Who can you trust? Selecting a bug out group.

There are so many groups out there of people that are like minded. “I want to be ready for anything” ,they say. This is a great thing, however, when it comes to keeping my family safe, I want a group of people I really trust. We all have good friends that we talk to on a regular basis. Most of them think like we do and have similar opinions. But do they want to be part of a group when SHTF? If you are going to put together a plan to bug out and include others in it, you need to know who they are and if you can trust them. I have a small group of people that I would gladly use for a bug out situation. They think like I do and I know they will work together as a cohesive group. I know this because I have trained with them. I have hung out with them and their families. I know that our families get along. I have no doubt that they will back me up when I need them as much as I would back them up. Selecting this group really isn’t that hard, look in your own group of close friends. I’m not talking about work buddies. I’m talking about the people you sit down with on a Saturday night. That you go to birthday parties for, That you call for help when you break down. People that you confide in when you are in need of someone to vent too. These are the real friends. You also need people with skills. The type of skills you don’t already have. This will help you with survival because it’s now part of the group knowledge. Mechanics, hunters, someone that can grow a garden, and even a gunsmith will give you a good start for your group. The first thing you will need is a really good leader, be it you or someone else. You need someone that knows how to put a plan together and implement it. This person is known to all in the group, however, he or she must listen to what the group says as well. Open minded and easy to work with but knows how to put things into motion when need be. The next person you need is a security person. This is the person in charge of security for the group. They should be knowledgeable of training, and physical security plans. They should be able to organize those assigned to the group security and direct them. They should also be able to assess the abilities of the rest of the group. Knowledge of defending a position, firearms skills, hand to hand combat. And all manners of field craft. They are also your combat trainer. Someone who can teach everyone to defend themselves as well as the group. Someone for the others to rally around. Someone that is hard on the group and yet commands the respect needed to discipline the group in their combat skills. You then need a logistics organizer. This is the person that keeps the group fed, that rations out the water, that makes sure schedules for security are maintained. Organizes food and water storage. Supplies for the group, Sleeping quarters must be set up. This person must be an organizer. They should also be knowledgeable of medical procedures. They should also be able to schedule group cross training. We all need to learn about everyone else's positions. How to do them and how to help out when needed. The next person you need to look at is your trainer, This person should be full of knowledge and yet still learning. They stay up to date on the newest techniques and is able to teach this information to others. They need to develop a training plan ( will work on that in the next segment) and can follow through with it. This person or persons is essential for the group to maintain good quality information. Training is very important to all that the group does so everyone is on the same page as far as what to do. Now that you have your base people. You will need others that will do the heavy work. Everyone shares a shift on the security detail. Protecting your assets and your group. You need to set up a solid perimeter around the location you have chosen. You need skilled bodies to fill these roles. These people need to be solid individuals. They can be trained in the duties they need to fulfill. It is suggested that you have rotating shifts of only a few hours at a time, Fatigue sets in quickly when you are just sitting and watching. It is best to have one person on overwatch. This person must be able to see the entire area clearly. There should also be an entryway monitor. This person should have a clear view of the entire entryway to the property. They should also have a good communication line to the overwatch. These two positions should be set up as soon as the first people arrive. You should also have an area for people to come as they arrive. It is up to the leader to get people where they are needed. Those not able to field a security position should be put on water and food supplies as soon as possible. Next is the set up of shelters. Your logistics organizer should have a plan for this. Knowledge of how many people are coming to the secure location. There should be enough basic shelter for all to start. These shelters should be set up quickly. Families kept together, children need an organized location as well. This way they can be kept occupied and out of the way. There should be a person or persons that are able to keep the children out of sight and out of the way. There should also be set up latrine facilities for all as part of the plan. All personnel not working on specific assignments should be in one location, no wandering unless needed for security or shelter creation. The biggest thing when you have a group of people is teamwork. Practice team building exercises. Movement is always in groups of two’s never alone.

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