Mutual Assistance Groups

In the realm of preparedness people always talk about bugging in, bugging out or get home bags, etc. All these things need to be discussed and planned for but do not stop there. Plan for what comes afterwards. I am not talking about recovering from a major crisis event like a hurricane, earthquake, or storm. I am talking about a governmental collapse of society due to failed economy, foreign powers, total grid down scenarios. Once you have bugged in with your local likeminded neighbors or had to eventually bug out to an area of survivability, you need to reestablish a civil society govern by laws and mutual understanding of how things will work from now on.

I have discussed this before amongst certain groups and received a lot of great ideas on how to maintain good order and discipline. We have all seen a multitude of TV shows about post-apocalyptic group survival. Not all look ideal and of course Hollywood creates drama for the sensationalism of TV. I wanted to take a deep look at If I was involved in standing up a MAG in a small region of the Southwest, how would I do it.

I started off with looking into how I learned to set up Unconventional Warfare Network for low intensity conflicts while I was in the Army. I took their structure, broke them down and applied it towards a Preparedness Group (PG) that needs to set up in a rural area and maintain security and secrecy from other groups that may be out pillaging and looking for victims etc. Understanding after some time, people will begin to gather for survival like around a small trading post to obtain goods that have been recovered and stockpiled by others for sale. So, there will be a need to participate with these regional economic locations to obtain needed supplies that may run low or out.

The UW network aligns with this concept extremely well. The PG may need to interact with other PG’s in the region. To increase security of the PG, I realized that if outsiders did hear or eventually run into our PG, that they may want to join us. I used the thought process of layering security rings around the PG. The first one would be establishing random Patrols, Listening and Observation Posts at key locations around the location of our PG. The second one would be to establish a clandestine communication process between the local trading post and our PG to ensure others do not become aware of our location, numbers, and disposition, especially in regard to our supplies. This will be compartmentalized within our PG to ensure no accidental leakage of information occurs. A select and vetted few will be the logistical element that goes into the trading posts to trade and buy supplies. At the same time communication can happen in a clandestine manner through witting or unwitting sources about intelligence/information that is critical. This will be the same with any medical services that are established in the region. More than likely, they will be collocated with any trading post or economic center.

The third would be to set up Preparedness Sub-Groups (PSG) outside your main PG once you have enough people to occupy these additional locations. These can be smaller versions of the main PG or another like-minded PG. There should be more emphasis on physical security and communications from these back to the main PG. They need to be self-sufficient but mutually supportive to the main PG and other PSG’s nearby. Think of them as combat outposts of the main base. Here is where you will have any new member come and “join” your PG, they will learn your ways and hopefully assimilate to them. It will give you time and distance to have them vetted to ensure they do not have other motives or agendas. The overall idea of the PSG is to be semi-permanent to permanent but be prepared to relocate if needed.

For basic governance of the PG any society you will need a civil structure to it. Laws and standards are required to move forward past any of the hostility that may have occurred during any form of governmental collapse. During times of chaotic hostility humans do unspeakable things to each other out of desperation to survive or protect their loved ones. So there needs to be a transition and forgiveness from those times to a way forward for your PG.

In my opinion there always needs to be a strong leader with the right leadership traits to lead people in a time of crisis. This person can be selected by the majority or elected by the majority. This person cannot do this alone; he will need assistance, advice, and counsel for his decisions. He will need staff or council that can be his planning cell and sounding board for his ideas and one of these individuals will be his immediate successor in case of a sudden emergency that the leader is incapacitated.

Next there needs to be a council with an odd number of members that will be the legislative and judicial branch. Normally I would want these to be separate, but I believe combining these in the early days of the PG will be sufficient as long as you elect these members judiciously with honest and trustworthy people that have the true heart of the PG in mind.  

There will be a preparedness group chief and deputy chief that are the lower-level leaders of the PG or PSG. These two individuals will maintain the everyday operations of the PG and PSG’s. They will also bring to the PG Leader and/or Council any ideas or grievances from the PG or PSG’s. Within the main body of the PG the PG Chief will need to establish duties and jobs of key individuals.

Some things to consider would be logistics that will need to be approved and vetted by the Leader and Council since they will be interacting with outside elements. Intelligence will maintain all clandestine activities like communications with the outside support groups and also should be embedded with logistics and have the ability to conduct operations alongside your tactical elements that do the patrols and LP/OP’s. Medical section that has the right skill sets and experience to ensure the PG has an internal ability to treat and care for its people. Other areas would be farming, mechanical, communication, construction, water, electricity, security, veterinary, etc.

In the end after you have this all established you have to have laws to govern how you replace leaders, council members due to old age, death, or incompetence. The Leaders term is enduring but he can be removed by a 2/3 rule vote of the group/groups. If removed, then a vote is immediately cast to select a new leader and then validated by the council. I chose “enduring” instead of permanent or give a specific period because at some time post collapse a regional or national government will get established and your PG government may need to be dissolved or evolved into it. So enduring is meant to mean endure as long as it is needed. Initially, I am assuming good leaders will be far and few, so maintaining what works is a good rule of thumb. Understanding that there may be a periodic review by the council and/or PG.

The Staff/Advisors will be selected by the Leader and have agreed to serve as an advisor. There term coincides with the Leader and a new Staff will be selected by a new leader. The Council term is enduring also but anyone of them can be removed by 2/3 rule vote of the group/groups. If removed, then a vote is immediately cast to select a new council or single member and then validated by Leader and any remaining council members if applicable. The Group Chief and Deputy Chief are selected or elected by the PG or PSG. Their term is enduring but anyone of them can be removed by 2/3 rule vote of the group/groups. If removed, then a vote is immediately cast to select a new Chief and Deputy Chief.

In the end, you have to move beyond the chaos that caused the collapse and work together to create a better place for you and your loved ones. It can be assumed that at some time in the future post collapse a national government or regional governments of some type will be established. So be prepared to dissolve your small PG government or become a part of a new beginning.