Retreat Security: I Am Your Worst Nightmare, by Jeff T.

source: http://www.survivalblog.com/2009/10/retreat_security_i_am_your_wor.html

I am the leader of a band of 8-to-12 looters. I have some basic military training. We move from place to place like locusts devouring everything in our path. My group is armed with light weapons and can develop and follow simple plans of attack. We take what we want by force of arms. We prefer none of our victims survive because that could cause problems for us in the future.

It has been six months since the grid went down. You and the other five members of your party have settled into what may be a long grinding existence. The every day tasks of growing and gathering have now become routine. The news from the outside is extremely limited but you don’t really miss it much. Life is simple but physically demanding.

Although things may seem stable you will need to keep your team focused and alert. This is your first and most important layer of defense. You should hold an immediate reaction drill once per week. Keep things simple. Practice a specific response to such threats as injury, fire, attack and evacuation. Despite the challenges you must maintain contact with those around you such as neighbors for vital clues that trouble is brewing. Regular monitoring the radio will be critical in providing an early warning of trouble. You may be able to safely interview refugees with risking your party. Keep in mind the information you get from them may not always be reliable.

While you have been farming I have been learning the best tactics to employ to seize your property and your goods. I have been refining them since we hit the road right after the lights went out. I have conducted eight “hits” so far and have been successful seven times. Here are some of my “lessons learned”.

Intelligence gathering and target selection is critical to my success. Targets include those who have large quantities of fuel, food and other valuable supplies. My posse is constantly questioning anyone and everyone we contact searching for this our next victim. Anyone who has ever had knowledge, even second hand, of your preparations is someone of interest to me. I may approach them directly or indirectly. If anyone knows something I will find out about it. Who seems well-fed? Who still has transportation? Who has lights? Who was prepared? Where are they exactly? Somebody talks, either in person or on the radio. They always do.

We search for victims night and day. During the day we are listening for the sounds of machinery, cars, tractors, gunfire or generators. Day or night without a lot of wind those sounds can carry for miles. At night I look for any sort of light. Even a small flash indicates somebody with electricity and that means a rich target. I always have somebody listing to the scanner for any news, leads or insecure chatter.

Operational Security (OPSEC) is an important concept for your entire group to understand and maintain. If somebody outside your circle doesn’t have a real need to know about your plans, preparations or procedures then they shouldn’t know period. Develop a cover story and live it like was a bulletproof vest. It is no less important to your protection and survival. During an event you need to blend in with the surrounding environment. Carefully observe noise (such as generators and other engines) and light discipline especially at night. If you need to test fire weapons do it in one sequence to avoid a prolonged noise signature.

Once I find and target you reconnaissance of your retreat is my next step. Only a fool would try to rush in and try to overwhelm a group of “survivalists”. We had a bad experience with that during our second hit. Now we spend at least a day or two trying to size up a large opportunity and the best way to take it down. I will observe retreat activity from a nearby-concealed position. I will get an idea of your numbers, weapons, routines and so much more by careful surreptitious observation. If your group seems alert, I will try and trigger a false alarm with a dog or child to watch your reaction to a threat. That helps me know how you respond, where you are strong and how to attack. I may also obtain a topographical map of the area to identify likely avenues of approach and potential escapes routes you will try to use. I may coerce your neighbors into uncovering a weak spot or access point or other important intelligence. I also have a Bearcat handheld scanner. I will be listening for any insecure chatter from your radios.

Regular patrols at irregular intervals focused on likely observation points and avenues of approach could keep me at bay. You could put down sand or other soft soil in key choke points as a way of “recording” if anyone has recently traveled through the land. Dogs, with their advanced sense of hearing and smell are able to detect and alert you to intruders well in advance of any human. Motion sensing IR video cameras as a part of a security plan could play a part in your layered defense as long as you have power. A 24 hour manned observation point equipped with high quality optical tools is a must. It should be fortified and if possible concealed. It should have a weapon capable of reaching to the edges of your vision. Seismic intrusion devices, night vision and thermal imaging are phenomenal force multiplying tools. They can give you critical intelligence and warning. You should use them if you have them. Understand they are not fool proof and I can often neutralize them if I know you have them.

These tools and techniques provide you reaction time. Time to plan your response and time to execute that plan. Recognize that a “defender” is always at a disadvantage. By definition a defender will be reacting to my attack. Modern warfare has emphasized the ability of the attacker to operate faster than opponents can react. This can be explained by the OODA loop. Below are the four steps of the classic OODA loop. These are the steps a defender goes through when under attack.

1. Observing or noticing the attack.

2. Orient to the direction, method and type of attack.

3. Deciding what the appropriate response will be.

4. Acting on that decision.

As an attacker I will try and operate at a pace faster than you as a defender can adjust to. I will change my direction, pace, timing and method to force you to continue to process through the OODA loop. This creates confusion and wastes your precious reaction time. As a defender you will need to disrupt or reset your attackers timing with a counter-attack. When you are successful you become the attacker. Your defensive plans should utilize and exploit this concept. Here are a few scenarios:

1. Snipe & Siege

I will begin the attack when I can engage at least half of your party’s military age personnel in one coordinated effort. I will infiltrate my team into concealed positions around your retreat within 50 to 75 yards. I will target any identified leadership with the first volley. Two thirds of my people will be engaging personnel. The other group will target communications antennas, surveillance cameras and any visible lighting assets. I want your group unable to see, communicate or call for help. The members of my band will each fire two magazines in the initial exchange. Two thirds of my group will change to new concealed positions and wait. One third will fall back into an ambush of the most likely avenue of escape. We will stay concealed and wait until you come out to attend to your wounded and dead. We repeat the attack as necessary until any resistance is crushed.

Ensure you adjust the landscape around your retreat so that I don’t have anyplace offering cover or concealment within 100 yards of your residence. You can create decorative masonry walls that can be used to offer cover for personnel close to your residence. Fighting positions can be built now and used as raised planting beds and then excavated for use in the future. These can be extended or reinforced after any significant event. These structures or other measures such as trenching must be sited carefully to avoid allowing them to be used effectively by an attacker if they are overrun.

2. Trojan Horse

For one hit we used an old UPS truck. We forced a refugee to drive it to the retreat gate. We concealed half our group inside the truck. The truck was hardened on the inside with some sandbags around the edges. The other half of our group formed an ambush concealed inside the tree line along the driveway. We killed the driver to make it look good and had one person run away. Those preppers almost waited us out. After nearly three hours they all walked slowly down the driveway. They were bunched up in a group intent on checking out the truck and driver. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

They could have worked together as group to sweep the area 360 degrees around the truck and they would have surely found us. A dog would have also alerted the residents to our presence. They could have taken measures to eliminate the vegetation offering us concealment on the road near the gate. They could have used CS gas or something similar to “deny” any suspicious areas. Lastly they could have done a “reconnaissance by fire”. Shooting into likely hiding spots, including the truck, trying to evoke a response. They should have established an over watch position with the majority of their group. This over watch group would have provided visual security and an immediate response if there were an attack. They were not expecting any additional threats. They didn’t consider that there might be additional danger lurking nearby aside from the truck and they died.

3. Kidnap & Surrender

A few weeks ago we surprised and captured a couple of women out tending a garden. It was totally by chance. We were traveling through a very rural area on our way to another town when somebody heard a tractor backfire. We immediately stopped and I sent a small team to recon the noise. They bumped into a small party tending a field at the edge of their retreat. They seized two women and immediately dragged them back to our vehicles. We began negotiations by sending a finger from each one back to the retreat under a white flag. The rest was easy.

This didn’t need to happen. Better noise discipline would have kept us from discovering their retreat. Some simple boundary fencing or tangle foot could have delayed us. The women should have been armed and aware of such a threat. If they has established an over watch for the garden they could have engaged us before we took our hostages or at least alerted the others that there was a problem. They also could have had a quick reaction SOP developed prior to this incident. That Quick Reaction (QR) force could have followed the kidnappers back to our vehicles and set up an ambush of their own. Rural retreat security is a full time job. If you snooze you may lose everything.

4. Fire and Maneuver

I don’t like this option but sometimes the prize is just too tempting. We typically infiltrate quietly at night to prearranged start points. We begin our attack just before dawn when your senses are dulled by a long night watch or from sleep. Based on our reconnaissance we divided your retreat into positions or zones that need specific attention. We prepare for battle by using an air rifle to target any lights or cameras. Our first priority is to engage any LP/OP site and destroy or degrade them as much as possible. I split my forces into two supporting groups. One group keeps the target position under constant fire. The other group also fires and maneuvers, closing on the target and destroying it with gunfire or improvised weapons. Many times these positions only have one occupant and the task is relatively easy. Often these positions are easy to spot and are too far from each other to provide any effective mutual support. We will work from one position to the next. In the darkness and confusion most of the defenders are disoriented and ineffective. They fall like dominos. We have also used motorcycles to negotiate obstacles and speed through cuts in the perimeter fence. Then throw Molotov Cocktails into any defensive position as they roar past. If you fall back into your residence we will set up a siege. If we can maneuver close enough, perhaps by using a distraction, we will pump concentrated insecticide into your building or we may introduce LP gas from a portable tank into the house and ignite it with tracer fire.

If there was enough warning time from your OP you could execute a pre-planned response. Your planned response should be simple, easy to understand and execute. Half your group occupies your fighting positions, two to a position. The rest of your party establishes an over watch and concentrate its fire at the enemies trying to fix your positions. If you had more than enough prepared positions the enemy might not know where to attack. It would also provide more flexibility in your defense based on the direction of attack. I would use Night Vision if available or illumination from flares or lights as a last resort. Rats hate light.

Usually people keep main access points blocked from high-speed approach. Likely avenues of approach should also be blocked or choked and kept under observation. Remember though what keeps me out keeps you in. Typically the common techniques of parking vehicles in roadways will only delay my approach not stop it altogether. An ordinary 12-gauge shotgun, shooting slugs, can stop most types of non-military vehicles at close range.

Don’t forget the threat of fire or other non-traditional weapons in your defensive plans.

You could create the illusion of a “dead end” for your main access road by positioning a burned out trailer home or a couple of burned out cars at the false “end” of the road. Concealing the fact that the road actually continues to your residence.

Lastly, develop a plan to evacuate and evade capture. When faced with a significantly superior force it may be the only viable option. This should include simple, reliable communications or signals such as three blasts on a dog whistle. Your fighting positions and barriers need to be constructed to allow coordinated withdrawal in an emergency. You should establish a rally point and time limit to assemble. I believe this should be a priority in your practice drills. During a real emergency you may be able to rally, rearm and plan your own version of the “snipe and siege” to retake your retreat.

Key messages:

Your rural retreat defense can be visualized as a set of concentric rings:

•Location – Location – Location: High and remote are best
•OPSEC – Think of it as a form of armor or shield: Practice it and protect it.
•Observation Post / Listening Post: Your first best chance to counter attack
•Gates / Fences / other barriers: May slow me down. Might keep you in.
•Fighting positions: Must provide mutual support and allow for evacuation.
•Residence: Last line. Don’t become trapped
•People, Planning and Practice
Remember:

•An aggressive and unexpected counter strike can win the battle.
•Stay alert for multiple threats or diversionary tactics.
•Criminals excel at feigning weakness to lower your guard.
Don’t underestimate me.


Reading for further study:

The Defence of Duffer's Drift, by Major General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton (1905)
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/24842

US Army FM 5-15 Field Fortifications
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19254233/1968-US-Army-Vietnam-War-Field-Fortifications-132p

US Army FM 5-103 Survivability
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2472034/Army-fm5-103-Survivability

Online OODA Resources
http://www.toodoc.com/ooda-loop-ebook.html

Wow! Outstanding.

thank you.. have kept this will print out for my library

Thanks a good read and great points to ponder.

I would suggest that before you wipe them out, you set up a parley or meet with them, see if you can't recruit them for scouting/communications/scavenging. Give them a space away from all the proper community folk where they can live their lifestyle so long as they do no harm to innocents.

What have you been smoking Croft? (LOL) In theTEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) scenario described above you don’t parlay with a bunch or murdering thieves or try to recruit them. You hunt them down and kill them before they kill you.

The TEOTWAWK situation above shows why survivalism is not a solution. The militia is the solution. When the British marched on Lexington and Concord to confiscate guns if the patriots would have run off in the woods to be survivalists they would have lost and we would now be ruled by England and have no gun rights.

Once a murdering enemy has been identified go on the offensive and wipe them out. You are much more likely to win with offensive tactics than defensive tactics.

Form militias now and train while you still can. Your first mistake on a battle will likely be your last.

Same could be said of some groups calling themselves militia-depends on who gets killed and whose doing the describing.

Like I said, they could just be desperate or they could be mobile version of militia. If they're not obviously raping children and eating babies then find out what they're about. They can be persuaded to talk with a show of force.

Like it or not such situations are going to require some kind of flexibility.

Militiamen do not attack, rob, and murder people. Would you try to reason with a rabid dog too instead of just shooting it? In a TEOTWAWKI situation robbers and murders must be eliminated quickly and with extreme prejudice.

No doubt at all that in a long-term disruption of what passes for normal civilization these days groups of thugs will call themselves militia, committees of vigilance, or other noble-sounding names as they extort resources from those who have them.

Just like that other group of thugs called 'government' does now.

I have to agree with TR on this one, no quarter, expect no mercy....

The thing about characters who are going to be constantly running hostile actions is just plain attrition. They hit retreat after retreat, and even if they run only 5% losses per engagement, they will be depleted in a manner of time, if they are 'recruiting and drafting' people in the interim, then it is just a matter of time before mini-darwinism puts the tough guys vying for positions of power in such a super aggressive group at each others throats before long as they fight to sort out their own pecking order.

Also realize that certain aspects of forensic knowledge and ability are never going to go away. Some social order will eventually be restored or built from scratch, and someone really rolling around doing human rights violations will probably either have to be in hiding or answer for it someday.

Likewise, someone who decides to engage in summary ambush and execution of refugees, even armed refugees might stand a better chance of longevity, but I think at some extent, some of us will be keeping track of which envoys and refugees heading into or across which areas are disappearing and which are not.

No one was talking of eliminating any refugees just eliminating roving packs of thieving murderers.

Attrition works both ways. Suppose they do a hit and run on your base camp every week or two and kill 3 or 4 of your people each time. It would be much wiser to hunt them down and put a stop to it.

Here is a likely scenario excerpted from Triple Ought by James Rawles:
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…. a regular long range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) from the retreat contacted a farmer who seemed nervous and distressed. He said, "I'm sure am glad to see you. I haven't been sleeping well for four days now. I don't have a C.B., and I was afraid to leave my wife and babies to go ask for help. There's a bunch of bikers that took over Princeton. That's less than a mile north of here. I'm afraid that once they strip those houses clean that they might come down here. What they've been doin' is just terrible. They killed most of the men, and they've been raping the women that are still left alive. I also heard that they've been torturing the little kids. A couple of houses got torched. They're a bunched of damn animals."

The man looked imploringly at Carlton and asked, "You've got those military lookin' guns and the organization, can't you do something about it?"

Doug Carlton, who was leading the patrol asked, "Do you know how many of them there are, and how they're armed?"

The farmer said, "I heard that there's at least 20, maybe 30 of that trash. Rumor has it that they got a machinegun."

"What kind of machinegun?"

"A big one, you know, with one of them ammo belts, on tripod legs." A few more minutes of questioning revealed little else, as all of the man's information was second hand.

Heeding the training that he had received in his ROTC courses, Carlton took the initiative to deal decisively with the situation. After moving the patrol 400 yards away from the farm into a dense grove of trees, Carlton consulted with the other patrol members. "Okay, here's the deal. We obviously don't have the necessary combat power in a seven member patrol to handle this problem. What I'm going to do is split the patrol in half. Three members of the patrol will go on an extended recon of Princeton, while the other four will return to the retreat. The recon patrol will consist of Jeff, Lisa, and Kevin. The rest of us will get back to the retreat A.S.A.P. and report on what we've heard…"

… The next day was spent anxiously waiting. Other than two very brief radio checks, there was no contact with the recon patrol. Most of the militia members spent the day cleaning their guns, sharpening their knives and bayonets, and reloading each of their gun's magazines, carefully examining each cartridge. Most seemed deep in thought and prayer, and there was not much talking or the usual banter and joking…

…Picking up the notebook, he read, "Strength: Total number of people observed was 24. All but two of this number were positively identified as part of the biker gang. Of these 22 individuals, 18 were men and four were women. We also saw two children running from house to house on one occasion, but could not be sure if they were local residents, or if they came with the gang. Four bodies were seen laying in the street throughout the period that we observed."

"Vehicles: We counted 18 motorcycles parked in various places. Most of them were chopped Harleys. Five of them were equipped with scabbards for long guns. We also spotted a Ford van which was accessed three or more times during the day by the bikers. This appeared to be their support vehicle. They may have other support vehicles, but it was hard to tell, as there were several other vehicles in the area. Some of these vehicles were obviously out of commission, but others looked operational, and might belong to the bikers…"

… At just after 2 p.m., a naked woman of about 50 years of age was seen running out of one of the houses. She was followed closely behind by a half clothed man carrying an M1 carbine. As soon as he got out the front door, he fired four times, hitting the woman in the back at least twice. He then walked up and shot the woman three times in the head. He was heard yelling, 'The bitch bit me!, The bitch bit me!" At that point we had to restrain ourselves from opening fire at him." The heretofore professional tone of Jeff's voice changed noticeably as he said, "I never thought that I'd ever have the gut level urge to kill anyone, but let me tell you, this guy was an inspiration…"

… Mike asked, "Did you see any evidence of guards changing at any of the houses?"

"No, we didn't. But if I was trying to secure that little town, I wouldn't be focusing my security inward."

Mike then said, "That's because you have a Marine Corps mentality rather than a biker mentality. With their mindset, the threats are from law enforcement, or possibly other gangs. In either case they'd come in by road. Under the current circumstances that security mentality is out-dated. The threats now are from people like us, on foot, playing 'Batman in the Boondocks'. They just haven't realized it yet.

Mike continued with his questioning: "What was your impression about their skill at arms?"

"From what I could observe, and I think Lisa and Kevin would agree, they don't seem to be particularly well trained or disciplined. They do have enough discipline, however, to mount a regular guard shift. I guess if I had to sum it up, I'd say that what they lacked in skills and organization, they make up for by being vicious. These guys, and their women for that matter, are some of the most ruthless thugs I've ever heard of. I saw a lot, and heard a lot when I was in the Corps, but I have never heard of anybody taking target practice at dead bodies. These guys are utterly Godless and obviously don't have a single moral or scruple left to guide them. I think they'd use force in a heart-beat."

After a considerable pause, Mike asked, "Okay, my key question is, do you think that with the help of the Templars, that we can take these hombres on--with a reasonable chance of success?"

"Danged straight we can, but we got to hit 'em hard and make them play by our ground rules."

Mike asked, "What do you suggest we do if we lose the element of surprise?"

"There would be only one good option, and that would be for everyone to beat feet out of there and link up later a good defendable rally point a couple of klicks out of town. If we were to make a frontal assault with them prepared and expecting us, we wouldn't have a chance in hell. If, however, we catch them with their pants down, we'll wax most of them before they even realize what's happening."

Mike nodded his head, and said, "Okay. Those were the only questions that I had. Anyone else?" No one raised their hands.

Todd, who had been listening quietly to the de-briefing, clucked his tongue and said, "Jeff, I'd like to congratulate you on leading such a professional and rewarding recon. I'd like you and Mike to come with me when I have my meeting with Roger Dunlap later this morning. At this point, I'd like to open the floor to suggestions on how we might go about cleaning house in Princeton."

Immediately, Dan Fong suggested that an ambush be set up outside of town. That idea was shot down for two reasons: First, the gang didn't show any signs of leaving anytime soon. Second, they could leave in two different directions. Mary then suggested that two teams be used to conduct an assault. The first team, or "support" team would set up ambushes on the road in each direction out of town, as well as any other likely avenues of escape. The second team would sweep through the town, cleaning the looters out house to house. If any of the gang managed to escape, they could be shot or captured at the ambush sites. If the assault team had to withdraw from the town, the support team would provide covering fire. …

… After prayers and yet another briefing, the militia conducted its final inspections and rehearsals. With their web gear and camouflage face paint on, the militia looked fearsome. Mike, Lisa, Todd, T.K., and Rose wore bullet proof vests and helmets. Mike walked up and down the line of raiders, shooting questions. "What is the running password? What would a red star cluster flare or six short whistle blasts indicate? What is your en route panic azimuth? On which C.B. channel will we coordinate with the Templars? What is the alternate channel? What is our call sign? What is their call sign? Can you list the chain of command?"

Next he had each member of the patrol jump up an down to check for items that might be excessively noisy. The last item of business was a final check of each patrol member's personal camouflage. Finally satisfied, Mike said, "Aw-right pilgrims, let's saddle up. Lock and load." With a few hoots and hollers, they filed out the door to two waiting pickups.

Margie, Mary, Shona, and baby Jacob were left to "hold the fort." As they watched the two trucks drive away, both women started to cry.

The drive north was relatively quiet. They parked the trucks on a logging road three miles south of Princeton. From there, they traveled on foot in "Ranger file." The raiders were in position 300 yards outside town by 3:30 a.m. There, they lay in the chill darkness, waiting. Radio silence was broken only once, at 4 a.m. Dan Fong, who was using an earphone with his C.B. heard the call, "Ready Freddie, over." He whispered the reply, "Ready Mikey, out." He rolled over to tap Mike on the shoulder, gestured to the earphone, and gave an "okay" signal. Mike nodded and patted Dan on the back.

At 5:20 a.m., Mike walked up and down the line of prone raiders, kicking them in the boots. Not surprisingly, a few of them had fallen asleep. After the adrenaline rush of their initial movement, laying down for two hours was enough to lull some of them into slumber. Mike whispered to each of them, "Quietly and slowly, stretch out and if need be, relieve yourself."

At 5:30, standing in a skirmish line, Mike gave the arm signal for "forward." Spread out at 10 yard intervals, the patrol moved forward toward the dim outline of the buildings in the half light of dawn.

The raiders were already within the confines of the town before anyone was spotted. It was Kevin who was first seen by the biker's roving guard. Two quick shot's from Lendel's riotgun dropped the guard before he even had a chance to un-sling his carbine. Immediately after he saw that the man was no longer a threat, Kevin quickly refilled his gun's tubular magazine from the elastic nylon shell holder mounted on the gun's stock.

After the first shots were fired, the rest of the raiders picked up their pace to a trot, and moved in the direction of their assigned buildings.

Jeff Trasel had been given the assignment of suppressing the biker's M60 machinegun position. Soon after he heard Kevin's shots, 30 yards to the west, he came in sight of the machinegun position. The machinegunner, obviously nervous, was pointing the weapon in the direction of the source of the commotion caused by Lendel. Fortunately, Jeff was approaching at a 90 degree angle to the muzzle of the weapon. Dropping to one knee, he fired four rounds from his HK-91 at the man behind the M60. Three of his four shots hit the man in the chest and head.

Taking the initiative, Jeff rushed the position. As he reached the machinegun, he lowered the muzzle of his rifle and fired two more rounds at the chest of the dying biker. Crouching down behind the gun, he reloaded his rifle from one of the magazine pouches on his web gear, and then cross-slung it across his back. By now, he could hear more firing coming from down the street in both directions.

Jeff whispered a gleeful "Oh yeah," as he picked up the M60. Lifting the gun's feed tray cover, he could see that its bolt was in the rearward position, ready to fire. He muttered to himself, "Now I get to see if you work!" He snapped the feed tray cover back down into its locked position. With a quick search of the machinegun position, Jeff found another 100-round belt of ammunition laying loose in a wooden box. Trasel unhooked the last round of this belt, and linked it back to the first round in the belt, forming a continuous loop. This he slung across his shoulder, bandoleer fashion. Trasel then hefted the 23 pound weapon, folded its bipod legs into their closed position, and flipped the trailing end of the ammunition belt across his left shoulder.

At the far end of town, Todd Gray was running into trouble. He, Lisa, and Lon were all concentrating their fire on a house that held at least two bikers. The gang members were firing steadily but randomly from the house's downstairs windows. Because of their positions, both the gang members and the raiders were having little effect. When he heard a pause in the fire coming from his side of the building, Gray made a zigzag dash across the street, firing as he ran, and flattened himself up against the side of the house. There, he quickly reloaded his HK.

Todd dropped prone and inched his way down the side of the building until he was directly below the window from which the shooting had resumed. The muzzle blast from the gun firing only two feet above his head was tremendous. Taking a grenade from his cargo pocket, Todd pulled its pin, letting its spoon fly away. Luckily, the sound of the grenade's primer and the hiss of the fuse was muffled by the noise of the shooting, which by now was continuous. After a silent two count, Todd tossed the grenade into the window. Just after he again dropped flat, the grenade went off with a roar.

With his ears ringing, Todd scrambled though the smoking window. He fired three times at the inert form of a man wearing only a pair of blue jeans. He then moved slowly and cautiously from room to room. When he reached the front of the house, he was greeted by un-aimed pistol shots coming from behind a half wall partition. Gray aimed carefully at a spot three feet below where he had seen a gun hand occasionally pop over the partition. Centering on this spot, he fired a ten shot burst in a horizontal spread. The was no more firing in reply from behind the partition.

To be certain that he had been successful, Todd lowered his muzzle to fire another horizontal burst just above the base of the partition. He did this assuming that anyone left alive there would by now be laying prone. His rifle now empty, Todd pulled his .45 automatic from its holster and thumbed down its safety. He took a peek around the corner to find the still form of a woman laying in a pool of blood. Her hand clutched a AMT long-slide stainless steel .45 automatic. Her gun was empty, its slide locked to the rear. Todd raised his own pistol and fired a one round coup de grace at the woman's head. Listening carefully, he could hear the sound of someone sobbing upstairs. Todd shouted out the shattered front window, "I cleared the downstairs, but there's still someone upstairs. I need some help in here."

Lon Porter let out a hoarse "On the way!"

Lisa followed his words with, "I'll cover from out here."

After he was in the front door, Todd shook his head twice and said to Lon, "My ears are ringing two pitches at once. For the moment, I'm practically deaf. You'd better lead off."

"Okey-Dokey, Boss," Porter said with a twisted grin.

Before they moved upstairs, the two men took turns reloading their guns. "How are you doing for ammo?," Todd inquired.

"I put almost 60 rounds through the FAL, and I haven't fired my .357 at all."

"Well, it looks like you might to get your opportunity." Gesturing toward the stairway, he said, "Lets go."

Farther down the street, Jeff was trying out his new toy. He fired first in reply to muzzle flashes coming from a second story window of a frame house. Leaning up against a wall, Jeff fired four bursts of about 10 rounds each at the window and at the wall below it. There was no more shooting from the window. After firing the M60, Jeff yelled at the top of his lungs, "This is Trasel!, This is Trasel!"

Jeff then moved further down the street. His second target of opportunity was two men armed with handguns running out of town down a side street. Jeff dropped to the ground, swung out the gun's bipod legs, and lined up on his targets. By now, the two men were more than 300 yards away. Five short bursts sent the men kicking in the dust. He again yelled, "This is Trasel!," because, as he was to explain later, he didn't want anyone thinking that the M60 was still in unfriendly hands.

At the east end of Princeton, four Harleys roared to life and sped out of town. Della fired half a dozen rounds at the retreating forms without success. Her targets, four hundred yards away, rounded a bend in the road, and were out of sight. Across the street, she heard Doug say, "Save your ammo, they're out of range. The Templars will take care of them." Seconds later, they heard an explosion and the ripple of gunfire down the road. Raising her hand, Della gave Doug an "okay" symbol. Just then, they heard the sound a shotgun barking from a nearby brick house. In a sing song voice, Della yelled, the familiar saying from their countless training sessions: "Okay Joe, I'll fire, you move!"

Carlton sprinted from car to car, and then toward the house, approaching it from around the corner from which the shots were coming. He then said, "Okay Joe, I'll fire, you move." As Della got up, Carlton started firing his M1A at one-second to two-second intervals to keep the man with the shotgun pinned down. At the side of the building, Doug and Della held a quick consultation and reloaded their rifles. Della resumed firing at the window while Doug went around to enter the house from the front. Only occasionally did the man with the shotgun return her fire.

Just as Della was firing the last rounds from her second 30 round magazine, she heard a grenade explosion inside the house. She waited anxiously for a couple of minutes until her husband emerged again from the front of the house. As he padded up to her, Doug smiled and said, "End of story."

After finding his assigned house empty, T.K. made his way down the main street, and then back up the alley that ran parallel to it to the north. He came under fire twice. On the first occasion, a man firing a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a mobile home sent a round whizzing by his ear. T.K. turned toward the source of the shooting, and dropped into a crouch. He lined up his sights and fired two shots in rapid succession. The first of the 62 grain Sierra match bullets hit the man in the neck and the second hit him in the left eye. The back of his skull disintegrated in a cloud of pink vapor.

As he moved farther down the street, Kennedy came under fire from behind by a man shooting an M1 carbine from the concealment of a porch. T.K. was struck in the back by two bullets, and sent tumbling to the ground. He was momentarily breathless. Once he realized that his bulletproof vest had stopped the rounds, he rolled over and returned fire with his AR-15 in four quick double taps. His assailant was stitched by half a dozen bullets and lay gurgling on the porch. T.K. stood up and moved on, unconsciously swapping magazines and searching for new targets.

Holding his Smith and Wesson 686 revolver in a low ready position, Lon began his slow ascent of the stairway, hugging the left hand wall. From below, Todd covered the doorway at the top of the stairs. Once he was at the landing at the top of the stairs, Lon gestured for Todd to follow him. Gray then advanced up the stairs and crouched at the landing while Lon searched the upstairs rooms. After he had entered the second bedroom, Todd heard Lon fire three times in rapid succession, and then after a pause, a fourth shot. Next, Gray heard the tinkle of empty pistol cartridges hitting the hardwood floor as Porter reloaded his 686 using a speed loader. The last room was unoccupied.

Walking back to the stairwell to stand near Todd, Lon said, "There was a young woman in the middle bedroom. All she was wearing was a tank top. She was sitting there crying when I walked in. Then I noticed that she had the tattoo of a rose and a skull on her shoulder. She got up and started toward me fast with a big sheath knife. That's when I shot her. She was only a few feet away. I never want to have to do something like that again."

Mike, Dan, Kevin, and Rose did most of the house clearing. They linked together as an ad hoc team, kicking in doors and moving from room to room, eliminating resistance. It was usually Mike who led the way on these assaults. His bulletproof vest saved his life twice that morning.

In one of the building entries, Dan Fong was slightly wounded by a pistol shot that grazed his upper arm. Soon after he applied a Carlysle battle dressing, the wound stopped bleeding.

After twenty minutes of house to house and room to room fighting, the shooting died down and finally came to a stop. In plain view, Mike jogged up and down the street, checking on the raiders. Once it was clear that there was no more resistance, he walked to the doorway of the service bay of the gas station. He tooted long blasts on his whistle for thirty seconds and then gave the call: "Okay pilgrims, rally on me! Rally on me!"

A few minutes later, ten of the raiders were clustered around him in the back of the gas station. Just inside the door to the garage, Tom Kennedy sat with his rifle at the ready, watching the street. Mike said, "Okay, now that we've cleared all of the houses, we're going to go back through again in buddy teams, just to make sure that we didn't miss anyone. I want every single room of each house thoroughly searched. I don't care how long it takes. Also, make sure that every one of these 'One Percenters' that we shot are one-hundred percent dead. It's the ones that you think are dead that get up and shoot you."

The final clearing process went relatively smoothly. One biker was found hiding under a bed. After he was ordered out from his hiding place, he made a leap for a window. Kevin Lendel fired his riotgun three times, leaving him in a heap beneath the window sill.

In the back of the former tractor shop, T.K. and Lisa found a ten year old boy trapped in a wall locker that had been secured with a twisted piece of coat hanger wire in its latch. He was the only surviving resident of the town. The boy's hands were wrapped in bloodstained rags. When Lisa removed the rags, she found that both of the boy's little fingers had been cut off. Lisa asked, "Who did this to you?"

The boy mumbled something unintelligible in reply.

Lisa repeated her question twice more.

Finally, the boy gave a trembling reply: "It was Greasy. He said that he was going to cut off one finger a day until they were all gone."

"Why did he do this to you?"

"Because... because I wouldn't do what he wanted me to do. Greasy wanted me to use my mouth to, to..." With that, the boy's voice trailed off and he began to cry.

Lisa moved to hug the boy, but he pushed her away with a grunt. "You poor dear. Do you want some water?," Lisa asked.

"Yes please, ma'am."

Lisa pulled her canteen out of its pouch and handed it to the boy. He drank nearly all of it with loud gulps.

The Templars had set up two three man ambushes in both directions on the road through Princeton. Each of these ambushes employed two Claymores apiece. Seven other individuals set up one man ambushes along likely paths of egress from town. Each of these ambushers set up a single Claymore mine.

Only three of the Templars' ambushes were sprung. The first was initiated by a Claymore mine and followed by rifle fire. This ambush killed the four gang members who attempted to flee on their motorcycles.

The second ambush was sprung by a fourteen year old girl. Two men, both armed and one of them naked, were running down the trail directly toward her. Once she saw that they were in the fan of effect of her Claymore, she ducked behind the cover of a downed tree, and touched the bare pair of WD-1 wires to the terminals of a 9 volt battery. To her inexperienced ears, the sound of the explosion was startling. When she popped up with her AR-180 carbine to shoot anything still moving, she found there wasn't anyone alive left to shoot.

The third Templar ambush was sprung by their communications expert, a 74 year old retired Navy signalman. Situated at an ambush at a trail junction, he spotted a man wearing a black leather jacket and armed with an inexpensive Maverick riot shotgun running toward him. Not wanting to waste his Claymore, he took careful aim with his M1A and shot the man twice at a range of sixty yards.

Two hours after the shooting stopped, the Templars began to file into town singly or in pairs. They gaped at the bodies lying in the street and at the bodies of the bikers that were being dragged into a growing heap by the Northwest Militia.

One of the women Templars recognized the boy who had been found in the wall locker. She said that he was the son of her hairdresser before the onset of The Crunch. She asked, "Where's your mommy and daddy, Timmy?"

The boy gave her a vacant stare. After a long pause, the boy said, "They shot my dad when they first came. My mom's dead, too. Greasy stabbed her. I saw him do it."

With tears in her eyes, the woman asked, "Would you like to come and live with us? We live near Troy. Its safe there. There's no bad men there."

Still sullen, the boy said, "Sure, I guess so, Molly. But first I want to see Greasy. I want to see him dead." After a few minutes of walking from corpse to corpse, Timmy pointed out the body of the biker called Greasy. He walked over to the corpse and spit on it. Then he walked back to stand under the arm of Molly.

Taking the boy by the hand and leading him away from the corpses, Molly said, "Don't worry. Its over now." The boy looked up at her and gave her a painful look of disbelief.

After posting a perimeter of security, Todd, Mike, Roger Dunlap, and Ted Wallach sat down for a quick meeting in the back of the gas station. First, they compared notes on the number of gang members that they had killed. Todd said matter-of-factly: "We killed 16. Captured zero."

Dunlap nodded and said, "We got seven in our ambushes. That adds up to 23, which squares nicely with the figure that your man Trasel gave in his recon report. At most, one or two might have slipped away." …
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Those were excerpts from an earlier e-version of Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse by James Wesley Rawles. You can by the latest version here
http://www.rawles.to/patriots.htm

I have read both books, the one from 1999 and the new one this year. Good read.

I do agree, it is better to go on the offensive against ones like that rather than wait till they come to you.

My Cure for the OODA loop; SOP.

SOP; HQ location to be given 360 degree security from fighting positions. Any probing attacking will result into all members "digging in" & all non combatants (elderly and children) falling back to a hardened position with older children (8 to 12) running ammo, food and medic supplies to combatant defenders. Area parameter established by a) fence and b) pre-established "kill zones" made up of Puji-pits, trip wires & "toe poppers." Obvious points that would allow an enemy to have cover & concealment can be sabotaged with a "toe popper" IED as well (I like flare rounds for this). Combantants will only engage visible enemy targets.

1. Snipe & Siege:
Easy counter, first go to SOP secondly pop smoke (can be improvised with small fires burning rubber and similar) get the wounded into secure locations. Present decoy targets in the smoke and use recon by fire to draw out enemy positions or fient chaos and confusion to draw enemy into ambush. Hardest to fight because it basicly makes for trench warfare.

2. Trojan Horse:
Simple SOP a) leave it and observe or b) smoke them out; start fire again with bits of rubber under the trojan horse and see if anyone pops out. If they do they rush out into a kill zone. As for the 360 degree security that should be maintained at all time.

3. Kidnap & Surrender:
Garden inside the Secure location, if members are kidnapped count then as dead and attempt to rescue/counter attack the raiders. As for the negotiator under a white flag; invite him in snatch up and torture him to find out enemy location & security. Any negotiation would inspire others or the same group to repeat the process.

4. Fire and Maneuver:
Ok that will be handled by the basic SOP I first stated. First you can keep up suppressive fire & manuver to the established weak point. Which puts you into my "kill zone" destorying your manuver element, secondly as long as you mantain suppressive fire you accomplish nothing but wasting ammo & I can mobilize half of my combantant party (even if only a buddy team) to flank your position. Once you lose people and shift to enage the flanking party you allow yourself to be opened up from the defending positions.

Its a good little thought provoking essay but its written from the stand point that no one will think of this of that. So here is the question, assuming a survivalist "militia" of some kind who know this stuff, how would the mentioned counters in the essay be countered? If you engage an LP/OP someone knows you're there & may be well prepared.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'cure' for the OODA loop. The OODA loop is a fact of everyone's decision-making process, on both sides.

And I'm not sure I understand why you think that having an SOP will maximize your OODA, or minimize your adversary's. If what you have is a plan, good. However, no plan survives contact with the enemy (a much older military truism than Col Boyd's OODA loop), and people better be able to think on their feet, and use initiative.

If I've misunderstood what you mean, sorry - but maybe you can explain it a little differently for me?

Well the article presents the OODA as if thats a defense side only issue. As you pointed out the OODA is gonna effect both sides equally, so for the intial assumption of "disease" the OODA loop which effects & hinders the defense. The SOP of a planned defense "cures" the intial on set of the "disease."

After that its action & reaction; the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guys) can go to his Snipe & Seige method expecting his plan of action to be successful & find my SOP counters or stalls the attempt. The straw man arguement that this will have that result is "cured" by the fact that (as you pointed out); no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

As I stated the artcile/essay is written from the stand point that people lack to knowledge/experience to prepare for such. More so, to be honest as a defender I have the advantage of being able to prepare a head of time. Any aspect of physical security which is prepared, pre-planned and rehearsed into an automatic action will a) minimize the time required for the OODA loop & b) force the attacking party to adjust tactics thus causing them to have to go through the OODA loop themselves. Its no different then going through Battle Drills for infrantry tactics.

1. Observing or noticing the attack.
Ok, thats gonna happen basicly the same way. Ooh the BBEG are attacking...

2. Orient to the direction, method and type of attack.
Not required for the group as a whole or even leadership personnel; because everyone has been taught their "battle drills" & know their place in the group collective of 360 security. Maximizes teamwork & allows the group to function as whole because everyone has his/her specific task at the initial on set of contact.

3. Deciding what the appropriate response will be.
Again not a heavily required burden because everyone understands the "battle drills." And the SOP, since everyone knows the defensive response there isn't allot to think about, just a pre-conditioned response, aagin cutting down reaction time

4. Acting on that decision.
What action on decision? Adjustments can be made as necessary but a the conditioned drills allow everyone to function by already a) knows what to do, b) how to do it & c) why they are doing.

Four years of Army infantry & have had react to contact drilled into to the point I don't think I react. Twenty some years of martial arts has conditioned me to react before I think. A well planned and practiced SOP will be the same way, reaction without thought and it will cut down on reaction time.

You'll notice in each case the SOP came first and adjustments came after. Why? Because 1) SOP established 360 degrees of interlocking fire (an aspect of the fighting positions), 2) SOP established a "weakness" which draws in the attacking force into a prepared "kill zone," 3) SOP allows each combantane member to concentrate on a smaller area as a "sector of fire" & conserve energy in reaction maximizing cover & concealment and finally 4) SOP removes the confusion of how to react because there is an established and practiced reaction.

All that cuts the OODA loop to simply Observing the Attack & Acting on that Preplanned & Praciced Decision. If said other adjustments need to be made that comes through the chain of command, group leadership or whatever you choose to use.

Good, we're on the same page.

No matter how good a base camp you set up an enemy could always drop mortar rounds in on you. You still need to maintain mobility.

Asher, in the scenario above from "Patriots Surviving The Collapse" would you wait like a toad in your base camp or would you attack the murdering biker gang, save the town people, and be a hero?

This was a great read. Croft, your on friggen crack dude. Thanks to Tex for squashing his comments.

Militia needs to and will operate as a lawful force in times of need. Anything other than that will be dealt with decisively. Same goes for this band of looter opportunist we are discussing here. Let them hang and rot off the rope, for all to see. Their no different than the tyrants we're dealing with right now. I will be passing this along to my teammates to read. Thanks. See you on the other side.

Well Leo, thanks(?) for resurrecting a dead thread.

My original reply: you go about killing anyone and everyone who happens upon your retreat you will be labeled a mad dog or you will be facing a bigger dog than you. Namely government forces-oh, you say the militia is lawful? Lawful technically but in no way legal to the beast and it's minions. I wouldn't want to be the one trying to quote(fill in your favorite philosopher/law)to people more feral than any set of gangbangers you'll meet-and who are protected by law.

Furthermore, lots of formerly middle class types will likely become scavangers and whatnot. Conversely, I'd bet at least some of those 'gangbangers'(are they n!gger-americans to you?)I'd bet in about any of the fantasy survival situations that they're looking to... guess what... survive.

You get dickholes in every walk of life. I've seen more than my share in the so-called 'movement'. And do you know the thing about 'patriot' dickholes I've noted? They contribute NOTHING....

During Katrina you had cops and gangbangers looting and looking out for themselves... you also had a surprising amount of gangsta types scavenging for civilians. Everyone not sunbaked crazy or just a dickhole looking to shoot/rob someone was just waiting for the US government-the entity you presume you'd answer to-to ride in and save the day. They didn't for several days.

...When they did, their first order of business was to pummel and arrest little old ladies with 50 year old revolvers. You want where it was worst? The Superdome-a situation created by your heroes the government.

We've all been victims of divide and conquer stratagems played out through economic, social cultural and political manipulations by our enemies. Why feed into that?

In any SHTF/TEOTWAWKI situation, I'd rather have alliances than enemies. Less ammo expenditure-say, how many bullets and bandages did you say you had? How many lives you got to spare just because some desperate dude's wearing baggy pants?
If someone's an obvious tango-deal with it. Shoot, shovel and shut up.

If someone's passing through and wants to trade for supplies-see what they got. Keep your guard up of course.

If someone's looking to deal start small and build a relationship. If the relationship develops so be it. It's up to you to decide whom you're going to deal with but dude, you go looking for enemies you'll have them. Nice to see you believe in Patriot Unity(not).

Sure give the gang bangers and biker gangs a chance to find some morals. But they must know that if you don’t own something and the people who do own it don’t want to give it to you then you have no right to it. You could try to trade or barter with decent honest people or just let them pass on through but a band of thieves and murderers needs to be wiped out.

About hurricane Katrina; J. Croft, I live in east Texas and I have friends in the Louisiana militia. When the JBTs came into their neighborhood in New Orleans to confiscate guns the neighborhood militia was ready. They had men with rifles who were not afraid to pull the trigger stationed behind various areas of cover or concealment. The militia had one man approach the police who had arrived to confiscate firearms. He told them that they would not allow any gun confiscation in their neighborhood and that they would be met with deadly force. He pointed out several men with rifles in concealed positions with rifles aimed at them and told them there are about a dozen more men that they could not see that were ready to shoot them too. So the JBT’s left and the men kept all their firearms.

The moral of the story is that yes, some JBT’s with badges like to stomp little old ladies and herd sheeple into the Superdome to choke on filth but diplomacy is effective when it is backed by militiamen with rifles.

Set up a parlay as a pretext for ambush. Do anything that will give you some time. If possible eliminate every one.

Death Sanctions All Mistakes. Let that be your guide.

Bump to top, maybe useful for those not aware.

Courtesy is that the militia or security group inform the police that they are no longer the supreme authority in that area and the local population has elected someone else to protect them.

Looks to me like the folks in that Louisiana militia handled it as appropriately as circumstances permitted.

Just an FYI there is a group just like this in buckely east pierce county

No go on that one. If we set up a parlay, then it's a parlay. Playing games with that could destroy any legitimacy of our diplomatic credibility later on.

There is a difference between say, seiting up a parlay which is an equitable deal of some sort vs making a tribute payment or surrendering our own people.

Ransom payment is also another extremely dicey situation, and when possible, you run that as a prisoner exchange, not an outright payment. A lot of deals have to be done with a legit ransom payment so you can get your people back and then go on the vengeance initiative.

At this time and OPSEC I will refrain from posting how to deal with looters.

But I will say this Death is fast and final. And upon the ant mounds the victims of the Apachu wrath would days later beg for death yet it was not rushed. vengeance has a flavor more richer than revenge.

Above is an example that is not opsec related.