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I'm very early in my preparedness planning, and there's one concept that I've been turning over in my head and I'd like to hear your opinion on it. It's really more of a thought experiment, but anyway, here goes: it seems to me that there is a real tension between long-term self-reliance and OPSEC. Like the more you have of one, the less you have of the other.
Let me try to explain what I mean.
With respect to OPSEC, it's pretty obvious why we don't go around shouting from the rooftops about the number of MREs or the gallons of water we have stored. We want to put ourselves in a situation where as few "outsiders" as possible know about our preparedness plans. This is because we believe that the more people know, the greater the chance of us becoming a target in bad times, simply because we prepared in good times. If everyone knows about our large stores of food, everyone will know exactly where to go when they become hungry.
To that end, we try to appear outwardly like we're not preparing, as though we're just like everyone else, when in fact we are stocking up on our three Bs. This lets people know that there's nothing to see here; move along!
However, it seems to me that, while a small, off-grid farm/homestead is probably the most self-reliant lifestyle, it is also inherently different from the norm in a way that is impossible to hide. Anyone who sees your garden or hears your rooster crowing might as well have seen a pallet of MREs. The problem is that livestock require more space and are much louder than MREs! You can implore your chickens to exercise noise discipline all you want, but they just won't listen.
Obviously having some livestock and a garden is better at providing for you and your family over the long haul; those MREs just won't reproduce so they'll eventually run out. And in an emergency situation, it'll be too late to order heirloom seeds online and buy a few pigs at auction.
But if you do have some livestock and a garden, how can you avoid becoming a target for anyone who wanders close enough to hear the telltale sounds or smell the telltale smells of a homestead? Even if you manage to turn them away with guns and/or charity, what's to stop them from telling stories about what a good thing you've got going wherever they happen to stop next? They tell two people who each tell two more, etc. And even if you ask them not to tell, will they be willing to keep your secret the next time someone has them at gunpoint asking them for food?
So to everyone out there: how do you reconcile long-term self-reliance and OPSEC? How do you keep a loud, smelly secret? :P
Let me try to explain what I mean.
With respect to OPSEC, it's pretty obvious why we don't go around shouting from the rooftops about the number of MREs or the gallons of water we have stored. We want to put ourselves in a situation where as few "outsiders" as possible know about our preparedness plans. This is because we believe that the more people know, the greater the chance of us becoming a target in bad times, simply because we prepared in good times. If everyone knows about our large stores of food, everyone will know exactly where to go when they become hungry.
To that end, we try to appear outwardly like we're not preparing, as though we're just like everyone else, when in fact we are stocking up on our three Bs. This lets people know that there's nothing to see here; move along!
However, it seems to me that, while a small, off-grid farm/homestead is probably the most self-reliant lifestyle, it is also inherently different from the norm in a way that is impossible to hide. Anyone who sees your garden or hears your rooster crowing might as well have seen a pallet of MREs. The problem is that livestock require more space and are much louder than MREs! You can implore your chickens to exercise noise discipline all you want, but they just won't listen.
Obviously having some livestock and a garden is better at providing for you and your family over the long haul; those MREs just won't reproduce so they'll eventually run out. And in an emergency situation, it'll be too late to order heirloom seeds online and buy a few pigs at auction.
But if you do have some livestock and a garden, how can you avoid becoming a target for anyone who wanders close enough to hear the telltale sounds or smell the telltale smells of a homestead? Even if you manage to turn them away with guns and/or charity, what's to stop them from telling stories about what a good thing you've got going wherever they happen to stop next? They tell two people who each tell two more, etc. And even if you ask them not to tell, will they be willing to keep your secret the next time someone has them at gunpoint asking them for food?
So to everyone out there: how do you reconcile long-term self-reliance and OPSEC? How do you keep a loud, smelly secret? :P
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