Until then,
Use your instincts to survive
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Operational Security
Most preppers love to talk about OpSec, “Operational
Security”. At book signings and prepper
events whenever a conversation gets started you can pretty much guarantee that
this subject is going to come up. The
surprising thing is just how often people will invalidate their own OpSec,
usually when talking about OpSec!
At a recent book signing I was talking to a gentleman and
his wife that had come in from central Illinois. They were there to shop and get a copy of my
book signed and hopefully to have a little discussion about prepping. When I asked where they were from the man
said “Central Illinois” and the woman interjected “South of <town
name>”. Well, unlike the majority of
Americans I am actually familiar with the area so I said “Really? I have a friend on Pine Crest Rd there” to
which the lady replied, “Oh yeah? We’re
further south, off of highway 3, just north of <town 2>”.
At this point the man broke in with questions about bunkers
and stored foods and we talked for a few more minutes. When the discussion came back around to their
available resources the man mentioned that his neighbors were real quiet, “dead
quiet” as a matter of fact and he and his wife shared a laugh.
The rest of the day that conversation kept coming up in the
back of my mind. I had a very good idea
of the layout of the man’s homestead from his descriptions, I knew what kind of
truck he drove because he offered that information to me, and I knew roughly
where he lived also from his wife’s descriptions. When I got home I jumped on Google Maps and
zoomed over to their town. After about 5
minutes of searching the map views I had a real good idea of where this couple
lived, right down to the satellite photo of his truck in the driveway.
I knew quite a bit about this man’s preps, I knew a good
deal about his security and I knew when he wasn’t normally home because he told
me where he worked.
Now this couple was having a simple conversation, and a lot
of the information they offered was buried in a pile of words and questions
that some people wouldn’t pick up on.
Being an ex-cop I hear these details and they just sort of file
themselves away so I can call them up later to rebuild the conversation in my
head. It is a skill that some people
have and some don’t.
Generalizations Are
Good
When you are discussing your preps be general. You don’t own a Ford F-150, you own a
truck. The truck isn’t Black its “dark
colored”, your car isn’t red it’s “bright colored”. You don’t live on a two-lane blacktop road;
you live on “a county road” or “a country road”. Don’t tell people what town you live near;
give a regional description like “central Indiana” or “western Kentucky”. You don’t have two rivers on either side of
your property; you have “localized freshwater resources”. You don’t live in a large, two story country
home with white painted paneling and blue shutters; you live in “an older home,
but it’s comfy”.
Details narrow down searches and can make it very easy to
locate you if necessary. If someone
knows you live in a small town they can focus their search for you there. If they know you drive a late model white
Ford F-150 pickup truck you have just narrowed down their search dramatically. Imagine the difference between staking out a
busy intersection for “trucks” versus “late model, white, Ford F-150
trucks”. If the person knows your race
or general appearance they could easily find you and recognize you.
Don’t Discuss
Security
So many people at my signings want to tell me about their
security setup. They tell me what type
of firearms they have, how many, how much ammo and which members of the family
are proficient with them. I have had
people tell me about their early warning systems as well as full descriptions
of their fail safe plans. Usually they
do this to get to a question, but they feel that I need to know everything
about what they have so that I can narrow down some advice that will be useful
to them. Meanwhile a small crowd
standing nearby now knows everything about your home security. Not only that, you have just told a military
trained, ex-police officer exactly what he would need to get past to invade
your space. Not a good idea.
Anonymity Rules
Purchasing bulk supplies or even small amounts at regular
intervals gets noticed. Perhaps not to
the point of causing trouble, but if you see the same sales people every month
for two years they will remember you, and if asked they’ll offer anyone a
theory as to why you need all of the stuff you have been buying. To counter this you need to locate multiple
outlets to purchase supplies and ensure you utilize different carriers for
delivery, rotating them regularly. The
guy down at the firearms store that feels the same way you do and happens to be
a prepper may not be the best guy to talk to about all of your
preparations. Remember, if the time
comes when he needs something he will remember where to get it.
Have a Cover Story
Treat your Operational Security like you are a cold war
spy. Develop a secondary personality and
identity that you can use when people ask you questions. Obviously I do NOT mean to get a fake
identity or lie to authorities; I am talking about general conversation when
people ask you questions. For instance,
I often talk about my family homestead property in Michigan. Some people at my book signings are from
Michigan and ask where it’s at, so I say “Near Mason”. That will usually quell their curiosity, and
I am safe because my homestead is not, “near Mason”.
It’s An “All the
Time” Thing
A lot of preppers make their biggest OpSec mistakes outside
of their prepping activities. Telling
someone at work about your prepping is as good as advertising it because it
becomes a funny story that gets told to spouses over dinner, and then over the
phone the next day when the spouse is talking about that “prepper” guy at her
husband’s job. In large cities this
isn’t so terrible but in small to mid-size towns that can lead to a lot of
people knowing more about you that you would like.
I am sure most people do this, but please make sure your
preps are either put away or hidden when you aren’t actively working with
them. Neighbors stop by, kids bring
friends over and sometimes people are just a bit too dang nosey for their own
good, so hide those preps and keep them safe.
Another big OpSec fail is when you are practicing your “bug
out” procedures. In order to make it
realistic many preppers will wear tactical gear and act in a way that is
contrary to the norm. This gets noticed
REAL fast. Try finding tactical clothing
that doesn’t look tactical but still has functionality. Most of the better tactical clothing
companies offer clothing lines that fit these criteria and the prices aren’t
too bad. If you can’t find what you want
in the tactical arena try normal work wear; cargo pants, safari shirts,
etc. It isn’t the same as a set of
tactical BDU’s but will get you through a bug out drill. Being un-noticed is a HUGE tactical advantage
and will do wonders for your OpSec. For
more info on that, research “Grey Man” tactics and “hiding in plain
sight”. I had an article on my site for
a while regarding this, I will repost it later if I can dig it up.
Don’t Be Too Cool
Situations change quickly in life, especially when you are
dealing with events that preppers are preparing to weather. Ensure that you are flexible in all of your
planning while still maintaining proper OpSec.
This means having multiple plans, backups and redundancies. What this also means is that you will
probably react much differently than other people around you, which can bring
notice onto you.
If the world is reacting in chaotic fashion and you are in
the middle of it looking calm and cool then you have a couple of problems.
- ) You aren’t worried enough, get your guard up.
- ) People will notice your cool head and gravitate to you.
To avoid this you will need to avoid these situations where
you are near crowds, which is always a good idea in the first place. However, if that cannot be avoided then you
will need to manufacture a sense of overwhelming fear, on the surface at least,
in order to fit in with the crowd. Keep
it in check and make sure that if you have children, they are aware of this and
don’t get overly frightened by it. It
shouldn’t be hard to do, just make sure to keep it in check and remember that
you are in control of your situation and this is a means to an end.
For more information on this topic and others, please visit
my website.
Plan and Prep
“Ready for Anything”
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