OPSEC

OPSEC (Operational Security). A military term used to justify keeping your mouth shut. As in ‘loose lips sink ships’.

Nothing is every really secure in this day and age and even more so when you start telling other people about it. Knowledge on any subject seems to spread exponentially especially if you want to keep it quiet. Just ask that football player we can’t talk about. Everyone knows his name now.

We need to keep OPSEC as part of our survival preparations. We don’t want people turning up at the door of your retreat demanding food and lodgings. We don’t want looters or thieves breaking in and stealing your stores and you don’t want the state commandeering your supplies and arresting you for hoarding, having illegal items or breaking some obscure legislation on the every day goods you have in your stores.

Unfortunately, unless you want to spend the rest of your life on your own, and we don’t, you need to discuss and prepare with others. Even if it is just someone that is aware of what you are doing, and thinks you are mad, but preferable someone who is also on board with the subject. You need to ensure that OPSEC is explained to them and nobody, nobody whatsoever is brought in without your agreement. Usually, people like to tell their mates about their plans and thus the news spreads. Once you tell one person you have lost control of the secret so you must be sure of their integrity, either that or you have no choice.

You need to network to learn about tips and techniques, find out where specialised items are and coordinate training, purchases and meeting. We also want you to help educate others so you need to interact there.

Now when you interact with others on the web then all you need to do to keep yourself anonymous is to use a pseudonym and you are safe from the ordinary guy, just don’t talk about cleaning your Uzi online on web sites or even emails, which are read by the state, and you will also be safe with your online browsing.

Out and about however are where you are vulnerable, your daughter telling her friend, in confidence of course, as well as your partner’s family and not forgetting your next door neighbour watching your 2000Kg propane tank being installed underground and your local fishing shop where you stocked up on that sale of fishing lures, nets and hooks. All those will be aware that you are up to something. All may remember that you are preparing and think that they can all add themselves, it is only two of us after all, to your preparations. Although they will contribute nothing because they did not prepare.

It is possible to mitigate all these risks, you install the tank when your neighbour is on holiday, you buy from several fishing stores, and you educate your family in the risk associated with them talking.

The area I see the most difficulty with is the family but that is clearly in your court. I’ll leave that to you. I however, want others to prepare, I want them to be ready and as a larger group we have more resilience, flexibility and can handle issues much better. Different expertise, skills and thought processes allow teams to work much, much better than lone individuals. I want to build relationships and gain knowledge from others as well.

Thus I stick my head up, minimally, above the parapet. I have this web site and emails which can be traced and I also give out my general location where I live. My hosting provider though hides my address on the web by acting as a proxy. They also host several other domains if you are interested. They would give us up in a heartbeat to the law but will happily ignore any other enquiries. I think we as decent members of society have a duty to try and educate others. Not at risk to ourselves though but we should do what we can.

I also speak to people I now about prepping and survival. I usually sound them out first with general talks about gardening and saving costs. If they are interested I then move on to lawlessness and the ineptness of our government and how we should really think about preparing for riots and looting. Then if they are received OK I then move on to prepping and survival and the whole TEOTWAWKI scenario. You should do the same where you can but be careful who you speak to,make sure they can be trusted and never forget that you need to keep OPSEC. Not just for you but for the others you deal with who you could compromise.

Anyone I tell about my prepperations are either trusted friends in on the idea themselves, in with me, like my family, or friends, relatives who are out of the area and couldn’t get here quickly. I emphasise to them all the reasons for OPSEC and the impact if it happens. The shelter video is usually a good one but there are other examples you can give. I emphasis that who are friends now may not be in the future and that friend or not their family is coming first and they will kill you if they do not get their own way. When I talk seriously they then realise the magnitude of the information and that by keeping OPSEC, it could save all our families lives.