This one is a bit different because I’m thinking out loud here and asking a bunch of questions. Y’all know how to contact me semi-directly via MPG and Greyman if you have answers or thoughts.
Further different because updating this post with the answers based on conversations I’ve had this last week
Having friends to help you in a critical encounter is extremely beneficial. But, most of us cannot take our backup everywhere nor regularly and intensively train with everyone that may aid us in a critical incident. Operating as an overt team with uniforms and specific memberships and rosters makes one a target for other factions that do something similar. Most of us cannot and do not want to live our lives that way anyway.
Below I use the term “critical incident”. In which I mean one that time is an issue, one or more people may already be involved in resolving it. Either by dispensing medical techniques, freedom seeds, corralling the 80%, or any other number of activities trying to make things better or at least not worse. In a critical incident it is not practical to conduct interviews of those coming to attempt to help.
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How do we interface with people we’ve never met that are of a similar mentality and morality during a critical incident? In the current situation “Uniform Wins” is the key rule. Beyond that it’s demonstrated competence. This one’s going to require feeling it out and utilizing your personal and observational skills
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How is this accomplished if they do not follow the same groups, shows, channels, etc that we do? Again, uniform wins, and demonstrated competence. Throwing weight around and trying to command is probably unwise. Generally, unless something major happens at a national level - do what’s right but try to extract yourself from the situation as soon as righteous and safe to do so. Don’t try to be involved just to be involved. Once the uniforms have it handled, let them handle it. A lot of this is based on you get there before the uniforms. As a result you are there to make the situation less bad and keep it from getting worse. Once the cavalry arrives, you’re relieved. For now.
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How do we identify ourselves to them without violating greyman concepts generally? What kind of identification or signals will we accept in return? Consider in Montana there are a million people. At least half are friendlies if lead (500k); a fifth of that useful (100k); there are maybe 6 of those on Greyman, maybe a dozen on MPG… in the fourth largest of the States. Some kind of transmitted secret hand-shake or code word isn’t going to work. Saying it one more time. Uniform Wins. For citizens: Don’t look like a dirtbag and you probably won’t be treated as one. Don’t look like a poser and you probably won’t be treated as one. So, don’t go so grey that you blend in completely, so tactical that you’re clearly a poser.
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How do we best engage their help or help them? Who “runs” the situation? Demonstrated competence and uniform wins. Even off duty the uniform is eating the liability. If your help reduces that for them great, if it doesn’t, they’ll send you away. Generally they’ll send citizens away for good or ill, but that’s their problem now. For citizens helping citizens, the person that knows what they’re doing probably will act more fluidly and competently than one that doesn’t. Leadership there will probably be demonstrated naturally.
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How do we best identify ourselves as friendlies to first responders when they arrive? Observe the first responders arriving first. Don’t fit the stereotype of a bad guy or a problem - this may require knowing your local department and their own prejudices. Ideally if you or someone you know makes that 911 call you can give the description of citizen responders to dispatch to pass to the uniforms. Dispatch may or may not pass this along, it has saved a life in the past; Salt Lake Mall shooting, off duty officer out of jurisdiction engaged active shooter. Dispatcher wife made 911 call and described bad guy and husband to dispatch who passed it along to responders. When police arrived they joined the gunfight rather than shooting the off-duty officer in the back thinking he was the bad guy. It is okay to have multiple people making 911 calls about an incident. If you need to call 199 (or have someone else) in order to get your description to dispatch you should do that. Don’t rely on a random stranger to get this right.
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How is the situation concluded or extracted from if first responders do not arrive or make the situation worse? If they do not arrive at all. It’s going to have to end with someone planted in the case of a gunfight. Taken to the hospital yourself if medical. Can’t really just drop the situation if the government fails. If they make it worse… that’s their problem. In that case be ready to testify against the government and raise the flag that maybe it’s time to rescind the Uniform Wins rule. At the current time getting further involved at the acute incident will likely make things far worse for you and make you look much less like the upstanding one. Detach.
Some of my thinking comes from policing and being able to interface with officers I’ve never met from jurisdictions far afield, with different training and different policies. Generally that officer is in uniform arriving in a marked vehicle so there’s some symbolism there that we can’t take advantage of. There are cases of plain clothes officers from out of jurisdiction having to intervene in a high crime or active shooter situation, and they seem to interface quite nicely generally.
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Is it a demonstration of competency with the situation? Being aware of what’s going on and arrival of first responders? Actually heeding “Uniform Wins” friend-or-foe rules? Yes
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Is it that the departments responding to those situations are pro citizen and citizen response to these kinds of situations? Again, the answer is yes. It’s necessary to know the attitude of your local department. If you’re treating the various first responder agencies and their employees as enemies you will never have the inside information necessary to know whether this is true in your local departments. The police, medical, and fire personnel and departments are not a monolith in this country, or even in a given state, no matter what TV/Press/Internet wants you to believe. If there is success in federalizing the police though, different story, and that will be very bad. Probably situation that will cause Uniform Wins to be rescinded.
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What lessons can we learn from incidents that have already happened tip things more in our favor in this regard, recognizing it never will be perfect and never can be? Nothing is ever certain. Being a prepared citizen and gunfighter you must internalize this. Sometimes things will just not go your way and you cannot win, that does not mean avoid at all costs. That is cowardice. Be ready for the blowhard LEO in particular, let them be that way, the thing going sideways because they made it worse will be on them. It’s not worth getting arrested or shot over because a government agent is being incompetent. They will shift the blame 100% to you if you stick around. Deny them this. Note again the lesson above of making sure dispatch has your information before first responders arrive. Be competent and squared away with how you position your vehicle or perimeter and set up hazards to create a safe work space. If you do what the local first responders do or would expect from one of their own, you’re more likely to be treated as one of their own.
Overall here we have an issue of trust. Understandably trust but verify grows more and more difficult to actually practice. Seems the shields should be up with anyone we encounter. There are far too many bad actors in our midst. Far too many posers. Too many idiots that are “on our side”, but know nothing and simply want to throw weight around to have an appearance of being a “good person” but did nothing to prepare. Their involvement is for their ego and/or the ‘gram not to actually help. Definitely too many armchair commando blow hards that feel suited for command though they’ve done nothing and know nothing (I’m not one of these, I promise). People that are willing to smite and spite when they don’t get their way. Frankly we have a bunch of children in adult bodies running around.
I remember being on calls and wanting to try and resolve it before un-requested backup arrived because there was a good probability they would make things worse and more complicated.
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How do we make sure we don’t make things worse when we’re the second responder and wish to assist? Contact and cover principle seems best. First person on scene likely knows more about what’s going on. Ask how you can help and what you have, why you think you can help, let them put you to use. That is unless you are the uniform. Don’t assist uniforms unless they are clearly overwhelmed or in distress. Some of this is very important to think through of if you were in the other person’s shoes and how you’d like to be approached and what would raise the red flags, then don’t do those things yourself.
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What can we do to make it so our help is actually welcome because it is unlikely we will make things worse or need babysitting? This is a key piece to getting police to return to a pro-citizen stance by the way. Know the local responders. Attend actual training classes if possible with those locals. Have actual competence. Don’t throw your weight around. Be humble even if they are not. Don’t have a credentials fight on the scene. Be flipping reasonable.