I’ll admit it. I’ve completely screwed up. 100%. There’s no doubt. My OPSEC is blown and has been for a long time. And, to be honest, it probably started with this website. Anybody who’s interested can figure out quite easily what I have, what I know, what I’ve done, and more. Heck, you might know more about my preps than I do! And that’s a darn shame.
But, in my defense, I’ve never been too concerned about you, the readers, because you’re honestly the last people I’m worried about when it comes to my OPSEC. Of far greater concern would be my neighbors (both those I know and those I’ve never met) as well as many friends and family that would be more than happy to show up at my doorstep TEOTWAWKI+1. And, honestly, I’m not sure which is more of a threat. Granted, I’d also need to throw in the local authorities, gang members, frantic random people within walking/driving distance, and anybody else I might have missed nearby. That’s A LOT of people to say the least!
You see, there’s probably quite a few people who know or might know that I prep. Even people I haven’t been obviously open with such as the UPS man or post office delivery man. Heck, I’m surprised those guys don’t ask me how my solar setup is going… I know them by face and I would imagine they know me by know. ;( If I had done things differently I would have opted to get my online deliveries in any number of ways besides directly to my door, including a post office box, maybe my wife’s business address on occasion, a friend or family member’s house here and there, or maybe I choose to find a local to buy some preps even though it’s a bit more costly. There were many ways I could have easily prevented the obviousness that I get a lot of packages. I just didn’t do it.
Similarly, I bring home a lot of food. As I would imagine most people don’t pay any attention to what I do on a daily basis, but it’s not like I hide the fact that I’m dragging in a whole car-full of foodstuffs about every month from my local warehouse club. Do I know if anybody is paying any attention to me? No, I don’t. I assume they aren’t but I can’t be sure. It’s like they say: people will remember the smallest of things when they need it the most. And if that means remembering that I routinely drag home lots of food, well, that could be bad for me. What I’m trying to say here is that your neighbors could easily notice more than you realize… especially when they’re desperate.
What about friends and family? Yeah, they could be my biggest problem, and yours too. Most of these people will certainly feel entitled to your stuff and odds are you may feel obligated to provide. After all, they ARE friends and family, right? Now, I know some of you absolutely refuse to entertain the thought of feeding anybody other than your immediate family and I get it. But maybe it’s not that easy. Maybe. The point here is that unless you’re VERY diligent in your OPSEC your family and friends probably know you’re the go-to person and WILL be looking to you for… assistance. I know mine will. The thing is that a part of me doesn’t mind. I fear a world where the vast majority of my friends and family have perished. And if that means I prepare for them too–at least as much as I can–then so be it.
In my opinion, a world without nearly everyone I know and love would be a hard continued existence for sure. But, those are the tough choices and they are made that much more difficult if you don’t also have the option of making them. That is, if you don’t have the option of dispensing charity as you see fit (even to friends and family) then, well, you’ve kind of screwed yourself yet again–like I have–because of the expectations others have from/of you.
You see what I’m getting at? Ultimately, keeping your OPSEC in order allows you to have options. You have the option to feed friends and family or not. You may dispense charity to your neighbors or not. If others know what you’ve got then you really don’t have these options… it will be expected. And this, my friends, is where I’ve totally screwed up. I’ve been open to most of my friends and family because I want to be an example. I want to show them what they can and should do. But, sadly, most never bother. And I knew better. But I still had hope. I was wrong. Ultimately, you cannot count on anybody but yourself.
My advice? Get you life and supplies in order, keep your mouth shut, and do your best to sway minds without giving up your OPSEC. Good luck.
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