Monday, August 1, 2011

Broadcasting Your Preps or How to Blow Your OPSEC

Have you seen the Nation Geographic Channel show called "Doomsday Preppers"? I caught an episode today. Let me start by saying everyone has their own idea of preparedness. OK? So, this show profiled 3 different preppers. All of them started out on the prepper road pretty much the same way. What I saw, what I see, what I read about event X got me (them) started. Whether event X is a solar ejection, a "nukular" crisis, a financial collapse or a 2012 end of the world situation they all let that thought drive their determined logistical acquisition of food, supplies, meds, arms, techniques and tactics. The only one I had a real problem with is the 2 family group in South Carolina. First off the one non land owner family says if it gets too bad to stay where they are they plan to retreat to the farm of their landowner buddy. 20 minutes away. Once they are ensconced in the safety of the remote farm 20 minutes away, the two families intend to hold on to their 50+ acre farm/retreat with 4 adults and about 4 kids under the age of 16 or so. A couple of the kids are under 12 I would guess. The owner has the ability to plant fields in crops and has cattle and chickens for the protein factor. If things get real bad they intend to cut their protected acreage to 5 acres, using small perimeter trip wire alarms that emit a local buzzing sound that could barely be heard on the TV. They have 1 or two LP/OP (listening post/observation posts). So with 4 adults and 2 teenage kids they are going to plant and harvest crops, preserve foods, tend to and butcher livestock, provide security for the retreat and man up to two LP/OP's 24 hours a day with this small group. ??? The "expert panel" recommended that they get more families to join them. The group poo pooed this idea. They have a tractor to farm with but no mention was made of stored fuel. Now maybe this was OPSEC "that's a military term" but I doubt it. I really believe a well set up retreat group or single family would poo poo the idea of broadcasting their names, general locations and level of preparations. Now that's real OPSEC.

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