Locating & Establishing a Base of Operations & Rally Points

First, we have to remember that this pertains to a scenario in which all governmental controls have failed, disorder and anarchy rule, and those people who are left are on their own and in dire straits, indeed.

If you don't already have a group of like-minded individuals in your immediate area on your contact list, you really should consider getting busy. The world is not yet out of control, but we are at a tipping point – a crucial era in which paradigms change, then change again and again in rapid succession. Where it will all wind up is anybody's guess.

We are witnessing awesome displays of upheaval in the natural world and, recalling the outer limits of recorded history – plagues, droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, sunspots, comets, meteors and asteroids – these mega-disasters have occurred with measurable frequency. Is it odd that we should expect them to occur again?

It almost seems as if Mother Nature, in her recent stirrings, is somehow trying to warn us that events beyond our control are approaching. This could all be a load of crap, but as survivalists, we prepare for the worst even as we work to ensure the best.

The Working Base (during/after event)

If you are going to save lives, and survive yourself, when the governmental and societal controls disappear, you are going to need a proper base of operations and some method of getting your initial crew and supplies to that base. A working base must be chosen on the basis of anticipated needs, not what is most comfortable or convenient to you in pre-event times. If you are going to build upon your survival by absorbing the proper sort of refugees, the first consideration is having a defensible space large enough to contain your crew and the new arrivals.  You will need appropriate space and equipment for food service, medical treatment, lab and research facilities, mechanical repair and manufacturing; this facility should have power generation capabilities – even if it is only a back-up generator – for crucial medical procedures/equipment and refrigeration of food and medicines.

This base should be constructed of brick, stone, or concrete and steel – not a thin steel or aluminum sided structure, or a "glass building, or a wood-frame structure. Medical facilities will be out – first, they will not be obtainable, second they will be inundated from the start, third they will be automatic beacons for looters, gangs and other bad guys. Most industrial parks are a collection of thin-skinned buildings entirely unsuitable to defense from any armed and determined group. In my opinion, the only type of facility which would match all of these criteria – and more – would be a large college or a compact university complex.

Few people will be rushing to "a school" after an event, because few people realize that it contains everything you need to survive and jump start a civilization. People don't think of schools as a place to go in an emergency – there's nothing there but books and desks and empty rooms, right? Wrong. Most large colleges and universities have their own power generation facilities or large back-up generators. Most have large-scale food service facilities and at least a small medical clinic. Most have laboratories and lab equipment. Most have a pool (water!) and space for shelter. Most have a library with all of the technical and medical information you need to rebuild. Most have some sort of mechanical trade departments (auto shops and manufacturing equipment/tools), and an art department (printing presses, pottery/ceramics kilns and material, maybe even glass making facilities), most have adjacent dorms and gyms and auditoriums for shelter and meetings. Most have some sort of agricultural learning center and facility. Most are made of brick or stone or concrete & steel, and most are clustered together in a fairly tight campus which can be made defensible with minimal effort. Most are populated by transient populations who, at the initial stages of an event, will probably rush home to their families. Those who stay are the smart ones – they will probably be a welcome addition to your group. Nowadays, most college complexes have a small security facility with minimal holding cells/rooms, but a self-contained communications system and a decent amount of already positioned surveillance equipment. Reorienting the cameras to face outward and towards avenues of approach would be a simple task. Some universities even have their own (or a neighboring) fire department!

Not all facilities fit the bill, but it is easy enough to find out. Universities are full of strangers. Visit them and walk around freely. Anyone too inquisitive may be put off by simply stating that you are auditing courses, checking out the school for yourself or your child, etc. In fact, talking to (and maybe even recruiting) a school janitor will pretty much get a yea or nay regarding all of your criteria.

Your Working Base is NOT Your Only Base

Remember, your goal is to ensure the survival of yourself, your family, your group – and to minimize the damage to infrastructure in order to reestablish civilization. If you have recruited wisely, you will have operational personnel in all of the main utilities facilities, as well as members in the police, fire and medical professions. At least initially, you will have to write off medical facilities, fire and police stations, and all but the most obscure government facilities. They will be mobbed by panicked citizens and attacked by groups seeking what they think is most important, having failed to actually prepare and plan beforehand. Your goal will be to secure the main utilities and utility substations and these should be your rally points.

Having recruited members who work at these facilities will make it easier, but only if you can provide them (and their families) with the security they will need – food, water, medical attention, shelter and protection. Plans to secure and supply/re-supply these facilities should be drawn up prior to any event. Security teams should be designated for each facility and communications protocols should be established. Routing of late "invitational" members should include these satellite bases, should their professional expertise (for which they were recruited) be applicable.

Satellite Bases/Rally Points to Consider:
Each of these facilities should be primary targets for personnel recruitment

In Order of Importance: Recruit and plan for each as membership increases

1. Electrical Generation Stations
2. Water Plants
3. NG Processing Plants
4. Oil/Gas Refineries
5. Natural Gas (NG) Terminals
6. Food Distribution Warehouses
7. NG Storage Facilities
8. Oil/Gas Storage Facilities
9. Industrial Gas/Chemical Complexes
10. Highway Department Depots
11. Truck (Semi) Terminals
12. Main Rail terminals, Engine Terminals
13. Industrial Manufacturing
14. Telecommunications Stations
15. Sewage Plants
16. Power Substations
17. Water & Sewer (pump) Substations
18. NG Compressor Stations
19. NG Pressure Reduction Stations

In the event of the complete collapse of governmental and societal controls, these facilities will cease operation through automatic shutdown, loss of fuel supply, mechanical failure, or looting and sabotage. Your goal is to prevent that from happening. Partial shutdowns should commence as soon as you take control of, and secure, these facilities. At this point, it is a matter of survival – shutting them down to enable a restart when things get back under control is a good thing, despite the hardship to others. You must maintain the integrity of these facilities if you are to rebuild when order is restored.

Unmonitored and uncontrolled distribution of gas and electricity may result in citywide firestorms which are almost impossible to fight in good times, and just as difficult to survive. It will be equally impossible to get people to cut their own power and water voluntarily. Many may have bugged out (or died) leaving appliances, furnaces and sprinkler systems, etc., on – so you are going to have to take control of these facilities and shut down distribution at the source. This is the ONLY way to save and restart a city safely:

1. Shut down gas, power and water at the distribution source,
2. Send out teams to shut down the peripheral distribution systems to uncontrolled areas,
3. Clear grid sections that you control and shut off power, gas & water to all unoccupied buildings,
4. Establish power, water, fire and security teams within each cleared grid.
5. THEN turn on distribution to controlled and occupied (by you) grid sections.

It sucks to be those who live in uncontrolled areas, but those people should have thought about that before the event – as we are doing now. In any case, when the water and power goes out, perhaps they'll find their way to you and be so much the better for it in the end.

Non-Satellite Rally Points

Ideally, rally points and satellite bases should be within 5 miles or so of members. This minimizes the risk of interdiction by hostiles while en-route to the location. For members outside of this range, secure, defensible and completely uninteresting rally points should be chosen. Failing that, the member may fortify their own home – if no other members are within 5 miles of them, or a group of members may decide to choose the best of their locations as a rally point.

Rally points are temporary. The member(s) assemble there in order to be picked up as soon as possible after an alert has gone out. Security teams will sweep the rally points each week on a designated day, at a designated time, until all assigned members for that rally point have been retrieved, or all hope for that member reaching the rally point has been lost. These security sweeps may have to be made on foot, so more frequent checks should not be anticipated.

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