Urban Survival Planning - Don't Forget the "No Comms" Plan

To be well prepared communications technology wise to survive a total collapse, most survival planners would develop a list of communications equipment that may look like this:

Hand Held FRS/GMRS radios. Used for small group to small group communications such as from someone on security at a listening post/observation post to other in the Survival Group. Used for inter-team communications such as conducting a patrol around the Survival site.

Solar Crank AM/FM/SSB radio with Wx alert channel. Not only can you pickup any AM or FM radios stations and weather alerts would be excellent in the advent of an internet disruption, but you can listen to Ham radio operators and pickup intelligence helping you piece together an assessment of the situation sometimes from faraway locations.

CB radios. A capability to think about, since they are so common. Listening to CB transmission, which are predominantly in vehicles, can provide an excellent source of intelligence concerning events in and around your Survival location as well as on major lines of communications (highways, interstates and other roadways).

HF Ham Radio System and Upper grade UHF/VHF transceivers. Which are often outside the grasp of your basic Survivalist, both in scope of use and cost.

Anyway, we’ll be writing more articles on communications and radio systems. What I wanted to address this post was that no matter how robust your communications capabilities are,…no matter how many radios in various frequencies and modulations you possess, the thinking Survival Planner needs to have a plan for no communications. This is typical called the “No Communications” plan.

An example would be a lack of communications for whatever reason (dead batteries, radios out of range, broken equipment, etc.). What would be your planned actions and protocols for a patrol returning to your Survival site? Maybe you have a procedure, where at the time the patrol is expected to return, someone at the Survival base hoists a flag, or opens curtains or whatever visual signal you determine annotating that the site is safe to return to. The patrol would in turn have an arm and hand signal or another visual signal such as the lead man wearing a red cap or walking into the site with his weapon held in front vertical, muzzle down. Lack of either signal would mean the site or the patrol is under duress. And duress simply means someone is making you do something,….consider it a gun to your head. Some people simply call this a “safe” signal and lack of a safe signal would be mean duress.

Maybe the Patrol has a procedure where in the absence of the safe signal, the action would be to withdrawal and linkup with anyone who may have vacated the Survival Site at a pre-determined Emergency Rally Point or Emergency Rendezvous Point (ERP) that you have planned in case the Survival Site gets over ran.

Another example of a “No communications” plan may be between you and other members of your Survival Group who are now living apart. Maybe your plan is to communicate as things gets worse and at some point communicate to coordinate a move to your interim Survival Site or Safe Site. Maybe you plan for several communications means: landline telephone (primary), cell phones (alternate), and radios (contingency on a pre-planned contact time each day or night). You still need a “no-comms” plan which may be in the event of no communications for a period of 48 hours, Survival Group members will initiate a move to the planned Survival Site, stopping a certain distance away to covertly approach and look for the “safe” signal, then approach the house with the return or replying “safe” procedure.

Another example, would be Jim’s (from Survival Chronicles of Jim) example. His son is attending college about 60 miles away. Jim’s simple “No Comms” plan is in the event of a decayed situation or a full out collapse, AND, after two missed communications contacts which are scheduled for 8:00 pm each night, is that on what would be the night of the third missed scheduled contact, Jim will meet his son at a turn in off the access road near the Interstate. Jim will pull in with his vehicle and flash the lights three times. Jim’s son will in turn flash the lights four times then make his approach. Jim will wait 30 minutes, if his son does not show, then Jim will leave a small bag of water and food ten feet behind a road sign. They will repeat this 24 hours later if possible. Then his son is on his own to get to Jim’s Survival location. Failing all this, Jim’s son knows that the Bug Out location is the family cabin about 200 miles North, and he knows the safe signal that will be displayed if it is safe to approach the cabin.

Jim and his son also have a challenge and password.

So your “No Communications” plan is used in the event of all communications systems being down. The “No Communications” plan are procedures based on missed communications from a schedule and compromise a series of actions and visual signals in order for Survivors to eventually link up in safe manner.

Urban Survival Planning - Getting your Relatives and Friends to Prepare

I have wrote on this site many times about the likelihood of all of us Survival Preppers having to deal with straphangers at some point in time after the collapse. Some of these straphangers will be relatives,...some will be friends,...some will just be acquaintances,...and other will be strangers. I would say that most of us are going to take in without question any of our relatives and close friends. I think that as much as we plan in our heads and prepare on the ground to receive, assess, absorb or turn away strangers,...it will be much different than we plan for.

But for now I want to talk to our family and friends. How nice would it be that everyone we know was as prepared as we are. Well that just ain't going to happen for a variety of reasons,...religious, financial and political beliefs and practices will get in the way. For some it just may be the creeping entitlement mindset that Americans have been given in increasingly larger doses over the past decades.

In any event, a lot of your family and friends,...I would think the vast majority of them, simply have not considered a collapse of any kind and what it would take to survive.

So what do you do? Have a sit down talk about the virtues of preparedness? Probably not. This is a two edged sword - you are exposing yourself and the fact that you are most likely prepared. If these people don't prepare at all they'll be knocking on your door.

Better to use the "drip" concept. Maybe your having a conversation with your someone, and a news report on a disaster comes up. You say "I wonder if those families in that area have stockpiled food and water?". Your relative say's "Why would you say that?" You reply: "Well, it just seems like a good idea, having some food put away and generally being prepared if you live in a disaster area.
If you friend of relative looks at you like you have two heads - then cross them off the list.

On the other hand you can always send a massive e-mail out to all your friends and family in the local commuting distance and declare yourself to be a survivalist stocking guns, ammunition, gear, food, water, medical supplies and you won't be receiving any visitors after the collapse unless they are similar prepared or can contribute to the survival team they will be joining. If you do this, you will probably be removed from several Christmas card lists.

I having lunch with several, lets call them "mid level managers" where I work. The topic of the Television Survival guys came up. Then the topic shifted to surviving in a city during a period of anarchy. One of the guys said "You know, I've been hearing on the radio and television about Food Insurance and all this talk about buying Gold." I replied "Sure, since all the mainstream analysts are predicting an economic collapse, people are getting ready."

This same guys then asks: "Getting ready for what?" I reply: "Since this economy is going to collapse,...probably preceded by massive hyper inflation,.....since most people only have three to five days food supply,...no cash on hand or means of payment such as silver or gold,....and since grocery stores would be overwhelmed by mobs during any collapse significant enough to impede commodities shipments or the real probability of hyper inflation which would create large groups of people who could not afford food,...since all this is not only possible by probable, it makes good sense to have some food, water and means for protection on hand."

This guy kinda chuckles then say's "Do you have food stocked for a collapse?" I said "Of course I do,..don't you? If you don't then it's something to think about. Maybe buying some silver as well." This guy then say's with a laugh "Well, I guess I know where to go." And I end the conversation saying, "Sure, just don't come empty handed."

Anybody out there having a hard time strategizing about how to approach their friends and relatives?

Urban Survival - USA FEMA Camps Controversy Is Still Around

I received three e-mails the past couple weeks on the notion of "FEMA Concentration Camps". Since in four months past, I did not get any comments or queries on these, I thought there may be some new information on the internet information or disinformation sites. While I did not spend a great deal of time looking into these, I did not find anything new,...no smoking gun,....nothing but old information.

What caused a stir on "FEMA Concentration Camps" was the initial attempt by Glenn Beck to de-bunk these camps. When Glenn Beck couldn't initially de-bunk these claims - that caused a stir,..."Oh My God, it must be true,..the Government is planning on putting us in concentration camps!!

Okay, lets hold on. Review the video below, showing one side, then go to the following websites, where Fox News, Glenn Beck and Popular Mechanics debunk the claim of FEMA planning and building camps to detain Americans in.

I do not believe the claim that there are detention camps being built for the explict purpose of detaining Americans. I know that FEMA has planned refugee camps in order to house Americans displaced from natural disasters ot other emergencies. Can these camps be used to forceably detain Americans? Of course they could be. Is there a nefarious government plan to incarcerate Americans for any reason? Probably so as the Government and especially the Military plans and develops Operational Plans for all contingencies. I would be surprised if the Government did not have a OPLAN on the books on how to deal with large groups of citizens disaffected by pandemics, nuclear strikes, large scale disasters and such.

However, is this plan specifically oriented towards detaining Americans under insurrection or martial law? I don't think so, but the distinction of what the reason is really doesn't matter as long as the plan, facilities and material are in place.

Anyway, I promised a couple readers to respond, but I wanted to thread the needle,....not inciting those who believe the worst about our Government, nor witness on the other side of the coin. Everybody needs to make up their own mind. And the bottom line is just how does this change the need or your individual plan on preparing for the coming collapse? Not much I guess.

Glenn Beck interview on Fox News on the FEMA Camps:



Other websites for both sides of the story:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep/fema-camps-jesse-ventura.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513024,00.html

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/23671/

Reader Response on Military Set to Intervene on the Coming Food Crisis

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received the following anonymous comment on the post Food Riots Possible - Military Prepared to Intervene......"I do expect the problems to get worse and surely food will be one of those problems. As tempting as it is to jump on the bandwagon here I just don't buy this story. The funny thing is that I don't think Obama is really as smart as he thinks he is and therefore I doubt he has a clue about food problems. When and if that happens Obama and his administration will be caught flat-footed and will in all likelihood blame it all on something Rush or Beck said on air."

UrbanMan replies: 10-4 on Obama and his cabinent, legitmately appointed and confirmed by congress and the others (the Czars) all not being smart enough to get us out of this mess....but I think we are at the point that there is nothing the Administration nor Congress can do. The collapse WILL hit, the only questions are how soon and how bad; will it be influenced by other incidents such as war (possibly with Iran or North Korea, or wars between two non U.S. actors); or a calamity inflicted upon the U.S. like a pandemic or a terrorist attack - physical or otherwise like a cyber attack on the banking system.

side note: As I write this Gen. (ret) Colin Powell who was also former Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, was on T.V. saying the economy was getting better.....well, I guess he skipped Economic AND History at West Point.

The post on Food Riots Possible - Military Prepared to Intervene was intended to get people to think how they can mitigate the coming food shortage, riots by the hungry and possible homeless hundreds of thousands, and living in a military controlled environment. The military is prepared to act in side the United States in peacekeeping, population control, anti-riot roles with law enforcement powers. Go check the "Insurrection Act."

The military, including the National Guard, Reserves and Active Duty components are much too small to effect the control that will be necessary upon the large scale food riots and resulting problems across the U.S.

So what do we do? Well, the safest thing is to re-locate to a small population density area that is agricultural in nature, AND, prepare for shipment of food stuffs and other commodities to stop. However, that is just not possible for most of us. We have need our jobs and our lives entrenched where we are. SO, it all boils down to the basics,.....food, water, shelter, protection,...and a plan.

I was asked the other day just how much food stocked was necessary. My answer was as much as you can afford and physically stock. I don't think anybody can say "stock six months", or "stock 12 months supply". I do think the first objective would be to stock food to take you from late summer through the next harvest season which would be around nine months in most locales. But nine months does not take into consideration what if you can't grow enough food? What happens if commodities trade does not grow enough to provide the critical levels to survive?

All the food, water, and firearms won't be enough if you live in a riot infested and hence government targeted area. The government and it's principal actors, the military, is not going to be surgical in their application of control. I envision a confiscation and re-location program particularly in the denser populated areas to be necessary for government control to be effective.

Here's where your plan is necessary. You simply have to have a plan, preferably with contingencies (remember the PACE planning?), where you have a safe place to Bug Out to. This may be a rendezvous (aka RV or rally point) where other like minded people and families will meet you,...it may be a place where you have done some level of preparation on, such as pre-position of supplies and caches. It has to be defensible to some degree and have water accessible. And you have to execute that plan before you are caught up in military operations ordered by the Government to control the hungry masses before anarchy reaches critical mass.