Tactical Wisdom: Preparing for Unrest – Vehicles

It’s Riot Season again. I’m so behind the times, I still have my Venezuelan War decorations up. In all seriousness, things are heating up and people are being attacked in their just for appearing “conservative” or “looking like ICE”, whatever that means. We should up our game and prepare to handle these potential situations.

Before you tell me, “But I live in a rural area”, I assure you that I live in a VERY rural area and I had protests in two VERY small towns near me last week. That was a shock because both towns are very red and this is a VERY red state. The worst part is that if I had needed to leave the property and go anywhere, I would have had to pass through one of these.

There is also some Tactical Wisdom that applies here:

Plans fail for lack of counsel,
but with many advisers they succeed.

Proverbs 15:22

In other words, heed some advice and make a plan. If you plan for the worse and nothing happens then you’re out nothing but a little time. If you don’t plan for the worse and the worse happens, you may not survive. Be smart.

Let’s begin with some solid advice: If you aren’t there when a protest happens, you can’t be caught in it. Pretty simple, isn’t it? But how can we know? Do your area study and maintain active intelligence collection on your local area and agitators. As these are operated mostly by leftists and boomers, Facebook is an outstanding resource. They are using it to organize, so you should use it to collect. A word of caution: these groups are outstanding at counter-intelligence and detecting infiltration. Do not follow or like their posts or pages, they will follow up. Gather information on planned events and re-arrange your travels to avoid them.

Listen, don’t try and be clever here. People are being hurt. Don’t try and go to these to “gather information”. Even trained professionals are having trouble. One of my guys in Minnesota was followed going back to his vehicle and ended up having to do a multi-hour and multi-leg trip around town to lose surveillance before returning to his vehicle safely and he’s a trained professional. Be smart. I know it seems like “nothing ever happens”, but these people are escalating.

Throughout the day, pay attention to news alerts. Sign up for Everbridge, Nixle, or whatever text alert system your local police use to stay abreast of developing events.

As you are driving, pay attention. Look a few blocks ahead. If you see a crowd or checkpoint ahead, make a turn and take an alternate route. If traffic is stopped, turn around if you can. If caught in a protest, don’t stop if you can avoid it, keep inching forward.

At this point, everyone says “I’d just drive through” or some other tough stuff about Florida or Oklahoma Law, but the truth is that there are circumstances in which we ALL would stop. They are carrying babies on the front lines to prevent police from using gas and you & I both know that you aren’t REALLY going to run over a young mother holding her newborn. There is a set of circumstances in which we would all stop.

We’ve seen the video of the red car stopping and people opening the doors, kicking the people inside and trying to rip them out. Stopping INSIDE the crowd is too dangerous. If the situation appears to be developing, like you see them stopping other cars, it is far better to park the car, get out, lock it, and evade on foot. That is FAR preferable to trying to defend a car from the crowd. Retaining your mobility in a crisis is more important than your vehicle. Just like in a gunfight we dont’ give up our mobility by being too tied to a piece of cover, we can’t be so invested in the car that we can’t leave it. Insurance will reimburse you for the car.

Let’s talk about prepping ourselves and the car.

First, SANITIZE the vehicle. Don’t put political or firearms related stickers and decor on your car. Currently, they are following people home who do have these things. When it comes to your car, gray man is the way. Be non-descript. Understand how your state issues license plates and what that can tell someone. Here, in Montana, license plates show the county your car is registered in. That’s important – it can identify you as being from a conservative area or as not a local.

In your car, make sure you have at least one fire extinguisher, preferably two. Why two? Because just like first aid kits, you need to reserve one for your own use. If I use my fire extinguisher to put out one car lit on fire with a Molotov, I need one just in case they throw one on mine. I also keep a “throwable” fire extinguisher in the car. This one in a plastic case that you can throw at a fire. The extinguisher pops and sucks up all the oxygen, putting out the fire or reducing it. Fire blankets aren’t a bad idea either.

Next, have gear to evade on foot. This generally means some type of bail out bag or get home bag. The bag needs to have a paper map in it. You might know your town by heart, but in a crisis, you may not have clear recall. Having a map is a plus. No matter where I am operating on any given day, I have a BattleBoard with the local street map in it at hand.

Another item you need is “camouflage”. If they saw you exit the vehicle, you need a way to change your appearance. I keep a packable jacket in my pack. This way, I can enter a building, slip into the jacket, and re-emerge on the street with a different profile. Waterproof pack covers are great for keeping your stuff dry, but can also quickly change the color of your backpack. Buy them in colors different than your backpack for quick profile changes. Hats are good for this too.

Obviously, a first aid kit should be in this pack. I keep mine in an outer pocket so that I can grab it quickly without having to dig through the bag. Goggles or a gas mask aren’t a bad idea if your pack is larger with enough room. I always keep gloves and some type of face covering in mine (bandana or shemagh). Once things start to go bad, you don’t want much exposed skin. It also makes it harder for bad folks to ID you.

As far as defensive tools, choose whatever you are comfortable with. I recommend staying away from pepper spray. First, you can’t control the wind or what direction you are attacked from. Second, these people are already prepared to defeat that. If you choose firearms, know your local laws and the risk. For the “truck gun” people – a caution…do NOT leave the truck gun behind, as the DHS and FBI learned last week. This scenario is the exact reason for a truck gun, so act like it. In most states, you are liable for what happens with a gun you left unsecured. Also, if you are going to carry a gun for defense, decide RIGHT NOW that you will use it.

Seat belt cutters are great in the event of an accident – but they are helpful too if someone tries to yank your seat belt to trap you in a vehicle. Consider keeping one within arms reach while riding in urban areas.

You need a way to communicate with the rest of your people. Some type of UHF/VHF handheld radio is a great thing to keep in your bag. Brushbeater recently started carrying the Radtel 950 Pro, which has a unique feature. You can also use it as a handheld CB, which means that you can reach help, since most truckers still use CB and monitor channel 19. It takes some learning to know how to effectively use radios, so get one and get on it.

Clark W Griswold, while chronicaling his historic pilgrimage in the documentary “Vacation” had the best tactical advice for today’s world: “Roll ’em up, lock ’em.”.

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