To help or not? Yes, help! Help as many as you can during a time of war/SHTF. Here is how you can do it without compromising your family/community.
Ignoring Today's Standard
There is obviously a lot of risk associated with helping those outside of your family or community during a time of war or "SHTF". The first of those being ability and assets. No one wants to see their own family starve when food is scarce. No one wants to see their children suffer when their stock of medications run out. Above all, no one wants to see their family injured and their security compromised with the treachery an outsider could cause.
"Strength was in numbers. A man living a lone getting killed and robbed would be just a matter of time, even if he was armed."
In contrast to today, helping others during hard times was a standard for survival all throughout history. It wasn't just assets that they shared. It was security. That old saying, "There is safety in numbers," still holds true today. Just read this account from a survivor of the Bosnian war: "Strength was in numbers. A man living a lone getting killed and robbed would be just a matter of time, even if he was armed."
This article was written to show you how it is not only possible to help others during war/SHTF, but smart. Read the full article if you want to find out how.
Common Concerns to be Aware of with Helping Others
These points will be covered in the following paragraphs:
Not enough assets such as food, medications and so forth.
Starting a landslide of beggars because you help one person - everyone else will expect you to help them and you'll quickly run out of supplies.
Can't trust everyone - may end up helping someone who comes back later with more people to kill everyone and take what you've got.
Disease/illnesses can spread by allowing a possibly infected person(s) in or near your AO.
#1 - Limited Supplies/Assets
There are many blessings that come with helping others, even when you're not sure if you'll have enough to go around. If they are willing to work, be willing to feed them. You can work together to protect what you've got and acquire what you need.
As the Community Commander, it'll be your job to make sure that the right people are working in the right places. Use the following images as an example. You've got Stationary Guards, Roaming Guards, Radio Operators, Medics, Hunters/Gatherers, Recon Teams and Workers. All of which are extremely important. The point here, is that it would be pure suicide NOT to help others and try to go at it alone.
How to Help Each Other in the City
How to Help Each Other in the Country
#2 - Avoiding the Landslide of Beggars
As long as these "beggars" are willing to work, help them as best you can. Safety in numbers, remember? As I've said, put these people to work. Use the images above to guide you. Don't have enough food on hand? Make a recon team out of your "beggars" and organize yourselves in such a manner that you can work together to obtain food. You do this by hunting, gathering and attacking enemy positions.
Setting this up last minute is not a good idea (although it is better than not at all) because you've got to train your people. Possibility of success is much higher when you know wartime tactics. This article on how to create your own platoon will help get you started.
It is important to network ahead of time with your neighbors and those around you BEFORE things get hot. This series of videos (How to Unite Your Neighborhood) will help you find way to encourage those near you to jump on board. Let them know that when things get tough, they are welcome at your place so long as they are willing to work. (Do you have neighbors that you know who are going to be a problem? This article may help.)
Generally, someone who is not a threat to you and simply wants help is going to approach peacefully. They're not going to try and force their way passed your perimeter defenses or sneak up on you at night. Don't be afraid to shoot those that threaten to overwhelm your security. You're going to need stationary guards and roaming guards to help keep these people out. Use the following image as an example. Click here to learn more about how to set this up.
#3 - Helping the Wrong People
Again, this is going to have to deal a lot with their behavior on how they approach. If they're obviously intent on doing violence, activate your defenses and shoot them out of the sky. Don't give them the chance of getting close enough to break through.
If they approach peacefully but refuse to work, send them away (at the barrel of a gun if necessary.) Don't take excuses. You can find work for everyone no matter their physical abilities. No legs? Then find work for them that doesn't require walking or standing. Make something up if you have to. The point is that the devil finds work for idle hands. Those that aren't working are sure to cause trouble and become a burden.
Avoiding Traitors from Within
Even with your best judgement, sometimes it's impossible to pick out the bad guy. Take Ted Bundy for instance. He used his good looks and charm to lure his victims in. I can tell you first hand that I've been stabbed in the back before by those I've trusted the most.
So the first rule here is to keep the appropriate information classified. Most certainly, don't allow new members to know where the food is stored. Their goal could be to steal it or poison it. You never know.
This article should help you decide who should be told what.
Maintaining Order
This is where you're going to have to keep strict rules. (The 10 Commandments are a great guideline.) Most importantly, you're going to have to enforce those rules with the correct consequence.
ANYONE trying to push your authority or question your rules are dangerous. If they've got the right karma, they could very easily use their serpent's tongue to spread dissent and form a rebellion.
Example:
Situation: A new member shows a hasty trigger and fires at (but misses) a vehicle approaching your TCP. Not only was the oncoming vehicle an ally, but the new guy was standing behind you when he pulled the trigger (thus almost hitting you.)
When you confront him on the issue, he denies his mistake, refuses the hand over his firearm and questions your authority.
Solution: There is no hesitation on this one. Shoot him in the face and kill him dead. Why? Several reasons.
- If your position is suppose to be concealed, the sound of his gun just compromised everything. Not to mention he almost killed you and a car full of friendlies.
- Your goal is to avoid as much death as possible. His actions could escalate and get more people killed. Even if you were to disarm the sob and pacify the situation, he will hold a grudge and it will bite you in the a$$ later (think of Benedict Arnold.) This may take the form of sowing dissension, stealing, or even telling the enemy your location, what your weaknesses are and even letting them in. (Now how many people would that get killed?)
- You've got to set the standard. This is war. Your people have got to understand that if they are to join you, they are to obey you or risk getting shot. War leadership functions much like a pack of dogs would - the Alpha dog rules. So you better play the part or nature will find another Alpha.
Moles
Moles are people that try to join a community in an effort to gain information for the enemy (like a spy.) Be very careful because this is a very common wartime tactic.
There are three things you should watch out for:
- Super curious, asking way too many questions about the community's layout/setup.
- The pretty face (usually female) that takes an interest in individuals with status (Community Commander, Commo Guys or Team Leaders.) This is often referred to as the "honey trot."
- Anyone having an affair. This ALWAYS leads to information disclosure and security protocol violations. I've NEVER heard of it happening in which it did not lead to the leakage of sensitive information.
In our Community Commander course, we will teach you how to locate and identify moles.
#4 - Disease
First off, when it's your time to go, it's your time to go. We will not leave this earth one minute before or one minute after our allotted time. Let me say that again, you're not going to leave this earth one minute before or one minute after your allotted time. So prepare the best you can and live each day like it were your last.
People deal with disease all of the time. Don't be scared about getting sick (even the Corona Virus.) Obviously avoid touching your face, wash your hands and ensure your food and water supplies are kept sanitary. Keep special considerations for those with weakened immune systems (such as the old and young) and do what you can to both treat and prevent them from catching ill.
Quarantine the sick and if they can, then have them self treat. Look to Herbal medications and treatments first before using your modern medical supply. Herbal medicine is a very real and powerful thing if you know how to use it right.
Our Trauma Care book 5 of the QRF series covers disease and illnesses. This is especially because it is a common occurrence during war. Many Guerrilla fighters will poison water sources and cause sewage back up specifically to spread sickness. In the book, you'll learn how to both avoid and deal with such a situation.
Establishing the Basics
Aside from "common sense" - there is one sure fire way to know when you should help someone and when you shouldn't. Most certainly, that is following God's guidance.
God is still active in our lives today. He speaks to each one of us if we're only willing to listen. When war hits, you're gonna need his advice more than ever. He will guide you on who you can help and who is a potential danger.
In Conclusion
Trust in God, he will guide you. Your life and the lives of those around you are in his hands either way. Help those you feel need to be helped and don't worry about how you're going to do it. Miracles happen with faith. Think of the thousands Christ has fed with only a little bit of fish and bread. At times, this can be scary, but you've got to believe. Blessings always come with doing his will.
Again, you're going to be trusting in God with this one. If you run across someone who is not willing to work for their needs or God warns you not to - show them the door.
Wartime Tactics
Prepare for War. Pray for Peace.
As you can see, the time to prepare for war is not when war strikes. It is now! At Tackleberry Solutions, I teach WARTIME tactics. I've literally taken the gloves off and provided everything you need to know about taking on a trained army with limited assets and resources. Many of these tactics were not only taught in special forces, but were created by me through raw experience. You WILL NOT find this type of information anywhere else.