Gunner Quinn
(Continued from Part 1.)
I’ve busted other Ham buddies who were not FCC compliant with an embarrassing phone call. It is a fun and a useful exercise and practice of a poor man’s version of what is referred to by the military as Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). Intelligence of any kind, from Human Intelligence (HUMINT) to SIGINT is needed, because intelligence gathering in general is essential to our security operation.
Intelligence from all sources should drive our security operations. I (and others) will be listening for radio traffic as that is the easiest form of intelligence available to the survivalist. As with a rifle, if you can see it, you can hit it. Therefore, it is also true that if I can hear it, then the source is potentially dangerous. I would suggest performing some SIGINT before sending out any patrol, if I was capable of doing so.
Consider that if a poor country mouse has the ability to scan and locate radio traffic of any kind, imagine what the professionals can do. If I or someone else with this knowledge were abducted or coerced work for a warlord who was raiding the countryside, this ability to hunt down and locate radio transmissions is very possible. Any undisciplined radio traffic would be like a beacon saying: ”Raid me, raid me, raid me” …’I have excess electrical power to run radios and have lots of stuff to be taken’.
Knowledge is power. Operate your radios with great discretion and discipline, and wisely use only the lowest power setting that makes reliable communications possible. Use local and undisciplined radio chatter as cover. Use the lowest power settings possible, very short transmission times, brevity codes, pro-words, and all the techniques that you and yours can competently employ to achieve the best level of radio communications security one is capable of. Lives may depend upon it, so strive to perfect your techniques and be ahead of the crowd who will be more likely to fall as prey for marauders.
Plan Now, Plan Accordingly
If we do not have a plan for a security operation to protect ourselves after a collapse in place now, then we are planning to fail. Any means of communications we can use to coordinate a security operation that we can master or afford to purchase is what we should use. However simple, it would be a good starting point. It should not be dependent upon third-party involvement such as a cell phone tower, a radio repeater, or a satellite.
However simplistic and inadequate it might seem, stand-alone communications of any kind are more reliable and secure. A communications plan that should be in place before settling on a security plan. Even if the communications plan involves only whistles, three rounds of timed gunfire, smoke signals, a runner, radios, or field phones, any of these means in combination could be and are necessary for a security operation to function. The sound of a whistle can be heard over gunfire. This is not an example of an obsolete means of communication.
A combination of various forms of communications can be incorporated into a comprehensive and redundant communications plan that include a primary, secondary, contingency, and emergency plan. The acronym P.A.C.E. abbreviates the method used by military contingency planners. It is a well-proven method of planning for many essential functions large and small in scale. It is about creating redundant means or methods to ensure critical tasks can be executed despite failures. For example, it is well known that many private aircraft engines have two spark plugs instead of one, and two magnetos to power the ignition system, instead of one. If we expect the motor to be very reliable, then two is better than one.
As a simple example that can be applied to a common man’s commo plan, the primary and secondary communication systems can be similar in capability, yet utilize different radio services and different set of radios that are held in reserve should it be necessary to switch to an alternate set of frequencies that attackers would be less likely to be monitoring. Note that potential adversaries are likely to be using the same radio services as most defenders.
An example of a contingency plan that would thwart all attempts to monitor your frequency would be field phones that could be used for high-threat conditions, or for situations that require long-winded conversations. They can jam the radios, but not the field phones. Ideally, field telephones are the primary means, and a less common radio service such as MURS is the alternate means to be used only when absolutely necessary, and where a field phone is not available. Yet if field phones were used, and then inexpensive FRS radio that were seldom used could be used, but only if strict radio discipline is adhered to. Otherwise, we could lose tactical surprise. Radio communication might provide and be sorely needed should attackers arrive at your perimeter.
Getting creative with the limited options available, the primary channel could be used for daily communications, and the secondary channel could be used as a tactical channel only. Handheld CBs would be a better choice than FRS because is it today, little used. Personally, I would put half of the money into field phones for at least one pair, and half into inexpensive FRS or, better yet, MURS radios. If we could have all the options, and more not mentioned here, we would have the redundancy and flexibility to maintain communications come what may. We must become creative problem solvers and husband our very limited resources carefully.
An emergency plan would be a measure of last resort such as a stack of old tires on top of a large pile of very dry and hot burning tree limbs or pallets that can be quickly ignited and accelerated using diesel fuel. This kind of signaling would be ideal as it would alert the entire area that you have been overrun by the enemy, and are executing your escape and evasion plan and assistance is requested. The method requires no attendant after it has been ignited, and the thick black smoke signal generated that cannot be extinguished quickly by the attackers, even if they had a fire truck on standby.
Overview
There is more than sufficient discussion about low-power handheld radios that a survivalist might use. Therefore, I will only offer a brief review the topic, and take the opportunity to mention other aspects of radio and alternative communication methods usually not mentioned.
Expensive and sophisticated digital handhelds do provide several layers of communications security (COMSEC), yet as a SIGINT guy, I only need to see the spike of your signal on a spectrum analyzer. I do not need to overhear or understand what is being said. The signal’s location and time of day it was sent are enough to determine a course of action. It should also be said that a signal from a high-tech digital transceiver or a signal on an obscure frequency is a red flag that will invite me to further investigate, or put you ‘under a microscope’.
It is better at the onset of a societal collapse to hide in plain sight and to not use your advanced communications gear until a later date, or perhaps exclusively for special occasions — as the Contingency part of your PACE plan. Do not show your hand early in the game. As our society may devolve into a second Dark Age after the onset a collapse that is mild or severe initially, eventually potential attackers will lose the ability to perform SIGINT as resources of all kinds will be lost over time. War of any kind, or in any form destroys everything in its path, including not just stable power grids and equipment, but also suitably trained or specialized personnel.
Because so much has been discussed about low-power handhelds in SurvivalBlog and elsewhere on the internet, my discussion of a few handheld options will be abbreviated. I will mention only a few and some of the highlights that might be of interest and that are not often discussed. The balance of the article will focus on a topic that is underappreciated and seldom discussed at sufficient depth: military field telephones.
(To be continued tomorrow, in Part 3.)
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