Mutual Assistance Groups – Team Building, by Crusoe
Building a mutual assistance group is a challenging task and will take time to get it right. The next challenge will be how to keep your group together and build a team. That is where thoughtful team building comes into play. When following the lifecycle of a typical MAG most start out only wanting to do “tacticool” stuff and building bug out bags. There is so much more to preparedness, and it is important to quickly move through this phase so you can work on building camaraderie and teamwork.
Using my military experience as my personal guide I know there is also life outside the mission and fun stuff other than doing patrols. If we must activate our MAGs the world has gone to hell, and we are going to be spending a lot of time together doing stuff other than just manning LP/OPs. Right now, is the time to work together to build mutual bonds that will carry the team through whatever is coming our way.
Our group has tackled this by creating events that are family friendly and just plain fun. These events can be between a couple group members that live close by, ‘get togethers’ with the families, or activities outside of training. We do all three. Over the last couple of months, we had an incredible Christmas party for the families, practiced long range shooting in preparation for the February Scout class, and went camping. Additionally, two of our members have an open morning trail hike three times a week that anyone can join in on. Make it fun!
There is also something to be said about getting the group together to do hard things. My most memorable deployments were the ones that “sucked” the worst. This is when you truly get to know your teammates. Schedule hard tasks and do hard things. After our upcoming training evolution, we are scheduling an FTX to practice everything we learned, rain or shine.
Look for opportunities to build your team, you will not regret it.
Crusoe is retired from the Air Force after 30-years of service as a flight crew member. He spends most of his time thinking about the apocalypse and how to mitigate its effects. When not immersed in academic pursuits, he is often on a trail hiking in the mountains of North Georgia or reading with a glass of Irish whiskey and a German Shepherd by his side. Global travel enthusiast, history nerd, Appalachian Trail thru hiker, and recovering ultra-endurance athlete. He can be reached at [email protected]
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Darn good tips! Make it fun–that’s a good “grabber” for new recruits that you vet. ‘Specially that pic of a feast — good eatin’ fun and fellowship. Cohesion is the “glue” that binds the group.
That notion of hiking three times a week on the trail is a great “invite” ticket! You’d be surprised how much you can learn on the trail from your fellow hikers as you trek a good trail. What’s said and what’s not said. Be keen observers. God gave us two ears and only one mouth—listen up twice as much as yakking!
I agree. Time spent with your teammates and the families is time well spent.
I am also a fan of keeping your mouth shut if you don’t know what you are talking about. Too many folks like to talk over the people trying to instruct. Drives me crazy
Very well put sir , I don’t comment on here much but always take the time to read your post , your a wealth of knowledge and put it into words very well, your MAG is truly blessed to have a member as yourself. Keep it up Crusoe !
Thanks, brother!
how do you form a MAG?
I wrote a series of articles over the past couple weeks about that
From my limited experience MAG’s can be both formal and informal. I have some folks that I’d value in bad situations, but their minds are not open to “Bad Times” and automatically dismiss-flee such discussions.
So, I keep them nearby by being a good and useful neighbor, like bringing my generator over when power is out so their oil-fired heater and freezer can be boosted for a while. When craziness occurs, we discuss it as much as they will accept and often find common feelings-thoughts. Useful skillsets and folks I trust but not ready for the Red Pill :-)
I keep mercy buckets of beans and rice (plus spices, black teas, bullion soup base, vitamins and such) for them. I can afford them for folks that are excellent organic gardeners and such. Most of my MAG have been doing Mercy Buckets because who ever said, “We have TOO MUCH Food”? The last one I did last week was *Still* with in 10 dollars of the prices a year ago. Basics still cheap folks.
Most of my MAG events aside from woodland adventures and cowboy action shooting stuff is setting everybody up with worthwhile gardens, rainwater collection systems and such. Tunnel Rabbit’s comments about the slow pump has my folks looking at a large, irrigated community truck garden.
Would you mind posting a break down of your mercy buckets ?
Mercy Buckets, from memory as mine are downstairs and wife’s snoozing. All Walmart version. Goal was 2K daily calories and 60 grams protein (ended up higher both ways) Start with two 5-gallon buckets and lids. Put an 8 pound GV pinto beans in each one, add a 10 pound GV white rice to each one, put a 30+ day GV multi-vit and 30+ day 500 mg Vit C, add a pack of 100 black tea bags Red Rose I used, add a chicken and beef bouillon jar, 4 pound bag sugar, 2 liters cooking oil, 1 large salt and one can of pepper. then top off with one pound bags of dried beans of your choice and any luxury items you desire, I put in 4 or so GV Luncheon Loaf (cheap spam).
Basically, if you used a 50-50 mix of white rice and beans plus the extras (btw the sugar calories were NOT counted) you met my calorie and protein requirements for a 2 man month in two 5 gallon pails.
Cooked up it’s a LOT of Bulky Food. Unlike some “Survival Rations”. Looking at older receipts it’s around 50 dollars or so, so almost the cost of a couple of #10 can of… Last set I did it was a little higher but still under 60 dollars.
Not 25 year storage rated (and who would you complain too if they weren’t good then? LOL) but just last week I cooked up a batch of beans and rice from 3+year old mercy buckets (I really should date them). It was just fine.
Extras could include hot sauce, instant coffee and such. I selected Black Tea for its benefits for making boiled water better AND medical benefits of mouth care (wet tea bag as well as antiseptic-astringent benefit for small wounds. Sugar for its medical benefits of quick energy, making sweet beans and sweet rice for breakfast as I ate in Japan and wound packing as I’ve used in in South America during my mission trips.
Two more buckets filled with various camping supplies like contractor grade black garbage bags, roll of HD sheet plastic and some Thrift Store stuff could turn this into an aweshit, you’re fleeing your home cache.
Personally, mine is in a 40 gallon screw top olive barrel, buried where it’s not too frozen even today at -8 degrees. But it has spare clothing, wool blankets, “Squirrel reduction tools” and more in there.
In our MAG having a realistic year’s amount of food is required. Mercy buckets are for the unprepared but useful new MAG members and those that get burned out. What’s YOUR plan if fire destroys your home and all those preps?
Crusoe, probably off topic but I have a query. No offence but everybody I discuss home defense and such seems to be of the “We patrol” and keep them away variety. We also seem to be of the general opinion of everybody lives in their (mostly) wood framed homes and respond to danger by assembling and going after the bad guys. During my time in the sandbox our bases had patrols but also serious ballistic defenses like Gabions that we lived inside along with our support systems.
Is planning to live scattered across the valley in our mostly wood framed homes defensible?
Another awesome post brother.
Look forward to seeing you again in February.