen companies — but teaching preparedness has always been the throughline.
Teaching philosophy
Practical, actionable, and built for real life — not theory. No fear-mongering, no theatrics, no gear-shaming. Whether it's a first-time family building a 72-hour kit or an experienced student refining defensive skills, the goal is the same: leave the class more capable and more confident than you walked in.
Credentials
- NRA-certified firearms instructor
- General Class amateur (HAM) radio operator
- Krav Maga apprentice instructor
- Founder of PrepperNet — 120,000+ member preparedness community
- Host of The Prepping Academy podcast (9+ seasons, 4.7M+ downloads)
Books
The Preparedness Roadmap, Entrepreneurship for Survival, The Case for Christian Preparedness, and Stand Firm to the End — plain-language guides built from the same field experience taught in class.
"Families that are ready are families that are free — free to make their own decisions, protect the people they love, and live without flinching at every headline."
— Forrest Garvin