Joe Dolio - Defensive Operations: TW-03 (Tactical Wisdom)

In a Without Rule of Law situation, the prospect of becoming a slave is very real. Ive long held that in a WROL situation, slavery will the firstindustry to return, even before truck farming. There will be some literal slavery, but most of it will be dependency-slavery. What I mean by thatis people will require you to do certain things in exchange for food or security.

It is for this reason that you need to learn how to defend a fixed position,such as your home, or your farm, or your food production fields. If youcannot defend them, you will end up producing food for someone else.Thats just a simple fact. If you think Im wrong, I challenge you toread more about human history, particularly in times of strife.

Imagine this scenarioIts been 6 months since law and order fell and chaos took hold. You were already prepared and already had a pretty productive garden. You needed some widget for your tractor, so youtook a basket of food and walked to town. While you were in town, younegotiated a deal and traded the food for the widget, and you headedback to your farmstead.

At 3 AM, a dozen armed men stormed your compound and overwhelmed it while you were still sleeping. You barely got out of bedbefore they were in your room. They agree not to harm you but take allthe food from your garden. As they are leaving, they tell you theyll beback next harvest season and youd better have double the food.

What happened? While you were in town, someone saw you tradingfood for parts, which indicated that you had a surplus of food. Youfailed to conduct basic Fieldcraft on your way home, so you werefollowed and tracked easily. You failed to establish a firm perimeter and didnt set a guard, because you just want to survive, not play

When I first started the Defensive Operations idea as a series of Skillsposts on the blog, I immediately got a comment from a guy aboutLook, I want to be prepared, but I have zero interest in playing soldier. Thats a ridiculous position because it leaves you relying on the goodwill of desperate people in desperate times. Its not realistic.

Many people hold this idyllic image of preparedness, where they liveout their days in peace in some sort of Little House on the Prairiecosplay. That mindset is dangerous. It will eventually and inevitably lead to death or slavery.

No matter what you are preparing for, Defensive Operations will occupymost of your time. If you are preparing for anything that causes aWROL situation, it involves storing or producing food and supplies, and those will need to be protected via Defensive Operations.

If you envision resisting a foreign invasion, like China or Russia, or thehypothetical resistance to a tyrannical government, you will first have to be able to defend your base of operations and logistics train before you can do anything else at all. You have no business conducting offensive operations if you cant defend your base or your family.

As I point out in every book, remember your ultimate goal. That goal isSURVIVAL, and it comes first. Defensive Operations is where youensure your ability to not only survive but remain self-sufficient andself-determining.

Self-Sufficiency is the entire purpose of being into preparedness. Weprepare and train so that we are able to provide for ourselves, withoutrelying on anybody else to give us a handout. Handouts ALWAYScome with conditions. During Hurricane Katrina, it came with the condition of disarmament and gun confiscation, along with forcedrelocation.

Self-Sufficiency gives you the ability to say NO. If you rely onhandouts and support from another entity, they can withhold that aid ifyou refuse to do what they want (see Covid Vaccination and EnteringBusinesses in 2021). Eventually, you will do whatever it is they wantif you are not self-sufficient.

Self-Determination is freedom. If I am prepared, trained, and selfsufficient, I can do what I choose, not what some other entity wants meto do. They wont have leverage to get me to bend to their will, and thatleaves only force as their remaining option. If I am ready to conductDefensive Operations at all times, force becomes costly for those whowould attempt it.

Maintaining solid defenses and conducting ongoing security anddefensive operations will actually lead to less conflict, because criminalsand petty tyrants (and some not so petty ones) will pick an easier targetif given the choice. Projecting a strong and ready image isnt lookingfor a fight, its trying to stop one before it happens, while being readyto win one if it does.

Lets address the elephant in the room: The United States Government.Many self-proclaimed experts say, you cant resist the US governmentwithout tanks and fighter planes.

First, were talking about a WROL situation, so the government isntnecessarily even in play. If they are, they should be respecting the US Constitution and not be trying to forcibly take things or enter ourproperty. My position (for the Feds reading this and trying to make a Sedition case out of it) has never been overthrowing or resisting theGovernment. It has always been and will always remain upholding theConstitution of the United States, which guarantees that your home shallbe free from government intrusion and that your property cannot be seized without due process. This doesnt end because someone declaredan Emergency.

This is important because of the Defense Production Act. The DPAauthorizes the government to determine any items they want as critical during an emergency and to seize them from anyone they feel ishoarding. The local FEMA manager gets to make that decision.Hoarding is a federal crime defined as having more than necessary forpersonal, immediate use. In other words, being prepared. They usedthe DPA to seize masks that were lawfully purchased during the earlydays of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

Second, twice now, illiterate farmers with ancient rifles and no armor orair have successfully resisted the US Government for decades, leadingto victory or a negotiated settlement

Again, Im not advocating for or against it, Im just saying that theConstitution guarantees the ability for you to lawfully resist unlawful government intrusion, as the US Marshals Service found out in the aftermath of Ruby Ridge. I only bring this up because after the firefightand standoff, Kevin Harris and Randy Weaver were found to have acted in lawful self-defense, because the US Marshals had no legal authority to forcibly enter the property. I dont care for Weavers ideology, but heacted legally in this case by conducting Defensive Operations on hisown property. There is a valuable lesson in there.

Preparing to conduct Defensive Operations also protects you legally once order is restored. Should you have been forced to defend yourlocation, you can point out that you were not out conducting offensiveoperations, you were taking steps to defend yourself and your property.This is where written records will help (I always say paper is anoverlooked preparedness item). The attackers continued, despite seeing obvious defenses, so you had no choice.

In this Volume of Tactical Wisdom, well explore defensive philosophy,planning a defense, setting up obstacles and defensive positions,establishing an interior guard, security patrolling, secure vehicle movement, and a lot of other items to help you establish a strongforward defense, anywhere you happen to be.