Community Preparedness
This is the fourth and final chapter in the Focus on Preparedness series presented by Oath Keepers.
We have covered Individual, Family and Neighborhood preparedness. Clearly, one level evolves into
the next. Let’s review:
1. Individual – That’s you! Are you squared away enough to be an asset to yourself, or are you
your own liability?
2. Family – Is your family squared away enough to be an asset to your neighbors, or are you a
liability?
3. Neighborhood – Is your neighborhood squared away enough to be an asset to your
community, or are you a liability?
Any discussion on this…
Now we move on to the final phase. With one wave of the magic wand, I would simply duplicate
steps 1-3 county wide, but that’s not going to happen. So, how does this work?
In the event of a major grid down disaster, Oath Keepers created the Community Preparedness Team
plan. We work with Neighborhood Watch to reach out to everyone we can, to plan for the future of
everyone in this town and surrounding areas.
Before we can meet our goal of becoming a fully operational Community Preparedness Organization,
we must first focus on getting the people in the community interested in participating in their own
future security By increasing the public interest in preparedness, with valid reasons for the need to
spend their time and money getting prepared, we must swell our ranks with good citizens who are
willing to work toward this goal.
Let’s talk about the difference between valid reasons to participate vs. conspiracy theories. We always
brief at our meetings about National Oath Keepers war gaming the scenarios of an economic collapse
or an attack on our power grid. The escalation of World War III, as of the date of this writing, is a real
threat unfolding before our eyes. If these reasons alone don’t wake up the public, then the conspiracy
theories won’t do it.
Use the very probable reasons to recruit new members. It will cost you your credibility with most if
you begin to bring up theories that make people think you’re nuts. Find common ground with
everyone, then move on to discussing our teams. Also, avoid political discussions. It’s not about
politics at this point, it’s about SURVIVAL!
We need several hundred people to be involved in our program, perhaps thousands. That would mean
each of us must try to bring in at least ten people. It will take many hands to make this work. The
new people will be moved into one of our specialty teams: MEDICAL, COMMUNICATIONS,
ENGINEERING, PREPAREDNESS, SECURTY, or others. As we all get trained in these categories,
we will be able to attract professionals, either active or retired, to advise and help organize for better
effectiveness. We are solid citizens, working with our local law enforcement, for the purpose of
supporting our local government to aid our citizens, who are also our friends and families. You should
have no problem finding like-minded citizens who would be willing to bring their skills and
experience to our teams. Good people willing to be of help in a great organization like ours!
Right now we need to recruit:
1. We need doctors, nurses, EMTs, medics, or anyone who wants to learn to be an asset to the
medical Team. They will be critical in training our Medical Team to a higher level.
2. We need former military and law enforcement to join our Security Team. We also need
civilians with special skill sets to help the town with law enforcement/security operations.
3. We need engineers, contractors, plumbers, electricians, people who are talented with tools and
fabricating. Anyone with skills to help repair, rebuild or create infrastructure.
4. WE need any and all preppers, survivalists, and people interested in all aspects of
preparedness, logistics or support operations. Former Red Cross volunteers, military support
personnel and others, who understand what it takes to make large scale operations work.
5. We need HAM radio operators – regular HAMs and those with base station capabilities on HF
frequencies. We need people who can set up a radio net.
Most importantly, all of you need to continue learning and training and working with your teams If
you feel your team is not progressing quickly enough, or should be including more topics, you should
approach your team leader and offer assistance. Be motivated. Keep reminding yourself that, in the
event of a disaster, you may be the one others look to for help. Do you know your specialty well
enough? What do you need to do to be better? How can your team be better. The TEAMS are only as
good as the people in them. Stay positive at all times. I know how difficult this can be under times of
stress. Do not get discouraged. There are a lot of folks out there who are betting against us. My goal is
to prove them wrong. Remain vigilant. Keep your head on a swivel. Pay attention to your
surroundings when out and about. Keep the faith.
To rehash some previous lectures, it is imperative to keep in mind the Civil War II scenario. It is one
thing to prepare a local community for any other disaster. Most people will want to work together.
However, in a civil war scenario, that will change. There will be division in our political ideology.
Making a determination as to “who is who in the zoo” may not be easy. People will pull bumper
stickers off their vehicles and be more closed lip about political affiliation. Saying the wrong thing at
the wrong time in the wrong place could get you in serious trouble, or worse.
In a civil war, you will need to keep a lower profile when out in public. Save your opinions for polite
company. Determine now as best as possible who you can trust and who you can’t. Keep in mind
who you can trust can change during the conflict.
Remember, we’re on our own! But we are in this together!