PrepareToday!

Communication – What are we going to do without it?

Greg Carithers

This is a tough question but one that needs to be addressed. All you have to do is search this topic and just read the one liner’s that pop up. Things like “the world is doomed” and “total chaos” will come up almost immediately. The sad thing is that for most citizens this is very true. Everyone is so ingrained with reaching in their pockets, pulling out a phone or device of some kind and instantly connecting with another person or group across town, state, country and even the world. Imagine if you were walking along in NYC and all of a sudden communications stopped. You couldn’t call home to make sure the wife and kids were OK. No calling mom or dad down in Delaware to make sure they are fine. The cousins in the south are missing because they can’t be reached and your 20 year old son or daughter that is going to school on the west coast is no ware to be found. One of two things will happen at that point.

One – You will fall in line with the majority of the people in the city and PANIC. We know this to be true because of 9-11. During this attack, communications were interrupted to the point of almost non-existence. The country went into lock down and the people went into panic mode. I was working in Pennsylvania that morning. I was unable to call home to the south. The people that live in the PA were unable to call home a few blocks away. Everyone jumped in their cars and left the work site crying and screaming. I jumped in the rental car and drove south to make sure my family was OK. At that instant nothing mattered in the world except me and mine. The reaction is natural and nothing less could have been expected at the time. After all we were under attack and being killed on our own soil. Americans had never experienced this since the revolution. On my way home communications started again in North Carolina. I was able to reach my family and then turn around to offer engineering work at ground zero. I was denied but offered none the less.

Two – The only other response you could possibly have without falling in line with the majority of people who are going out of control very fast is to have a PLAN. Those of you that have read my articles in the past know that I always say “stick to the plan”. From time to time, step back and take a breath. Adapt and overcome but then stick to the plan. Your plan has to include one of the first things that are about to go wrong. NO COMMUNICATIONS. The government and military will be going for communications first. This is one of the best ways to induce Panic. I have also said the Panic is the mind killer. It makes us hesitate, stop in our tracks, think too much or not enough, run the wrong way and on and on. When I served in the military one of the first tactics we learned with Guerilla warfare was to induce Panic. It makes things a lot easier when you have the enemy so confused that they basically run into your bayonet. What I’m saying is not new and most older Vet’s will attest. In this battery age even our electricity going out would not be as horrifying as finding yourself all alone with no communications. It would be instantaneous and extended.

Now for the plan – This is where the plan should start or be included in your Bug Out point. Write it down in a 1, 2, 3 format and No Communications should be up the list along with no electricity and Marshall Law. If you find yourself with no communications you do the actions listed on your Bug out Plan and make your way to an alternate meeting area. It may be that your meeting point is home. If so, list it. This is what I mean by adapt and overcome. It always depends on your situation at the time. If you work a block away from home and it’s safer to get to your home before going to section B in your plan, then stick to the plan. If within 2 hours of communications going down and you haven’t made it home, your family should maybe have an alternate route to take so they and you can meet in a safe zone. Just think 9-11 only took out a few blocks when you really think about it. However, almost the entire city was blocked off and shut down. If you were in an apartment, you couldn’t leave. If you were on the street you were rounded out in a direction of safety but in a state of Panic. When people made to the area of safety they realized that home was on the other side of the city and they were stuck until released. I realize that 9-11 is an extreme example. But it’s a true example of how communications can be manipulated by the government and the military. At that time it was necessary as we were under attack by a terrorist faction. But for people who paid attention there was a lot to be learned. Just think that at a period of time the only planes in the sky were Air Force One and Fighters from the military. Within minutes every public jet was on the ground and the military had control of the nation’s skies. One word from the president – Public transportation stopped, communications interrupted and the government had total control.

Alternatives -

Two Way Radio’s – If you live close to home there is nothing wrong with two ways radio’s you can buy at most stores. Keep in mind; they will say they can reach up to 30 miles. The fact is they can reach up to 30 miles on two hills that are close together and the distance is measured in up’s and down’s. They do work pretty well within a mile or two and radios are a necessity that is measured by how much money you can afford. The more money you can spend, the better radio there is to have. Radio waves can be jammed but fairly close contact is possible in a bad situation. A suburb or city area should be OK for a 2 way radio. An issue may be traffic but if your plan has a secondary meeting place, radios may not be necessary until later on in the Bug Out process.

Citizens Band Radio’s – These radios work on the lower band scale and are monitored. Plus, they are very popular. They may work OK up close but can be and are fitted with amplifiers and jammers. The common truck driver on the road usually has an amplifier that will knock out most other traffic along with a couple of channels up and down the scale. My point is that CB radios are easy to jam. They may be able to make a certain amount of contact but I’m not sure that I would trust a Bug Out plan to a CB radio. If that’s all I had of course I would give it a try and they are manufactured in hand held models.

HAM Radio’s – This is the best choice for radio contact. The range can go for miles and even span the distance of states depending on the type of radio you have. They are available in hand held models along with large stationary models. To give you an idea of this technology, my father use to listen to the war during WW2 on their large HAM radio. Back then you could purchase a HAM radio without a microphone connection. (So you couldn’t interfere with the war taking place) He told me stories of sometimes tuning in to what was happening in Europe and Asia. HAM radios have a lot of channels, long ranges and are relatively inexpensive.

*Always Remember – Every time you key a radio button, someone is listening and you can be tracked. With practice you can learn how to properly use radio’s with minimal keying and short messaging.*

Batteries and Charging – Don’t forget extra batteries. A lot of batteries! Also, don’t forget to keep them warm. Batteries will go dead faster in cold weather. If you have rechargeable batteries you will need a way to perform simple recharging on the fly. Small solar panels are available on line. They can be purchased from 20 dollars for a unit that will charge one radio at a time for an hour of use, to a unit that may cost just over 100 dollars but will charge two radios for several hours of use. Just something to think about. If you are going to use radio’s you will need batteries and I would suggest at least a lot of changeable batteries but if possible some of everything is always the best.

Despite these ideas, nothing is going to beat a good Plan. So what if you call home one night and find that communications are down? You know that your family has the Plan and if they do not hear from you by a certain time they are going to make their way to point B. If they are not at Point B at a certain time they will go to Point C and so forth. If you’re in a city you can setup check points that circle until you meet. But you all must know the plan, practice the plan and stick to the plan if and when the time comes. And if you have really thought this through, you have arranged travel, meeting places and Bug Out plans with others that you trust and have the same beliefs as you. If there is one thing that will compound the anxiety of being without communications it is being alone.

I will close by quoting one of the brothers in my plan. “Stay vigilant and stay frosty”.