It takes a village.
My last article I wrote about the decision to Bug-Out or Bug-In. I expressed that I’m always prepared for a scenario where I would have to quickly evacuate my home and take with me what I needed to survive for at least awhile. This preparation actually started and was developed through time with something many people might not feel is necessary. I started this process with a group of other individuals.
Coming from a military and law enforcement background I’ve always felt there is security in numbers, but I also felt that I didn’t know everything and that I could use the knowledge and skills provided by other members of the group. Coming together with many other people not only provides me and my family with that added knowledge but also, after the bug-out occurs, helps in the task of rebuilding a community wherever it might be that we have bugged out to.
A community survival plan increases your chance of long-time survival. Having a lone wolf mentality, limits your chances of survival. In this context, a community usually is formed with families or people who have known each other for quite some time. I have formed a community of some friends but mostly strangers that were allowed into the group and throughout time have become friends and family. This alone is a process that can be challenging to say the least, but with time and proper guidance from the group leaders, can be very rewarding to all members.
The community group has similar mindset, and they must work together to plan and prepare for future survival. Within the group there should be several levels of planning and preparation, not all members are super hardcore preppers, but you should require a minimum amount of preparation from every member. Each member should be able to sustain certain survival needs for a certain time frame, so they do not become a burden on the entire group.
Roles within the group vary but each member should be required to participate in one of the areas. No one free loads on the work done by the other members of the group. Roles within the group range from Leadership, Logistics/Admin, Security, Medical, Food, Water, Power, and Faith.
The Leadership role of such a group is very important. This “group” directs the organization in the right path with survival being its ultimate goal. The founder of the group should not be the sole leader of the entire group. The construction of a Leadership section comprised of a hand full of knowledgeable and skilled members who might have some sort of background in leadership and or skills necessary for this type of survival. This section needs to be committed to the group and requires direct participation in all aspects of the group.
Security is also a very important function within the group. It doesn’t matter what great equipment you have or the amount of supplies you store if you can’t stop someone from taking it all from you. Keep in mind, if a bug-out scenario occurs there will be other people who are not prepared and are looking for what they need to survive. Security for the group starts at the formation of your group with education from key skilled members offering classes and information on personal and home security and defense. The security group has many responsibilities, ranging from education offered to members to actual physical security provided during certain incidents.
“Be aware”. Personality conflicts more than anything else, can make or break a group. Dealing with 10, 50 or 100 different personalities can be quite challenging. It doesn’t matter what you have saved or how much you have trained, if people can’t get along then you will fail. You don’t have to be the best of friends, but all members need to respect one another and respect decisions that are made by leadership. You can’t allow dissent to form in the ranks. At all times, leadership needs to be on the lookout for these types of issues and put them to a stop before it infects your group and causes major issues.
I’ve spent 10 years in the military and 20 years in law enforcement serving on many specialized groups. I feel that I know a lot regarding survival and security. Still, it amazes me to realize how many things I don’t know. These things that I don’t know are brought to light by conversations I have with other members. The amount of knowledge that can be harnessed through the bringing together of many people with the same goal can be so awakening.
Count on others to assist you in your survival. Make sure all members are participating in some way, and don’t think you know it all or can do it all by yourself. It takes the entire village to make that community successful.
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Oz Johnson/Lead Instructor, NRA Certified
JohnsonGroupTAC.com
602-410-7355
