In scenarios where resources become scarce and the social order has broken down, drawing unwanted attention to yourself, your assets, and your operations could potentially make you the target of violence or even get you killed.
You may even feel prepared to share what you have with others but trust me when I tell you that not all who come to you in need will stay your friend forever.
Blending in and ensuring that you remain unnoticed or moving through crowds while creating the perception that you are unremarkable could save your life.
Being a gray man goes beyond dressing in a way that ensures anonymity. Instead, it refers to how you handle yourself and your operations throughout all the various stages of a disaster or societal collapse.
This article offers solid advice on remaining unnoticed, from staying under the radar while remaining in place to strategies for undercover food production.
Discretion and anonymity will go a long way to hiding your presence and avoiding conflict.
Remain in Place Grey Man Tactics
Disguised Entrances/Exits: Create a variety of entrance and exit points to your home base. Always alternate routes in and out. Always ensure you are not followed when you are on your way back home. I strongly recommend establishing at least one alternative “home base” to serve as a decoy or fallback position.
Variety: Avoid establishing predictable patterns. Vary times, routes, and dress codes. Never establish a routine. Never return the way you left.
Low-Profile Shelter: Shelters should be in unexpected places. You could have a regular sleeping spot in a semi-abandoned vehicle in your building’s underground parking. Always ensure that shelters seem like abandoned debris or are located in a building that won’t attract the attention of individuals looking for valuables.
Minimal Visibility:
- Avoid high-visibility places where you can be seen.
- Stay close to walls.
- Move in shadows as much as possible to maintain a low profile.
Noise and Light Discipline: Maintain a low profile by practicing noise and light discipline. Doors that squeak, shoes that crunch gravel, or items in backpacks that click and clack can alert someone on the lookout of your presence.
The same goes for torches and lamps. If you can hear and see it, so can others. Use block-out techniques for windows and create low-noise environments using carpets to move on.
On the Move Grey Man Tactics – During or Shortly After SHTF
Plan Your Route Carefully: When leaving a city, avoid routes that others will also use. Be prepared to travel only short distances at a time unless it’s an emergency.
When you aim for a specific destination, ensure that you have a backup destination that can serve as a shelter should something happen.
Once again, choose routes that offer concealment and a variety of escape routes. Try to avoid crossing wide-open flat spaces like parking lots. Always stay close to walls or fences.
Travel During Off-Peak Hours: Time your departure to coincide with periods of lower visibility, such as late at night or early morning.
Never set out at sunset since that is when most other people will be setting out and when scavengers will be the most alert for someone to prey on.
Blend In with the Crowd: If you are going to move shortly after SHTF, which might be a bad idea, dress in nondescript clothing that allows you to blend in and won’t draw attention.
A famous study shows how people react to a homeless girl versus how they respond to a well-dressed girl, and in a SHTF situation, you want to be the homeless girl, trust me.
Related: 22 Prepper Tips From the Homeless
Avoid eye contact, move casually, and ensure your actions don’t attract attention. Don’t get embroiled in arguments, entanglements, or verbal altercations. Keep your eyes on the pavement and stay moving.
Use Discreet Transportation: Traveling by foot or bicycle is slow but emits almost zero noise and allows you to navigate congested areas. Flexibility and having options for movement are essential.
Maintain Situational Awareness: Situational awareness is a critical life-saving factor when in crowds or populated spaces with other individuals. You do not want to be the last one to notice the guy with the gun, the roadblock, or the large group of armed men who are moving in your direction.
On the Move Grey Man Tactics – Long After SHTF
Undercover Food Production
Concealed Gardening: Vegetable gardens for SHTF should look messy, be planted haphazardly, and preferably be hidden “inside” an ornamental garden. Otherwise, you should plant in pots and move in and out of sunlight as circumstances permit. A lush, formal-looking vegetable patch in plain sight will make your harvest someone else’s dinner.
If you’re really committed to setting up a secret survival garden to see you through the hard times, I highly suggest checking out this all-inclusive guide. It’s packed with priceless tips and hands-on advice to help turn your backyard into a self-sufficient homestead.
Container Gardening: Grow food in containers or raised beds that can be easily moved or hidden. You can put wheels on mobile beds.
Stealth Farming Techniques: Use stealth farming techniques such as guerrilla gardening or “seed bombing” to plant crops in public or unused spaces. You can also scatter seeds at random places where water may accumulate and visit occasionally to see if something has been produced.
Low-Profile Livestock: If you decide to keep animals, opt for small breeds that make little noise. Rabbits and quails are pretty quiet species. You could give chickens a go, but not in your backyard. If detected, you will still be safe.
Nighttime Operations: Perform chores and animal care during nighttime hours. I suggest feeding your goats dressed in black and wearing night vision goggles. It sounds crazy, but in the aftermath of SHTF, it may save your life.
Operational Security (OPSEC): Be careful when using social media and online forums. Those pictures of your chicken run and sheep pens might be remembered by someone thinking about where to find their next meal. Discretion and privacy are always virtues.
Live Without a Trace
Dispose of Waste Properly: Nothing says “Someone is here,” like a mess of discarded food wrappers or other trash or waste. Good housekeeping will ensure that a place does not seem abandoned. Bury or burn trash.
Personal Hygiene: I know this sounds far-fetched, but anyone who grew up on a farm will know that super clean and super dirty can both be smelled a long way off.
Reduce the use of floral-scented shampoo and strong deodorants, but also don’t smell so bad that someone will pick up your scent when moving in your vicinity.
Scent Management: This ties in with the above. Barbequing meat and frying garlic in butter can give your location away as sure as loud music can.
Avoid Strong-Smelling Foods: Be mindful of the foods you consume, and avoid cooking or eating foods with strong odors that could linger in the air or on your person. Prepare neutral-tasting dishes. Learn here how to cook without fire, fuel, smell, or smoke; a skill that could prove to be life-saving in a crisis.
This will also prevent upsetting digestion and help keep your excrement smelling as neutral as possible. I have done many trail runs around farms, and trust me, you can smell when someone has gone for a poop in the woods. Hot sauce lovers, be warned.
Dispose of Animal Carcasses: If you hunt, never skin or prepare carcasses near where you stay or eat. Nothing draws a crowd of flies or other hunters like the smell of a rotting carcass.
Be Aware of Wind Direction: Pay attention to the direction in which the wind may be blowing your food preparation activities. If this could pose a threat, stay hungry or find an alternative.
By implementing the above-mentioned suggestions, you will maintain a low profile. Remember, in a post-SHTF world, detection could mean catastrophe. Keep quiet my friends, your life could depend on it. Like they say, silence is golden.
via askaprepper
