Tactical Wisdom: Security & Egress Plans

Originally written by Joe Dolio and posted to Tactical Wisdom

Two events this week have me considering updating the Area Study. First, the Lahaina fire area is now seeing not just looting, but also the inevitable armed robberies that will follow in ANY WROL situation. The second is unrest in South Africa related to Jacob Zuma’s legal issues which has claimed several lives and now has the South African Army deployed.

Our friend Reaper (@k9_Reaper) is on the front lines there as part of a community safety patrol (the only real police services in SA are private). He does a great job documenting the chaos, so give him a follow. Today, he was posting video from some of the 21 truck burnings that have happened this week. Locals are stopping semi-trucks and blocking the roads with them, and then lighting them on fire. Reaper posed an interesting question: What is your plan to get out when this happens, and the police aren’t coming.

We all make great plans and discuss our egress routes out of the danger zone but, as I pointed out in the article on Lahaina and in the Fire Story series, what do you do if all the vehicle routes are blocked by fire, or WORSE, by armed rioters?

Well, as I point out in my books, you need to have at least two routes out on foot. One can be along a road, in case it’s just debris that limits vehicle movement or your vehicle isn’t running. At least one though, needs to be a covert exfiltration lane (preferably more than one). You need a covered and concealed foot route out of your neighborhood. Find a footpath that leads to a wooded drain (these are everywhere even in urban areas) or a utility line and take that past the danger zone. Having a route like this can protect you from having to take more drastic (kinetic) action to get out of the area. For example, I can follow a wood line along the highway fence behind our house to a local wooded trail system. That trail system intersects a power line that leads out of the township. Easy and concealed egress. After leaving the township. the power line turns north and leads out of the Metro area. Yes, please, as quickly as we can ruck it.

The time to find and explore these routes is now. While the power and internet is up, use satellite mapping to find concealed routes out of your area. On the flip side, note that these areas can be used by bad folks to find their way IN as well, so (as we mention in TW-03 Defensive Operations) you need to develop a plan to defend these areas.

Two years ago, we awoke one morning to find that overnight, our town had completely flooded. Our subdivision was safe, because we are on a hill, but the only road out was flooded in both directions and had semis stranded in the water, blocking the road. We decided that since we weren’t going to work that day, it was a good day to practice leaving our sub on foot quickly. This is an exercise you can do today.

Start planning alternate routes and select some link up points a bit away. For example, let’s say there is a riot ongoing between your house and the rest of your crew. Rather than risking a gun battle, your crew can move to a pre-arranged meet up location to pick you up outside the zone as you & your family quietly use your covert route to get out of the affected area. You can coordinate via radio, and they can feed you real-time intelligence from their safe vantage point. This might seem like a bit much, but it’s better to have a plan and not need it than to try and come up with a plan in the middle of chaos. Having a plan is calming.

In Lahaina, looting is being reported. Additionally, there are reports of people getting through with supplies only to be robbed at gunpoint by roving bands of bandits. Now, the media is saying that these are “just desperate people who need help”, but that’s BS. If these people are willing to rob others at GUNPOINT, they are pre-disposed to criminal activity. I’m sorry, but that’s TRUE and I frequently mention that crime will get WORSE, not better, even in a temporary WROL situation. You need a defensive plan, even if it’s only for the short term.

As I frequently warn, the local and state police are all tied up protecting key infrastructure like aid distribution points and government facilities, so they aren’t patrolling or are very limited at best. They sure aren’t responding to burglaries in a disaster zone. There is no shortage of military in Hawaii, either, but they are also tied up marshaling and distributing aid at collection points. For the record, the fire and rescue crews won’t deploy to help you without police protection either.

Many people are trying to get through with aid and are being turned away at police checkpoints. A warning for a larger scale disaster: The DPA (Defense Production Act) allows the government to turn you away AFTER taking any supplies you brought in for your family or friends for “the good of the community”. Remember earlier when I said know concealed routes into and out of your neighborhood? Those can be used for covert resupply or reinforcement of positions as well. The government exists to protect itself, not you. Don’t rely on them for help or trust them with your plans.

TW-03, Defensive Operations has a lot of ideas that can help you and your neighborhood if you find yourself in an area with rampant robberies and looting and limited police protection (even happened in our Canadian fire story). Setting up an access control point at the entrance to your neighborhood can be a lifesaver. Several groups did that during the KwaZulu-Natal riots of 2021 in South Africa. The sight of armed and prepared defenders with a roadblock sent the crowds looking for an easier target. Having a roving 2- or 3-man patrol checking on the elderly or sick is good idea as well. This patrol can also check the concealed routes into the neighborhood to make sure no one is slipping in.

The minute the lights go out, it’s a good idea for all trained adults in your family to arm themselves. I won’t go into specifics because you each have your own plans, but any defensive tool is better than none. Pass out radios, even if it’s only for local communications. If she stays at the house while I walk down to the sub entrance, I’d like her to be able to reach me and vice versa. This is where dual-watch radios excel. My neighborhood team might have on security channel, but my family can also have their own and if my radio has dual-watch, I can listen to both. Baofeng’s have dual watch, those really cool encrypted Motorolas do not. I also a vehicle-plug repeater that I could fire up to extend our range.

Pre-stage emergency supplies as long as the power is out. Get the first aid kit out and put it in a central location. Get the fire extinguishers out of the laundry room or basement and put them where the people are – fires have a habit of starting in places between you and the extinguishers. I mentioned fire blankets before, and a forest fire or riot situation are key times to have fire blankets handy to either toss on a Molotov cocktail or wrap someone in to jump through the flames.

Start thinking about these things. Another good source is the Civil Defense Manual (click the photo). It describes how to set up a Neighborhood Protection Plan, including the access point I mentioned before.

Guys, things are getting more and more tense on the world and national stages every day. Take your planning seriously.