U.S. Zombie Tactical Squad

Getting your gear together and being prepared to run is important.  Having escape routes out of your home, apartment, office, or where ever are excellent.  Knowing multiple ways to get out of town is awesome.  But all of those things are worthless if you have no idea where you’re going.

We’ve talked in the past about selecting options for choosing a location in which to take refuge when a zombie outbreak occurs, but if you have the time to prepare a redoubt beforehand that would be the optimal option.

First, try choosing a climate you’d be comfortable living in.  If you like the snow then prepare a position in the north.  If you hate the cold, then maybe a desert is the place for you.  Think about what you like and dislike about your current area and head to a place that meets your desires.

Of course humanity has already moved into the preferred areas across the globe, so the location you choose will have hazards and problems.  Our suggestion is to try to pick an area that will be most comfortable to you, with the knowledge that no place will be perfect.

Now that you have an area chosen visit that location.  Find as many secluded locations possible and choose the optimal of those options to begin building your redoubt.  Make sure that you avoid mentioning to people why you’re there.  Planning a vacation isn’t the best excuse.  We suggest you’re, “looking for a location for a new widget plant,” or something along those lines.

Building your redoubt can be a huge task.  If you have the option to use an existing structure then we strongly recommend you do so.  This, however, is unlikely to be an option.  So hire an architect from and tell them what you’re planning.  Most of them will look at you strangely, but take your money and create your plans anyway.  If you can come up with a cover story for this do so.  Building a prison, a theme restaurant, a kibbutz are a few options we’ve heard in the past.

Make sure that you provide the architect with every detail you can on the area you’re moving to.  Include elevation maps, soil structures, water sources you plan on using, and anything else you deem important.  Always tell them that the site is in a different state or country than where you actually plan on building.  Also, make sure you learn as much as you can about architecture yourself.  Plans always change, so you’ll need to be able to make adjustments to them onsite yourself.

Now that you have your plans in hand, start working.  Anything you can do yourself to prepare your hide is one less thing you’ll have to bring in others to do for you.  For some aspects of the job you will likely be required to hire outside contractors, and if you do, make sure you hire teams from as far away from your chosen location as possible.  If you hire too many locals then you run the risk of them figuring out what you’re building and why.

Remember that you’ll need water sources, food sources, and shelter.  Make sure that a well or spring in available and that your outside wall is located far enough from your internal compound to allow for farming, herding, and any other agricultural projects you will need.

If you can build your own structure, make sure you use as many local materials as possible.  Build your structures from the trees you clear for your fields.  Build your fences out of the brush you’ve cleared.  Use locally supplied products whenever you can but as we said, hire outside hands.

Plan for a lack of electricity in your buildings as well.  If you can install windmills and solar panels, but those are unlikely to provide you with all the power you would need to live as we currently do.  Make sure your water supply is gravity run, and your sewage follows the same rule.  Lighting options should include as many natural options as possible (solatubes, skylights, etc.) and night lighting will need to be switchable to lanterns or torches if necessary.

Build as large a storage area as possible and once completed, start filling it up with as many non-perishable items as you can.  Batteries, MREs, extra fuels, extra weapons and ammunition, anything that can be easily and safely stored should be in as extreme excess as possible.

All this will likely take months if not years to complete.  That’s fine.  Whenever you don’t have someone working on the project directly, begin spreading false information about how it’s being shut down.  ”An investor pulled out,” “the contract was cancelled,” whatever.  When you can begin working again it’s due to “a new investor,” or “a company buyout.”  Of course each of these new injections of funds will dry up.  Eventually people in or near the area you’re building will see you as a dreamer whose plans will never come to fruition.  This works for you.

After your redoubt is completely built and you have a stockpile of supplies then it’s time to start on the maskirovka.  As we mentioned when we talked about the walls you need to protect you from zombies, maskirovka is the art of camouflage and false information.

In order to ensure that no one becomes interested in your base, it is wise to only go there when you absolutely have to.  Restocking supplies will be necessary but can usually be done once a year or less.  Other forms of maskirovka are to graffiti your own buildings or allowing others to do that work for you.  Create an area inside that can easily be accessed by local teens to vandalize is another.  Make it difficult but not impossible to get into and make sure that any equipment there is older and has a patina or rust.

Cover any windows with mud and dirt, and put up photographs inside that show abandoned or empty rooms with nothing of interest in them.  Coat the insides of windows with paper, paint, or anything else that will block visibility into secure areas.  Of course to ensure your stocks are secure, use the most secure doors you can get your hands on with the strongest locks available.

Put up a fence on the outer limits of your redoubt and post No Trespassing signs.  This will dissuade most people from entering due to the social norms our society has in place.  For those who ignore those warnings your other maskirovka efforts should suffice.  Plant weeds in any grassy areas, flower beds, and prepared truck garden areas.  Let them grow wild and untended.

In all possible ways make it look as if your structure(s) are completely abandoned and unused.  Humans have an innate fear of the unknown and abandoned building reek of danger.  Use that.

Now that you’ve built your buildings and camouflaged them in the best ways possible, it’s time to start that item we’ve detailed so many times already, planning your escape.  In this case planning your escape is second to planning your entry.  You want to make sure you have many routes into your base from all directions.  Additionally, you want to make sure you can enable any security measures once you’ve entered to keep the undead out.

To do this, make the reverse plans as you did when you were planning the escape from your house, office, etc.  Path optimal and alternate routes in.  Also plan how you’re going to activate your defenses (human or electronic) once you’ve entered.  If you can do so surreptitiously, test as many in-routes as possible without attracting attention from any neighbors.

Test your defenses too.  Make sure anything electronic has access to power at all necessary times.  Ensure that your team knows where they need to be and how to do each others’ jobs if the unthinkable occurs.  Doing this will mentally prepare them for the worst case scenario and show any weak points in your defensive structure.

As soon as you have a good bearing on entry and defense, it’s once again time to plan those escape routes in earnest.  Hopefully your bunker will be enough to protect you from the zombie hordes, but there are no guarantees in life (or death) so make sure you have those planned routes out.

Remember that no plan survives contact with the enemy and there is the sad possibility that your protected area will be overrun when you get there.  So keep you mind loose, plan as best you can, and be ready to react to things as they come.

Photo Credits:  Grant MacDonald, Al_HikesAZ

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