Need for Citizen Intelligence Gathering When the SHTF

How will you be able to know what the truth is even with the normal lines of communications open? Local news reports on commercial broadcast TV and radio often ignore certain stories or give inaccurate and scant information. Even what you hear on a scanner may be misinformation, that is if you are even able to hear what is going on. Who can you trust to tell you what you need to know in a crisis situation? Your best bet would be to establish a private network of eyewitnesses to gather the necessary intel you will need to determine what is really going on in your local area. Presently that function is being more or less performed by online social networks like Facebook, but that can and most likely will be censored if Big Brother doesn't want you to know the truth. Then, of course, there is the total communications black out scenario, when all normal communications are defunct.

Here in Michigan I'm lucky to pick up emergency and local police chatter on the normal analog radio frequencies. However, I can only pick up on emergency, fire and some local county and city police communications. The state police have moved their communications frequency and digitally encrypted it, so the old scanners won't pick them up. The best I can do about that is to hear a second hand account from the other agencies or purchase an extremely expensive receiver to listen in. Even if I could listen to the state boys, there is nothing to stop them from further encryption on another frequency that is unavailable to the average citizen. The police have done just that for the DNC conventions and would certainly do that for any extreme situations that might occur in a SHTF scenario. As for the federal government or the military, good luck listening in on those guys.

This makes it necessary to have a team of operatives that can observe and report on any current situation on a two-way frequency that is not used or monitored by the government who would likely report misinformation or blackout the news entirely. You will need to know the location of any action including riots, terror attacks, police or military road blocks, actual level of damage or casualties, live fire fights, etc. This information can be collected and distributed throughout a local network to keep everyone updated on the real information that is being manipulated or kept from the public. What you do with such information is strictly up to you after you receive it, but at least you will be getting first hand accounts from people you can trust.

It is certainly possible that the authorities could get wind of your operation and render your communication frequencies useless by jamming or compromising it, however, there are ways to work around these problems if you have a good intel team. There are a number of methods that could be used to transmit the information outside of two-ways and these should be incorporated into your intelligence operation plans.

The most reliable form of intelligence is human.

HUMINT is what we will be doing should the unthinkable happen. A guy walking around a base or fob with a concealed digital camera. A random person at a cafe listening to local forces talking the next table over. Women agents getting even lowly privates nice and drunk and in bed. Boy do they like to talk.


I could go on, but you get the idea. The best Intel is the kind you gather yourself or through a network you're directly controlling with HUMINT sources.

Keeping the group small and surrogates at a distance ensures security. But the more people you have the less reliably you can protect your info.

My recommendation? Do what I did and learn everything you can about counterinsurgency or COIN. I was taught COIN in the military, but it's not impossible to find info on it. Most of those manuals are declassed and available on the Internet.

You learn a lot about how to do it when you learn how to stop it.

Intelligence gathering has been my thing lately. To me it seems like a much needed talent if things go south. I've been acquiring information from military publications and other sources. It has made me much more situationally aware to be sure.

From Wikipedia:

Human intelligence (frequently abbreviated HUMINT) is intelligence gathered by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the more technical intelligence gathering disciplines such as signals intelligence (SIGINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT) and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT). NATO defines HUMINT as "a category of intelligence derived from information collected and provided by human sources."[1] Typical HUMINT activities consist of interrogations and conversations with persons having access to information.

A good bit of info projectvxn, however, you could be picking up on disinformation making it hard to filter, hence, actual operatives on the ground would provide more reliable intel IMO. I do appreciate the input, thanks.

I have one of these, it comes complete with the antenna. It was a bit over 100 dollars. Maybe 110-130 on ebay or amazon

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I actually just said that very same thing.

a reply to: projectvxn

Cool, just had to re-read it. Thanks again.

Does HAM radio shortwave still unable to be tracked and jammed? I havn't done much reading on it since I was a youngster but I thought it was the most efficient way to send communications.

I'm all for "Citizen Intelligence", when do you think they'll start working on getting some?

a reply to: Leonidas

Yeah, that is a problem. How do you get anyone on board with an intelligence plan when most people lack any intelligence to begin with? Good point and quite humorous, made me smile.

originally posted by: JinMI
Does HAM radio shortwave still unable to be tracked and jammed? I havn't done much reading on it since I was a youngster but I thought it was the most efficient way to send communications.

All two-way radio communications can be tracked and jammed. That is why a number of methods should be used to try to avoid that. Other modes of communications can be used if you are being monitored, tracked or jammed.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Gotcha, thanks. I wasn't sure. Good and interesting post. It's worth giving some thought for sure!

Report all activities with a SALUTE report
Size ,activity,location,unit (attempt to indentify patches ,uniforms and camo coloration)Time and Equipment(Vehicles,arms,etc)
It is an easy format to use.

a reply to: visitedbythem

Does that unit deal with digitally encrypted signals? Does it cover enough frequencies to find all the communications you'd be interested in? I'd like to hear what you think of it from using it in your location.

a reply to: cavtrooper7

Very good, sort of like who, what, when, where, and why. Thanks Cavtrooper.

For communication, I recommend using a Heliograph.

If you are "stone-age" you just flash messages to each other via morse code. It's line-of-sight, but difficult to intercept.



If you are "machine age," then you use the heliograph equipment; but you reflect a steady beam to your listener. Use that sunbeam as a carrier wave, and modulate it with a second wave--the sound of your voice. A light-activated diode will demodulate the signal, and can run it into an amplifier circuit.

once you are in the "digital age", use a laser beam instead of a sunbeam. Then communication is line of sight but invisible to interceptors.

you can make it "not line of sight" by bouncing the beam off of a large visible structure; a granary or water tower. The best is to shine your laser carrier-wave onto the aircraft beacon atop the tower. As long as your laser beam is a different frequency than the aircraft beacon, you can transmit even if it is flashing. and if your laser beam is outside the visible spectrum, you can broadcast (literally) without an eavesdropper having any clue that you are even doing it.

That's how.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

We're all in this together.
KEEP your heads and nothing will beat you.

First, you want perimeter intel; so you'll not be attacked by surprise.

Next, you should expand your "perimeter of observation" to include traffic intersections that will likely be used by anyone coming to greet you. Highway offramps, road intersections, bridges or similar bottlenecks (gates).

That way you can keep your eye on antagonists as well as the tide of refugees surging toward you.

Without information ,NO SHOOTING!
SAVE it for when it SHOULD be used,we can't know that yet.

I think wtshtf the govt. will have enough "neighborhood " spies working for them. No different then China and even Japan. Best to have a canoe and live by a river and a support of fresh water.