Great post and even though I am in my 60's I can do most of Heinlein's list. Here is my question...How do we organize without drawing the attention of the feds or, if you live in a blue state, your local state police or bureau. Cuz, we all must be prepared individually, but we surely must be able to work together knowing what is coming, sooner or later.
I will talk more about organization later, but there’s different levels that we have to concern ourselves with. And allow me to draw your attention to the tactics of LGOPs.
Thanks for the kind words ….. I’m a believer in Heinlein’s quote: “ A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
I'm up in a small mountain community. Response time is 22 minute average. Yes, I agree, (as a retired medical professional) it's imperative to be at least minimally prepared, like you said. In winter, we are usually cut off from EMS during snow storms, but we have an amazing group of CPR certified and BLS certified people, including myself, that can be of service if need be. In fact we have many more resources, skills and talent here than some larger hamlets because we know we are on our own mostly.
I hadn't thought of it this way, but I was a Minuteman of sorts when something in my neighbor's backyard caught fire. I saw the smoke, ran to check on the source, just in time for him to come outside panicking that he didn't have a way to put it out. Trees and power lines overhead were about to catch.
I ran back to my house, unhooked my garden hose, and toted it over to his bibb. In a few minutes, I'd suppressed the flames. A fire engine pulled up a couple of minutes later, and firefighters broke up the source with axes.
This is what we're supposed to do, when we have the means to act.
I pulled a drowning girl out of a lake when I was 18. I’d taken lifesaving classes thru the city parks program at 15 so I was prepared.
I broke up a situation where a guy was beating a woman in a park that same year.
Stopped my car to help a drunken homeless bicyclist out of the lane of traffic in my 60s. He had fallen off his bike and was too stoned to get up.
There are plenty of opportunities to help people if you pay attention and are willing and you don’t always need special training. I ran a guy off who I spotted stealing a gardener’s equipment off a truck by just yelling at him from across the street. In my 70s now, I wouldn’t attempt to physically break up the guy beating the woman like I did when I was 18 but yelling at him to stop wouldn’t risk much and he’d probably pause long enough for her to get away.
I have long advocated for STATES to pass laws mandating both a state militia and a county posse. Militia at beck and call of the legislature and the posse by the county sheriff. A citizen can be a member of both. State law allows the deduction of expenses of belonging and equipping and are counted as business expense so they can be written off of federal. Suspect the IRS may trigger the next revolution at some point. Militia's are to be raised in companies of one hundred by local citizens up to regiment size. Posse's are organized under the sheriff. An individual can belong to one or both. Training and meetings are sponsored by the state and county. Neither can be deployed out of the state and are NOT subject to federalization. States may agree to mutual self defense agreements. Let it be written. Let it be done.
It's not the gear that made the Minutemen effective, it was the organization. After the defeat at Lexington Green, the communications network brought reinforcements "from every Middlesex village and farm". By the time, the British reached Concord Bridge, there were enough to stop them. As the British began to retreat, they were nearly overrun until their own reinforcements arrived from Boston.
If such organization exists today, they are keeping it secret from me. So the response is limited to what a single individual can do, like the example of the car wreck. Even there, my training tells me not to try to pull a person from a car for first aid unless the car is sinking or on fire. EMS has specialized training and equipment for this.
Joe Dolio of Tactical Wisdom fame talks a lot about comms. As does NC Scout. I'm quite sure Mr. Eric will get to it in good time! He's off to a rousing good start. Only the second post in the series.
Having organization requires leadership. A rare commodity in this day and age. I believe Mr. Eric intends to build us as leaders with knowledge. You'll have to bring the rest. Practice, practice and more practice.
As a retired 30+ yr ( patrol ) officer, with 2 yr Army Airborne, Vietnam service, I agree with your preparedness mentality, and the desire to see more people address it as a community need. While I see the change in professionalism of law enforcement standards and directions, I still believe that coordination with law enforcement, fire, EMT's in the community is of primary importance - until proven otherwise. It provides a strong foundation when addressing community protection and response needs. Secondly, as a former LEO instructor on safety and tactics, I'm a firm believer that it all starts with mindset. An excellent description of that can be found in a writing titled " Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs." Will follow your writings.
Among other interesting qualifications that I have, I am the Chief RSO of a community gun club. Half of my shooters are LEOs and that is a huge change. A very positive one. But, as we all know, without some serious luck, police can’t respond to a 911 call in less than 5 minutes. 5 minutes is way too long when we have an active shooter, seriously wounded person, or other significant emergency. Which is why I advocate for prepared citizens, Minutemen if you will. More to come
I stress desired training and social interaction between involved / responding / reactive community members and emergency responders because when they do meet up at a critical incident site, ( yeah, response times vary - but if you know they are coming, getting your identification to them is a critical factor ) it's really really desirable to know the protocol for identifying yourself as other then a suspect and/or your medical training and assessment capabilities....prevents further conflict and loss of time or lifes.
We'd be lucky if they arrived in 20 minutes. We had an incident last year with a neighbor firing a handgun at another neighbor's home... State police called and they declined to respond.(Too small and too poor for local LEO's) I just need a Thomas splint and an AED and I think I could handle anything until a medivac arrived. I have IV supplies, quick clot supplies, neck splints. Tons of tourniquets. Etc. etc. etc.
I live in a small suburb that is nearly rural. If the police are busy, it could take 20 minutes. If they are bored, it could take 5 minutes. And, if they are lucky and happen to be very close to my house when the 911 call hits, it could take 1 minute. That’s such a wide range of variables, though. And I am planning for the worst case.
You likely would have. When I went to his home down south, where he retired, and cleaned it out to sell... Not a thing was out of place. His recycling was stacked, cleaned and separated. His cardboard was organized by size and tied up neatly. Every piece of machinery or appliance manual was put in folders alphabetically along with the receipt. I could go on, but you get it.
Now, my first Christmas present from my then boyfriend now husband was a fancy label maker. He had my number for sure. Every vehicle has a GHB and paper maps. Plus one of those very cool mini car jumpers/cell phone rechargers. (Great investment) Should I go on? Naw, you get it.
I can't wait to read the next post in the series
nice timing .... I'm writing the last of it now :-)
Great post and even though I am in my 60's I can do most of Heinlein's list. Here is my question...How do we organize without drawing the attention of the feds or, if you live in a blue state, your local state police or bureau. Cuz, we all must be prepared individually, but we surely must be able to work together knowing what is coming, sooner or later.
I will talk more about organization later, but there’s different levels that we have to concern ourselves with. And allow me to draw your attention to the tactics of LGOPs.
What is described is the ultimate citizen. Stay in shape. Learn aide and survival skills. I look forward to learning more. Great Substack
Thanks for the kind words ….. I’m a believer in Heinlein’s quote: “ A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
I'm up in a small mountain community. Response time is 22 minute average. Yes, I agree, (as a retired medical professional) it's imperative to be at least minimally prepared, like you said. In winter, we are usually cut off from EMS during snow storms, but we have an amazing group of CPR certified and BLS certified people, including myself, that can be of service if need be. In fact we have many more resources, skills and talent here than some larger hamlets because we know we are on our own mostly.
once you know that you are on your own, it changes your whole way of thinking and behaving.
I hadn't thought of it this way, but I was a Minuteman of sorts when something in my neighbor's backyard caught fire. I saw the smoke, ran to check on the source, just in time for him to come outside panicking that he didn't have a way to put it out. Trees and power lines overhead were about to catch.
I ran back to my house, unhooked my garden hose, and toted it over to his bibb. In a few minutes, I'd suppressed the flames. A fire engine pulled up a couple of minutes later, and firefighters broke up the source with axes.
This is what we're supposed to do, when we have the means to act.
That's excellent and just what a prepared, resourceful citizen should do
I pulled a drowning girl out of a lake when I was 18. I’d taken lifesaving classes thru the city parks program at 15 so I was prepared.
I broke up a situation where a guy was beating a woman in a park that same year.
Stopped my car to help a drunken homeless bicyclist out of the lane of traffic in my 60s. He had fallen off his bike and was too stoned to get up.
There are plenty of opportunities to help people if you pay attention and are willing and you don’t always need special training. I ran a guy off who I spotted stealing a gardener’s equipment off a truck by just yelling at him from across the street. In my 70s now, I wouldn’t attempt to physically break up the guy beating the woman like I did when I was 18 but yelling at him to stop wouldn’t risk much and he’d probably pause long enough for her to get away.
These are the everyday situations that a prepared citizen can make better every single day!
I have long advocated for STATES to pass laws mandating both a state militia and a county posse. Militia at beck and call of the legislature and the posse by the county sheriff. A citizen can be a member of both. State law allows the deduction of expenses of belonging and equipping and are counted as business expense so they can be written off of federal. Suspect the IRS may trigger the next revolution at some point. Militia's are to be raised in companies of one hundred by local citizens up to regiment size. Posse's are organized under the sheriff. An individual can belong to one or both. Training and meetings are sponsored by the state and county. Neither can be deployed out of the state and are NOT subject to federalization. States may agree to mutual self defense agreements. Let it be written. Let it be done.
It's not the gear that made the Minutemen effective, it was the organization. After the defeat at Lexington Green, the communications network brought reinforcements "from every Middlesex village and farm". By the time, the British reached Concord Bridge, there were enough to stop them. As the British began to retreat, they were nearly overrun until their own reinforcements arrived from Boston.
If such organization exists today, they are keeping it secret from me. So the response is limited to what a single individual can do, like the example of the car wreck. Even there, my training tells me not to try to pull a person from a car for first aid unless the car is sinking or on fire. EMS has specialized training and equipment for this.
Joe Dolio of Tactical Wisdom fame talks a lot about comms. As does NC Scout. I'm quite sure Mr. Eric will get to it in good time! He's off to a rousing good start. Only the second post in the series.
Having organization requires leadership. A rare commodity in this day and age. I believe Mr. Eric intends to build us as leaders with knowledge. You'll have to bring the rest. Practice, practice and more practice.
You have hit the nail on the head here. Organization is what's lacking and I'm afraid attempts to organize will be met with official reprisal.
Average EMS response time is 8-minutes across the board. Give or take a minute depending on your distance from the 911 center.
So how long does it take on average to bleed out from a femoral artery? About 4-minutes.
Do the math and you’ll more than likely be dead by the time EMS is on the scene.
Remember that time chooses you, so be prepared to respond.
You’re the stop-gap for your life and possibly the life of another until emergency personnel arrive on scene.
Because of this you should really be CPR certified and carry a tourniquet at a minimum. Red Cross offers great CPR and basic first aid classes.
110% spot on
As a retired 30+ yr ( patrol ) officer, with 2 yr Army Airborne, Vietnam service, I agree with your preparedness mentality, and the desire to see more people address it as a community need. While I see the change in professionalism of law enforcement standards and directions, I still believe that coordination with law enforcement, fire, EMT's in the community is of primary importance - until proven otherwise. It provides a strong foundation when addressing community protection and response needs. Secondly, as a former LEO instructor on safety and tactics, I'm a firm believer that it all starts with mindset. An excellent description of that can be found in a writing titled " Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs." Will follow your writings.
Among other interesting qualifications that I have, I am the Chief RSO of a community gun club. Half of my shooters are LEOs and that is a huge change. A very positive one. But, as we all know, without some serious luck, police can’t respond to a 911 call in less than 5 minutes. 5 minutes is way too long when we have an active shooter, seriously wounded person, or other significant emergency. Which is why I advocate for prepared citizens, Minutemen if you will. More to come
I stress desired training and social interaction between involved / responding / reactive community members and emergency responders because when they do meet up at a critical incident site, ( yeah, response times vary - but if you know they are coming, getting your identification to them is a critical factor ) it's really really desirable to know the protocol for identifying yourself as other then a suspect and/or your medical training and assessment capabilities....prevents further conflict and loss of time or lifes.
We'd be lucky if they arrived in 20 minutes. We had an incident last year with a neighbor firing a handgun at another neighbor's home... State police called and they declined to respond.(Too small and too poor for local LEO's) I just need a Thomas splint and an AED and I think I could handle anything until a medivac arrived. I have IV supplies, quick clot supplies, neck splints. Tons of tourniquets. Etc. etc. etc.
I live in a small suburb that is nearly rural. If the police are busy, it could take 20 minutes. If they are bored, it could take 5 minutes. And, if they are lucky and happen to be very close to my house when the 911 call hits, it could take 1 minute. That’s such a wide range of variables, though. And I am planning for the worst case.
Excellent. I have been preparedness minded my entire life as the daughter of an organized, methodical military man. Two is one, and one is none.
I suspect I would like your father.
You likely would have. When I went to his home down south, where he retired, and cleaned it out to sell... Not a thing was out of place. His recycling was stacked, cleaned and separated. His cardboard was organized by size and tied up neatly. Every piece of machinery or appliance manual was put in folders alphabetically along with the receipt. I could go on, but you get it.
Now, my first Christmas present from my then boyfriend now husband was a fancy label maker. He had my number for sure. Every vehicle has a GHB and paper maps. Plus one of those very cool mini car jumpers/cell phone rechargers. (Great investment) Should I go on? Naw, you get it.