Establishing a Mutual Support Network

…Of Prepared Citizens

Prepared Citizens Network of NC: http://PCNNC.org

By Tony Fister and Chuck Brant

September 2010

DRAFT
Introduction
“Wanting to do something is very different than taking action.” –Dave S.

Congratulations on the first step towards doing something valuable for yourself and your family… taking
action. The following content describes what a couple of guys in an urban area of a Southern state have
done to put together a group of like-minded, freedom-loving people.

When we decided to form a “militia” group, we had a common understanding of what “militia” meant to
us. It was dramatically different from what it meant to the average person who absorbed their news
from the mass media or propaganda machine. We used the 18 th century definition for the word “militia”.
The unorganized militia was created by the Militia Act of 1903 which consists of every able-bodied man
of at least 17 years of age who are not members of the National Guard or Naval Reserve.

This definition describes a community-based security organization, similar to a volunteer fire

department. The reasons “why” we decided to put such a group together are largely irrelevant. You may
be interested in doing it for a completely different set of reasons. I will say that every person who
contacted us actually FOUND us through online militia channels but when we did our initial interviews as
part of our membership process, the thing that they were actually looking for was not a contemporary
militia, but rather a mutual support network or committee of safety. In fact, most wanted assurances
that were not a contemporary militia… the thing of which headlines are made. Yet, they wanted more
than a “prepper” or “survivalist” group… and they did want security. What they wanted was what we
had put together… essentially a group where neighbor helps neighbor by training in the arts and skills
that have been lost when our grandparents started moving into the cities. The uncertainty of the future
is what is driving people to search out mutual aid networks… people of like mindset… people who will
have their back and vice versa. It also what is waking people up, slowly but surely.

Mission Statement
The first thing that I would recommend to anyone is to write up a mission statement. “How do I do
this?” I am often asked. It is easy when you break it up into a couple of steps. Just sit down with a close
friend and paper and pencil and discuss why you want to go through the trouble of organizing a group. I
would recommend that you define the following points at minimum. The objective is to make you think
about what your goals are and properly ground you in reality (get away from the romantic notion of the
things you may have seen in Hollywood movies).

1. Your mission.
Is it to “stop tyranny”? (If so, please describe what exactly this might mean and how you really
intend to fight it. Don’t count on people following you to be the “dead patriot”.)
Is it to provide a mutual support network? What does this mean to you?
2. Who may become members?
Are you going to be all-inclusive with respect to race, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation,
 etc.? Take the time and think about your philosophy for a moment. Are you only interested in
your rights? Or are you interested in getting a larger group together that will fight for each other
regardless of those meaningless things that make us different on the outside? In other words,
are you willing to fight for the rights of others, including those you may not completely agree
with? Would you welcome LEO or other employees of the leviathan? Under what conditions?
Will spouses and significant others be encouraged to participate? All of these are things you
need to consider.
3. Who may not become members?
The answer to this question may include anyone who brings added risk to the group.
We have turned people away and you should be prepared to do the same. Just understand what
your criteria might be. What is the procedure for deciding who will not be member? Will it be a
simple majority (51% vote), a two-thirds majority vote, or a single black ball to reject
membership for someone? Will it be something in between?
4. Are people free to come and go from the group? If they leave for 6 months, may they rejoin?
5. What will the group have to offer its members? In other words, why would I want to join your
group?
6. What can your members expect from the group?
7. What does the group expect from its members?
8. What problem(s) do you expect the group to solve?
9. How do you expect to make decisions? Will there be appointed or elected leaders? How long
will those leaders serve? What constitutes a quorum for group action? Will decisions be made
by simple (51%) majority or require a 2/3 majority to pass? Should different types of decisions
require different majorities before becoming group policy?
One thing that we have observed is how rank does not work well in a volunteer organization
unless you have everyone’s willingness to follow. Even then, it is fragile. We never had rank in
our group, but we watched this become an issue in other groups. Remember that a volunteer
organization is different than the military in which people are obligated to follow legal orders or
else they will go to the brig. Volunteer groups consist of free men and women; always treat
them that way. Remember the importance of unit cohesion and don’t let ranks and egos get in
the way. You will find that some people will organically emerge as natural leaders and some
people will always be followers… and you will have many people in between.
10. Succession issues and processes should be considered as well. If Leader Bob is no longer willing
or able to serve as such for whatever reason, who is the new leader? Is that new leader serving
in an interim capacity pending elections, for the remaining term of Leader Bob’s service period,
or something else? What if both Leader Bob and next-in-line Sarah cannot serve? What about
removal of leaders? Under what conditions and by what process?

Write each of these questions down along with the answers. The answers to these questions will define
who you are as a group. These things are easy enough to change while small and they get harder to
change as you grow.
Finally, summarize the above in a paragraph or two. This is your mission statement. These few sentences
will summarize the culture of your team going forward. When new members come into the group, you
will give them these words so that they may understand how they fit in.

There is no right or wrong way of doing this. It just needs to be done.

Example:
Note: It is ok to share items from the example. However to copy and paste would be a disservice to your
group. Make sure you work through the questions discussed earlier and define your own mission
statement and philosophy so that the organization can serve the needs of the group’s members.

The Wake County Philosophy:

 We are individuals.
 We all have limited resources and lack the logistics of the US military.
 We are skills focused. Skill will help us individually and communally.
 We mutually support each other and our community. We expect nothing but a willingness to
learn and contribute to the team.
 All members are bound only by their willingness to associate with the group.

Being a member of <group name> offers the individual:

 Knowledge sharing
 Group Training
 Group Buys (save money)
 Mutual Aid
 Workshop style mentality (everyone learns a skill and teaches it to the rest of the team)

Creating Team Environment

 Accept that some people will be leaders and some will be followers.
 Accept that leadership comes in many forms.
 Everyone brings something to the table. Find out what everyone’s strengths are and use them to
improve the team. Find out what their weaknesses are and allow the team to improve the
individual.
 Keep the team small and cohesive. Unit cohesion begins to suffer after 14 people. Take the
amoeba approach and split the group into 2 units (geographically) once you get beyond 14
people.

Setting Goals & Objectives

 How often do you want to meet? Everyone’s schedule is different so keep this in mind. The
more frequently you meet, the more frequently people will miss meetings. Make every meeting
count. Plan your meetings in advance and have an agenda… so that people will have a reason to
want to attend. Make meetings productive. If you waste people’s time then they will not come
back. Consider planning your training out as far as 3 to 6 months.
  Consider the following minimums:
a. Meet once a month for short workshop-type training and event planning
Our group always has some type of training whenever we meet. Consider throwing out
a questionnaire to find out what people want to learn and what they know. Put together
a presentation on a topic for the next meeting and then get volunteers to do the same
for the next meeting and the one following that.
b. Meet once per quarter for an extended training event. This may involve camping out
over a weekend. The goal should include group cohesion, team building, and trust.
Consider it an opportunity to practice the things that would be difficult in suburbia.
Have a clear agenda of objectives for these meetings and keep it on track.
c. Everyone needs their spouse’s support. Spouses will be more or less involved than
others. Find a way to include them. Even if they don’t want to participate in the training
events, consider having a social event (dinner, for example) once a year so that
everyone can establish relationships.
 What to train for?
Remember that skills trump gear. Consider the following training topics:
a. First Aid (Red Cross, .mil “buddy aid”, EMT training, ditch medicine, wilderness first aid)
b. Physical conditioning (walking, flexibility, strength training, aerobic training, ruck
marches)
c. Field sanitation (water purification, personal hygiene while trekking, trash disposal,
latrine construction and use)
d. Bush skills & prepping ( i.e., logistics and skills re water, fire, food, shelter, etc.)
e. Shooting skills (Appleseed, tactical pistol/rifle training and competitive events)
f. Movement (small unit tactics, movement, & coordination. There are plenty of books on
this topic)
g. Communication (HAM, CB, others, how would you communicate with team members if
phone services went down?)
h. Basic firefighting skills (what happens if the local fire department is bankrupt and your
neighbor’s house catches fire?)
i. Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) - already paid for by your tax dollars.
Find a class and take it. It is worth it.
j. CBRN (chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear) education and preparation
k. Online FEMA courses. Yes, they are worth it. Yes, it gives you some credibility.
l. Food skills. Canning/Smoking/Pickling/Dehydrating, Hunting, Fishing, Gardening, …….

Growing Your Network

If you align yourself with one group, you are limiting yourself to one group and one way of thinking. You
are also exposing yourself to risk that internal turmoil within the “parent group” itself may cause your
group harm.
In order to prevent such an issue is to not align with anyone but to associate with everyone. (i.e.,
“friends with all, but beholden to none”). There are many groups out there that share the fundamental
goals that you may be seeking. Consider how many virtual communities are out there in the form of
Internet forums. People share lots of information and make “friends” with people that they have never
even met. It is time to begin harvesting from these virtual communities and creating face-to-face,
physical (rather than virtual) networks. This is how real relationships are created.

For example, if you seek to put together a “survivalist” group that also has a “militia” or “security”
mindset, you will find some interest on some militia sites. Be prepared to help a few people rethink their
goals though. There are those who may be thinking about mustering and fighting tyranny. On the
opposite end of the spectrum you may find some interesting allegiances with some of the “Mother Earth
News” types. You may be surprised what they can bring to the table and what you can help them with.
The Zombie Squad, AR15.com, Survivalblog.com, or The Survival Podcast forum are among established
sources of virtual communities in need of a physical presence.

Active Marketing
 Print business cards ($15 for 1000) to give to people, leave at gun ranges, put on bulletin
boards at grocery stores, etc.
 Consider speaking opportunities at local Tea Party, 912, and similar events; keep your
themes brief, relevant, and compelling, such as “Now What? Helping Each Other During
Tough Times” or “We’re All In This Together: Community Security Opportunities In The New
Depression”
 Viral or stealth marketing:
a. Update the signature line of your user account on forums with like-minded people with
a link to a website or blog that represents your group.
b. Post an invite in appropriate forums
 Create a webpage just for your county or region:
a. Purchase a $5 Google-advertisement to promote your county’s website (if applicable).
b. Add meta-data to the public pages that list key words such as “NC,North
Carolina,militia,citizen,constitution,prepper,survivalist,mutual aid society <your
county>,<surrounding counties>, etc.”
 Always ask new candidates about how they found you.
It is important to understand what is working and what is not.

Building Relationships/Leveraging Existing Structures

Say, for example, that you are building a mutual aid society in your county in case of some type of
catastrophe, natural or man-made. It does not matter what you call yourselves but let’s say that you
have labeled yourselves the Wake County Committee of Safety. Well… as it turns out there is another
group (or two) that are in your same area. You all have the same goals, the same intentions. You are all
good moral citizens (i.e., you haven’t formed with the intentions of hurting or robbing anyone… just to
protect you, your family, and your tribe). So what it comes down to is you are all citizens of your county
or community first and you are members of specific groups 2 nd. Forget about any differences based on
group affiliation and get started working together when times are good. That way you will have those
relationships when times get tough (or even if they don’t). Also be clear about those who you will not
associate with and why. Some people simply bring risk to the group. Ask yourself if it is worth it.

There are also a wide variety of existing associations that may also prove helpful in your efforts.
Consider contact with local churches and affiliated communities, volunteer ambulance corps, auxiliary
police and fire programs, homeschooling groups, running clubs, amateur radio societies, food co-ops,
and service organizations. If you can be helped and be helpful to others in your area without
compromising your core principles, why wouldn’t you want access to the skills, experience, and
infrastructure (e.g., institutional kitchens, meeting areas, additional training and recruiting
opportunities, AV equipment, communications drills, supported 5K/10k run/walk events, etc.) of those
groups?

Implementation of the Plan

Now what? You’ve defined your organization on paper. You know what you are about and what you are
not about. You know what kind of people you want and who you want to avoid. You even have an e-mail
address for people to contact, maybe a website, some business cards, and you are marketing yourself…
now what?

IMPLEMENT the PLAN !!!

It does not matter if your group consists of 1 or 100 people… if you decided that you were starting a
group with the goal of learning different skills and working with people… you should be doing exactly
that.

 Go get a complete physical, including a dental and an eye exam, then fix all fixable issues.
 Go out and take that Red Cross CPR course (the life you save could be in your own house).
 Start (or continue) your physical conditioning program.
 Go to an Appleseed rifle clinic.
 Learn the basics of water purification and field sanitation; disease and infection has killed more
people than weapons over all of human history.
 Work towards your HAM certification.
 Get 2-4 weeks of food and water stored away for your family (to start with).

These are first steps towards something larger. The key is to get started. That way when you find people
who are interested (and trust me, they are out there), you can honestly say, “this is what we are doing.”
The state motto for North Carolina is “Esse quam videri”… or “To be, rather than to seem to be.” When
you get people on board, your leadership is what will motivate them. In any event, remember that you
are doing this for yourself. That means that even if no one ever joins your group, you are still happy
because you are learning and doing what you need to be doing. However… if you get the word out, you
will not be alone. Like it or not, people are herd animals and they will congregate where the activity is
happening.
Learn from failure. Don’t be too proud, stupid or stubborn to learn from your own mistakes. Accept
from the beginning that this is just one big experiment. Everyone in your group will be a little different.
They will have different interests and priorities. However, remember that this is the member’s group,
not your group. And since the people that are involved will have a lot to do with how your group works,
don’t think that you can always apply a cookie-cutter, “one size fits all” approach. Doing so may cost you
the skills, experience, and ideas that a diverse team has to offer. The group may, over time, change its
focus as a response to what is going on in the world around us, or to what our perceived weakness are.
Let this occur, or you will constantly be preparing for the last problem, and not the current or future
one.

When People Come Knocking

When people start to find you and you have activity in the group, that is when the real work begins.

The Vetting Process

“Vetting is a process of examination and evaluation, generally referring to performing a background
check on someone before offering him or her employment, conferring an award, etc. In addition, in
intelligence gathering, assets are vetted to determine their usefulness.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vetting)

We interview people because we don’t want trouble makers. We don’t want people who are going to do
illegal things or try to provoke others into doing something illegal.

We vet people the best we can. That's all you can do. We don't have the resources that are available to
law enforcement. Remember that when you meet with someone, you are not only vetting the
candidate… a smart candidate will also be vetting you.

In evaluating new candidates, it is very important to have a clear idea of what is acceptable and what is
not acceptable in your organization. It helps to also have a solid mission statement. These are the things
that determine the culture of the group. When you are evaluating new candidates, you want to
determine if they will fit in with what is pre-established in the group. So get these things written down
and make certain that there is buy-in or agreement from the majority of the team.

It is a good idea to have a list of questions to ask new candidates. It is also important to anticipate
questions that they may have for you. Remember, the candidate is also evaluating you and your
organization. Do they want to be associated with you? Go ahead and get these written down so that
they are formalized.

Example
The following is just an example. You are welcome to borrow from this but please consider the vetting
needs for your own group.

Personal:
 Student / Employed / Unemployed ? Single / Married ?
 Interests ? Skills ? Other resources ?
 Are you allowed by law to own a firearm ? (ie. Are you a felon?)
  Do you work for any government agencies, including law enforcement ?
 Do you have any major health issues that could affect the team ?
 What would you like to learn ?
 What would you like to teach ?
 ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

Other:
 What do you think the purpose of a militia is in the 21st century?
 How did you find out about this group?
 What is your interest in the Citizen's Militia? In other words, why do you want to join?
 Follow-up question:
“How does joining the Citizen’s Militia solve those problems?”
 ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

Talking Points for Your Group:

 We are a smallish cohesive team. As we grow we split the team geographically to keep the
cohesion in place.
 We try to focus on skills development over gear.
 Explain that this is an initial vetting process (us vetting them, them vetting us). We want to
ensure that there are mutual interests and no obvious personality clashes. We want active
membership, people interested in learning and teaching. We are trying to filter out the
fringe element (racist, skinhead, etc).
 Explain that the vetting process is continual. Personal behavior reflects on the group. Racism
& the like is not tolerated. We don't really care what your personal opinions are (you can be
pro-government or anti-government, Republican or Democrat or Libertarian, etc.) but open
seditious talk puts the rest of us in danger.
 Explain what we expect from our members. Small time requirement. Once a month
meetings. We always try to incorporate some type of training in each meeting. We would
like for members to make at least half of the meetings. Most people attend nearly all of the
meetings. You get what you put in.
 Explain the values and mission of the group. For this group our goal is threefold:
o To be a mutual aid society
o To help create and support resilient communities
o To be prepared as a family and be prepared to teach your neighbors
 Let them know that each event is geared towards improving our skills in different key areas.
Help the candidate understand that this is done by each member to participating in the
training of some skillset to the others. Ask them if they are comfortable with that.
 ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

Get Them Involved

So... you've received your first e-mail from someone in your county who is interested. You have
responded to the e-mail within 2 business days (or even better, within a matter of hours). By doing so
you have made a good first impression and set an expectation of the candidate as well.

The candidate contacted you because they are interested in being part of something. Don't make them
wait. Find a time that you can meet with them and begin the vetting process. Be patient but be
persistent. Let them know that this involves them meeting you half way. If they aren't willing to do this
then they won't be willing to contribute to the group, which is kind of the point. Sometimes you will
have to cut the cord and let them go. However, that is not the case with most people. There are
schedule conflicts and family emergencies so be persistent and try to get people vetted, voted in, and
get them involved as soon as possible.

Once this is done, get them involved in the planning & training of the group as soon as possible. Find out
what they are interested in.

Training
 Skills and knowledge are what make a person useful... not the gear. Hence the importance
of training. If you focus too much on gear requirements, people will be hesitant to join if
they don’t have the “right gear”.
 Training can come from many sources. It can be contracted (classes), purchased (books &
DVD’s), or home grown from experience on the team.
 Training events are an opportunity to build relationships and community.
 However, training is not simple. It is unrealistic to rely on one person to organize or perform
all or even most of the training. You will need to identify training topics and set the
expectation that each will have to teach. Maybe teaching a class becomes a requirement.
The point is that in order to become a team, you've got to act like one. It is important to
train together.
 Don't overlook LOW-COST or FREE training opportunities such as Red Cross, Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT), or Appleseed. Leverage as much training from other
sources as you can… if for no other reason, do it because you will busy already getting this
thing off the ground.
 Training topics should include:
a. Shooting topics
b. Communication topics
c. First Aid topics
d. Squad Tactics & Movement
e. Fieldcraft (hiking, camping, etc).
f. Prepper skills & logistics (food/water storage, food production, etc.)
g. Physical conditioning
h. Whatever else the team is interested in

Letting Go of the Reins

As all good parents know, at some point you have to let go.

At first someone needs to step up and get things started... and that might be you. You may be the one to
initiate the group by creating goals and direction and bringing people on board. However, recognize that
as people join, the group will likely take on a life of its own. As you are growing the team, recognize and
grow other leaders. Ask for help and encourage others to participate in planning events. As the group
matures, you should find that it will be easier to get more done. Remember that the organization
belongs to all of the members... not the person who started it. Always seek “buy-in” from the group on
things that will affect them. By virtue of having started the group and given it direction, you will still be a
valued leader. However, step aside and give others that room to grow their leadership experience as
well.

Lessons Learned
Be Your Own Group
We started out by closely aligning ourselves with a “citizen’s militia” group which, while living up to the
name “unorganized militia,” it did seem to offer wonderful inclusion. In other words, they clearly were
against racism and any other discrimination and this appealed to us. However, we discovered over time
that the stigma attached to the “m”-word (militia) were causing good people to not join, even if they
really wanted to. In some cases their job would have been put at risk being associated with an
organization called a "militia". In many cases, the “m”-word simply made it difficult to talk to people
who were otherwise of like mind. Later on, due to political silliness at the state level, we decided to
finally remove our association with this group. Since then we have become a free standing group which
is not a aligned with one group at the exclusion of another. In other words, we regret having ever been a
“subsidiary” of any one group and we would not recommend it to anyone and now we are “affiliated”
with any organization which fits into our value system and goals. Looking back, we believe that the
problem between the state level organization and some of the counties was one borne primarily out of
ego and pride. Keep those things in check. They only cause trouble. What we did right was to avoid
those problems by simply doing what we felt we needed to do. The only use that we ever had for the
state level organization was recruiting (people managed to find us through their website) and
networking with other counties coordinators.

Be a Solution to a Problem
One thing that we realized in our area is that we were in a large county and people were really spread
out. There were certain scenarios that we could envision in which the team would come to the aid of
other members. There were just as many scenarios in which it would be unlikely or even impossible for
the team to come to the aid of other members. What we quickly realized is that one of the goals of our
team needs to be to teach people how to lead and teach others. Whether our members realize it or not,
the group became, in essence, a “Toast Masters” group for survivalists. As a rule of thumb, each of our
regular monthly meetings involves some type of education. Generally, at these meeting we have 2 half-
hour workshops that are researched, written up and handed out to all the members, so they can use it
as notes if/when they ever have to teach it to others. These workshops are researched and presented by
a member of the team. We also strongly encourage members to recruit for the group from their own
community, as they are the most likely immediate help in the event of needing mutual aid.
Resources and References
Recommended Skillsets
Food/Water
 Food production: hunting and gardening
 Food preservation: canning, dehydration, smoking
 Alternate forms of cooking: making a solar oven
 Water filtration, pasteurization, purification
 Water conservation

Communication
 HAM radio
 Electrical skills

Movement
 Engine repair skills

Security and Firearms

 Martial skills and arts
 Basic and advanced firearms techniques (pistol and rifle)
 Situational awareness
 Reloading for pistol and rifle
 Gunsmithing skills

Health, Fitness, Medical/First-Aid

 Basic and advanced first responder skills for life saving