I read the book “Patriots” not long ago and it got me wondering. How many of you have made survival plans with other people and what general types of arrangements have you made. I feel the chances of needing such arrangements are somewhat remote but probably not as remote as they once were. I ask this with the mindset that individuals and small families would be more at risk during bad times. I/we (my wife and I) have not discussed the subject with anyone mostly for fear of putting them off, however we have decided that if a situation warrents then will call a meeting with everyone in the neighborhood. We currently live in one of the best defendable areas I’ve seen locally but it would take all the neighbors to keep it safe. I’m not looking to dicuss what could happen in the world (who knows), but rather thoughts, ideas and dicussions that may lead to other ideas.
I am reading that book now, not bad so far. It gives me something to do since I do not have TV in the Stan.
I thought about it and why did none of them have parents or sibling “tag” along? Why did none of them want to go and help their family?
I have put a great deal of thought into this subject over the years. I have a “group” that has assembled more so by the kind of people I associate with than a planed thing. I have friends all over the country. If the @#it hits the fan, most will want to go home to their families. Those of us that have a plan are from the same area and our families are also there. We just assume that most of the family types, that think we are nuts, are going to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off as soon as the Starbucks closes. But they are family and we have planned for them. They always joke about, “If the end of the world comes, I know where I am going”. I would be easier to just plan on telling them good luck and send them on their way. My wife has the same train of thought about being prepared as I. There is no way she would stand it if I would not let her little brother in……so I do what needs to be done.
That is the main problem is getting people that would leave everything and go to the group. There are some out there and I know a few. They are in. Others that would be an asset would have to go home. So for you to actually be able to get a group together it is not as easy as finding a bunch of like minded people and going for it.
jhs1969, I think that you have hit upon the most realistic solution for the average person out there… your neighborhood banding together when the SHTF.
It’d be nice if you could actually afford to pick up and move out to rural Idaho and fortify it. But most people don’t have the resources to do that. Hell, there might not be enough time to do that even if you did have the means. The characters in Patriots had a decade or more to prep. A more realistic solution is what takes place in “Lights Out” where the main character organizes his subdivision for security and food production, etc.
A good place to start would be forming an official Neighborhood Watch with the PD and then once going, expanding on it on an unofficial basis. Most people who’d be interested in participating would probably be interested in prepping for a SHTF scenario.
Do-able option is good neighbors… But even good neighbors ~CAN~ become bad neighbors given enough hunger, inconvenience, and hardship, especially if they see you with stuff they do not have, living better than they do… So it has it’s +'s and -'s…
Best option is a pre-meditated, pre-equipped group of like-minded people with a covenant agreement, knowing what is expected of each and all. But very, very few have such a thing… And finding such is often harder as OPSEC and privacy are often high on their list of priorities…
As for family, my wife and kids are here with me. As for my extended family, they are all over the eastern USA, and if anything went bad, they will most likely be on their own. They’re adults, they should know this, as they are not ignorant of my beliefs in where we are headed. Since they have not made any concerted efforts, me going to THEM is out of the question, so they would have to come to me.
It may be cold sounding, but that is reality…
Your’e situation seems to closely mirror mine. My and my wife’s family (parents, brothers and sisters) are all within a 25-35 mile radius. Although many of us within this family group have dicussed the “world situations” and possibilities, my wife and I are the only ones that have taken any steps toward preprations at all. We are nowhere near where we would like to be, and with our budget have been and continue to be slow to build our preprations. We have been at this for 3-4 years and have gotten ourselves in decent shape in a couple of areas but would like to add more food and medical supplies.
We live at the end of a dead end road in a three story home with a barn and a large shop building, so most likely those in the family who wanted to would make their way here. Some we would have to bring/lead here. There is 8-10 other homes on this road and due to the lay of the land the road in would be easy to block and close. My wife and I have pretty much decided to continue with our preprations and dig more into planning for a neighborhood stronghold and only bringing this to light if/when it is ever needed. I would like to have someone of like mind to confer with and expand our planning but for now it looks like we are mostly only on our own. I continue to search for ideas that we may have missed.
It’s been mentioned in one way or the other, but let me reiterate. The preparation situation in “Patriots” is unrealistic. By that I mean the lack of children or other family members. I find the situation in “Lights Out” to be more realistic, if you will. In that book he provides a number of scenarios to consider.
SPOILER ALERT SKIP THE REST IF YOU DONT WANT TO SEE IT
Ok in lights out you had three types of groups. You have the Patriots kind of group (A) where a butt load of money was spent to set up a compound, fully stocked. However it was done with only partial planning and was meant to be run as a mini kingdom. The next group (B) was the subdivision across the county from our hero’s house. This subdivision was planned and built specifically around surviving most ITEOTWAWKI possibilities. The third option (C) is what was available to the hero. A subdivision of crafty neighbors who banded together, brought in SMEs as time went on, and made do with what they had available and improvised their way to survival.
To be honest I would rather live in a B situation first. Then a C and only an A if I had no other options. I have given a few groups in the area a cursory once over and to be honest I am not too impressed. I have run into dictatorships and / or individuals who run around looking for black helicopters and who salivate at the idea of a civil war. That’s not my speed.
END SPOILER
I’d rather find a core group of people who don’t believe that the food coloring in Apple Jacks cereal is put in there as part of a mind control project. Just regular folks whose mindset is to be prepared with out praying for end times and practicing their mall ninja moves in preparation. Maybe this is like the search for an honest man and what I would wind up is with folks who are like the Amish, but with electricity and guns.
Just remember what .gov thinks about these groups and how they are dealt with. not saying you can’t do it or shouldn’t, but usually it draws the attention of critics.
I agrre HES
The group from “Patriots” was quiet unrealistic, it just ramped up my thought process concerning the prepration process. I find it is a never ending process.
KNOW thy neighbor - who they hang out with, who their TEENAGERS especially hang out with - what they do for a living, what their skillsets are, their politics, their religion, their education, their resources, their vices, their virtues, their habits - good or bad - keep detailed mental notes, and like so many sig lines say - be nice, be polite, but have a plan ready to kill every one of them if necessary.
I have nowhere to run (stuck in the city), and nowhere to run TO, if it all hits the fan. My parents have disowned me, and they’re 700 miles away. My in-laws are nuttier than a Dairy Queen Sundae (my brother-in-law gets it, though), and live 1,800 miles away. I have 4 small children, all with Autism; I’m all they have. Mommy wouldn’t know the business end of a rifle if it fell on her. Even John Wayne dies at the end of “The Alamo.” Sometimes, it just goes that way.
Being as self-sufficient as possible helps (we have a greenhouse AND a garden), as well as networking with other like-minded folks (especially neighbors, but ALSO church members, other Boy Scout parents/leaders, local police, firefighters, EMS personnel, et.al.) with as broad a variety of skillsets as possible helps. Pray for the best, and plan for the worst. And keep a level-head. SOMEONE has to; probably OUGHTA be the trigger-puller. 
Are you refering to “Lights Out” by David Crawford?
Form a group like that and, unless you know every single one extremely well, a significant number will be government informers or undercover agents.
That is the book I was referring to.
Thanks. There are a few by that name.
I’ll swap venison and turkey for the bread that you’re baking.
… Although many of us within this family group have dicussed the “world situations” and possibilities, my wife and I are the only ones that have taken any steps toward preprations at all. We are nowhere near where we would like to be, and with our budget have been and continue to be slow to build our preprations
After a ‘lightbulb’ moment, I started down this train of thought about a year ago, and from the little I’ve scratched the surface on this topic, I’d definately agree on having some sort of pre-arranged group to get with if things go south.
But I’m also kind of in the same sort of situation as the above-obviously the stumper is WHO?
Family members immediately come to mind, but not only are we pretty strung out all over the U.S., but after some discussion and extremely subtle ‘feelers’ I’m getting a vibe that A) they’re nuttier than a DQS, B) they don’t think anything will ever happen, or C)they see no need to do anything about it until it’s actually going to happen (too late…)
At least I’m lucky and already live with some family in a rural area (although not that far off the beaten path), but the few neighbors we do have I’m not sure can be counted on as A) they’re old, or B)we don’t know them that well.
I have one guy and his wife that I’ve recently met because he’s an AR guy too, and turned out to be preparedness-minded, but I’m afraid he’s more of the ‘black helicopters and food coloring’ kind of guy…
I have a couple buddies that from what I gather are familiar with this type of thing, but are over three hours away, and I’m afraid are also more interested in slaying the zombie hordes… Of course that remains to be seen as I haven’t had a real sit down powow with them yet.
Which pretty much leaves me, myself, and I to try and figure this all out, with an extremely limited budget and skill set (what does a guy who spent a few years in college for IT know about survival…?) At least I’m already the family gun nut, so I can write a lot of things off as part of my hobby, but there’s going to be a few raised eyebrows if I start running around ordering seeds, or a pallet of MRE’s shows up…:laugh:
Somebody needs to write a handbook- How to Impress Urgency Upon Average People Without Looking Like a Nut.
Your experiences echo my own. For the last year + I have been trying to put together people. I have come to the conclusion that it will only work with people you have known for years and years, (don’t even think about it with strangers) and trust implicitly. People who share the same ethics, morals, spiritial and political beliefs as you, people who share your same psychie in not being “too” militaristic and looking forward to using all their tacti-cool gear. I am now at the point where If I can find just one other man to watch my six and me his (& his family) (without 5 kids all daughters) I’ll be happy.
In Idaho you find small towns with the same values, morals, and ethics, not just groups of people. Hell, even the old timers have EBR’s.
So then they should have some skills;)
It seems to me the bigger problem is getting the right type of people in the same area. I have a few that have similar mindset to me and I trust, but we are spread out and life seems to keep it that way
I think that the biggest problem for this question is distance. Everyone (well most) knows plenty of people that would fit the “Group”. It is just they are too far away, maybe even in other states. The problem is getting everyone together. I have the same problem and we have been trying to come up with a solution, still no luck.